In an effort to re-energize the school’s athletic booster club, Newton County Academy is gearing up for an exciting first-of-its-kind event that promises to bring together baseball fans, community members, and supporters of the school's athletic programs.
On Monday, February 23 at 6 p.m., the NCA Booster Club will host their inaugural "General Baseball First Pitch Dinner" featuring renowned college baseball legend Ron Polk as the guest speaker.
The dinner, set to take place at W.R. Lindsley Gymnasium on the NCA campus in Decatur, marks the first time the booster club has organized an event of this scale. Tickets are priced at $50 each and include a catered meal featuring catfish and chicken strips, complete with hush puppies, fries, coleslaw, dessert, and iced tea. A deadline to purchase tickets has been set for Monday, Feb. 16, in order for the caterer to have an approximate count for food needed.
Polk, widely regarded as the "Father of Southeastern Conference Baseball," is a hall-of-fame coach best known for his long tenure at Mississippi State University, where he led the Bulldogs to multiple College World Series appearances and helped elevate SEC baseball to national prominence. Alongside former Louisiana State University coach Skip Bertman, Polk is credited with transforming the conference into one of the most competitive and successful in college baseball. He has authored influential coaching resources, including “The Baseball Playbook”, and his career includes induction into multiple halls of fame.
In addition to Polk's speaking engagement, copies of Coach Polk’s book will be for sell at the event. Organizers are also working to secure baseball memorabilia from Mississippi major leaguers for a silent auction.
The event is part of a broader effort by the NCA Booster Club to revitalize and expand its role in supporting the school's athletics. According to Booster Club President Kenny Bergeron, he and another booster, Adam Godwin, noticed a decline in enthusiasm for the club to the point that headmaster/coach Steve Nelson had to take over the organization. They then approached Coach Nelson about taking over responsibilities to lighten his load and light a spark in the club.
"Coach Nelson is a fantastic coach and headmaster, but he does so much for the school and has a lot on his plate," said Bergeron. "We wanted to take the burden off of him and get more people involved, raise money, and crank the booster club up again."
Since then, the group has seen significant growth, welcoming ideas from the school community and implementing improvements. One such improvement was purchasing a striping machine and painting the football field before every home game ‘as close to a college football field as we could get it’. The Polk dinner is viewed as a way to generate excitement not only for Newton County Academy, but for the booster club as a whole.
Looking ahead, the club has plans for a crawfish boil fundraiser in April, where patrons can pre-order pounds of crawfish for pickup. Ideas are also in discussion for adding student-run car washes as a side activity that day to further boost funds.
As for the First Pitch Dinner, the gymnasium has seating targeted for up to 400 attendees, and the booster club is optimistic about filling the venue.
"This is an opportunity for people in Newton County who are not only Mississippi State fans, but just baseball fans," Bergeron emphasized. "They throw the word 'legend' around a lot, but this is an actual bona fide coaching legend coming right here to our backyard. If you're a baseball fan, you don't want to pass up this chance to enjoy a good meal and listen to him speak."
For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Bergeron at 337-501-8951 or Adam Godwin at 601-479-1346.
