Home Contact Sitemap Checkout





Print This Page

Friday, January 27, 2023

Brussels Optimist Spring Dinner and Auction to benefit HASAR

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

The Brussels Optimist Club has selected Huron and Area Search And Rescue (HASAR) as the charitable organization that will benefit from the club’s upcoming Spring Dinner and Auction. The annual event, scheduled for March 25, is one of the club’s premier fundraisers according to Optimist President Doug McArter. 


The Brussels Optimist Club began hosting the Spring Dinner and Auction in 2000 and has since raised more than $483,982 for local charities. Last year, tickets sold out in 36 hours and the Optimists set an event record by raising more than $53,000 for the Inspiring Our Future campaign to benefit the multi-million-dollar renovation and expansion of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. While McArter admits last year’s result might be difficult to eclipse, he says the event is always a lot of fun and a great opportunity to raise money for a worthy cause. 
   

HASAR is a professional volunteer organization that was created in 2018 to assist with covering gaps in emergency service access to challenging rural locations. HASAR’s profile grew in December after participating in a dramatic emergency situation that saw a Huron County infant transferred to a London-area hospital for emergency surgery in blizzard conditions. One of the HASAR volunteers involved in that operation was Brussels Optimist Club First Vice-President John Groves.
   

McArter says the reason HASAR is a great choice to benefit from this year’s fundraiser is trifold: the organization’s local value has been clearly demonstrated, HASAR does not receive government support at any level and because of the cross-pollination of membership between the Brussels Optimist Club and HASAR.
   

Specific ticket details have not yet been released but McArter encourages anyone who would like to make a donation to the auction to e-mail the club at brusselsoptimist@gmail.com with attention to President Doug McArter or Secretary Dan Fritz. Once available, tickets can be purchased through club members.