Shirt sales to benefit Heart Association

Spoofhounds may bleed green, but Maryville High School is seeing red these days — the color of T-shirts now on sale in the MHS office to raise money for the American Heart Association.

Many students and teachers are planning to wear the shirts on "Red Out Day," a Feb. 1 event designed to kick off a month of awareness about the dangers of heart disease.

The shirts carry a message that is a sad reminder for many students, faculty members and community residents: "And the beat goes on, in memory of Dale Kisker."

Kisker was a popular mathematics teacher and coach at MHS who died of a heart attack last year at age 51.

"Obviously that was a tough time last year for our students and faculty,"

Principal Jason Eggers said. "There has been a lot of support for the family, and I think that making awareness for the American Heart Association helps support them also."

The Kisker family is involved in the remembrance, and extra donations to the Kisker Foundation have allowed the school to purchase an interactive video touch screen that will be dedicated during the "Red Out" event.

Hooked up to a computer server, the screen can display every athletic and activity record set by MHS students over the years.

The screen can also call up information about current activities, along with team and individual photos, schedules and scores.

And there is a page dedicated to Kisker's memory.

Placed just outside the high school office, the screen faces the gymnasium and a wall filled with athletic/activity trophies and mementoes.

As for the shirts, they've been on pre-order since school started, and if you want one, time is running out.

"If you want the back printed, you need to order as soon as possible," Eggers said. "That's why we had the pre-sale, but there is still time."

Shirts cost $12, and can be purchased by calling the high school at (660) 562-3511. Deadline for ordering an imprinted shirt is probably the end of this week.

Students will wear red shirts to school Feb. 1 as well as to the boy's basketball game against Smithville that evening.

Other planned Heart Association-related events include a "pass the bucket" fundraiser, in which several male teachers have volunteered to wear red lipstick for a day.

Students vote on who is to wear lipstick by dropping donations into buckets labeled with the teacher's name.

"That's all still kind of in the planning stage," Eggers said. "There may be more events and ways we can find to raise money."

All proceeds will go directly to the American Heart Association.

"It's great for the school and community to come together for a great cause," Eggers said. "Our student body always does a good job getting together for causes like this."