Faribault Chamber ambassadors joined Rotary members last month to celebrate pull tabs benefitting Rotary at Boxers Bar. Pictured are Eric Craig, Samantha Pirkl, Bonnie Cervenka, Faribault Chamber’s Kelly Nygaard, Jess Amundson, Dick Huston, Brenda DeMars, Boxers owner Dawn Walker, Troy Dunn, Chad Koepke, Damian Pineda, David Connelly and Todd Sesker. (Suzanne Rook/southernminn.com) Eric Craig never could have predicted that stopping into Boxers for a bit of lunch could have a positive impact on the lives of local kids. Long story short: Craig and Boxers owner Dawn Walker got to talking that day and the conversation turned to pull tabs and e-pull tabs, with Walker saying she was interested in inviting another local nonprofit to provide the forms of charitable gambling that benefit the state and local organizations. Host business also benefit from rent charged the sponsoring organization. Craig, treasurer of the Rotary Club of Faribault, knew the club was looking for additional revenue sources to funds its scholarships and service projects that benefit local youth, and Walker’s suggestion felt like the perfect fit. “We wanted to find ways that we can help the community event more,” said Rotary past president Brenda DeMars, who’s serving as Rotary’s charitable gambling manager. “It all fell together,” she said, adding that Walker “had an idea and was running with it and we got lucky.” Walker, who’s been offering pull tabs in her bar for about 26 years, was already building a new space specifically for pull tabs at her downtown bar, which she expects will draw more attention (and hopefully more revenue) to the pull tabs. Setting a nonprofit up as a charitable gambling recipient is no easy task. In addition to ordering supplies, machines and other incidentals, the club needed to set up a separate organization — Faribault Area Youth Services — specifically for gambling income and expenses, and install another president and board just for it. Once DeMars was selected as gambling manager and Chad Koepke was named president of Faribault Area Youth Services, the two needed to study state laws and guidelines and earn at least 85% on timed online tests to prove they understood the rules. While how much the club will earn is unknown, any funds will likely help boost either the number of scholarships and/or the amount available to students, and benefit its Strive program at Bethlehem Academy, Faribault High School and South Central College. Some of the money may also go to help restart the club’s efforts with the Rotary Exchange program for outgoing and incoming students. Club members learned Wednesday that Rotary district leaders have cleared a path for the program to relaunch following a break due to COVID. “We don’t know yet what it’s going to generate. We have high hopes,” said DeMars. “I don’t know what else we could be doing,” she said of supporting the community’s youth. “But I know there’s more to be done.” Reach Regional Managing Editor Suzanne Rook at 507-333-3134. ©Copyright 2021 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved. (Reprinted with permission) |
