The October Employee Spotlight shines on Chalonda Dobson, Community Manager, Margaret Robertson, who, out of a desire to provide her sons the absolute best youth football experience, started her own organization that also welcomes and supports participation from Nashville’s inner-city kids.
With teams for ages 6 to 11, the Tennessee Tigers (aka Mobb Squad) Youth Rec and Travel football organization welcomes players from any city. Chalonda says they make a special effort to help young athletes who may not have the means or support to get to practices and game days.
Chalonda and other Tiger parents fill in those gaps providing transportation, obtaining sponsorships and holding fundraisers to cover individual and team expenses. Chalonda runs a full-service concession stand selling hamburgers, hotdogs, soft drinks and more at Tiger practices and games. It’s been so successful, she now runs concessions for Stratford High School, the home base for the Tigers team. All proceeds from the sales go to the team and no one is paid. Everyone who helps, including the fathers who coach, are volunteers.
“Everything we do is for the kids,” she says, “The sport helps them make new friends and build important connections. There are many other benefits. The players build strong bonds with their coach and can talk to them about things that they may not be able to do so at home.”
The organization that Chalonda and the father of her children started is officially only two years old. Three of their four sons play, and the program has skyrocketed to success in wins, rankings and participation. Currently two Tigers travel teams hold impressive rankings in the D1 Nation League: the PeeWee/6U (age 6 and under) is ranked #1 in Tennessee and the 8U (age 8 and under) is #15 in the nation. In any one season, the Tigers may have up to 200 youth playing in five age group divisions coached by a team of more than 20 volunteer coaches.
Chalonda loves that the work she and the other parents do to create great sports experiences for their own children also provides opportunities for youth with fewer resources to play with a top-notch program.
“We do it because we love the game of football and we just love these kids,” she says. “I tell my sons all the time that I care when you win a game, but I don’t care. I just love watching you all play.”
LHP is pleased to shine the spotlight on Chalonda Dobson. We appreciate all that you do each day to make our communities healthier and happier places to live.
Do you know an LHP employee who is making a difference for our communities? Someone who’s dedicated and serving the community after hours? Please send an email to our HR inbox humanresources@lhp.net. Let us know about the individual you believe is deserving of the Employee Spotlight recognition and provide as much detail as possible so we can appropriately highlight your nominee. One employee is selected every two months, and they receive $100 and the well-deserved recognition.
