Ann Honeycutt is honored during Swing for Life

Brittany Draughn bunts in Surry  Community College's doubleheader and Swing for Life event Saturday.
by Beth Mechum, Mount Airy News

PILOT MOUNTAIN — It was the perfect afternoon for a softball double header. The intense noon sun warmed the players, but the eventual cloud cover cooled off the Surry Community College and Southeast Community College ballplayers.
Fumes of hamburgers on the grill wafted through the air and a ton of fans were milling about.
But take a closer look, and one realizes it’s not just an ordinary softball Saturday on Palmer Field in Pilot Mountain, a different venue for the Dobson team. Orange ribbons were pinned to fans and taped to fences.
Surry Community’s normal blue-and-white uniforms were missing. In their place, the girls wore orange T-shirts and black pants.
Each Surry Community player has the name Honeycutt where her usual last name would go.
This particular Saturday is the second annual Swing for Life event in memory of Ann Honeycutt, who passed away from leukemia last June.
“We just thought it would be a good idea to continue this every year in her memory,” Surry Community coach Amber Reid said. “She was a great softball fan and a team mom and had always been involved in sports with her daughters.”
Amy Quesinberry was there to watch her granddaughter, Mallorie Vogler, play and to help raise money for the cause.
“I think it’s a wonderful event in memory of Ann, because softball means so much to the Honeycutt family and she knew the game better than everyone,” she said. “Whenever I had a question, I would go ask her and she would always know.”
This year’s proceeds from concession stand sales and a silent auction will go to a scholarship for an incoming Surry Knight softball player.
It’s fitting that Ann’s daughter, Paige Honeycutt, was the first scholarship player for Surry Community this season. Her sister, Brooke, also plays for the team in her second year.
“We were really lucky to be able to have both girls on our team this year, and I’m sure they enjoyed being together,” Reid said. “I’m sure it’s been tough for them, and it’s nice that they have each other here.”
This year’s season was dedicated to Ann Honeycutt.
Brooke said she thinks it’s great that the team is doing that.
“It’s good that everyone supports the cause, and it means a lot that everyone came out in support of my mom,” Brooke said. “It gives us something to work towards, not only for us, but it means a lot to me personally.”
But this wasn’t just a charity event, it was also a crucial game in the Knights’ conference.
The Knights pulled through with a 7-3 win in the first game, and a x-x win in the second.
Reid also wanted to point out that there was a lot of help from the community in organizing the event, especially with food donations from Walmart, Mount Airy Meat Center, Mike Jones Produce, Food Lion and Shelton Vineyards.
“We’ve just had a lot of good help in the community to help keep this going, and the girls have a great time doing it,” Reid said.