Optimist Trivia Contest Winners Select Recipients

Every July members of the Optimist Club of Gettysburg gather at Wayne and Sue Hill’s home for one of the most popular Optimist meetings of the year. The Gettysburg Optimist Club Family Night is an opportunity for club members and their families to gather and enjoy some really good food, warm family fellowship and the traditional Optimist Family Trivia Contest.  Prior to the conclusion of the evenings festivities, attendees are divided into groups to compete against one another for the right to select a deserving recipient for a charitable contribution from the Club.

This year the winning team of Bill Pyron, Katie Barako, Mark and Beverly Grazulewicz and Don and Ginny Davis demonstrated their remarkable knowledge of the subject matter and earned the opportunity to select a deserving charitable organization for a $1000.00 contribution from the Optimist Club of Gettysburg.  The winning contestants selected the Dayton R. Biesecker Special Needs Fund and the Blake E. Biesecker Special Needs Fund for this years contribution.

Dayton and Blake are the seven year old, twin sons of Tom and Nikki Biesecker of Biglerville, who last year were both diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening disease known as  Muscular Dystrophy with the Duchenne type.  It is the most aggressive type of MD and affects 1 in 3,600 boys.  The disease targets the muscular-skeletal system and over time will require expensive ongoing treatment, therapy and specially designed mobility equipment.  The Special Needs Funds were created to provide the family with much needed assistance in meeting the costs of two, specially designed wheel chairs.

At the Clubs regular membership meeting held on August 1, the members voted unanimously to deposit $500.00 in each of the accounts maintained by Adams County National Bank.

While the Optimist Club generally does not contribute to individuals, but rather to organizations, the membership decided that given the family nature of our event, the Special Needs Funds cause was more than appropriate.   The Gettysburg Optimist Club raises more than $40,000 each year in support of 19 youth related programs throughout the Gettysburg and the Adams County area and is pleased that we could include Blake and Dayton’s Special Needs Funds to our list of recipients this year.