As the Maine high school basketball season has come to a close, First National Bank is pleased to report the successful results of their signature athletic programming sponsorship “First Hoop.”
Designed to promote team spirit and fan participation, First Hoop was launched in 2005 by First National Bank. Since its inception, the First Hoop program has awarded $306,750 to participating high school athletic departments in the bank’s market area. For the 2022-23 basketball season, 12 high schools participated, including Belfast Area High School, Boothbay Region High School, Brewer High School, Calais High School, Ellsworth High School, George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro, Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor, Oceanside High School in Rockland, Shead High School in Eastport, and Sumner Memorial High School in Sullivan.
Through First Hoop, First National Bank has supported each participating school’s general fund by awarding a cash donation at every home court basketball game. The donation awarded at each game was dependent on the outcome of a series of events. Fifty dollars was the base donation, automatically awarded at the start of every home varsity game. Fifty dollars was added to the fund if the first hoop of the game was scored by the home team. Finally, $50 was added to the fund if a randomly drawn spectator (also known as “The First Fan”) successfully made a free throw hoop at half-time.
New for the 2022-23 season was the Spirit Card program. The Bank created debit cards featuring the participating schools’ mascots and schools could earn $5 per card for each card issued up to an additional $500.
In its 18th season, First Hoop donated a total sum of $32,500 to the 12 high schools’ sports programming funds. Tony McKim, president and CEO of First National Bank, observed, “Over the past years we have received so many enthusiastic comments about this program from school administrators, employees and fans alike. I want to thank our employees who volunteer their time at these games. Through their effort, First Hoop has made a significant contribution to high school athletics.”
First National Bank, a subsidiary of The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: FNLC) is an independent community bank with 18 offices in Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock, Washington and Penobscot counties. For more information about First National Bank, please call 1-800-564-3195 or visit www.thefirst.com.
