Stacey Eidson

A young child’s voice eerily asks, “Want to play a game?”

As the child begins to laugh, a door suddenly flies opens and an organ covered with skulls starts to play. A casket in the corner comes alive as a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning strikes.

Welcome to Plantation Blood.

And this is just the first room in a more than 30,000-square-foot haunted house in south Augusta located off Wallie Avenue that is definitely not for the faint of heart.

“We’ve had many, many people pee in their pants because they were so scared,” Mark Jackson, co-owner of Plantation Blood said, laughing. “That happens quite often. In fact, one experience that I won’t forget is, there was a couple and it was their first date. This young guy had on khaki britches and, bless his heart, he messed his khaki britches up on their first date. I don’t know if he ever got a second date or not, but hopefully he did.”

After 10 seasons of operating Plantation Blood, Jackson said he always encourages visitors to take advantage of the onsite Port-O-Lets before entering the haunted house.

“A lot of times, these folks will come right after supper and they will grab some sodas at the concession stand as they wait in line. They don’t think about going to the Port-O-Lets before they go through,” Jackson said, chuckling. “Then, one of our actors jumps out at them and, the next thing they know, they pee on themselves. But it’s all in fun. It’s part of the scare.”

During the fall and early winter months, Jackson is one busy man.

Mark Jackson

As the co-owner of Plantation Blood and part owner of Winterland: Lights of the South & Augusta On Ice in Grovetown, Jackson has definitely earned the nickname of “Mr. Holiday.”

“I really enjoy the seasonal business,” Jackson said. “It’s just so much fun to see everyone smiling and having a good time. It makes you wish everyday life was always like that. No one is in a bad mood, and people are just out enjoying a good time with their friends and family.”

About 10 years ago, a friend approached Jackson, who also owns Southern Nature Landscaping Inc., about developing Plantation Blood.

“Ten seasons ago, we were in a down economy and things started to tremendously slow down with my landscaping company back then,” Jackson said. “So, a buddy of mine came to me and asked, ‘What are you doing with that property you own in south Augusta?’ Because all of this land is zoned commercial.”

His friend had already run a local haunted house for a few years, but he was always forced to rent a spot each season.

“He said, ‘What do you think about you and me teaming up and doing a haunt?’” Jackson said, laughing, “I didn’t know anything about the haunted house business, but he said, ‘You know enough about business. We could really make this happen.’ And he was absolutely right. Even during a down economy, it was overwhelming the number of people who would come out to the haunted house. At the time, people were looking to do something that would make them happy and make them smile.”

Ever since Plantation Blood first opened its doors a decade ago, this popular haunt has continued to grow and attracts thousands of visitors each year.

The haunted house now actually extends to four separate buildings, said Mike Theberge, who has designed and built the majority of Plantation Blood.

“We try to scare you around every corner,” Theberge said, chuckling. “The whole room is animated and comes alive.”

Plantation Blood advertises that this haunted house will “violate your personal space in the extreme,” but it won’t drag anyone away from their friends and family.

“We blow fans on their heads and some of the areas even spit water at them,” Theberge said, as he walked over to a hideous demon-like monster hanging from the wall. “An actor will put his arms through here and grab people as they walk by.”

While it can be scary, it’s all in good fun, Jackson said.

“For me, my favorite area of Plantation Blood is the clown house,” Jackson said. “All of our cast does a great job, but that’s my favorite area because it is really scary. And you wouldn’t believe how many people are scared to death of clowns. I mean, it is a real phobia. People are terrified of clowns.”

Jackson said he always knows Plantation Blood is enjoying a successful night when the air is filled with a combination of laughter and screams.

“Each year, there’s a whole new crop of kids and teens who come to Plantation Blood because some kids may not have been old enough last year, but this year, now their parents might allow them to come,” Jackson said. “For example, my daughter turns 13 this week and she’s never been through the haunt. So, this year, she is having her birthday party here and she’s really looking forward to inviting her friends and going through Plantation Blood for the very first time.”

Visitors come from all over the CSRA and beyond to experience the true terror of Plantation Blood, Jackson said.

“This is not just an attraction for Augusta. We have patrons that come from Beaufort, S.C., Lake Oconee, Greenville, S.C., and a lot of people from Columbia,” Jackson said. “When it comes to haunted houses, people either love them or they don’t. And the people who love haunts, they don’t mind making the drive because, for them, it’s an entire experience with their friends because that’s what they love to do.”

In fact, Jackson said Plantation Blood has a lot of visitors who are simply passing through the area, but happen to see a billboard advertising the haunted house and they decide to check it out.

“We had a group on their way up to Pennsylvania and they stopped in Augusta to visit Planation Blood after they saw our billboard,” he said. “People love our haunt because it’s such a fun environment. If you go to a haunt in some place like Atlanta, it’s a totally different experience. A lot of the haunted houses in Atlanta are hard to get in, hard to get out and you have to pay to park. Here, we have all of our parking on hand.”

Because Plantation Blood attracts so many people from across the region each year, Jackson joked that some local residents question why the haunt is located in south Augusta.

Mike Theberge

“People will ask me all the time, ‘What made you think of putting it in south Augusta?’ I always tell them, ‘Really and truly, this is a perfect area for it,’” Jackson said, pointing to the huge, fenced-in property off Wallie Avenue. “Personally, I absolutely love south Augusta. But some people are actually scared to come to south Augusta, especially if they live in Columbia County. It’s amazing to me. So, I joke with them and say, ‘Hey, there is really nothing scary about visiting a haunted house outside of West Lake. You can venture out a little ways.’”

Ironically, Jackson said having Plantation Blood in south Augusta actually adds to some visitors’ scare for the night.

“Believe it or not, for some people, they are scared on the way here. They are scared when they get here and they don’t feel like they are safe until they are back in their own driveway,” Jackson said, chuckling. “So, the entire night is a complete experience.”

But more than anything, Jackson said he wants visitors to feel like they can enjoy the haunted house without any worries.

“I want them to get a good scare, but I also want people to know that a big part of our haunted experience is safety,” he said. “We invest a lot of money in our fire system.

We have the same type of fire control board system that a hotel would have. We also have a security staff, Richmond County deputies on hand and we have a fire marshal on site every single night. So, when you come to our haunt or bring your children here, they will be safe.”

A few years ago, Plantation Blood even created a “midway area” that is completely surrounded by a fence that separates patrons from the parking area.

“That way, once your kids are in Plantation Blood, they are inside the gate,” Jackson said. “Because a lot of times parents will drop their teens off and go to Applebee’s or T’s Restaurant to eat and come back and pick their kids up. So we keep them in our midway area, away from the parking lot and away from any outsiders who might want to just come hang out. We don’t want people there for the wrong reasons.”

While some teens are dropped off at Plantation Blood, Jackson said he especially loves seeing entire families come and experience the haunt.

“We encourage parents to stay onsite,” he said. “We invite them to go to the midway area if they don’t want to go through the haunt, get yourself a Coke, have a seat and make yourself at home. There is a stage there, and we always have performers doing great acts. I love when the parents stay because, to me, that adds to the safety of their children being on our property.”

Chris Boerner and Mark Jackson, part owners of Winterland Lights of the South & Augusta On Ice – Photo by Joe White

Even before Plantation Blood ends its season, Jackson is already busy preparing for the opening of Winterland: Lights of the South & Augusta On Ice off Louisville Road in Grovetown.

Winterland is the new name for the Christmas attraction because Lights of the South has teamed up with Augusta On Ice owners Chris and Mike Boerner to add an ice skating rink to the festivities.

This year, visitors can marvel at the thousands of holiday lights, enjoy the hay rides, roast marshmallows for S’mores, sip hot chocolate and ice skate all at one location.

“This is my third season with Lights of the South, now Winterland. I oversee all of the activities there, and it’s just amazing,” Jackson said. “The holidays are my favorite time of the year, and there’s always so much going on out there. It truly is a family tradition for a lot of people.”

Many visitors make plans to attend Lights of the South each year because of its quaint atmosphere, he said.

“It’s a good feeling to be able to park out there in a field, get on a tractor and go through the woods and enjoy a huge holiday light display,” Jackson said. “I love that it’s in a rural area. That’s where it needs to be. And there’s like 114 acres out there, but we are only using about 40 acres of it, right now. So, there’s room to expand even more in the future.”

While overseeing both Plantation Blood and Winterland in the fall and winter months can get a little hectic, Jackson said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I absolutely love it, and I am super appreciative,” he said. “I really enjoy being involved in both locations, and I can’t wait for the holidays to roll around each and every year. Right now, it’s all about Halloween, but Christmas is right around the corner. I honestly can’t get enough of it. I love everything about the holidays.”

For more information about Plantation Blood, visit plantationblood.com. To find out about Winterland, check out visitwinterland.com.

When many people drive up Walton Way and pass the enormous historical homes near Augusta University’s Summerville campus, they’ll immediately say that they have entered “The Hill” area.

But, according to some longtime Augustans, if you haven’t turned down Johns Road and met the people living in the homes along streets such as Fitten Street, Dana Avenue, Mount Auburn Street, Collins Alley, Monte Sano Avenue, Gardner Street and Fleming Avenue, you don’t know “the real Hill.”

In fact, many people from the Sand Hills neighborhood believe they are the heart and soul of the Hill.

Free food is served at the Sand Hills Reunion each year.

“Long ago, the Hill used to be sand before they paved the roads. That’s where they got the name from, Sand Hills,” said Sadie McCoy, a longtime resident of the Sand Hills neighborhood. “What folks don’t know is, a lot of the people on the Hill, the black families, owned their own homes and land. They were hard-working people who wanted better for their families.”

Generations of people who grew up in Sand Hills always knew they could depend on their neighbors for kindness and support, McCoy said.

“In our neighborhood, we all went to the same church, we all went to school together, and a lot of times our school teachers went to the same church, so it was always like a big family,” McCoy said. “Everybody knew everybody, and we would always watch out for each other.”

That kind of close-knit neighborhood is hard to find these days, said longtime Sand Hills resident Stephanie Harrison Neal.

“When we were little, people used to think we were rich and we had money because we lived on the Hill,” Neal said. “We were African-American and we lived on the Hill.

From left: Sadie McCoy, Marla Choice and Stephanie Harrison Neal

But what people didn’t realize was, our families were the help. We stayed in the row houses and the smaller houses behind the big houses, so those were the things that people didn’t know.”

“It was tough sometimes because we were being prejudged by where we lived,” she added, “but it brought all of us living in the neighborhood closer together.”

About eight years ago, several women who grew up in Sand Hills decided it was time to celebrate their neighborhood and the place they call home.

“One day, we were sitting around and talking about our great history and we decided that we wanted to celebrate the positive aspects of the Hill,” Neal said. “What inspired us was, we were just talking about all the fun we used to have and how the Hill used to be years ago and we said, ‘We ought to have a Hill reunion. We just need to bring back all the people who went away and get them to come on home and celebrate Sand Hills.’ So that’s what we did.”

Starting in 2010, Sand Hills began throwing its own reunion and inviting the entire community to come celebrate the neighborhood’s past and future.

This year, the reunion will be held at the Sand Hills Community Center and surrounding park at 2540 Wheeler Road on Saturday, Sept. 8, starting at 8 a.m.

Past years at the Sand Hills Reunion

“The first year’s reunion in 2010 wasn’t that big. It started out with a few people, maybe 75 to 100 people,” McCoy said. “Now, we have about 700 people. It’s a huge event. And we talk about it all year long. Everybody can’t wait until this weekend. People now come from out of town because they don’t want to miss it.”

In fact, by Thursday, Sept. 6, some families will already be marking their spaces around the community center to set up their grills and lawn chairs.

“They might be out there on Wednesday,” Neal said, laughing. “They will already be marking their spots. You’ll see stakes already in the ground.”

THE HISTORY OF ‘THE REAL HILL’

Neal, McCoy and sisters Marla and Carla Choice began organizing the reunion in 2010 to honor Sand Hill’s legacy and help erase some of the negative connotations now associated with their neighborhood.

The late Mary Clark of the Sand Hills neighborhood also was one of the original women who helped organize the reunion.

“We wanted people to see that we had a great representation of wonderful folks who lived on the Hill but some have moved away,” Neal said. “We wanted to bring some of those people back home to let Augusta know what we’re all about.”

Past years at the Sand Hills Reunion

The Sand Hills Historic District, which was also once known as Elizabethtown according to the National Park Service, is a historically African-American neighborhood right next to Summerville.

The original name, Elizabethtown, was created by the Summerville neighborhood in the late 1800s in honor of Elizabeth Fleming, who was the daughter of Porter Fleming, a wholesale grocer in Augusta.

The Fleming plantation, called “Westover,” was on the northwest edge of the district, and a number of Summerville residents, including the Cumming and Fleming families and Judge William Watts Montgomery Jr., originally owned the Sand Hills land, according to the National Park Service.

However, soon after the end of the Civil War, African-American residents began settling into the Sand Hills area and many began working for the nearby wealthy homeowners.

There are several historic churches in the neighborhood including Cumming Grove Baptist, built in 1867 and rebuilt in 1915, and the Rock of Ages Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, which was constructed in 1890.

By 1936, the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works funded construction of Weed School for the children in the neighborhood, according to the National Park Service.

But there’s so much more to Sand Hills than what people can read in the history books, Marla Choice said.

“Everyone is very tight here,” Marla Choice said. “And one of the greatest things about our neighborhood is, we had educators who lived here who truly looked out for our best interests. So if there was a problem at school, they would come to your home and talk to your parents. They knew you and your parents on a first-name basis. As well as all of your siblings, too. They taught generations of people in Sand Hills.”

The neighborhood schools and churches were really invested in the future of the children of Sand Hills, Marla Choice said.

“There are four churches on the Hill and most everyone on the Hill are members of one of those four churches,” Marla Choice said. “There’s Cumming Grove Baptist Church, Rock of Ages CME Church on Johns Road, Elim Baptist Church on Mount Auburn Street and then Mount Canaan Missionary Baptist Church. So,

Food is served at a past Sand Hills Reunion.

while some people might think it’s unusual for a neighborhood to have a reunion, we are all just that close. So, it’s very special to us. Very special.”

The Sand Hills reunion is a day when the entire neighborhood gets together to eat, laugh, visit and simply have fun, Neal said.

“We provide a lot of free, fun activities for the kids, like we have bounce houses and one year we had clowns and we have a woman who does face painting,” Neal said. “We also have an ice cream truck. And we feed the community hot dogs and hamburgers. When we first started out, we were feeding them full-course meals, but it’s gotten so big, we now offer free hot dogs and hamburgers.”

McCoy said it has always been extremely important to the organizers of the reunion that no one ever feels left out of the celebration.

“You won’t leave hungry,” McCoy said, laughing. “We tell people to bring their own grills and food, but we still feed a lot of people. We take care of everybody.”

And people don’t have to live in Sand Hills or be a former resident of the neighborhood to come to the reunion, Neal said.

“It is open to anybody. We don’t discriminate,” Neal said. “Everyone is welcome to come.”

A DAY TO CELEBRATE SAND HILLS

Shown is this year’s T-shirt for the Sand Hills Reunion

Not only do the organizers make sure everyone is having fun, but they also try to provide residents with valuable information, Neal said.

“We did a health fair inside the community center last year. We had literature set up about different things about their health,” Neal said. “And we also had a station set up for voter registration. We’ll do that again this year.”

In fact, people should not be surprised if they see a few politicians up for re-election attending the reunion, Neal said.

“A lot of politicians come out to our reunions,” Neal said. “In the past, we’ve had Sheriff Richard Roundtree come out as well as other politicians like Eugene Yu and John Barrow. We’ve also had Tax Commissioner Steven Kendrick, commissioners Marion Williams and Bill Fennoy, Judge Monique Walker and Marshal Ramone Lamkin.”

“We’ve also had Judge Kellie Kenner McIntyre. She’s actually a Hill-billy,” Neal added, joking that’s a humorous nickname given to current or former residents of Sand Hills.

Past years at the Sand Hills Reunion

In fact, there are also several famous “Hill-billies” from Sand Hills, Neal said.

“Will Avery played in the NBA. He’s from the Hill,” Neal said, adding that Avery played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. “And then there’s Ricky Moore.”

Moore played basketball at the University of Connecticut and led the school to its first national championship in 1999. After graduating, Moore played overseas for 11 seasons before becoming an assistant coach at Dartmouth College and eventually UConn.

Another former resident of the Hill is James “Mike” White, who is the head football coach at Benedict College in South Carolina, she said.

“But we are proud of all of our former and current residents of the Hill,” Neal said. “Because we play a big role in this community. A lot of people recognize Sand Hills residents by our uncles and fathers and cousins who were caddies over at the Augusta National.”

There are many former and current caddies of the Augusta National Golf Course who live in Sand Hills, McCoy said.

“My husband caddied for Gary Player,” McCoy said. “And both of my brothers caddied. One of my brothers still is a caddy.”

Past years at the Sand Hills Reunion

Neal agreed that many of the men in Sand Hills are extremely familiar with the grounds of the Augusta National.

“My dad was a caddy too, but he died a month ago,” Neal said. “He was Raymond Floyd’s caddy. So, we have a lot to be proud of in the Hill.”

Anyone attending the reunion on Saturday will clearly see how proud the community is by the large number of people sporting this year’s reunion T-shirt designed by Trex Bolick III of Trexco Associates, Neal said.

“Every year, we have a different color T-shirt. This year the color is camouflage and the front says, ‘The REAL Hill’ and the logo we are using is an image of the old Martins Grocery, which was established in 1888,” Neal said. “On the back, we have the wording, ‘Take a walk down memory lane,’ and we list every street that is on the Hill.”

However, Neal admitted that listing the roads within the Sand Hills neighborhood does stir up some controversy every year.

“There are two parts of the Hill,” Neal said. “Some people get upset when they don’t see their street name on the back of the T-shirt. It’s still the Hill, but we’ve been told that this side of Highland Avenue, on the Surrey Center side, is called ‘the country.’”

Neal couldn’t help but chuckle.

The Sand Hills Reunion offers free food to people who attend.

“That’s what they used to call it,” Neal said. “Anything from the old WifeSaver on down was the country. So we don’t name those streets, and some people don’t like it.”

But there are a lot of people from Sand Hills who have relocated to “the country,” McCoy said.

“Even me. I moved from that side of the Hill over to this side. I live right across from Surrey Center,” McCoy said, laughing. “In fact, I remember way back when they were building Surrey Center. And I remember when Talbots used to be a Winn-Dixie. But even though I live over here now, I still say I’m from the Hill. It’s just not the real Hill.”

The slogan, “The Real Hill,” is simply a way residents can show their pride in the Sand Hills neighborhood, Neal said. “The reason we call it ‘The Real Hill’ is because there’s Glenn Hills High School off of Glenn Hills Drive and some people try to call that area, ‘the hill.’ And I think some people call the area around FOXIE 103 in North Augusta ‘the hill,’ too,” Neal said. “But that’s not the Hill. This is the real Hill. Sand Hills.”

The Sand Hills Reunion

Saturday, Sept. 8, starting at 8 a.m.

Sand Hills Community Center and Park

2540 Wheeler Road

Kickboxing is a combat sport that takes every ounce of an athlete’s strength, determination and energy to compete at the highest level.

No one knows that better than Adam Poore, a three-time World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) U.S. champion and member of Team USA Kickboxing.

“You train extremely hard and you feel your body getting better, little by little,” said 29-year-old Poore, who also goes by the nickname “‘WAR’ Adam Poore.” “It’s really challenging, but the feeling of accomplishment you experience after you win a fight is like no other. All of the work you put into it comes through and finally pays off. And you are standing there in the ring with your hands raised. It’s an incredible feeling.”

Poore hopes to once again experience such success when he competes with WAKO’s Team USA against Team Australia on Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Miller Theater in downtown Augusta.

Adam Poore and Mark Greubel

The Miller will host two kickboxing events in one day, starting with the WAKO Stars & Stripes National Tournament from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. followed by the main kickboxing event, Team USA versus Team Australia, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 25.

For Poore, it will be a unique experience fighting in Augusta because he rarely competes in locations close to home.

“For most of my fights, I have been the athlete who’s from out of town — in fact, I’ve been the athlete who’s been from out of the country,” said Poore, who grew up in Aiken, S.C. “I have fought in Ireland, Canada, Serbia, Budapest, Hungary, Brazil and Argentina. I’ve fought in all these different places, but I’ve never fought in Augusta before, so I can’t wait. It’s going to be awesome.”

Another local kickboxer who is anxious to step into the ring is 54-year-old Zack Day, an International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) professional U.S. champion.

That’s right. At 54, Day says he’s more than ready to take on any competition in the ring.

“After about 30, age is just a number that you say,” Day said, laughing. “It’s how you take care of yourself and how you want to live, that’s all that really matters.”

Both Day and Poore are trainers at Greubel’s Mixed Martial Arts owned by Mark Greubel, the head coach for WAKO’s Team USA Kickboxing.

When you walk into Greubel’s for kickboxing, you immediately realize you’re competing among some of the sport’s best athletes in the country, Day said.

But despite training and fighting with athletes half his age, Day said he can still hold his own.

Zack Day

“Well, I was fighting all of these champions that we have at Greubel’s and even at some of the other schools and I’m handling them just fine, so even though I’m 54, I said, ‘What the heck. Let’s do it again,’” Day said. “This is kind of what I’ve always done. I’ve always been a fighter or a trainer, so it’s not that big of a deal to me. But I know a lot of people are excited to see me back in the ring because they like to watch me fight.”

Mark Greubel, who has trained 35 International Kickboxing Federations champs, has known Day for more than a decade and he has the deepest respect for him.

“He has always kind of been my hero,” Greubel said, smiling. “When you see Zack fight, it is just awe inspiring. He is tough as nails, he never gets tired, and he just never stops.”

The audience at The Miller better be prepared for a high-energy fight when Day enters the ring, Greubel said.

“It doesn’t matter who he fights or how skilled of an athlete are — they are in for a fight,” Greubel said. “They really have to pack a lunch to go fight this guy because it is going to be a long fight. He’s not going to give up.”

Day said he simply practices what he teaches people as a trainer at the gym.

“When some guys come in, looking around the gym, thinking about joining, they’ll say, ‘Yeah, well, I’m 45 now. I’m not sure what all I can do,’” Day said, chuckling. “And I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m 54, and I’m still competing. I have a 62-year-old guy that I train and a 59-year-old guy that I train, and they get in there with our 20-year-old and 30-year-old fighters. So, there is no age limit. That’s all in your head.’”

For those newcomers who have never seen a kickboxing tournament, Day said they are in for mind-blowing experience.

“The high level of competition that you are going to see — even in the daytime tournament, but especially at the night match — will be way above what you would normally see,” Day said. “Some people when they hear kickboxing, they will think of something like a karate competition, but it’s not even close to that kind of stuff. That’s the old, 1980s ‘Karate Kid’ kind of stuff. This is totally different.”

There will be some very intense matches for the audience to watch, Day said.

Adam Poore, right

“Kickboxing is pretty brutal because we stay standing up. We don’t go to the ground, so it is non-stop action,” Day said. “And these are really good, top-level athletes. These are not just your Average Joes that get kind of beat up and run out of gas after one round. These guys will be going hard and lasting the whole time, which is not easy to do.”

Day also is excited about the fact that his 25-year-old son, Cody Day, will be competing in the Stars & Stripes National Tournament during the day.

“It’s pretty cool because I don’t know of many times that a father and son have fought on the same fight chart,” Zack Day said. “So, my son is actually fighting in his first sanctioned fight. Cody is a high-level competitor, but he just so happens to have not gotten into a sanctioned fight before now. He moved to Colorado and recently moved back, and now it’s going to happen.”

As Mark Greubel walked through his gym, going over the list of athletes who will be participating in the Stars & Stripes National Tournament and the main kickboxing event, he said he couldn’t be more proud of all of the local athletes competing.

“I have a very good, consistent track record of producing high-level fighters right here out of Augusta,” Greubel said. “I’m competing with folks in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and all of these other big cities, but we are still kicking everybody’s butt. So I want to put Augusta on the map with kickboxing. I have said that over and over and over for many, many years.”

In fact, Greubel said his goal is to one day bring the WAKO’s world championship kickboxing tournament to Augusta.

“WAKO has 250,000 active members globally from about 90 different countries,” Greubel said. “To give you a sense of how big these tournaments are, the Irish Open — which is a WAKO tournament, but it’s not even the world championship — it has 5,000 active participants. That’s 5,000 athletes coming to town, not including their coaches and family members. You are talking about bringing a small city to your town. So, that’s my goal for Augusta. I want to bring the world championship here.”

The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations is also currently working to try and get kickboxing approved as an

Mark Greubel

official Olympic sport, Greubel said.

“I have been working on this for more than a decade, but I’m hoping that by 2024, kickboxing will be an Olympic sport,” Greubel said. “It’s a massive undertaking. But I’m trying my hardest.”

Meanwhile, Greubel said he loves to see the local athletes grow and fully embrace kickboxing.

“Adam Poore has been training with me for about eight years, and his story is pretty remarkable,” Greubel said. “I always brag about him because he is the quintessential example of, ‘This could be you,’ because Adam used to weigh 250 pounds at 5 foot, 6 inches tall. And now he’s a three-time world champion and getting ready to fight at 140 pounds representing Team USA.”

Poore will be headlining the night fight at the Miller, Greubel said.

“I think Adam is going to put on a fantastic show,” Greubel said. “He is a very dynamic and spectacular kicker, and he has an endless gas tank. He’s really exciting and fun to watch.”

Poore is the first to admit that kickboxing has completely turned around his life.

“When I was 9 years old, I got into Taekwondo,” Poore said, just minutes after finishing a training session at the gym. “At the time, I liked martial arts and I was winning competitions and having fun doing it. But after I got my black belt, I lost interest in it.”

Not long after walking away from martial arts, Poore said he suddenly found himself at 20 years old weighing about 250 pounds.

“I got down on myself one day and finally said, ‘Hey, I’m going to lose this weight and get back into martial arts,’” Poore said. “At that time, I knew I wanted to lose the weight, but I also knew I wanted to fight again, but I didn’t really know where.”

At first, Poore began to train by himself and managed to drop about 50 pounds, but he knew he needed help in order to reach the next level.

“I was looking around for gyms and I saw Greubel’s,” Poore said. “I remember Mark had trained with my school back when I was younger taking Taekwondo. Before he owned Greubel’s, Mark would go around to all the different gyms like the boxing gym to train with his hands and at my Taekwondo school to challenge his legs.”

Poore soon realized that Greubel’s could help build him into a fighter.

“I was like, ‘This place has to be for real because I trained with Mark before and he’s serious,’” Poore said. “So I started out doing kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, MMA and boxing. And I just kind of liked kickboxing because of my background in Taekwondo. I had good kicks, and I just excelled there the most, so that’s what I wanted to do.”

Adam Poore

When Poore enters the ring on Aug. 25, he’ll have Greubel supporting him in his corner, but he’ll also have his Taekwondo coach from Aiken, Yolanda Bennett, there as well.

“Yolanda was a Taekwondo world champion in the 1980s, and she was going to go to the Olympics, but she unfortunately got chickenpox and couldn’t go,” Poore said, adding that Bennett has competed in more than 1,000 national and international tournaments throughout her career. “She’s been an incredible coach, and I just wanted to give her credit for what she did for me. So she will be in the corner with me, too.”

Augusta better be prepared for an exciting day witnessing some of the best kickboxing in this nation right here at the Miller Theater, Poore said.

“My fight is going to be action packed. I guarantee it,” Poore said. “And it’s a competition between countries — Team USA versus Team Australia — and those kinds of fights normally don’t happen in a smaller town like Augusta. It’s normally that these kinds of tournaments happen in big cities. So, this is a real opportunity for Augusta.”

Greubel hopes that the Miller will welcome a large crowd to the kickboxing tournament to cheer on the local athletes and Team USA competing against Team Australia.

To help in that regard, Greubel has decided to allow both active-duty military and veterans into the day-time tournament for free.

“Also, those who have tickets to the main event — the night fight — in the evening, they will receive free admission to the national tournament during the day,” Greubel said. “I just want people to enjoy this tournament because I really love the sport of kickboxing, and I want to see it continue to grow. For me, it’s a real passion. I really want to see the sport take off.”

The idea of having hundreds of local fans cheering him on during a fight at the Miller is a dream come true, Poore said.

Adam Poore, left

“I hope my story inspires people,” Poore said. “I hope it inspires people to accomplish their goals, whatever they are. No matter what it is. Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

WAKO Stars & Stripes National Tournament and the main kickboxing event, Team USA vs. Team Australia

Saturday, Aug. 25

Miller Theater

708 Broad St.

millertheateraugusta.com

706-842-4080

The Stars & Stripes National Tournament is from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tickets are available for $10 and are free for members of the military with a valid ID. The event is general admission.

The Main Kickboxing Event, Team USA vs. Team Australia, opens its doors at 6:30 p.m. Tickets start at $23. Ring-side table seating is available.