Hee: Christmas spirit is alive and well in Pahrump

I never thought I would say this, but a Dallas Cowboys player epitomized the Christmas spirit when he jumped into a Salvation Army kettle.

Ezekiel Elliott, during a game against Tampa on Sunday, jumped into the kettle to celebrate a touchdown. He then gave the organization $21,000.

Yes, I know what you are saying, he can afford to give the organization the money, and I will say this, nobody forced him to give.

Giving is big on my mind for I think those that give should be thanked even though they are not looking for it. We should be thankful for those people that do give.

This year I am thankful for the wonderful family I have. Especially my wife, who puts up with all the time I give to this paper, spending time at games. She is an awesome lady and deserves a purple heart for putting up with this sports nut. My wife Terri has a heart of gold. She and I were walking by a Starbucks table at Albertsons and I was thinking, look at that poor guy lying on the table, I bet he is hungry. Without a word, my wife took that one step further and put a 10-spot in his hand.

Then, I am thankful for this town that gives not only during this season but gives all year long. The coaches I deal with on a daily basis are at the top of this list. They give their time. People don’t realize how meaningful that is. One just has to remember that the time they spend with other kids is time away from their families.

I am lucky that I have a job where I get to meet some of these people here in town that do the giving.

The people that do this giving don’t just come from the churches. I think we should recognize the teachers. Last time I checked there were hundreds of homeless students. Did you know there are teachers that go out of their way to make sure students don’t go home hungry?

I am touched to hear about these teachers on a daily basis.

Then there are those this year that worked hard to make sure the homeless didn’t go hungry.

People came out in droves when the Pahrump Arts Council put on a Christmas concert and charged everyone a non-perishable food item to enter. Granted, the music was top-notch, but I was just surprised at the amount of people that came and brought non-perishable food items.

Pahrump Valley High School even got into the giving this year and it wasn’t even a service club that organized this event. It was an organization called “Gear Up” which prepares students for college. These kids collected non-perishable foods at a football game. They had gotten permission from principal Chris Brockman to collect the food for a discount on the ticket price. The food went to feed underprivileged students that normally went hungry at the end of the day. Thanks, Gear Up.

Oh, and please go out of your way to thank the high school student bell ringers from the PVHS Key Club. What a job they do every year. Thanks.

There is a long list of people that I can parade through this column but I have to keep this down because of space. Also the majority of the people that do give all year long, really don’t need any recognition. It would be nice, but they do it because it’s the right thing to do and not for recognition.

So as far as the Christmas spirit is concerned, I am happy to report that it happens in this town all year long and that’s the way it should be. Merry Christmas, Pahrump and a happy New Year!

Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes