Joye Law Firm Sponsors Free Throw Contest

For the fourth year in a row, the Joye Law Firm gave local basketball fans the chance to win over $1,000 while benefitting the North Charleston Rotary Club’s scholarship program and Communities In Schools. The contest, which was held in conjunction with the Piggly Wiggly Roundball Classic held at West Ashley High School in Charleston from December 26 through December 29, 2007, allowed participants to buy raffle tickets to win $50, $200, or $1,000 in a “Shoot Three and Win” basketball challenge. All proceeds from the sale of the contest raffle tickets were contributed to the afore-mentioned scholarships or to the Communities In Schools program, which is designed to help at-risk youth stay in school. The Joye Law Firm paid all of the contest participants’ winnings, with the total pay-out exceeding over $2,000.00 this year.

“The Joye Law Firm’s sponsorship of this half-time contest is a big part of the tournament’s success,” said Tom McTighe, the tournament director. “We’ve always said this tournament is about more than great basketball and having this contest really creates a sense of excitement among the thousands of fans who attend it each year.”

As part of its sponsorship of the contest, the Joye Law Firm guarantees that one participant will win the grand prize of $1,000 during half-time of the tournament’s championship game (which featured a gallant effort by a talented Pinewood Prep team of Summerville against Gonzaga of Washington, D.C. this year). The winner of this year’s grand prize was 13 year-old Cameron Cox of Hanahan, who is pictured at right with Ken Harrell, the firm’s managing partner. While the firm is proud to sponsor this contest yearly, it was especially gratifying this year based on the letter below which was sent to the firm by Cameron’s parents.

Dear Mr. Joye, Mr. Harrell, and firm: My name is Alyse Cox and I am the mother of 13 year-old Cameron Cox. He participated and won the Round Ball halftime game. I thought you may want some background on him and our family. We live in Hanahan and have two sons, Cameron, and Chanler, who is 16. Both of our children have been involved in sports their whole life. Cameron was on the Dixie Youth South Carolina team last year that you also supported at the World Series. My husband retired from the military (Army – South Carolina National Guard) on November 1 after 28 years of service. I taught school but have been home with our children for several years. We are truly your average American family.

Cameron attended the first night of the tournament with a friend/coach who took several students from the Hanahan Middle School basketball team. He bought two raffle tickets and his coach bought one. Cameron’s ticket was called and he proceeded to make all three of his shots and won a two hundred dollar check. As you can imagine, we were shocked and he was thrilled. He informed us that he needed to go back on Saturday for the finals.

Well, on October 3, our oldest son was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma (cancer in his heel) and he is currently in the hospital at MUSC getting his fourth round of chemo. Chanler is a varsity baseball and basketball player at Hanahan. He also played AAU baseball with the Diamond Warriors this summer. He will have 48 weeks of chemo and six weeks of radiation. We wanted to support Cameron, so we made arrangements for some of his friends/teammates from Hanahan to stay with him while we went to watch Cameron.

Cameron was one of around eight contestants to shoot the first free-throw. He made his along with two other contestants. This sent him into the final round. Well, my husband had to leave after the first round to go to the hospital to be with Chanler. So we waited until half-time of the next game. The first man missed all three of his shots. Cameron went next and made all of his. The final contestant made his first and missed his second. We all went wild!

This letter is just to let you know that you brought some “joy” to our family and to thank you for your generosity. Often times in life we are faced with obstacles that we must overcome. We cannot be brought down but must move forward for there will be brighter days ahead. This night was a brighter day! We continue to gain strength from the many blessings that God gives us. Sincerely, Alyse and Stanley Cox

Obviously, the entire staff at Joye Law Firm was touched by Cameron’s family’s story. Reese Joye, the firm’s founding partner, remarked, “It’s stories like these that make you wish you could find a way to give something to others every day. It really makes you count your blessings.”

Ken Harrell echoed these sentiments, stating, “Cameron’s parents’ letter really touched all of us. They are far from an ‘average’ family – I think they are remarkable. We were committed to this tournament for years to come but there’s no way we’d consider not being a part of it in the future after being a part of such a special story.”

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