Taste of Coker has Record Attendance
by Christian Stryker, SID Coker College
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Hartsville, S.C. - The Coker College Athletic Department and the Cobra Club held the 4th Annual Taste of Coker on September 24 with the largest attendance to date - more than 800 people. The Taste of Coker (sponsored by Henderson’s ACE Hardware, Prudential Segars Real Estate, Markel Insurance, Pepsi, Sign Zone and Ed Saleeby Jr. Attorney at Law) brought together the Hartsville and Coker College communities for a night of food, fun and interactive entertainment.
More than 45 local chefs cooked various dishes for the participants to sample while they listened to music, watched the Coker Cheerleading and Dance teams perform and participated in athletic demonstrations from Coker’s 12 NCAA Division II athletic programs.
“The Taste of Coker is an award-winning event and an NCAA Community Engagement model, and tonight’s turnout showed why,” said Coker Director of Athletics Tim Griggs. “I want to thank all our cooks for the excellent food and our sponsors who help make this possible. The Taste of Coker is a great event for Coker and Hartsville, bringing the community onto our campus to share in some superb food and fellowship with other members of the community and the Coker student-athletes.”
The Taste of Coker has become a model used by the NCAA as an example of a successful community engagement project. The Taste of Coker is a featured event on the NCAA Division II Community Engagement website, www.diicommunity.org.
In addition to the support Coker received from the event, Coker also gave support to the Hartsville community. More than $500 in tickets was donated to local families in need, allowing them to come enjoy the great food and fun. “We felt it was very important to include some of those less fortunate,” said Griggs.
This year the Taste of Coker raised more than $9,500 for the Cobra Club, with most of the money going toward the purchase of team uniforms. The Taste of Coker has become a great success and a tradition on the Coker College campus in the fall of each year.
