Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy Hoops!
What does Santa do in his spare time when he's not delivering gifts on a never ending Christmas Eve? He disguises himself as a short, middle aged, stocky Irishman with a gregarious attitude delivering hoops and nets with a few basketballs thrown in throughout the US all year long. His sleigh is a Lincoln Navigator filled to the brim with “four rear mount hoops and nets.” As he pulls away in his “sleigh” from delivering his most recent set of rims and nets, you can hear his infectious, loud, joyous laugh.
His “North Pole” or base of operations is Spokane Washington, the new epicenter of basketball, home of Hoopfest, the largest 3-on-3 tourney in the world, Gonzaga University basketball, etc. It makes perfect sense. His mission is to make sure that all kids growing up have hoops and nets - it's a healthy release, keeps them busy, off the streets and out of trouble.
Who is this guy? It didn't start in Spokane. Having lived in a poor neighborhood in Yakima, Santa, err Ron Willhite*, moved to Walla Walla where he was recruited to be a Chaplin at the local maximum security prison. I believe his first installation was near his apartment where the hoops at a neighborhood basketball court were torn down. He was pretty happy about his new hoops until a short time later he noticed they were ripped down again. It was at that time he decided to double up the hoop rim. I'm sure you've seen them, and he hasn't looked back. He said his work at the prison helped him to identify the poorest neighborhoods in the US.
He first started shipping to Indian reservations throughout the US since many of his friends growing up were Native Americans and it grew from there. A couple years ago I saw Ron who was just sending his second shipment to Hawaii. When he saw my surprised look he said “don't you know that most of the schools in Hawaii are converted military barracks - they really need them.”
A few weeks ago when we crossed paths, I asked Ron how many hoops he had personally delivered, shipped or installed to date. I hadn't seen him for awhile so I guessed about 3000 plus or minus. I stood corrected, it was closer to 6500. I've visited his warehouse stuffed with hoops and nets. Be sure you don't confuse the 4 hole patterns with less common hole patterns.
So you ask, is this his job, who sponsors him, what's he get out of it? Well, he has a day job and occasionally comes by to order a new sign or refurbish an old one, dressed many times in his overalls bearing a huge grin and wonderful sense of humor. He bears most the expense. It's only in the past few years that he's getting help towards the hoop and the nets. I think he gets from one sponsor $1 per hoop. I remember him telling the story when expenses were mounting several years ago he wrote letters to anyone he thought would listen asking for help. No response, then, sometime later a $10,000 check arrived from the Seahawks - he cried.
His stories are rich and even a bit scary. There were the two times when he was replacing hoops in some tough metro areas in California where he was approached by gang members. One time they wanted his tools. He said he couldn't oblige them because if they took his tools he couldn't install the hoops. The other time they wanted his truck. He reasoned at that time that he couldn't let them have it because he couldn't get the rest of the hoops to install. They let the short, stocky Irishman complete his mission. Even last summer while driving by a local park, developed by NFL MVP Mark Rypien's foundation, with nice hoops, he saw local kids throwing tennis balls at the backboard. He immediately stopped and pulled out basketballs for all. “No child who likes to play basketball should be without a basketball” he said.
This last July Ron was making the second to last trip to Montana. After that trip, they would only need one more trip to complete every town in Montana, amazing! On that trip the trailer they were pulling broke an axel. All combined, the cost was $10,150 including gas rooms, food. The equivalent product cost of the hoops was $26,000. Ron's group, Kids At Risk, was $4,100 in the red. He's still hoping to make that last trip before winter.
What a great example of how one person can make a huge difference. At this time of year where we share and count our blessings, this seems an appropriate story.
Ron doesn't seek notoriety, but just wants to continue his work. Make way for the Lincoln Navigator, stuffed with hoops and nets, as Ron makes his way to make deliveries courtside at a neighborhood near you, family or friends. Listen for his joyous laugh - you will have witnessed a true gift!
Happy Hoops!
*If you want to help Ron continue his mission his contact info is:
Kids At Risk
Ron Willhite
PO Box 4005
Spokane, WA 99220
Tags: Hoops Basketball Spokane Instant Sign Factory Kids At Risk Ron Willhite
