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August 11, 2012

Casino games a hit at annual MARCaribbean fundraiser

By Keith Gushard Meadville Tribune

MEADVILLE — It’s probably a sure bet casino style games will be back at next year’s annual MARCaribbean fundraiser for the Meadville Area Recreation Complex.

“People have loved it. We’ve had to extend it an extra hour,” a smiling Chris Nuzback said Friday night at the eighth annual event at the community recreation complex. Nuzback is the assistant director of the MARC.

Money from the event goes into the MARC’s capital improvement fund.

This was the first year the food-and-music event included casino-style games such as blackjack, craps, roulette and others.

For each $25 ticket sold, a person received $1,000 in “funny money” at the door to use at the end of the evening toward prizes. Major prizes included a Weber grill, high-definition TV and a $350 gas card. There also was a large pick-a-prize auction.

“It’s helping out a good cause and you get in the spirit of the evening,” Joyce Rust of Cochranton said of this year’s addition of the games.

Rust and her husband, Richard, have attended the annual fundraiser for the past three years.

“We tried the games and it’s been fun. If I had more money, I’d play more,” she said with a laugh.

However, this year’s event also featured a separate large prize — an African safari hunt for two.

Rick Minman of Meadville and John Przepiora of Meadville were the joint winning bidders on the African safari prize, at $3,600.

“It’s a once in a lifetime event,” said Minman who has gone on other hunts such as for elk out West.

“We’ve been friends a long time,” said Przepiora. “We got to talking and we said ‘Let’s go outbid everybody else.’ ”

MARCaribbean helps raise an average of $15,000 to $20,000 per year for capital improvements.

While a final tally won’t be known until next week, this year’s MARCaribbean is expected to pull in about $23,000 to $24,000 or possibly more into the MARC’s capital fund, said Nuzback.

Past capital improvement projects financed with the proceeds from the fundraiser have included replacing dasher boards on the ice rink and putting a new rubberized roof on the complex.

This year’s estimated total of $23,000 to $24,000 is based on an expected $5,000 to $10,000 to be raised from the casino-style fundraiser plus more than $17,000 from the annual race for the Kahuna of MARCaribbean.

Each vote cost $1 with all proceeds also benefiting the MARC.

This year’s Kahuna contestants were Philip and Jeannine Pandolph; Lake Erie Derby Dames roller derby team; Kim Flynn and Pete Mierke; and the MARC summer staff.

The Pandolphs were named the Kahunas, having raised $11,310.

“That’s awesome,” said Philip Pandolph when informed of how much had been raised by all the Kahuna contestants.

“This place is a real community asset and we wanted to do our part,” said Pandolph, who is chief executive officer of Meadville Medical Center.

“This is just a tremendous place,” said Jeannine Pandolph. “We’re glad to participate for a great cause.”



Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.



What is the MARC?

Owned and operated by the Meadville Area Recreational Authority, the Meadville Area Recreation Complex offers an ice arena, aquatic center with swimming and diving pools, a skate park, four-lighted tennis courts, nature trail, sand volleyball courts, picnic shelters and baseball and soccer fields.



 

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