Elite Athletic Trend sets big gala event

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GREENFIELD — A Hancock County nonprofit organization is bringing a taste of the Big Apple to Greenfield.

Elite Athletic Trend, which focuses on youth development through a variety of programs, is having its first Big Apple Gala at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. The event will be held at Adaggios Banquet Hall and Conference Center in Greenfield and is open to the public.

“This is kind of a whole new thing. We’re going to invite everybody out who has taken part in EAT or supported EAT,” EAT president Junior Aumavae said. “The school districts, all the parents, all the kids … this is a family-friendly event, where families get to bring their young ones. It’s a black-tie event, so they get to dress them all nice and fancy and just enjoy a night celebrating EAT and getting them aware of what’s coming up at EAT.”

The name of the event comes from Aumavae’s time playing for the NFL’s New York Jets. The idea is to give people a taste of New York from the Indianapolis area, while also supporting EAT’s cause and mission of supporting children in the community.

The annual EAT Scholarship will be given out during the gala. That award, a $5,000 scholarship given to a college-bound senior, was part of its own, smaller event the past two years. This year, it will be awarded at the gala.

The Big Apple Award will also be handed out, given to the individual — it could be a supporter, teacher, superintendent, parent, etc. — who has showed the biggest heart toward supporting kids in the community, Aumavae said.

Other awards will also be given out, and the gala will offer food, guest speakers and a silent auction. Auction items include tickets to a Chicago White Sox game, Indianapolis Indians box tickets, signed commemorative NFL footballs, and a collection of rare items provided by EAT’s partners.

As vice president for the NFL Players Association Indiana chapter, Aumavae works with over 150 retired NFL players. Some of them will be in attendance as speakers, talking about their journeys, what led them to sports, how youth can excel through academics and more.

Tickets are $25, and the money raised from ticket sales and silent auction items will go toward more EAT programs.

“The money goes towards youth development programs and the scholarships that we have,” Aumavae said. “Like the EAT Scholarship, which we give out every single year to an individual that kind of emulates who we are as a company, making a big impact in the school district, in the community, in athletic programs, and just represents EAT as a whole.”

It will also go toward other programs, like community events for less-fortunate families. That includes another upcoming event, EAT Day, an event offering free haircuts for youth at the Boys & Girls Clubs in Greenfield. It’ll be 2 to 3 p.m. Nov. 17, with both Gents Barber Shop and Colour’z Hair Art Studio and Barber Shop offering the haircuts. Walmart will provide food.

Those kinds of events wouldn’t be possible without something like the gala bringing in the funding for it.

“Providing those free events for all these youth, providing all these resources come at a cost,” Aumavae said. “Raising these funds at a gala like this is a great opportunity for us to create even more opportunities for these kids to take advantage of.”

Elite Athletic Trend is already working with three of the four county school districts, running its Kids Fit program at Eastern Hancock, Mt. Vernon and Greenfield-Central schools. EAT also is running programs in other area schools, like the Pendleton school system.

The organization has been quickly expanding, and is introducing new programs and events at a regular rate to try to have a positive impact on more youth in the Hancock County and surrounding areas.

Anyone interested in attending the Gala can purchase tickets on the company’s website, eliteathletictrend.com, or by visiting the company’s social media pages.

“The more public we get aware of what we’re doing, it’ll just enhance the opportunity for the youth to have more resources,” Aumavae said.

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What: Big Apple Gala

Where: Addaggios Banquet Hall and Conference Center, Greenfield

When: Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m.

Tickets: $25.

On the web: eliteathletictrend.com

Twitter: @E_Athletictrend

Facebook: @eliteathletictrend

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