2007 RECAP
TJFL started with some highs and lows, in May we started the year with our booth at Thorntonfest many families played our football toss game and received information about the upcoming season. TJFL lost a member of its family that same week as Wayne Johnson “Mr. J” passed away. Mr. J was the CEO of TJFL, he was also a coach for over 32 years and more than that, was a mentor to many young coaches and was always ready with a bag of candy for the kids. Everyone in TJFL from the coaches, parents and especially the kids will miss Mr. J.
July saw the annual Mini camp. This two day event features the NFL Punt, Pass, and Kick contest put on by the city of Thornton, and is the official kick off to the season. This year over 500 young men and women came out and worked thru the many stations covering Offense, Defense and Special teams. The TJFL Cheerleaders worked on minor stunting and dance routines and learning new cheers, these girls are loud and proud.
The first week of September saw the first games of the 2007 season. This first week is always a big event for all TJFL families, The Thornton Sports complex was a buzz. Parking was an issue as always but it didn’t dampen the mood. TJFL games always draw big crowds. This year was the first season for our new Varsity division ages 14-15 it was a great success, and should be even better in 2008. Eight games later and we find ourselves at the 2007 Wayne Johnson Turkey Bowl, this year held in the new District 12 stadium located at 128th and I-25. This is a great facility and we look forward to many more games there.
The Turkey bowl is always a fun filled family event. During the first game in the Varsity game a young man was injured and had to be evacuated by helicopter to a local hospital, at last word he has returned to school and is doing much better now, our thoughts are with him and his family. All the games were well played and yes there was a surprise or two, and the families were pumped up and covered in their team’s colors.
This was the second year for our Touchdowns for Turkeys program, each time a team scored a touchdown volunteers went thru the stands with baskets collecting money to buy Turkey dinners for families in need. This year we raised enough money to buy Turkey dinners to over 20 families. Our volunteers got together just before Thanksgiving and delivered the dinners to the families and wished them all the best from the TJFL family (that’s you).
At this years Winter fest TJFL decorated two Christmas trees, one for the Cheerleaders and one for the Football players. All the ornaments were hand made and took many hours of work. When the Winter fest was over we donated the Trees to two families in the North area. We are always looking for ways to give back to the community and with your help we can continue to do so.
Below is a financial recap of the 2007 season, with increases in equipment cost, Officials and other expenses we fell just short of our expenses this year. The families of TJFL stepped up there fundraising. This years raffle sales helped offset some of the loss and we look forward to the 2008 season to be a great year. As always no one here at TJFL is paid for anything they do, we are all volunteers and do this for the love of the game and community we call home. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR !!!!!!!
Please direct any questions or comments to President@tjfl.org or information@tjfl.org
Thank you
Shannon Smith
President TJFL