May 16, 2012
For more information on how to support the Atlanta Hope Lodge | Follow Tech basketball on Twitter
By Matt Winkeljohn
Sting Daily
The wife of a college basketball coach can be intense, which should surprise nobody. Some might be shocked, however, at just how busy Brian Gregory’s spouse has been in the offseason.
Yvette and the Georgia Tech men’s coach Gregory are serving as co-chairs for BasketBALL, a gala this Saturday at the Buckhead Ritz-Carlton designed to raise money for the America Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, near Emory University.
They’ve been swamped at times, but it’s a good busy they’ve been. The Hope Lodge is bona-fide in many ways.
“It’s something we’re really, really excited about doing,” Gregory said before complimenting his wife’s work in particular. “We wanted our first charity to really impact the Atlanta community. All proceeds go to the Hope Lodge. Hope provides free housing, meals, and more for people who cannot afford it for as long as their treatment goes on.
“It also provides the same for care-givers for those folks. The way I looked at it when I went through there was . . . one of the key things for me in coaching is to eliminate distractions for players so they can focus on the challenge in front of them. That’s exactly what the Hope Lodge does; it eliminates distractions.”
Many basketball coaches around the country have different ways in the off-season of continuing to work with the ACS, which is most obvious during the season in the Coaches vs. Cancer push.
“The folks don’t have to worry about how they’re going to pay, what their travel plans are going to be, how are we going to feel when they’re done, or whether there is going to be anyone to look after them. It allows those guests, which is what we call them, to focus solely on the challenge at hand, and that is beating cancer.
“Very few people, if any, have not been touched by that disease. It’s going to be a great event. If folks can’t go to the Gala, they can donate. For me the evening is going to be tremendous, but it’s really what the evening is all about. The money we raise that evening doesn’t just change people’s lives, it helps save lives.”
Doors to BasketBALL will open at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. For more information, check here.
