Moped to Memphis raises money for St. Jude
CLOVER, SC - On February 1, Clover High School held its annual Moped to Memphis womanless beauty pageant at the CSD Auditorium. CHS teacher Frank Falls founded the organization to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Falls rides a moped to the St. Jude hospital in Memphis each year to deliver the funds raised through various community events.
The pageant brought the community together to enjoy a fun-filled night. Eleven contestants dressed up and showed off a variety of skills. CHS senior Joshua Hamer won this year’s Miss Moped to Memphis with a “Guess That Tune” harmonica performance. Falls described the pageant, “It’s not intended to make fun of anybody. It’s just ridiculous comedy for a good cause.”
Falls started Moped to Memphis in 2008 for a senior class fundraiser. Falls reported, “I figured they needed to do something community service related. We nominated charities, and the next day, everybody voted for St. Jude. And we raised $3,200.” Moped to Memphis has since raised over 1 million dollars and has evolved into a community initiative. Aside from the pageant, funds are raised through other events such as auctions, a pre-k trikea-thon, t-shirt sales, adult casino nights, and a golf tournament.
School board member Tracy Stiff inspired the idea for the pageant. Mr. Falls reported, “Her mother used to volunteer on the club rescue squad, and that’s how they would raise money. So Tracy came to me and asked if that would be something that we would like to do. She’s been pretty much over the pageant every year."
