Schuckman: JWCC showcases family-based culture for entire community to see

QUINCY — Saturday felt like a warm, welcoming hug.

John Wood Community College opened its arms to the community, and Quincy embraced it.

“Yeah, this is neat,” Trail Blazers athletic director Brad Hoyt said as he surveyed the meshing of JWCC athletes and personnel with fans and community members across a large swath of the college’s campus. “This is turning out pretty well.”

It’s exactly what the Blazer Bash was meant to do.

An event organized by the school to introduce prospective students to the on-campus culture, connect with the community and showcase the growth athletically, the Bash created the kind of interactive atmosphere the JWCC administration wanted.

Fans were able to get autographs from any of the JWCC student-athletes across its seven intercollegiate sports, test their skills at axe throwing, explore agricultural equipment and socialize with an array of people.

At the same time, the Trail Blazers played host to three athletic events with the men’s and women’s soccer teams facing Parkland in a Mid-West Athletic Conference doubleheader and the volleyball team squaring off against East Central College.

The fanbase for each event turned out to be large, loud and lively, the way Hoyt hopes it always is.

“This is a little slice of life of what goes on around our campus on any given weekend,” Hoyt said. “We want people to see what we’re doing and how our facilities are improving. This is a way to introduce them to our culture.”

The family vibe is ever present in JWCC’s culture.

Jenson Whiteman, a sophomore shooting guard on the men’s basketball team, followed his older brother, Gentry, to Quincy because he knew he’d be treated right on and off campus.

“Great community, great people, great atmosphere,” Whiteman said. “It’s great being here. I love Quincy and love John Wood. It’s awesome.”

That type of love for JWCC brought Adam Hightower home.

A baseball player at John Wood more than a decade ago, Hightower returned as an assistant coach in 2016 and spent three seasons as an assistant for Greg Wathen. In 2018, after Wathen resigned, Hightower was given the keys to the kingdom so to speak.

Since then, he’s made everything center around family, including having his three young sons spend time at the field and in the dugout.

“There is a lot of pride putting on the logo every day,” Hightower said. “It’s a place I played, and I really want to see great things happen here. As an athletic department as a whole, we’re really pushing to do some great things.”

It shows in quality student-athlete retention rates.

“There are teachers who always have our backs,” said Erica Simmonds, a sophomore middle hitter on the women’s volleyball team. “It’s really the atmosphere that brings us all together. There’s always a friendly face welcoming you.”

A warm embrace awaits you, too.