Senator John Courson presents a joint S.C. Legislature resolution to Richland Sertoma members Jack Sterne, Sportsarama co–chair; Linda Etheredge, Richland Sertoma president; and Pat Blackwell, Sportsarama co–chair recognizing the 50th anniversary of Sportsarama. The action on the field Saturday at Memorial Stadium will focus on the present: players battling for position and coaches looking to identify what they have.

Off the field, the focus of the 50th Richland Sertoma Sportsarama will be firmly on the past.

Event organizers plan to recognize figures from the event’s past who will be in attendance. A commemorative program will be sold. Organizers hoped to get Bob Fulton, the public address announcer from the Sportsarama’s early years, to record an announcement or two. And, on Aug. 26 at Columbia’s main post office on Assembly Street, a commemorative postmark honoring the event’s 50th anniversary will be offered.

Columbia City Council member Belinda Gergel presents a council resolution to Richland Sertoma members Jack Sterne, Sportsarama co–chair; Linda Etheredge, Richland Sertoma president; and Pat Blackwell, Sportsarama co–chair recognizing the 50th anniversary of Sportsarama. Photos contributed by Steve Etheredge Then the Sertoma Club will take a few months off before members start work on the 51st event.

“I can’t see where we would stop doing this in the near future, but I don’t know if its going to be around for another 50 years,” Sertoma club president Linda Etheredge said. “It’s good for the kids, good for the community, and good for our club. Of course, we’re partners with Richland One, so we need their commitment as well.”

The district, whose football playing high schools have formed the heart of the event since its inception, is ready for the next 50 years.

“One aspect of a school district is the partnerships formed and the efficacy of those partnerships with the community,” said Dr. Carlos Smith, who serves as Richland One’s district athletics director in his role as an assistant to superintendent Dr. Percy A. Mack. “We have had a very good relationship with the Sertoma club, and we wouldn’t want to sever that. I believe this event is their biggest fundraiser. They use that money to help children, and we in the district are all for that.”

After 50 years, the event is, in many ways, on cruise control.

“There was one stretch a while back where it wasn’t as productive, financially,” said 50th anniversary chairman Pat Blackwell, who has been helping to organize the event for 30 years. “Some members started asking why they were out there, thinking that there were better directions to put our efforts. But we realized that this was the oldest continuous sportsarama (in the state) and that it would be a shame for the city to lose one of the little jewels in its crown.”

Two reminders of the value of that jewel came during a recent club luncheon, when members were presented proclamations, in which the state legislature and Columbia city council honored and commended the club for its longtime commitment to the event.

“An event like this wouldn’t have lasted 50 years, if it didn’t have people’s interests,” said Art Baker, the football coach at Eau Claire for the first Sportsarama who plans to attend the 50th anniversary event. “Attendance has gone down, but there will always be a role for an event like this.”

Attendance was the one area of concern raised by both the district and the Sertoma organizers.

“We would like to see more attendance,” Smith said. “But the past—I don’t know how long it has been—school hasn’t been in session yet (when the event is held). We seemed to have a better turnout when schools were in session for about a week before hand.”

Neither the district nor club can do anything to address that problem, since school calendars and football season dates are locked in. Even at current attendance levels, the event remains profitable for both partners, which means even with personnel changes on the sidelines and in the Sertoma Club, the march toward the 100th anniversary will begin.