For the love of football and dogs
Play it forward
MCKEE
“I love football,” says John Sutton.
It came as no surprise, then, that he started coaching when son Jackson started playing football four years ago. John wanted to help kids learn the fundamentals—and the life lessons associated with the game.
Teamwork tops that list. “Football is a team sport,” John says. “It’s not a one-person sport.”
He’s seen that lesson played out daily in his job as a Jackson Purchase Energy lineworker for 17 years: “At work, you have to trust the guy next to you. If you don’t, you’re not going to succeed.”
Last year, John and other parents held a fundraiser for the Tornados. How did they raise money? They played football, of course— a full-contact game with adults from ages 18 through 50 participating.
John Sutton, Jackson Purchase Energy lineworker, coaches his son Jackson’s football team. Photo: Tonya Sutton 
Inter-County Energy’s Pat Forster with Mugwort Jack and examples of paintings she sells to raise money for animal rescues and shelters. Photo: Dale Forster
Pups and paints
DANVILLE
Mugwort Jack’s Watercolors to the Rescue.
That’s the name of a Facebook page for Pat Forster, who rescues dogs and paints their portraits to raise money for other rescues. The service records supervisor for Inter-County Energy Cooperative has rescued about 30 dogs over the years.
“I created the website to earn money for animal rescues and shelters,” Pat says. “I named it after my pit bull Mugwort Jack, since he rescued me from a low time in my life.”
Mugwort is an herb used in folk medicine. Jack honors the memory of Pat’s mother, Jacqueline.
“My husband and I have had a lot of rescued animals come into our lives, so rescuing and fostering means a lot to us,” Pat says.
“Dogs are pure. Pure souls. They love you no matter how bad your day is, and are always glad to see you.”
