AUGUSTA, GA – Playing hockey for a living looks like fun from the stands but every player knows there are inherent dangers that can end a career in the blink of an eye. Although many fans see the guys on the ice as heroes, they players will tell you they are just doing what they are paid to do.
In the early morning hours of October 23, 2011, Richmond County Sheriff’s Deputy James D. (J.D.) Paugh was doing just what the public would expect a law enforcement official to do. On his way back from working at the Georgia-Carolina State Fair, he came across a car pulled off to the shoulder of Bobby Jones Expressway. Minutes later, Paugh was shot and killed by the driver of the vehicle, leaving a wife and son as well as an entire community in mourning.
On Saturday, December 17th, the Augusta RiverHawks will honor Paugh and at the 
same time help secure his son Brandon’s future when the team and the James Brown Arena host the “J.D. Paugh Memorial Night” when the Mississippi RiverKings come to town.
“As soon as we put the word out that we were planning something like this, people were really, really excited about it. A lot of our current partners – sponsors, volunteers and everything else – really sort of grabbed the bull by the horns with it and sort of ran off with it and almost it took on a life of its own,” RiverHawks assistant general manager Ken Vezina said.
When the season first began, the game on the 17th was scheduled to be “Heroes Night”, a night to honor first responders and military members – the real heroes of our day. When Deputy Paugh was killed, the team decided to turn the focus to him to help both his family and the residents of the CSRA heal.
“We saw with the amount of support that we would have just from the people that were close to us that cared so much and wanted to find a way to help the family. It became pretty clear to us that if a little bit of work on our part could go a long way to benefit the family a great deal,” Vezina said. “The area as a whole was sort of looking for ways to express itself, be it their grief or celebrating his life and they did that with the big funeral procession. I think even now it is clear that people want to visibly demonstrate their support. It became pretty clear to us pretty fast that it was something that maybe we could help out with.”
The RiverHawks staff came up with several ways to help raise money for young Brandon Paugh’s college fund. Right off the top, all tickets for the game have been specially priced at $12 (excluding glass seats) and the team pledged a $2 donation from every ticket sold for the contest. Secondly, they designed a special logo that was placed on souvenir pucks that fans can purchase with proceeds going to the fund. Team owners Bob and Diane Kerzner have also pledged an additional $1,000 for each game RiverHawks home game that reaches an attendance of 3131 or more through the end of the season. The number 31 represents Paugh’s badge number.
The final way that the team will be making a financial donation will be through a specialty jersey that will be auctioned after the contest. The jerseys will sport a patch with “T-31” on it, again a reference to Paugh’s badge. Proceeds from the auction will go to the college fund.
“We wanted it to be something where certainly it is celebratory (of his life), to call attention to everything he provided the community but also something that while not entirely somber is obviously respectful,” Vezina said of the jerseys. “Its simplicity provides that.”
In addition to the team’s donation, Global Spectrum, the operators of the James Brown Arena and the Bell Auditorium, pledged an additional $1 from each ticket sold along with $1 from each RiverHawks mug sold at the building’s concession stands. General Manager Monty Jones Jr. said that like many of his colleagues, Paugh was an important part of the arena family.
“Most of the public safety (staff) that is here in the community are also a part of our staff as well. J.D. was a part of our staff as well, working some of the specials (events) down here, whether it be hockey or concerts or family shows,” he said.
Vezina said that the team was very appreciative of Global Spectrum’s generosity and their help in getting the word out about the game.
“They (Global Spectrum) have done a lot of work to certainly engrain themselves in this community as well. I think Monty really said it well in the press conference. They employ a lot of the police officers, a lot of folks that knew J.D. really well and even J.D. himself. He worked for Global Spectrum at the arena and at the Bell. It was an easy call for us to make to say hey this is what we’re planning and we wanted to see if you wanted to contribute something as well,” he said. “Their director of marketing, Katie Wells, she’s done an awful lot of work for us in helping us get the word out, setting up different arrangements with her contacts outside of sports. They’ve definitely been a huge help to us.”
Vezina said that advance sales of tickets for the game have been higher than normal. He added that many businesses in the CSRA have contacted the team about special sponsorships for the game and bought blocks of tickets to support the Paugh family.
“We’ve designed a few packages that include tickets and then $2 dollars from each ticket that are included in the package is going to go to the fund so it keeps that thing going along,” he said. “We’ve seen companies be it purchasing ten tickets or purchasing 50 tickets really step up. We’re pretty confident it will be our biggest crowd yet. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver said the outpouring of support for the Paugh family has been inspiring but that it what he has come to expect from the residents of the area.
“So often I tell people I wish everybody could see the community that I see in Augusta on a daily basis. I see a community that comes together, that takes care of each other, that really focuses on service above self. I have never seen that reflected as much as I did when this community came together in the wake of J.D.’s passing. I share with people time and again that really I have never been more proud to serve this community as mayor than I was that week to see the affection and support for all of our law enforcement officers and J.D. as well,” Copenhaver said. “I want to take this opportunity to thank the RiverHawks and Global Spectrum for doing this but I always share with people that I like to take every opportunity possible and would encourage the entire community to do so to thank our law enforcement personnel on a daily basis. You guys are out there serving this community, laying your lives on the line like J.D. did.”
For more information on tickets or corporate packages for the game, call the RiverHawks’ office at (706) 993-2645. Tickets can also be purchased at the James Brown Arena box office or online at www.georgialinatix.com .
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.