Joe Riesselmann hands a $500 check to Westosha Kiwanians Cheryl Paeth and Marge Smelzer to add to the club's 2009 fireworks fund. The club is trying a new way of funding the annual fireworks display in Paddock Lake that it previously funded through a $100 a ticket raffle.
Fireworks over the lake have become a fixture of Paddock Lake Fourth of July celebrations in recent years, thanks to the efforts of the Westosha Kiwanis Club, who has funded the displays.
In the past, the about $10,000 needed has been raised by selling $100 a piece raffle tickets. This year, club leaders decided those tickets might be too expensive, given current economic conditions. But not wanting the Fourth of July skies to go dark, the club is conducting a more grass roots fundraising drive to raise money whatever money it can and use that for as much as a display as possible.
Photo by faustfoundation via morgueFile.com
As an incentive, the club is offering the match donations up to $2,000.
Club members will be approaching local businesses and individual households. To get the ball rolling , Joe Riesselmann, of Holiday Village Laundry, donated $500 to the fund Thursday. He hopes it will encourage others to donate, he said.
Club member Tom Paddock has said the club has secured the donated services of a qualified technician to set-off whatever fireworks the club ultimately purchases.
Village Trustee Terry Burns raised the possibility of the village making a contribution as well at a recent meeting, but no decision was made.
If you would like to make a donation, contact Tom Paddock at 843-4242 or send an email message to terri.l.mueller.ioyg@statefarm.com.
