The Second Annual East Nashville Relay for Life was held Friday, May 1, 2009 from 6 pm to 6 am at the First Church of the Nazarene in lieu of LP Field due to rainy weather. This change of venue in no way dampened our spirits - as we did win the "Best Team Spirit" award.

Our goal for this year's Relay was to raise $10,000, and for the second year in a row we exceeded our goal. We raised over $16,000 and were awarded the "Top Fundraising Team" and Stan Hardaway was named the "Top Individual Fundraiser" for the second year. This year we raised funds via an on-line silent auction, answering HARDAWAY trivia questions, playing bingo, turning the hallways into a 9-hole golf course, weekly putting contests, hosting a pasta luncheon, enjoying an ice cream social (with homemade ice cream), and having a bake sale the night of the event.

The success of our involvement takes many and our sincere thanks goes out to everyone who helped the HARDAWAY Hard Hats contribute to the success of the 2009 East Nashville Relay for Life. We would like to recognize the following businesses and individuals for their donations: Allure Salon, Andy Brunson, Blair Hutchens, Cathy Hardaway, Cheryl Stewart, Connie Ford, Cumberland Builders, Diamond Equipment Inc., Doug Jamian, Equipment Finders, Eugenia Wetzel, HARDAWAY Construction, Kay Goodrum, Kroger - East Nashville, L.H. Hardaway, Jr., Linda Guinn, Magnolia Spa, NAPA Auto Parts, Nortrax, Olive Garden of Rivergate, Ora Kay Thedford, Outdoor Outfitters, Pampered Paws, Pizza Real, Ram Corporation, Inc., Rexel / Braid Electric, Rita & Jeff Mongold, RSC Equipment Rental, Samick Guitars / Ron Hutchens, Sharon Hackett, Sheraton Music City, Sherri DeRoos, Stan Hardaway, Susan Hutchens, Two Rivers Ford, Weiss Liquors, and Whirlpool Corporation.

2009 East Nashville Relay for Life - $16,000

DIAMOND Sponsor
Top Fundraising Team
Top Individual Fundraiser
Team Recruiting The Most Survivors

2008 East Nashville Relay for Life - $17,750

GOLD Sponsor
Top Fundraising Team
Top Individual Fundraiser

For more information visit:
http://www.relayforlife.org/eastnashville

HARDAWAY participated in the "Bowl for kids' Sake" DMG Bowl-O-Rama 2009 event to help raise funds for the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization (BBBS). With the help of our sponsors, HARDAWAY raised $5,070 for BBBS, receiving the award of Top Fundraising Team. As a bonus for being the Top Fundraising Team, HARDAWAY was able to "Pick a Titan" to bowl with. Kevin Dyson, a former Tennessee Titans player (89-03) donated his time to help BBBS and bowled with our team. HARDAWAY was also the Grand Champions of the night for the event. The DMG Bowl-O-Rama event raised a total of $40,396 for BBBS, which allows 40 children to be placed with a Big Brother or Big Sister. A sincere thank you to all who supported the HARDAWAY team! For more information visit: http://www.mentorakid.org

The 2009-2010 school year begins our 25th year as partners with Jere Baxter Middle School. As an annual tradition, HARDAWAY employees welcome students back to school by greeting them as they arrive on the buses and present them with a Hardaway "pencil". Other activities we've sponsored:

August - Staff breakfast
September - Incentives for library reading program
October - Dinner two evenings for the staff as they held parent / teacher conferences.
December - Prizes for the 1st semester drawing for the S.O.A.R. program. Students earned "Baxter Bucks" as recognition for good behavior, showing responsibility, being on time and respecting self, others and property.

HARDAWAY's employees have participated in the Nashville Heart Walk for the past several years. Those who participated not only walked, but also raised money for the cause as well. In October 2005 HARDAWAY's Heart Walk Committee decided to have an annual chili cook-off lunch to raise money for this event. On April 17, 2008, HARDAWAY lost one of its best lead men, Jerry D. Moore (J.D.) to a heart attack. J.D. was as dedicated as they come and touched countless lives during his life. J.D. was without question, a "Top-Notch" employee, therefore, we changed the name of our annual chili cook-off in January 2009 to the J.D. Moore Annual Chili Cook-off to benefit The American Heart Association. The chili cook-off has been a huge success! This year we raised over $600 and hope to have increased participation in the years to come. To date, HARDAWAY has raised over $22,500 for the American Heart Association.

One of the greatest gifts in saving a life is by donating blood, and for the past two years HARDAWAY employees did just that.

June 30, 2009 - 14 donors (2 first time donors)

On February 7, 2009 HARDAWAY provided a forklift and operator to unload over 28,000 boxes of cookies for the Bellevue Service unit of the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee. This is HARDAWAY's 10th year helping the Bellevue Service unit of the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee.

HARDAWAY has partnered financially with LifeWay Christian Resources in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ around the world through LifeWay's "A Defining Moment" campaign. For more information visit:
http://www.adefiningmoment.net

HARDAWAY donated time and personnel to build a deck for the Single Mothers Network of East Nashville.

"Even though your time was donated we were still treated as a real customer whose opinion mattered" - Kimberly Tucker, Founder and President, I.C. White Stone Foundation. For more information visit:
http://www.icwstone.org