Funding to Support Milan Hoops Video Project
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe organization that runs the Milan '54 Hoosiers Museum in Ripley County has secured thousands of dollars to fund a video project. The grant from the Indianapolis-based Efroymson Family Fund will support production of segments with each surviving member of the iconic basketball team and a presentation that will serve as an introduction for museum visitors. July 14, 2014
News Release
MILAN, Ind. (July 9, 2014) – Milan 54, Inc. is pleased to announce the awarding of a $12,000 grant from the Efroymson Family Fund for the historic film project at the new Milan '54 Hoosiers Museum in Milan, Indiana. The film project will include for the first time ever individual interviews from all 11 surviving players from the 1954 Milan High School Boys Basketball State Championship Team. The new audio/video film presentations will play in front of each player's locker on demand in three separate 30-second presentations providing each player's unique experiences about growing up in Milan, and of course basketball. In addition, a 15-20 minute film presentation will be produced that will play in the museum's media room. Visitors will be able to view the new film sitting in school desks from the old Milan High School as the film “sets the table” for each person's visit to the museum.
“This is a project that we have wanted to do for a long time,” said Marianne Wiggers, president of Milan 54, Inc. “We want to get all this history recorded while all of these players are still with us. We would like to thank the Efroymson Family Fund for making these historically significant film projects possible. Future generations of historians and basketball enthusiasts will now always be able to hear first- hand from the players who did what was considered impossible.”
About the Efroymson Family Fund:
The Efroymson Fund is a donor-advised fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation and continues a long legacy of charitable commitments by the Efroymson family. The fund was established in 1998 by Dan and Lori Efroymson to improve the quality of life for individuals and promote the vitality of communities. Since its inception, the fund has awarded more than $74 million in grants to non-profit organizations in central Indiana and beyond.
About the Milan '54 Hoosiers Museum:
Before Indiana adopted the high school class basketball tournament system, teams from all sizes of schools competed against each other for that one coveted title – Indiana State Basketball Champions. In 1954 the reign of the large Indiana High Schools ended when the team from Milan High School in Milan, Indiana (with an enrollment of just 161) defeated the Muncie Central team (with an enrollment of 1,662). A shot taken in the last moments brought the score to Milan 32-Muncie 30. Basketball enthusiasts from all over the United States cheered for the Milan Indians Boys Basketball team and sent messages of congratulations. Thousands of fans gathered in the small town of Milan to watch as a huge parade brought the team back to town.
In 1986, the small towns accomplishment was made into the movie “Hoosiers” and the fan base for the Milan Indians team grew even more. Today people come from all over the United States and many countries of the world to see the Milan '54 Hoosiers Museum and re-live the “David vs. Goliath” event by walking in the footsteps of the young men who did what was thought to be impossible.
The museum is packed with items from the 1954 Indiana State Basketball Championship and is home to the “Hoosiers Collection” which is the largest known collection of movie props and uniforms from the movie “Hoosiers.” In 2001 “Hoosiers” was placed into the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress as being “culturally or aesthetically significant” to American Culture. The museum has recently completed an extensive expansion and is located in the historic former State Bank of Milan Building in downtown Milan, Indiana. For more information visit www.Milan54.org
Source: The Milan '54 Hoosiers Museum