Hotty Toddy Affords Opportunity for Lafayette JROTC Cadets
From first kickoff to College Football Playoff, cadets develop skills that extend far beyond the stadium
OXFORD, Miss. – If you have ever purchased a soft drink while sitting in the stands at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, there is a good chance that a Lafayette High School Air Force Junior ROTC cadet sold it to you.
For the last 30 years, the cadets have sold drinks during football games at the University of Mississippi. They will continue that tradition Sat. (Dec. 20) when the Rebels make history hosting their first College Football Playoff game.
"I had never been to an Ole Miss game before I began working these games when I was a freshman," said Brett Woodward, LHS senior and a major. "An Ole Miss game is such an experience; it's so much fun and it teaches."
The cadets learn more than football, or which section of the stadium is the thirstiest. They acquire skills they can take with them beyond the walls of Lafayette High School and Vaught-Hemingway.
The armed exhibition drill team of Lafayette High School Air Force Junior ROTC practices drills for an upcoming competition. The ROTC cadets sell soft drinks at Ole Miss football games to earn money to help pay for competitions, educational travel and school events. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
"Working the Ole Miss games gives you a sense of purpose and teaches you a lot of responsibility and how to lead people," said Cody Quarles, a JROTC alumnus and freshman at Mississippi State University. "Because throughout the years, you'll take on the leadership roles as assigning people to fill up the carts or ice, and it's just small tasks, but it really teaches you a lot of responsibility and leadership."
While their favorite parts of the games are the drone shows during night games and the funny conversations in the student section, the cadets take their jobs seriously.
"Those of us in leadership positions, we're selling drinks like everybody else, but we're also managing everybody, getting them where the biggest crowds are, and to where the drinks are needed," Woodward said.
Cadets sometimes discover they are needed in ways other than selling drinks. In 2022, two cadets realized their assistance was needed when a fan experienced a medical emergency during a game against Auburn.
Casey Ferguson and Dustin Beard, who have since graduated from LHS, assisted the fan to the medical tent in the stadium. They later learned that the fan suffered a stroke.
The cadets did not think anything of their actions. When school officials were notified of the event a few weeks later, Ferguson and Beard said they simply did what they were taught.
Johnathan Perkins, a Lafayette High School junior and JROTC cadet, salutes and leads the armed exhibition team in a practice for an upcoming competition. The team, along with other ROTC members, sell soft drinks at Ole Miss football games to earn money for competitions, educational travel and other events for their organization. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
They also learn the art of conversation from selling drinks.
"It gets me out of my comfort zone, and simple interactions and conversations with people who I already have something in common with (Ole Miss) are great," Woodward said.
Arriving five hours before kickoff, cadets work with one other to ensure the drinks are cold and oftentimes teach younger cadets the ropes.
"It really teaches a lot about teamwork and how to cooperate with people that you oftentimes might not know very well," said Bella Crawford, LHS senior and a major. "It gives you more insight into someone when you're working with them in the environment of Ole Miss games instead of a classroom."
Ole Miss drink sales have also been a way to help cadets overcome obstacles such as Danielle White's anxiety and panic attacks.
"Working the games has actually helped get me out of my comfort zone and be around a lot more people," said White, a senior and captain. "I have been able to work through it, and my anxiety and panic attacks have lessened."
But the immediate return on the cadets' investment of time is opportunity. The money they earn from sales and tips goes toward expenses for the students to experience competitions and educational travel, as well as a little fun.
"All the money that we raise goes back to the cadets in one form of fashion or another," said retired Air Force Maj. Harvey Rice, who serves as the cadets' instructor.
Air Force Junior ROTC cadets practice drills at Lafayette High School. As the cadets prepare for an upcoming competition, they will sell soft drinks at the Ole Miss vs. Tulane match-up in the College Football Playoff. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
"Whether in the form of a yearly educational trip, semester fun night, an awards banquet and summer camp for officers, the money earned offsets the cost and allows students to participate who may not otherwise be able."
This school year alone, the cadets will travel to Monroe, Louisiana; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Nashville for competitions. They will also visit Hot Springs, Arkansas, for educational travel.
But nothing is like Ole Miss and Hotty Toddy.
"Hotty Toddy is camaraderie," Woodward said. "I had someone call out to me across a mall in Louisiana because of an Ole Miss shirt I was wearing.
"I always love saying Hotty Toddy. I've realized just how big a school this is, and it's made me want to go to Ole Miss."
Above all else, Hotty Toddy is a special bond, Crawford said.
"Saying Hotty Toddy makes me feel I'm a part of this family," she said.
"That's what it is. It's a family."
Top: Brett Woodward (center), a senior at Lafayette High School and a major in the school's Air Force Junior ROTC program, practices with the armed exhibition drill team for its upcoming out-of-state competition. The cadets sell concessions at Ole Miss football games and will do so Dec. 20 at the Rebels' first College Football Playoff game. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services