story and photos by Brittany Ransom
bransom@thecitywire.com
More than 30 teams joined forces on Saturday (Feb. 7) to support the Children's Emergency Shelter at its second annual "The Community Strikes Back" bowling tournament.
Held at Bowling World in Fort Smith, the event was a combined effort of organizers from both CES and local civic group the Commissary Kiwanis Club. Although technically the second annual tournament, it was the first time that CES and Kiwanis members partnered on the event.
"Children’s Emergency Shelter came and spoke to our club in the middle of 2014. I knew the organization existed, but didn’t know much about it," said William Ricks, co-chair and Commissary Kiwanis Club member. "We later had a club meeting at the organization, and at that moment, we decided we wanted to support them in our bowling tournament."
Response for the event was overwhelming.
"Our initial goal was 30 teams. We thought that would be a stretch and we were hoping for between 22-25 teams," said Ricks. "We ended up with 35 teams. I’ve been truly amazed at the amount of community involvement for this event."
Cost was $120 per team, with each member receiving three rounds of play, shoe rental, a tournament t-shirt, and goody bag. Teams were encouraged to come up with creative names. Some incorporated the "Star Wars"-esque theme in their names and even dressed the part, sporting authentic Darth Vader and Storm Trooper costumes.
In addition to bowling, the event featured a silent auction and bean pot. The auction included a number of items ranging from tool sets to restaurant gift certificates. The bean pot gave participants the chance to take home a large cash prize.
"Everyone puts in $2 before the game and the beans go from 0-300. When everyone finishes their game the bean pot is shaken," said Ricks. "A number is drawn out of the pot, and whoever bowled that number gets a percentage of the pot. It’s a fun twist outside of the typical 50/50 pots."
Proceeds from "The Community Strikes Back" support the efforts of the Children's Emergency Shelter, which serves area children who have been removed from their home by the Department of Human Services due to neglect and abuse. Located in Fort Smith, CES houses more than 250 youth annually ranging in age from 6 to 17.
Prizes were awarded to the first, second, and third place teams. Five Star Pest Control, with members Rick Burch, Steve Gordon, Gary Rogers, and Steve Werley, took home the top prize. Second place was the Service Compression team with members Rosane Black, Rick Hamon, Coby Harger, and David Harger. The Kingpins, with players Marcilla Croslin, Mike Croslin, Harvey David, and Monte Littlejohn, won third.
Unique bowling pin trophies were also presented to "I Can't Believe It's Not Gutter" members Jake Falleur, Taylor Fretheim, Hayden Newhart, and Madeline West for the "Most Gutter Balls," and to "Irritable Bowl Syndrome" for "Most Creative Team Name." Team members included Brent Cox, Katie Cox, Nick Rogers, Stephanie Rogers. Jackie White, was the "Highest Scoring Single Game Player," with a one-game score of 299 an overall score of 716.
"We are incredibly grateful to the Commissary Kiwanis Club for putting on this event in support of our organization," said Jack Moffett, CES Executive Director. "It is amazing to see so many from the community come together to take part in the tournament to benefit the Children's Emergency Shelter."
Ricks echoed Moffett's sentiments.
"Our club has been excited the last few months as the bowling tournament has grown bigger than we could have ever imagined," noted Ricks. "The community has really gotten behind the idea and the cause to help out another organization that many people likely didn’t even know existed. That’s what makes this event so special."