June 30, 2022- The Boys & Girls Club of Decatur hosted an alumni basketball game at Eisenhower High School to celebrate 50 years of service.
The players consisted of former BGC members, and teams were split into a Grey team and a Black team.
Some of the players were notable DPS 61 basketball players, including Armon Brummett (MacArthur), Amir Brummett (MacArthur), Lexy Carson (MacArthur), Robert Calmese (Eisenhower), and Drew Washington (Eisenhower).
The Black team was victorious, as the team scored 137 points to the Grey team’s 129 points. The leading scorers were Amir Brummett with 27 points for the Grey team and Armon Brummett with 29 points for the Black team.
Calmese is a former BGC member, and graduated from Eisenhower in 2011. He also was a staff member for two years. Currently, he is a barber, but he still makes time for the Boys & Girls Club because it was a life changing experience and he wants today’s children to have a similar experience.
“It gives you a chance to see a lot of things and be a part of a lot of things that some kids don’t have an opportunity to do,” Calmese said. “So when you open their eyes of seeing that, they become more cooperative with organized things. Most kids don’t pay attention to the little things; they are always focused on the big things. As a kid there, it was fun. You got to meet new people, got to take field trips, they make sure your grades are up to par before you do anything, so it makes you want to put forth an effort to work in school and inside the BGC. So, it was a great experience to me, and most of the kids my age. It was just life changing, really.”
Calmese is hopeful the event will be an annual event and will continue to be successful.
“Each year it will get better and better,” Calmese said. “We are gonna try to keep fighting to bring the kids into it and out of the community and into the BGC organization.”
Below is the full interview with Robert Calmese.
The photo gallery is on the NowDecatur Facebook page.
