BOONE, N.C. — Darren Green appreciates the domino effect, especially given the fact that his grandfather, G.C., opened a High Country hardware store more than 70 years ago.
The 25-year-old Green, a 2014 graduate of Appalachian State, recently contributed a gift to A Mountaineer Impact, A Drive for Excellence.
With the help of Green and others, the growth of App State Athletics plays a role in the growth of the university as a whole. The growth of the university is good for Boone and surrounding areas of the High Country.
Areas like West Jefferson, where Green was raised and his late grandfather's store, W.J. Hardware, is owned and still operated by Green's grandmother Wilda, his father, Calvin, and his brother, Derek.
"The more App grows, the more it helps the whole community," Green said. "With my grandfather opening a hardware store in 1947, the more people that are up around the High Country, it helps the local businesses and helps them grow and keeps them going."
Green's grandfather attended what is now known as Appalachian State University for two years before spending a year in the Navy and then opening the hardware store. Decades later, Green grew up making the short drive from West Jefferson to Boone and attending App State basketball camps.
Bouncing back and forth between Varsity Gym and Broome-Kirk Gym, he still remembers receiving a small Appalachian basketball for being on a team that won its camp tournament.
"I grew up around the area and just fell in love with the school," Green said.
Green graduated from Ashe County High School in 2010, attended Appalachian State from 2010-2014 and earned a biology degree from the university.
Now a resident of High Point, Green said he missed only one home game at Kidd Brewer Stadium during the careers of quarterback
Taylor Lamb and the other seniors who played at App State for the last four years. He also traveled to games at Clemson, Tennessee and Georgia, as well as two of the program's three bowl wins in Alabama.
Green is a season-ticket holder for basketball, and he plans to buy season tickets for the 2018 football season.
Doug Gillin, App State's Director of Athletics, has set a goal of having 7,500 season-ticket holders for 2018.
"I think it's great to give back and watch App continue to grow," Green said. "The memories and friends I have up there, you can't put a price on that."
A Mountaineer Impact, A Drive For Excellence is a vision of Appalachian State Athletics to provide resources for identified funding needs of more than $60 million. Comprehensive in nature, the initiative is designed to impact every Mountaineer student-athlete and sports program. A Mountaineer Impact, A Drive for Excellence will construct and enhance athletic facilities, provide critical scholarship support and affect the overall athletic experience for student-athletes and fans while strengthening the campus and community. To make a gift in support of A Mountaineer Impact today, contact
Suzette Mauney, Assistant Athletic Director for Development at
828-262-3108 or visit
www.appstatesports.com.
