Members of the Wellsville Junior Tigers Football League practice at Nicholson Stadium. (Submitted photo)

WELLSVILLE — Garnett and Shauna Scott as the newly elected president and vice-president of the Wellsville Junior Tigers Football League are working to bring to bring back community pride in the Village of Wellsville.

Their effort begins with a community tailgate party and parade sponsored by The Wellsville Junior Tigers, The Orange and Black Football Boosters and Loud and Proud Cheer Boosters on Aug. 31.

“We didn’t grow up here but from what we are told there used to be a season opener, parade and festivities every year and then it kind of just stopped,” Shauna said. “One of our main goals when we took over the league is we want to bring that back. We want to bring back the sense of pride to Wellsville. We want these kids to learn at a young age a love for the sport and a love for Wellsville.

Shauna also said that they want the parade and party to be a great thing for the kids.

The league currently has 52 football players and 47 cheerleaders in grades kindergarten through sixth.

The parade, which begins at 3 p.m., will go from Wellsville Jr. Sr. High School to Nicholson Stadium where food trucks, games, a dunk tank, pie in the face and vendors will be set up to provide a sense of community and everything that comes along with that, Shauna said. She is looking for teachers from the district for the dunk tank and pie in the face.

Space is still available for additional food trucks and vendors who want to participate. Organizers are also interested in anyone who wants to donate their time to help with the event. There is no setup or space rental fees. Many of the vendors participating are making a donation to the league from their profits for the day.

Registration is required for food trucks and vendors and can be done by calling Shauna Scott at 724-888-6040.

The league is also looking for donations to help lower the registration fee for next year to allow more kids to sign up for football and cheerleading.

“There are quite a few kids who can’t afford the registration fees. We do work with Soldier Samaritan but sometimes the $50 or $70 that families need to come up with for the other half of the registration can be hard, so we definitely want to be able to lower registration next year and give those kids who haven’t been able to play the chance to play.”

Any donations would make a difference in helping with the cost of registration and uniforms for the athletes and cheerleaders, Shauna said. The league is in the EOYFL which holds a cheer camp and football camp every year and the league would like to raise the funds to cover the registration fees for players and cheerleaders to attend.

Donations can be made by check mailed to Wellsville Junior Tigers at P.O. Box 523, Wellsville, OH 43968.

The Fraternal Order of Eagles will be hosting a fundraiser which includes dinner and a raffle basket auction with all the proceeds going to the Wellsville Junior Tigers on July 26 from 5 to 9 p.m.