MSHSAA championships

Do you remember the sights, the sounds and the emotions of your pinnacle high school moments? Graduation? The catch? The spike? The conference game? The playoffs? The title? Of course you do. Those are the memories that become etched into who you are; every piece of it -- the what, the how, the where.

In November, 16 high school volleyball teams and their communities visited Cape Girardeau and the Show Me Center to compete for MSHSAA state titles, and along the way every one of them took a little piece of Cape Girardeau and that Southeast Missouri charm back home with them. These are memories that these 16 communities will relive for lifetimes -- and some that will undoubtedly be retraced to where the river turns a thousand tales.

Cape Girardeau provided us an outstanding state championship event. The Show Me Center, under the direction of Mr. David Ross and his staff, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, under the director of executive director Chuck Martin and his staff, were each and all invaluable in making the inaugural Cape Girardeau-hosted state championship a success -- and a memorable event for the high school students and their families.

We were very pleased and grateful for how the Cape Girardeau lodging and restaurant industries embraced the championships and worked so hard to serve the schools that were participating. The entire experience for our schools, their communities and the student athletes went about as well as you could hope for. For that we thank you, Cape Girardeau.

CRAIG A. LONG, chief financial officer, and

DAVINE DAVIS, assistant executive director,

Missouri State High School

Activities Association, Columbia, Mo.