Published Jan. 21, 2010
By Ben Reynolds, Tri-City Herald staff writer
Columbia Basin College’s annual Follow Your Dreams banquet returns to the Pasco campus tonight.
The fourth annual event has turned into a staple in the college’s athletic department, and in three years it has raised nearly $70,000 for scholarships and facility upgrades.
Associate athletic director and banquet coordinator Jeremy Beard, who started the event in 2007, expects another strong turnout this evening, hoping to match the success of the first three events.
The event will be headlined by former CBC basketball standout Byron Beck.
Beck played in all nine American Basketball Association seasons (ABA) and made two All-Star Game appearances. In 1977, Beck became the first player in Denver Nuggets franchise history to have his number retired.
Along with Beck, the athletic department will induct four new members into its Wall of Fame.
Among those include: J. Dale Gier, a former CBC coach and longtime administrator; Ray Washburn, a former CBC baseball standout and former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher; Edward Maxwell, a former baseball coach and pioneer in helping expand CBC’s athletic department; and Jim Rodgers, a former CBC basketball coach who won an unprecedented three straight NWAACC championships.
The money raised at tonight’s event will partially be used to help finish the new building between the soccer, baseball and softball fields. The multipurpose building, which Beard said he hopes to have open in April, will serve as a concession stand, locker room and coaches’ offices.
Last year, through a silent auction and donations, the event raised about $22,000.
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