The Friday Finish - All A Top 30 - On Time - 8th Graders Honored - $1400 for Chiller Delivery - Birthday Tradition? - Tax Prep Frees Money
- Tim Crawford
- Feb 28
- 6 min read
February 27, 2026
Braxton – All A Archery Top 30 Finish
Saturday in Madisonville felt like one of those moments where everything lines up and you just know you're looking at something that matters. Braxton Asher stood on the line at the All A Classic State Archery Tournament with 275 other kids from across Kentucky, and by the end of the day he was 30th out of 275-top ten percent in the whole state with a score of 282. For a school our size, for our little program, that's the kind of night that will be talked about in the school hallways and on the porch for years.
He was a little nervous at first, like any kid standing where the lights and the weight of a moment meet. But the range had music playing between scoring, and Braxton said that music helped him shake the pressure off and relax. His parents and coaches watched like everyone else in that proud way you do when you see somebody belong where they're standing. It wasn't luck. He belonged there.
The hard work shows. In 2024 Braxton's score was 237 when he first started his NASP Archery journey. Two years later he joined the 280s club. That's hours on the line, tightening that grouping, perfecting his stance, learning how to breathe when it's quiet. The proof is in the pudding - and in this case the pudding is an arrow into the bullseye.
This isn't just a win for Braxton. It's a win for our team, our school, and the whole Red Bird family. Small programs don't often get state pages in a place like this, but when a kid from our hills stands with the best and holds his own, it lifts every single person who helped him get there. Coaches, parents, teammates, the teachers who support him - this is all for them too. Braxton is only in the 8th grade. We've got four more years to watch him grow into this gift, and honestly I'm excited about what is yet to come. He's got what it takes to keep improving. The future is bright for this boy and for Red Bird Archery.
Congratulations, Braxton. You showed up. You represented. You made us proud.
- Kayla Smith, Development Gifts & Media
Grateful for On Time Delivery
Senior commodities recipients served by Red Bird Mission Community Outreach were holding their collective breath this past weekend as snow fell on Sunday night. About 3 inches fell at the Red Bird Mission Queendale Campus overnight but warmer temperatures last week helped the snow to melt. Last month, delivery was postponed for 10 days due to icy roads created by multiple winter snow and ice storms passing the region.
The God’s Pantry Food Bank truck arrived on time midday Monday and staff members from Maintenance, Work Camp, Economic Opportunity and Development pitched in after lunch to help Candace Collins, Women and Children’s Ministries Coordinator, and Ken Smith, Volunteer, pack the 204 boxes for distribution. Candace said that the distribution on Tuesday morning “went great” even though some didn’t come due to slippery road conditions. She also said that regardless of when they got to the Mission to pick up, recipients expressed gratitude that the delivery is on time this month.
Volleyball 8th Graders Honored
Tuesday night, our little gym was loud and alive for 8th Grade Night as the Lady Cardinals took on Middlesboro. Both our A team and B team came out swinging, and our girls left it all on the floor. We took the varsity win on our home court, and that JV set was a nail-biter that had everybody up out of their seats, hollering every point. It was one of those nights where you could feel how much this game means to these girls and this school.
In the middle of all that noise and excitement, we took time to honor three very special 8th graders: Sarah Fee, Peyton Smallwood, and Taylor Parsley. I’ve watched these girls grow up on this court, standing shoulder to shoulder on the front line and the back row, digging, setting, and spiking like they were born to wear Cardinal red. This was a special night because it was one of their last nights playing as 8th graders, and you could feel that in the way they carried themselves. They’re valuable assets to our middle school team, and we’re proud of what they’ve done here, but we’re just as excited to move them on down the line to the high school team and see them shine there too.
Thank you to coaches Kaitlin Brock and Akela Smallwood - these girls think the world of them. They build our girls up with confidence but also hold them accountable, teaching them to show class and stay humble no matter how big the win. Congratulations to our players and coaches on a great night of volleyball on Red Bird’s home court. Our girls played with heart, our crowd showed up big, and our 8th graders walked off that floor knowing they’ve left their mark.
- Kayla Smith, Development Gifts & Media
$1,400 Needed for School Chiller Delivery
Thank you to the donors making significant gifts this week bringing the total given to $8,600 for the March goal of covering the cost of the chiller delivery and installation. That leaves just $1,400 needed to complete payment of the chiller.
Replacement of the failing classroom units for the system will follow, but can be done on a room by room basis as funds become available. The cost for installation and replacement of the room units is now estimated at $10,000 each.
Please help now with an online donation, or mail your check to Red Bird Mission, Inc., 70 Queendale Ctr, Beverly, KY 40913-9607 marked “Cool the School”.
A Birthday Tradition Begins?
Our friend, Richard White, spent his birthday at Red Bird Mission on Wednesday for the second year in a row delivering items donated by friends and other partners in middle Tennessee wanting to respond to needs at Red Bird Mission. Richard’s wife, Deborah, solicits, receives and organizes the donations for packing in the rented U-Haul truck for delivery to Red Bird several times a year when Richard schedules time off from his full time work.
Their church, Southside Baptist Church in Gallatin, Tennessee, has been instrumental in assisting with the thousands of items donated and delivered over the years. Pastor Jayden Allen and Elder Dickey Richard were able to join them Wednesday to visit Red Bird Christian School and meet with Mark Smallwood about a possible Cardinal Singers stop at their church this spring. The group stayed overnight to tour through Community Outreach with Tracy Nolan, Community Outreach Director, on Thursday to get a first-hand look at Red Bird before going home.
Tax Prep Assistance Frees Money for Transportation, Education
Vehicle repairs, a new ride, college tuition and groceries – that’s just some of the things that the AARP Tax-Aide trained volunteer and staff at Red Bird Mission are helping families afford with extra money from tax refunds. Lois, Tracy and Judy team up to pour through documents and talk with community members to make sure every possible deduction and credit is taken before filing 2025 taxes.
Seventy-one (71) people had received assistance through Wednesday. Here are just three examples of the impact tax refunds are making on local households that are already dealing with stressed finances.
A young woman going to college and raising her younger brother was unaware of the Head of Household filing status and education credits which provided thousands of additional credits to make paying for groceries, rent, and tuition more feasible.
A retired couple benefited from the senior deduction for persons 65 and older and will be able to purchase a new vehicle this year.
The refund one working couple received was almost 2 ½ times higher this year due to senior deduction and interest deductions for a new car bought (out of necessity) that Red Bird AARP Tax Aide staff included. They will be using some of the extra refund to pay down debt and take care of some deferred maintenance on their second, older essential vehicle.
Link to subscribe
We know that our Friday Finish email subscribers are sharing their email copy with friends, but one of them gave us an excellent suggestion a couple of weeks ago to include a subscribe link in each edition to encourage folks to get their copy directly. There’s no subscription cost to The Friday Finish because we want the news of all the good things happening at Red Bird Mission to be known around the world. We’ll also start including the easy link in the blog post on our website for those that want to get the first published edition via email before the blog is posted.
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