Freddie Patek, one of the most popular players in the history of the Kansas City Royals, will be on hand to help Farmers’ Electric Cooperative raise funds for its Area Youth Benefit
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Freddie Patek, one of the most popular players in the history of the Kansas City Royals, will be on hand to help Farmers’ Electric Cooperative raise funds for its Area Youth Benefit Fund (AYBF) charity. Banquet tickets and golf teams are now on sale for the 12th Annual AYBF events, which will be held in Chillicothe Aug. 15-16.
The AYBF was founded in 1993 for the purpose of providing financial assistance toward the payment of medical bills for children 18 years of age and under. To date, the FEC charity has donated over $268,000 to area families.
“We received confirmation last week that Freddie would be in attendance at this year’s events,” stated Dan Bryan, executive vice-president/CEO of Farmers’ Electric. “He was going to attend one of our previous fund raising events, but health problems involving parents prevented him from coming to Chillicothe at that time.”
Patek’s tenure as a Royal ran from 1971-79, and while he was the smallest player in the big leagues at 5-4, he showed the biggest heart in his play on the field. Patek played for the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to coming to Kansas City and finished his 14-year career with the California Angels.
“Freddie will be on hand at the banquet and the golf tournament to sign autographs and shake hands,” Bryan said. “We’re tickled to death to get such a popular player at our fund-raising events.”
The dinner and auction on Sunday, Aug. 15, will again be held at the Chillicothe Elks Lodge. A reception begins at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30. The dinner will feature pork loin that has been donated by Premium Standard Farms. The main auction, under the call of Col. Mike Miller, will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m.
There area number of silent auctions that will be held throughout the evening. Items at the silent auctions and main auction include limited edition art prints, autographed memorabilia from the recording, television and movie industry, beautiful Waterford Crystal, autographed sports memorabilia and a wide variety of items donated by area merchants and individuals.
The sports memorabilia includes a Bret Favre football, Randy Johnson commemorative, Priest Holmes framed photograph/plaque, Carlos Beltran autographed and framed Royals jersey, and many more items.
Pepsi-Cola Bottling of Chillicothe is co-sponsoring the golf tournament on Monday, Aug. 16, for the sixth consecutive year. Pepsi-Cola Bottling is donating a variety of items for both events, including a pair of Busch Series and Winston Cup series NASCAR tickets for the race in Kansas City this fall.
“Our local Pepsi dealer has been absolutely great to work with over the last six years,” Bryan said. “Their support of the AYBF has been exceptional in every way.”
This year’s golf tournament chairman will again be Chillicothe Mayor Todd Rodenberg. The three-person scramble tournament will feature contests on every hole, including a $10,000 cash prize for a hole-in-one on Hole No. 2. There are cash prizes for the first place winners of each flight and prizes for second and third-place teams, too, Bryan said.
The AYBF is also working with another local foundation to help raise funds for their non-profit organization. The “Making A Difference” Foundation will be offering golfers at the AYBF tournament an opportunity to qualify for the chance to win $1,000,000 later this fall in the Million Dollar Shootout. Golfers at the AYBF tournament will be allowed to take as many shots as they want at $1 a shot to hit a golf ball in a 20-foot diameter circle from 125 yards out. Every shot that falls within the 20-foot circle qualifies for the semi-final competition to be held at the Marceline golf course in September.
The Chillicothe qualifiers will be challenged by golfers who have competed in the same competition at golf courses in Marceline, Brookfield, and Trenton. The finalists for the Million Dollar Shootout will be taken from the 12 shots that are found to be closest to the pin. The finalists will get one shot from 180 yards to make the hole-in-one and win the $1 million dollar cash prize. If no one makes the hole-in-one the closest finalist to the pin wins a four-day, three-night golf vacation package in Florida.
Daviess County families have received $24,943.21 from the Farmers’ Electric Area Youth Benefit Fund since its inception.
The AYBF is a registered 501(c)3 charity organization with the State of Missouri.