On Saturday, the Fort Morgan Field House hosted the annual Elks Hoop Shoot Free Throw Contest, organized by the Fort Morgan Elks Lodge 1143. This free-throw shooting contest has been a tradition for over 50 years, and 37 Morgan County boys and girls signed up for the event.

Shawn Boll, a Loyal Knight for the Fort Morgan Lodge, said, "This is an annual competition in which 1,800 Elks lodges across the country participate. The tradition has been in place for over 50 years." Boll said that the competition starts at the local level and then moves to the district, state, regional, and national levels.

Each year, the six Hoop Shoot National Champions have their names listed with their pictures in a new digital exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Two of the Frank Hise National Champions also attend the Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony, where Hall of Fame inductees are honored.

The Elks Hoop Shoot sponsors the Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award, an annual presentation by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. This award recognizes high school coaches who have dedicated their lives to the betterment of student-athletes. Named after high school basketball coach Morgan Wootten, the award honors coaches who embody control, discipline, respect for their players, and a love of the game.

Wootten believed in the importance of learning from both victories and losses. "It's often been said that you learn more from losing than you do from winning," he said. "I think, if you're wise, you learn from both. That's the beauty of coaching. You get to touch lives; you get to make a difference."

For more information about the Fort Morgan Elks Lodge 1143, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FortMorganElks

For more information about the Hoop Shoot program and the Wootten Award, visit elks.org/HoopShoot.