‘First Hoop’ celebrates its 18th season with $32,000 in contributions
Accepting First National Bank’s “First Hoop” contribution to Boothbay Region High School are BRHS athletic director Allan Crocker and principal Tricia Campbell, third from left. Making the presentation in early February were Boothbay Harbor branch manager Brenda Blackman, left, and Damariscotta branch commercial loan officer Nicci Doray, right. KEVIN BURNHAM/Boothbay Register
Accepting First National Bank’s “First Hoop” contribution to Boothbay Region High School are BRHS athletic director Allan Crocker and principal Tricia Campbell, third from left. Making the presentation in early February were Boothbay Harbor branch manager Brenda Blackman, left, and Damariscotta branch commercial loan officer Nicci Doray, right. KEVIN BURNHAM/Boothbay Register
As the Maine high school basketball season has come to a close, First National Bank is pleased to report the successful results of their signature athletic programming sponsorship “First Hoop.”
Designed to promote team spirit and fan participation, First Hoop was launched in 2005 by First National Bank. Since its inception, the First Hoop program has awarded $306,750 to participating high school athletic departments in the bank’s market area.
For the 2022-2023 basketball season, 12 high schools participated in the program, including Belfast Area High School, Boothbay Region High School, Brewer High School, Calais High School, Ellsworth High School, George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro, Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor, Oceanside High School in Rockland, Shead High School in Eastport, and Sumner Memorial High School in Sullivan.
Through First Hoop, First National Bank has supported each participating school’s general fund by awarding a cash donation at every home court basketball game.
The donation awarded at each game was dependent on the outcome of a series of events. Fifty dollars was the base donation, automatically awarded at the start of every home varsity game. Fifty dollars was added to the fund if the first hoop of the game was scored by the home team. Finally, fifty dollars was added to the fund if a randomly drawn spectator (also known as “The First Fan”) successfully made a free-throw hoop at halftime.
New for the 2022-2023 season was the Spirit Card program. The Bank created debit cards featuring the participating schools’ mascots and schools could earn $5 per card for each card issued up to an additional $500.
In its 18th season, First Hoop donated a total sum of $32,500 to the 12 high schools’ sports programming funds.
Tony McKim, President and CEO of First National Bank, observed, “Over the past years we have received so many enthusiastic comments about this program from school administrators, employees and fans alike. I want to thank our employees who volunteer their time at these games. Through their effort, First Hoop has made a significant contribution to high school athletics.”
