Gene & Valerie Gore, Jeff Haynes, and Joe Green are all recipients of the 2009 “Big Red” Service Award.  This award is given annually by the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee for outstanding service and leadership to the Bellevue Redmen Athletic Program.

Gene & Val Gore, Jeff Haynes, and Joe Green, representing the Gridiron Foundation and Solid Foundations, Inc., have spearheaded, organized, overseen, and constructed the new Redmen Athletic Field House which sits behind Bellevue High School.  The project was started in April of 2008 and took roughly one year to complete.  The building is home to all male and female Redmen coaches, athletes, and students for weight lifting and conditioning training for their respective sports.  It also includes a training room, storage room, coaches office, coaches meeting room, coaches locker area, washer and dryer equipment room, boys and girls restrooms, boys shower room, and boys locker room with 72 wooden lockers.  It also has a second deck meeting room with a kitchenette that over looks BAF Stadium.  In all, it is a million dollar project completed for half the price because of the efforts and sacrifices given by Gene & Val Gore, Jeff Haynes, and Joe Green.  Their leadership has given our students a priceless facility that will be used for years to come. 

Gene & Val Gore live in Bellevue with their children.  They are the owners of Solid Foundation, Inc.  They have donated countless hours of their time, workers time, and materials to this project.  They have saved the project many thousands of dollars through their generosity and knowledge of construction.  This project could not have been done without their support and efforts, which are greatly appreciated.

Jeff Haynes and Joe Green serve as leaders of the Gridiron Foundation.  They have put their heart and soul into providing a state of the art athletic facility for our students.  They have worked in partnership with the Bellevue Athletic Boosters to fund this project over a ten year period.  All of the construction and materials for this facility have come from donations through their organizations.  They have spent many hours planning and organizing fundraising opportunities and obtaining donations from the Bellevue community for this fine facility. 

The Gridiron Foundation has provided many projects which have enhanced the athletic programs for our students over the last five years.  In addition to the new field house, the Gridiron Foundation has also completed the flag pole project in BAF Stadium, installed the sign project behind the visitors bleachers, painted all of the light standards at BAF Stadium, and installed spirit signs on all of the light standards along the high school boulevard.  They have raised over $180,000 in their existence, providing many state of the art upgrades to our facilities and benefits to our student athletes that the athletic department could not possibly afford to give without their help. 

Gene & Val Gore, Jeff Haynes and Joe Green, representing the Gridiron Foundation, have our deepest appreciation for the efforts and time that they have given and plan to give in the future to benefit our students.  The Bellevue City Schools and Bellevue Redmen Athletic Department look forward to continuing this positive partnership.