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Chili Open looks to score with annual event
Photo
TAKING AIM: Hank Conrad, Poland Rotary president, left; Mary Ann Martinko, chairwoman of Poland Rotary's Chili Open Auction; Carl Nielsen, who plays defense for the Mahoning Valley Phantoms; and Larry Warren, Poland Rotary member, brave the cold while they gear up for Saturday's Chili Open, a "golf" tournament where participants try to hit hockey pucks into a goal manned by a Phantoms player.
By Denise Dick
The event benefits 16 area charities.
POLAND — Want to take a shot at a Mahoning Valley Phantoms hockey player?
You have to brave the snow and the elements.
Poland Rotary’s 23rd Annual Chili Open Classic is set for Saturday at Bedford Trails Golf Course, Lowellville.
Activities kick off at 8 a.m. Friday with an auction at the Georgetown, South Avenue, Boardman. Doors for the auction open at 6 p.m.
“We’ve raised $1.2 million in 22 years for charity,” said Hank Conrad, Poland Rotary president.
Participants drive bright orange hockey pucks across the snow using hockey sticks, aiming for a goal while a Phantoms player tries to deflect them.
Charities include the American Heart Association, Boys and Girls Club, CASA, Easter Seals, Help Hotline, Hospice of the Valley, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Millcreek Children’s Center, Miracles Unlimited, Mission of Love, Poland Interfaith Pantry, Potential Development Center, Rich Center, Second Harvest Food Bank, Sojourner House and the YWCA.
Admission to the golf tournament is $25 per person or $100 for a foursome and includes nine holes of golf, food, beverages and prizes. Reservations may be made by calling (330) 540-1647 and more information is available at www.polandrotary.org.
In the late 1980s, Rotary members wanted to start a signature fundraiser, said member Larry Warren. A couple of members traveled to a winter tournament near Akron and proposed the idea to the membership.
“In 1987, we purchased the rights from an organization in Akron,” Warren said.
The first year, Rotarians staged the event on the grounds of the New Middletown Sportsman’s Club using indoor/outdoor carpeting and spare hole markers.
It’s grown to a popular annual event, organizers say. Most participants return from year to year, Conrad said.
The auction was added the second year, Warren said.
Mary Ann Martinko, auction chairwoman, said that the Phantoms will participate Saturday in a chili-eating contest beginning at noon. Wendy’s has donated the chili, she said.
Corporate sponsors include Nemenz IGA, Schwebel’s, Pepsi, Packer Thomas and Allied Waste, but more than 100 area businesses and industries support it.
The Chili Open event has been franchised for events in East Liverpool, Strongsville, Akron, North Canton and as far away as Salt Lake City, Utah, and Buffalo, N.Y.
The event has been recognized as one of the 100 best fundraisers and been featured in Rotary International’s magazine.
“We’ve given talks about the Chili Open to other Rotary clubs and other organizations that have as many as 500 members and they’ve said, ‘Oh, we don’t have the resources to do that,’” Warren said.
The Poland Rotary boasts only 34 members but relies on help from many groups, companies and individuals to pull the event off year after year, he said.
“I think that’s a real testament to the Mahoning Valley,” Warren said.
denise_dick@vindy.com