Toys for Tots bins will be at the gates for Friday's last regular-season home game

Fans heading to Melissa High School's last regular-season home football game Friday can bring a new toy for Toys for Tots.

The school's chapter of HOSA, a national organization for students interested in health careers, is running the drive at the Cardinals' Nov. 6 home game, when Frisco Liberty visits Coach Kenny Deel Stadium. Collection boxes will sit at the gate entrances, according to Melissa ISD.

The district asks that donations follow a few rules:

Toys must be new and unwrapped.
Gifts should work for a child of any age or gender.
No toy weapons.
No food or other perishable items.

Everything collected will go to children in North Texas, the district said.

Former trustee joins Wall of Honor

Melissa ISD also announced that Dr. Bill Gray, who spent 12 years on the Board of Trustees, is its 2026 Wall of Honor inductee. He was recognized at the Oct. 23 home game.

Gray's time on the board covered a stretch of rapid growth. The district credits him with helping guide construction of North Creek, Willow Wood, Sumeer and Highland elementary schools, East Cardinal Middle School, the Championship Center, the Arena and Coach Kenny Deel Stadium itself, along with the renovation of Cardinal Renaissance Academy.

He also spent 12 years with the Melissa Booster Club, several of them as vice president, and read to students on campus.

The honor is open to people who once attended or worked in Melissa schools and to community members the district says have made a significant mark on its schools or on society.

Sources

melissaisd.org

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