HODGDON, Maine — Although basketball season is long over, fans of the sport were treated to a special contest April 28 as Hodgdon seniors took on a squad of staff members that also included a member of the Harlem Legends.
Jason “White Shadow” Gibbons appeared at the school on Friday, April 28, to speak with students in assemblies. Gibbons uses showtime basketball to draw students in and has a great message about persevering, setting and meeting goals, and pushing distractions aside.
That night, Gibbons and a team of staff members played a fun game of basketball, which raised about $750 for the JMG program, National Honor Society and After School programs at Hodgdon.
“I had not known about Jason Gibbons before this year,” explained Jason Little, event organizer. “It came about through discussion between Brad Fredericks (a Hodgdon alum) and I. He had been discussing Hodgdon with Jason and the two of them came up with [the idea] of hosting an event.”
In addition to the basketball game, Gibbons put on three assemblies at Hodgdon Middle-High School and Mill Pond Elementary School. He also appeared at Greater Houlton Christian Academy.
“It was truly a great event that resulted in Jason connecting with many of our students and it left an impression on them and him,” Little said. “One of the comments presented by Jason during the high school assembly was, ‘You all just met me and gave me undivided attention with all eyes on me.’”
Little added that Gibbons referenced the amount of respect given by the student body at Hodgdon and noted he “wished he could bottle it up to take to other schools.”
