RICHMOND, Va. -- This week, thousands of athletes across the East Coast will begin evaluations to join the prestigious cheerleading family of Fame All-Stars.
Now home to the Cheerleading World Champions, the Super Seniors, Fame is entering its 18th season with program director Mike Blaylock and gym owner Phil Logan.
“You changed everything in Virginia,” CBS 6’s Bree Sison told the pair when she surprised them as part of the CBS 6 Gives series with the help of our friends at Virginia Credit Union. “I look at my best friend’s daughter Ellison and think, ‘Phil and Fame did that. A 7-year-old could not tumble like that before you guys.”
Bree knows firsthand how far all-star cheerleading has come with a program like Fame All-Stars in the area. She was the captain of the first squad Phil Logan coached 20 years ago.
“I watched the Beyond the Roster story you did and it occurred to me that as an adult, we rarely get an opportunity to go back and thank the people who made a difference in our lives as kids,” said Bree, before she presented the staff with a $200 Visa gift card to use for a coaches dinner or team bonding event.
“It’s really because we have great people like you who made it what it is,” said Logan. “Then the next group of people made us look good and then the next group.”
Parents of the athletes Logan and Blaylock coach tell CBS 6 they are grateful for the extra lengths the gym went to in order to give their kids a sense of normalcy during the pandemic.
“My daughter absolutely loves cheer and her team,” said Arielle Cummins, whose daughter Ellison is returning for her fifth season with Fame. “They truly went above and beyond during the pandemic to keep the kids involved and have a place they could go to be kids and do the things they love.”
Last summer, Fame set-up tents and tumble tracks in the gym parking lot to ensure safe social distancing while athletes continued to build their skills.
The teams are also known for philanthropic efforts to give back to other groups, such as the Families of the Wounded Fund.
CBS 6 Gives is made possible by Virginia Credit Union. Have an idea about who we should surprise next,
click here to email our team.
