Fayette County Special Olympic athletes continued an annual tradition Monday of selling the first tickets for the annual Dwight Turner Memorial Spaghetti dinner to the Fayette County Commissioners.
The Fayette County Board of Developmental Disabilities will host the dinner at the Commission on Aging on March 24. Each year, since the event’s inception, Tim Stewart, Community First Coordinator/Special Olympics Coordinator for the Fayette County Board of DD, said they have made a point to sell the first tickets to the commissioners.
“We always sell the first tickets for the spaghetti dinner to the commissioners,” Stewart said. “They have always been a big supporter of the dinner and they have always attended the event. We always sell them the first ticket to continue our great relationship with the commissioners and give them the opportunity to support us as they have always done. It is also kind of our kick-off party, more or less, to open the ticket sales up for the community.”
Dwight Turner was well-known within the community and was a great supporter of Fayette County Special Olympics up until the time of his passing. This year’s dinner will include spaghetti and meatballs, salad, bread stick, dessert and a drink. There will also be a silent auction/raffle at the dinner (you do not need to be present to win) and a 50/50 drawing. Tickets are now available with advance tickets available for $5. Tickets will be available at the door and are $6. Children 12 and under can eat for $3.
“All proceeds from this event will benefit Fayette County Special Olympics,” Stewart said. “The spaghetti dinner and fundraiser basketball game are our two biggest fundraisers of the year. It allows us to have such a great Special Olympics program in Fayette County and allows us to purchase uniforms, equipment for bowling, softball, flag football, track, cheerleading and basketball. The funds cover any travel or tournament expenses we may have. With roughly 80 people participating in Special Olympics in Fayette County, we depend on these fundraisers to continue allowing us to offer these sports to athletes that have an intellectual or developmental disability.”
Tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting the Fayette County Board of DD at 1330 Robinson Road.
Additionally, the Fayette County Special Olympics fundraising games will return on March 21. This year’s fundraiser night will again feature two games. The first is the Fayette County Dragons JV team taking on “Team HAZMAT,”consisting of some local Hazmat first responders from Fayette County, starting at 5:30 p.m. The second game will be the varsity Dragons taking on the Guns and Hoses (local first responders) at roughly 7:30 p.m.
“In between the games, there will be a special performance from Zayne Harshaw,” Stewart said. “Zayne was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. He is a self-taught artist and will put on a show you do not want to miss. The game takes place at the Washington High School and is only $3 per person to get in. All proceeds from the game will benefit Special Olympics.”
On the night of the fundraiser game, organizers will also be honoring Cheryl Binegar, a co-worker with the Fayette County Board of DD who was diagnosed with lung cancer recently.
“We are honoring her with a t-shirt sale that we have going on until March 2nd,” Stewart said. “Our goal is to fill the stands with not only fans of our Special Olympics program, but to also show our support to Cheryl during this battle. We encourage everyone to purchase a shirt before the March 2nd deadline and wear it the night of the fundraiser game.”
If interested in purchasing a shirt, contact Stewart at 740-335-7453 ext. 218 or stop in at the Fayette County Board of DD, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Proceeds of the t-shirt sale will benefit the Binegar family.
Tim Stewart, Community First Coordinator/Special Olympics Coordinator for the Fayette County Board of DD, provided the information for the article.
