GREEN COVE SPRINGS – When he wasn’t coaching youth sports, Frankie Hall had two things that were very dear to him – playing poker and supporting the Police Athletic League of Clay County.

Members of the Jacksonville Poker Association and The Corner Pocket honored the late coach’s memory with a recent poker and pool tournament at the popular Green Cove Springs diner and pool room, raising $1,235 for Clay PAL.

“We wanted to do something for the family,” tournament coordinators Melvin and Tammy Leonard said. “When Frank died, they asked everyone to donate to Clay PAL instead of delivering flowers to his funeral. We thought this would be something he would really like.”

Hall was inducted into the Jacksonville Poker Hall of Fame two months before his death on July 21, 2024.

Corner Pocket owner Cheri Starnes often hosts benefits. She liked the idea of lending her establishment to a pool and poker tournament to benefit the sheriff’s office’s athletic league, which supports children’s sports programs.

Sheriff Michelle Cook joined a group of fellow deputies to pick up the check and show their appreciation to the JPA and The Corner Pocket.

“I think it's a testament to our program,” Cook said. “You know, throughout the year, we do fundraisers on our own to raise money and provide opportunities for kids in our community to have fun in sports. But to have an organization and a business like The Corner Pocket to do it on their own, I think, is the testament to their belief in what we do with our kids through police athletics.”