Burger Bash raises funds for community service scholarship with expansions planned
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STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce hosted its 13th-annual Burger Bash, dedicated to raising funds for a community service scholarship, and announced plans to expand the scholarship program Tuesday.
The bash, which took place on the outdoor campus of Eastern Gateway Community College, is a casual fundraising event organized by the chamber's volunteer arm, the Ambassador Club, said Kate Sedgmer, chamber president.
Attendees were treated to burgers from The All-American Burger Co. and drinks, as well as a cornhole tournament. Sedgmer said funds were raised through ticket sales for various raffle baskets, as well as through the support of a long list of sponsors.
Sedgmer said the "come as you are, mix and mingle" bash was open to members of the chamber and meant to raise funds for the Anita Jackson Community Service Scholarship, which gives out two $1,000 community service scholarships to high school students every year.
The program is named for the late Anita Jackson, founder of the Ambassador Club. Chris Orris, president of the Ambassador Club, said Jackson was an avid volunteer who "loved to give back to the community."
Melanie DiCarlo, club secretary, said Jackson was a "local personality who volunteered in the community in so many aspects, and she was a long-time ambassador." When Jackson passed away, DiCarlo said, the club created the scholarship program in her honor.
Dicarlo said each year's scholarships are awarded to graduates of a Jefferson County high school with a minimum 2.5 grade-point average. They must have a minimum of 60 hours of community service in various roles and must write an essay about what community service means and the impact it has on them.
Sedgmer said she calls the Ambassador Club the "welcome wagon of Jefferson County" because of its role in drawing new businesses to the area. The bash, a huge event for the club, is meant to raise funds for the scholarship program in her honor.
The fundraising goal, Sedgmer said, is $10,000, but as much as possible wouldn't hurt. Sedgmer announced during the bash that the chamber hopes to earn enough to exceed their goal and allow for an expansion of the program to cover nontraditional students, or those re-entering school from the workforce.
DiCarlo said expanding the program to adult learners is the option the club wants to pursue.
"The more we get through proceeds," DiCarlo said, "the more our students will get through expanded opportunities for scholarships."
Also, DiCarlo said, students' applications through the years have been becoming more robust in regard to community service experience. The club, she said, has been pleased to hear about how students have made connections through their service and gained collaboration skills that prepared them to take on projects of their own.
Orris said the club is composed of between 18 and 20 volunteers, who help at events, attend ribbon cuttings and invite new members. The club has been around since the '80s, said Orris, who has been involved on and off with the club since the '90s.
"(The bash) is a wonderful event," Orris said. "It's lots of fun, and it raises money for a good cause. And the cornhole becomes very competitive."
Tim Roberts, an installer for J.K. Auto Glass in Mingo Junction, said the business has been coming to the bash for two years.
"I'm here for cornhole," Roberts said. "I'm a two-time champion. I've been here twice, and won twice, and I'm hoping to make it a third."
Three representatives of Eastern Gateway's adult learner program attended the bash, including Jeremy Miller, who has attended the bash for five years and is involved in the college's adult basic education, adult secondary education and office of institutional diversity. Miller said the ambassadors' scholarship program is a great opportunity for students who are moving on to college.
"Anything dealing with scholarships is great," Miller said. "It's nice to see the community coming out to support a good cause."
With Miller were Cameron Bonds and Jermel Bailey, who teach introductory-level classes at the college. Bailey said the classes refresh content in students' minds, preparing them as they seek to enter higher education. Bonds said this is remediation, or the reteaching of fundamental content to prepare students who seek to move up through the levels of education.
Bailey joked that he and Bonds had been preparing all year for the cornhole tournament.
Tate Blanchard attended the bash for the first time as a representative of IC Group, which oversees IC Care, a nonmedical care service for senior citizens; IC Staffing Solutions, providing temporary-to-permanent job placement; and IC Cab, a transportation service.
Blanchard said the scholarship program is "fantastic" because it gives back to the community. Also, he said IC Group is avid to support the chamber because "You want to support those that support you."
Sedgmer thanked Eastern Gateway Community College for allowing the chamber, which is composed of over 500 members from local businesses, to host the bash on their property.
Michael Vok, vice chair of the Ambassador Club, said this is the bash's second year at Eastern Gateway. Before that, he said, it was held at the green space in Franciscan Square, where the bash, on one occaission, had to be a grab-and-go lemonade stand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ambassador Mary Joy Van Dyne said the bash is beneficial for young people, saying, "It gets them involved and that's a good thing."
Ambassador Jeffrey Schuetz said of the bash, "I love it -- it gets better and bigger every year."