By Maggie McNinch, Staff Writer

A tradition that was once confined to a basketball team has now been transformed into a school-wide event. The student body, previous and current staff members, multiple local restaurants and stores all worked together to provide Thanksgiving meals to families in Ocracoke.

This project originally started 13 years ago by Athletic Director and boys basketball coach, Chad Williams. At first, one meal was prepared by everyone on the basketball team and then given to one family in Dare County that needed help. It quickly grew over the years into a project where 15 families were helped last year. 

Now, those 15 families have been turned into 550 people due to the involvement of students and staff. 

“We wanted to grow what the basketball team had normally done and we wanted to include as many students and staff as possible,” Principal Chuck Lansing said. “The idea came about when my dad and step-mom were down for the football game against Camden, and we were talking about what Coach Williams and the basketball team had normally done. My mom started saying how we needed to do more, and so that’s the night the conversation started,” he continued. 

Williams was there during the conversation and was immediately on board. 

“The bad thing is that my (players) won’t be as involved as they had been in the past, but the good thing is that it’s for a much bigger cause and will help more people, and it’s become a much more school-wide project versus just the basketball team project,” Williams said.

The goal to raise enough money to feed 550 people is not a small feat and is one that took a lot of intricate planning done by the administrative staff. The plan was to leave Tuesday, Nov. 26 with four vehicles: one truck that keeps the food refrigerated, one that keeps it hot, another High Cotton truck with all the serving materials and a final car carrying some of the teachers who would be helping.

Together they prepared the chicken on smokers overnight, and then served the meals from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 27. 

“The goal we have right now is just to pull it off because it’s a big undertaking, but our administrative staff has been tremendously supportive,” Williams said. 

Along with the administrative staff help, the culinary room has been supporting in their own way — using their cooking talents to whip up many of the side dishes for Ocracoke families. 

Culinary teacher, Lisa Muglia, had two of her classes make traditional Thanksgiving sides, including homemade mac-n-cheese, potato salad and coleslaw. They were assisted by Jared Strawcutter, a High Cotton employee who visited the school on Nov. 25 and 26. 

Muglia and her students have helped Williams and the basketball team in the past and were more than willing to help again. 

“Just seeing the kids learn new things, and of course, anything to help Ocracoke is awesome,” Muglia said when asked what she liked best about it. 

Sophomore Dylan Evans is a culinary student who helped make the mac-n-cheese dish, and who actually traveled to Ocracoke with his family to help distribute the food. Evans and his family are apart of Liberty Christain Fellowship Church, which has provided a Thanksgiving meal every year for the Dare County community, but this year decided to reach out and help Ocracoke instead.

“It was devastating seeing all that people had lost. There were cars crashed on the side of the road and buildings down,” Evans said. 

Another student who had been a big help was sophomore Philip Smith. Smith not only cooked some of the food, but also spent many days sitting with Lansing and others during lunch and collected money from those who donated. 

“When I grew up I didn’t have a lot, so I like to help people now,” Smith said. “I just wanted to make sure people in the school chipped in and helped out.”

While the original goal was to keep it a First Flight-driven initiative, the community was also able to lend a hand. 

“Even without asking the community, a lot of people just showed up and helped,” Lansing said. 

Publix Super Market donated desserts and bags to help pack things, Food Lion donated 30 hams and Barefoot Bernie’s donated 25 turkeys. Without these contributions, not nearly as many people could have been helped.

Many people worked tirelessly to make this event happen, and it was a big help to those in Ocracoke who are still going through difficulties brought on by Hurricane Dorian. 

“I think that a lot of people think that once the news cameras go away everything is fine, but it’s really not and there’s a lot of people still struggling down there,” Williams said. 

Through the combined efforts of First Flight and its’ neighbors on the Outer Banks, the spirit of Thanksgiving was captured in the generosity of one community to another. 

Sophomore Maggie McNinch can be reached at 22mcninchma07@daretolearn.org