Something remarkable is taking place in Sumter County this summer, and it started this past week in Wildwood.
Recently, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office was given a generous donation by the Shane McGee project, which honors the life of a 9-year-old child who was killed many years ago in an automobile accident. The first to benefit from the donation – the McGee family insisted the money be used to help children – is the softball complex at Wildwood Middle High School.
This past Tuesday, Sumter County sheriff’s deputies and other personnel teamed with students and coaches to begin revamping the concession stand and painting the dugouts. It was an effort that brought many people together with a common goal. And it was one that was needed desperately.
Clearly, this is a wonderful story. But when you dig a little deeper and talk to the folks involved, it becomes an amazing story that shows what can happen when a community comes together to help future generations succeed.
First, we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to the McGee family. They’ve found a way to honor a son whose life was cut short way too early. And they’re making children the focus of their generosity.
We also need to offer a huge “thank you” to Beth Hunt, outreach coordinator for the sheriff’s office. She has taken the lead on this project after spending considerable time with the McGee family.
Those who know Hunt are well aware that she didn’t take this assignment lightly. She toured schools and other facilities to find the locations that needed the most help. And she talked with the people involved at those places to make sure the money would be used wisely.
In other words, Hunt is taking this mission quite seriously and is proud to make sure the McGee family’s wishes are being carried out to the best of her ability.
The third thing that makes this story so special is Wildwood Middle High School softball coach Kylie Ondriezek, a 2008 graduate of the school who recently was named Sumter County Teacher of the Year. As a high school sophomore, she knew she wanted to be a teacher. So, after playing softball at Central Florida Community College for two years, she transferred to the University of Central Florida and graduated with a history degree.
Today, she teaches English and coaches students at the school she truly loves.
To say that Hunt was impressed with Ondriezek’s passion for Wildwood Middle High School and her players would be a huge understatement at best.
“The love that she has for the students at this school is amazing,” Hunt said. “And the work and effort that she puts into her softball fields, like on the weekends taking a broken water hose and watering the clay before her kids play, is unbelievable.”
Along those same lines, Ondriezek is extremely grateful to Hunt and the McGee family for the improvements taking place at her softball complex.
“It is so awesome,” she said after operating a power washer to strip old paint off the concession stand floor. “Normally it’s me asking for parents’ support and getting my players to come out here and have a workday. So, to have them helping takes a huge burden off of me. And it’s achieving so much more than we ever could do on our own.”
One more thing, if you’re wondering what kind of coach Ondriezek is and what her players think about her, all you had to do was ask them what brought them out to work in the hot sun recently. Their answers were quite telling – Ondriezek asked them to be there and they have a huge amount of pride in their program.
To take that one step further, one of the young women painting the dugout, Jaecy Greene, already graduated. But she said she wanted to give back to the program she loves. And she beamed when talking about playing softball at Livingston College in Salisbury, N.C., on a scholarship we’re betting Ondriezek helped her get.
Yes, there’s quite a story unfolding in Sumter County this summer. It’s one that’s going to benefit many kids. And it’s one that speaks volumes about the people involved and their desires to help shape the future leaders of this country and others across the globe.
