SAXONBURG— For the Paul family, 10 years of waiting was worth it.

That's how long John, Gordon and Jeff Paul have been running a memorial golf tournament for their late brother, Chester H. "Hank"Paul III, who died of throat cancer at age 49 in 1994.

Proceeds from the golf tournaments have been going toward construction of two new basketball courts near the Saxonburg fourth- and fifth-grade school.

The completed courts were dedicated during a brief ceremony before the 11th annual Hank Paul Memorial golf tournament last Monday morning.

Hank Paul was a starting guard on Knoch High School's District 9 basketball championship teams of 1962 and 1963. All four brothers played in the annual Knoch High Basketball Boosters golf tournament for years.

"That tournament had been discontinued for a few years, and, a year after Hank died, we wanted to do something for the community to honor his memory,"John Paul said.

"I talked to Coach (Les)Shoop to get the go-ahead to replace the boosters golf tournament with an event honoring Hank's name. He was all for it."

The Paul brothers decided to rebuild the old courts by the grade school because of Hank's passion for basketball.

"He loved the game. He was into all sports," Gordon Paul said.

Along with money raised annually through the golf tournament, which attracted nearly 80 golfers each year at Conley's Resort, the Pauls received $25,000 in state funding through the efforts of state senators Jane Claire Orie and Donald White.

They also received a $5,000 donation from NexTier Bank and a $6,000 donation from the Saxonburg Parent-Teacher Organization.

Overall cost of building the basketball courts was $60,000.

"Those courts are up because of the efforts and generosity of a lot of people,"John Paul said. "They are two full-length, regulation basketball courts, and they are beautiful.

"The playing surface alone cost $8,000. Once the kids saw the finished product last week, they were out there playing right away. There were 5-on-5 games going on Saturday."

John Paul said there had been no recreation facility in town for youngsters to play basketball on before these courts were built.

"There aren't really any playgrounds in Saxonburg," he said. "These courts were needed. The kids have flocked to it. There's already games going on there all the time."

The courts have been named the Chester H. "Hank"Paul Memorial Basketball Courts, and a pedestal is being presented to set a stone in that states the courts were dedicated in Hank's name by his friends and family.

Hank Paul's children, incoming Knoch freshman Chet and incoming junior Nancy, took the first shots on the court following the dedication ceremony.

Chet Paul plays football for the Knights while his sister is on the girls soccer team.

"I'm sure Hank would be very touched and appreciative of all this,"Gordon Paul said. "We're proud of his legacy."

Now that the courts are completed and on school property, the South Butler School District has agreed to maintain them.

The Pauls still have $16,000 in remaining funds and will continue to hold the annual golf tournament. Their next goal is to install lights on the courts.

That project will cost about $30,000.

"We're raising about $2,000 per year with the golf tournament, so we'll need additional funding help to get lights up,"John Paul said. "Otherwise, we're looking at another eight-year wait and we don't want to do that.

"Our goal is to eventually have a kids summer league on those courts, along with a nighttime adult league. We want everyone in the community to enjoy it.

"This was a community project designed for community use — and to keep Hank's name alive forever," he added.