Twyon Juan Jenkins, a 14-year-old in the Boys and Girls Club of Syracuse, didn’t confer with his friends, Damar McMullen and Ellis Dudley. But all three were eager for the same interaction.

‘Yo, I wanna see G-Mac’ … ‘Oh, yeah, G-Mac!’ … ‘G-Mac is who I want to see.’ They each had different responses, but the same answer.

Former SU basketball player Gerry McNamara was in the Carrier Dome signing autographs on Thursday night for the first-ever Sport Management Club Charity Sports Auction. And the three teenagers yearned to meet the Orange basketball legend.

Attendees flooded through the Dome’s gates to participate in the auction, which benefited the Boys and Girls Clubs of Syracuse and the Sport Management Club. They wanted to meet McNamara and listen to keynote speaker David Falk, famed sports agent and SU alumnus of the Class of 1972. The Perseverance in Sports award was also presented to Rochester-area high school senior Jason McElwain, an autistic basketball player who drew headlines after leading his team in scoring in his only varsity basketball game.

‘This day is huge for the club,’ said Kate Futrell, administrative specialist for the sport management program. ‘It’s the opportunity to do something for the community, it’s the opportunity to involve the Boys and Girls Club in what we’re doing – it couldn’t be bigger.’

The event has been planned by the Sport Management Club since the beginning of the school year, and everything from the memorabilia to the food was donated.

The event’s organizers were initially planning for around 500 people to attend, but Futrell altered the projection to 2,000 people. Using the Carrier Dome created a spacious atmosphere. It also fit perfectly in the sports-themed auction.

‘We were working several months in advance (to secure the Carrier Dome) because of teams practicing in here, lacrosse games going on, finding a date that there wasn’t some major event going on in the community,’ said Michael Veley, director of the sport management program.

‘Getting the facility was important to us because we expected several hundred people to attend and there aren’t these types of facilities on campus. But we’re a sports program and this is a sports setting; what better place to host us?’

For Jenkins, the event was his first time in the Carrier Dome. McMullen and Dudley had been there before, but were still awed. As the beneficiaries, they emphasized their appreciation for the club’s support and were excited to see the memorabilia.

‘No. 51, he has my last name,’ Jenkins said, pointing to a jersey of SU junior defensive lineman Tony Jenkins.

It was the first time Jenkins, McMullen and Dudley were on the field, although each insisted it won’t be their last. They jumped up and down on the Dome’s turf, confessing they’ll each play there one day.

Perhaps they can turn into Anthony Smith, an All-Big East safety who finished his SU football career in the fall and is currently preparing for the NFL Draft. Smith was also at the event signing autographs. He said he heard about the event through a friend and was excited to help.

‘She told me it was for the Boys and Girls Club, so I said I’d come out and show my face,’ Smith said while signing SU football posters. ‘You always want to give back to the fans because they always come see me play. So I always give back whenever I get the chance.’

He signed an autograph and shared small talk with Jason Gorsky, a high school senior from West Windsor, N.J., who will enroll in SU’s sport management program next year.

He was personally invited to the event from the department and was told about it during his interview around December. He was eager to make the trip up to his parent’s alma mater and his future school for the weekend, and was surprised by the extensive auction.

‘I think it’s really impressive because the program’s not even a year old now, to get this much stuff,’ Gorsky said. ‘I didn’t expect stuff this high quality.’

The memorabilia included autographed items from former SU sports stars Donovan McNabb and Carmelo Anthony, among other iconic athletes such as New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez.

‘When we got back from winter break, we only had about 90 items,’ said Ian McFate, a sophomore and vice president of programs in the club. ‘Now we have over 250 items. We had donor forms and everybody in the club knows somebody, we mailed them out, we mailed them out to specific teams and we had (sports marketer) Brandon Steiner donate a bunch of stuff as well.’

It was that planning which Veley said will be valuable to the club members. Students and community members attended and were able to collect autographs, bid on memorabilia and listen to Falk speak. The Boys and Girls Club was able to collect part of the proceeds, but the Sport Management Club comes out of the event with considerably more experience than the members had when the planning started at the beginning of the school year.

‘From the very first week our students stepped on campus, we’ve tried to promote social responsibility and philanthropy,’ Veley said. ‘No matter where you’re going to work in the industry, whether you’re going to marketing, law, business or whatever, the bottom line is you’re going to need the community to support you. That’s what we instilled our students. If you want the community to support you, you have to support community.’

Published on April 7, 2006 at 12:00 pm