Athletic Report
October 8, 2001

ENMU, FIREFIGHTERS, LAW ENFORCEMENT RAISE FUNDS FOR DISASTER RELIEF
Homecoming Crowd Donates $1,058.08
PORTALES, NM — Eastern New Mexico University joined local firefighters and law enforcement officers in collecting donations for the New York Firefighters 911 Disaster Relief Fund, during the ENMU Homecoming game at Greyhound Stadium, Oct. 6.

Fans attending the Homecoming game between Eastern New Mexico and Angelo State University donated $1,058.08 to the Firefighters Disaster Relief Fund to assist families of firefighters who died or were injured in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 or the subsequent rescue and recovery efforts.ENMU worked with several organizations to facilitate the fund drive at the Homecoming Game.

In addition to ENMU, other partners in the fund raising effort were the Portales Fire Department, the Portales Police Department and the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office. ENMU was represented by the University Police Department and the Department of Athletics. The donations by ENMU and ASU fans indicated the tremendous support for firefighters and law enforcement officers that has unified the nation in recent weeks.

The efforts of the local community represent just a small portion of the overall relief effort nationwide. “We are proud to have done our part to help with the relief effort,” University Police Chief Ray Chambers said. “We want to thank everyone in the community who donated to this very important cause.”

The Homecoming game provided firefighters, law enforcement officers and Eastern New Mexico personnel an excellent opportunity to collect donations from community members. It was such a good match that the decision to join other organizations in the special fund raising project was an easy one for ENMU.

“We know how important firefighters are to any rescue effort, and they were some of the first people on the scene in New York and Washington. We felt it was our responsibility to show our support for these courageous men and women, who are true heroes for all Americans,” said Mike Maguire, ENMU Director of Athletics. “We’re pleased that our neighbors throughout the Portales community were so willing to contribute to the Firefighters Disaster Relief Fund.”