September 10th marked the first ever Ben Kruse Charity Crappie Tournament with all proceeds going to 18 FORE Life! Dain Bess and Bruce Christian led the way in organizing this event at Redman Creek at Lake Wappapello.
Along with Dain and Bruce there were many others on hand to make it a success. Doug Cox and Dallas Buchanan volunteered their time to make sure that everyone was fed and they sold their delicious smoked pork loins to raise even more money for the cause. The tournament was enjoyed by all who participated in it, as well as, all of the spectators.
This tournament had a big turnout and is expected to be even bigger next year and for many years to come. 18 Fore Life has a track record of hosting some of the biggest charity events in the area and this crappie tournament was no different. Charity events like this take so much work from the volunteers at the top all the way down to the people who just do a few small tasks. But it takes everyone doing what they can to make a charity event, such as this, a huge success. Many volunteers will say that they feel like they get more out of volunteering than they ever have to put into it.
It was a competitive tournament, but everyone had a great time for an even greater cause. The proceeds from the 18 Fore Life Crappie tournament will be given directly to families in this area who have are in a fight with cancer.
Line-up for all the parade participants will be at 5:00 PM today. With only thirty minutes before the parade begins, everything has to be planned down to the "T". Area streets have been marked off with paint on Bain Street, Chautauqua Street and others surrounding the traditional starting line in front of Harp's Supermarket.
At 5:30, the whistle will blow and the parade will begin.
Many long time attendees of the festivities are well aware that they must arrive early to get their specific spot on the parade route. In the early afternoon, lawn chairs and tents could be found along the route marking spots that people want to view the parade.
The City of Dexter Street Department worked furiously through the past weeks to repair a section of Stoddard Street so it would be ready for today's event. The project was completed just in time with fresh smooth blacktop laid at the end of last week.
Make your plan to attend the parade and fair this year. Activities get underway at the Stoddard County Fairgrounds following the parade.
Written by SMT writer
Jessica Snider
This weekend the annual Miss Stoddard County Pageant was held in Dexter. This pageant is specifically for contestants who have placed in a pageant within the past twelve months.
The Xi Lambda Psi Chapter of Beta Theta Pi Sorority sponsored the event and all proceeds go to help local charities in our communities. There was a great turn out of contestants in all categories this year. Though every girl looked beautiful on stage, however the judges must narrow it down to a queen, a first alternate, and a second alternate. The job of judging is one that many of us would find very difficult to do in a beauty pageant.
The Miss Stoddard County was crowned Sunday afternoon. Sophie Thorn of Bloomfield, Missouri, took the crown and is now the 2012 Miss Stoddard County. Along with her, Lauren Thrower of Dexter took home first alternate, and Taylor Owens won second alternate.
Sophie is the Daughter of Tony and Laura Thorn of Bloomfield. Lauren is the daughter of Lori Hawkins and Bob Thrower of Dexter. Taylor is the daughter of Ken and Shannon Owens also of Dexter.
A big congratulations goes out to these three girls along with all of the contestants who participated! All of the contestants work very hard to get ready for these pageants and deserve this moment in the spotlight.
Be sure to attend the Stoddard County Parade that begins at 5:30 today. The parade will be filled emergency vehicles, bands and of course the area queens.
All three of these young ladies have been crowned queen in various area events and will be involved in the parades as well.
The State FFA Vice-President made a chapter visit to the Dexter FFA Chapter on Thursday, September 13th. He didn’t have far to go since this year’s State FFA Vice-President representing Area 16 is Sam Turner of Bernie.
Sam Turner is a senior at Bernie High School and a very active member of the Bernie FFA Chapter. During the visit, Sam spoke to four of Dexter’s high school agriculture classes. He shared with them the importance of being an FFA member, and the things FFA can do if they take advantage of it.
Part of Sam Turner’s yearlong service to the FFA is to make chapter visits to all the FFA chapters in the Area he is from.
Turner will be away from home approximately sixty days this year and will travel nearly 10,000 miles to represent the FFA. He encouraged two ninth grade AG Science I classes to get involved, set their priorities, and stay focused on their goals.
Dexter Greenhands are pictured with Sam Turner in the photo. Picture from left to right Chelsey Cox, Matney Davis, Alex Whitehead, Hannah Craft, Sam Turner, Devin Aslin, Keaton Francisco, Cody Pullum, and Michael Hurst.
For the first time this year, the Ben Kruse 18 Fore Life Carnival was held in June. With only a few days to prepare and to spread the word, many area residents came out to enjoy the rides, carnival food, and games in support of the charity.
The event was sponsored by the local businesses of Montgomery Bank, County Wide Insurance Agency, and the ShowMe Times.
A portion of the proceeds were donated by the carnival group to the charity. In all, the four day event raised over $3,800.00 for the charity. These funds will be put to immediate use by the charity in helping area people and families that are dealing with cancer.
"18 Fore Life has been able to give away over $100,000.00 since June of this year," says Scott Kruse. "... and we still have names of the list."
Above, a very enthusiastic Ed Gargas of County Wide Insurance Agency and Scott Nelson of Montgomery Bank are shown presenting the a check to Kerri Kruse.
