By Tricia Pursell
BEAVER SPRINGS — On Aug. 9, 2005, in the summer before seventh grade, Courtney Shirey and Brielle Snyder remember going to soccer practice and then enjoying the evening at the Middleburg carnival with two of their close friends, Ashley Bender and Erika Mattern.
That was the last night they would spend together. At 10 p.m., Ashley and Erika were killed in an automobile accident caused by a drunken driver. They were 12.
Shirey and Snyder, now juniors at Midd-West High School, have taken advantage of a graduation project to organize and coordinate a Chinese auction and silent auction, to be held Saturday to benefit a foundation formed in memory of the two girls. It is called the Ashley and Erika Foundation.
They have been planning the event to honor their friends for the past two months.
“They would do the same for me,” Shirey said.
Through the foundation, since its founding in 2006, more than $18,000 has been distributed through scholarships for Midd-West seniors and gifts to Midd-West area residents and families in need. Information is available at www.ashleyanderika.com.
Shirey and Snyder knew the girls since they were 5, when they began playing soccer together.
“They were really good soccer players, and they had a lot of friends,” Shirey said. She also had attended church with them. She was shocked when she heard about their tragic deaths, she said.
“It was kind of hard to believe,” Snyder added.
Shirey and Snyder coordinated the Chinese and silent auctions to help people in need and to keep Ashley’s and Erika’s memories alive.
“They affected many people’s lives,” Snyder said.
The teenagers, with the help of their mothers, Diane Reynolds and Kathy Snyder, and Shirey’s grandmother, Connie Armstrong, have received 160 donations from Valley businesses, including a GPS, an electric heater, fire extinguisher, crafts, toys and gift certificates. Tickets for the Chinese auction will be $2 for 25. Items for the silent auction are a wedding dress donated by Bridals By J, a painting signed by David Seebold, donated by Remember When, and a gift certificate for 100 square feet of stone veneer, donated by United Stone Veneer.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in the Middlecreek Area Community Center, 1 Elm St., Beaver Springs. The center was one of Ashley’s and Erika’s favorite places to spend time.
Those participating in the auction do not have to be present to win.
