Ad

ToquiNotes: Update and "Thank You" to Community for Stepping up to Aid Clarksburg's Dougie Layfield

By Jeff Toquinto on December 08, 2018 from ToquiNotes via Connect-Bridgeport.com

It was back in June, in this very blog, where I reported that arguably the most popular person in all of Harrison County – or perhaps North Central West Virginia for that matter – was in need of your help. It was at that time that the StudentLife Ministry at Clarksburg Baptist Church was doing a project to facilitate the assistance.
 
The person in question at the time was Doug Layfield. You and I know him as Dougie.
 
Dougie Layfield has been the manager and caretaker for Robert C. Byrd (and prior to that Washington Irving) and their sports programs for decades. He is a 100 percent advocate for the kids, the coaches, the school and the Clarksburg community. The thing is, as I’ve already hinted at above, he’s known well beyond the borders of the city as well.
 
Opposing coaches often greet him like a personal meeting with the Pope. And he greets them with kindness as well.
 
I’ve seen it for years. I saw it when I first started writing in 1986 and he was already an old hand around the sports fields when I was still wet behind the ears. I see it today as well and that’s more than three decades later.
 
There’s no way to determine the amount of time he’s volunteered at RCB and WI. There’s no way to measure the young kids he patted on the back and supported along the way. There’s really no way to completely pay back someone whose mere presence has helped make everyone else around him better for knowing.
 
Yet back in June when I wrote the blog on Dougie, the StudentLife group was attempting to do just that. Under the leadership Allen Hill, the director of StudentLife Ministry at the Clarksburg Baptist Church, they started a process to pay back to one of the kindest souls I know in Dougie Layfield.
 
At that time, Hill let me know the students were working to do needed repairs on Dougie’s home in Clarksburg. There were things needing repaired, needing replaced and some things that were just needed. And to do a lot of those things, money was needed. That’s where many that read this blog came in.
 
Hill said the donations poured in. The help, whether from his own group of contractors, was there, came in. Things got done.
 
“I’d say we’re really close to $12,000 raised and spent on this project,” said Hill. “We’ve assisted on some cleanup around the house, we redid his bedroom, put a new floor in the kitchen, got him a new stove and refrigerator and renovated his bathroom. He also has a new furnace and air conditioning, redid his front porch and did some roofing repairs. We feel pretty good about the condition of his home.”
 
While Hill was certainly proud of what was accomplished, he didn’t call me last week to brag about it. He wanted to do a couple of things. First, he wanted to let those know who donated or assisted in any way to know just what was accomplished over the last half a year. And he wanted to do something else.
 
“I really wanted to say thank you to everyone. This has been rewarding,” said Hill. “It’s always cool to see how a group of people come together behind a project to benefit an individual that’s really kind of an icon in the community. Knowing Dougie, I wasn’t necessarily surprised by the outpouring, but I was definitely pleased by it. It’s not always the case, but I had a feeling people would respond.”
 
When I wrote that blog, I kind of did too. Hill said he’s pretty sure Dougie knows people love him and have helped him out. He said just watching Dougie be around people as the process has played itself out would have been payment enough.
 
“It’s always an interesting conversation when you’re around him and watch people come up and talk to him,” said Hill. “In every way, Dougie is a joy.”
 
The exposure was also priceless for the students involved. Along with getting exposed to Dougie, the students got to do hands-on work to assist.
 
“This was the StudentLife Ministry’s project and they did the work that could be done, but there was a lot where contractors came in and did the work and some where we paid for the work to be done,” said Hill. “Everything was coordinated with everyone having the same goal to get Dougie’s house fixed up. That was our mission.”
 
In the end, Hill said they fulfilled another mission.
 
“In Matthew 25, it says when we do something for the least of these, we’re doing it for Jesus,” Hill said. “Our actions, hopefully, have reflected Christ throughout the process.”
 
They have Allen. You and your youth should be proud of your work. And those who assisted along the way, take a bow as well.
 
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Dougie looking at his new stove with his new refrigerator in the background. He's shown at one of this year's BHS-RCB football games and from last year getting the students wound up at RCB Stadium. Below, he talks to the author of this blog, Jeff Toquinto who drives past Dougie's house on a regular basis, prior to last year's BHS-RCB game. Underneath the editor''s note is a photo of the StudentLife Ministry group. Top photo and one under this were submitted. All other photos inside this blog are from www.benqueenphotography.com.


Connect Bridgeport
© 2024 Connect-Bridgeport.com