Summit County United Way/Red Cross officials hope their campaign kickoff featuring a cornhole tournament will be one for the record books.
More than 260 participants showed up at Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron on Wednesday in an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records mark for “the greatest number of people playing cornhole in the same competition.”
Michael Gaffney, vice president of marketing for United Way, said the current record is 250 participants.
He said it will take awhile to confirm the numbers and send the proof, but 128 teams registered and there were six celebrity matches. So Wednesday’s mark of 268 participants could be a record-breaker.
The 2012 kickoff celebration raised nearly $1,700 toward the agency’s annual goal of $11.6 million.
It was a sunny day for the players as they took their spots and met their opponents.
Gaffney told them to look for the cornhole officials wearing gold T-shirts.
“Choose your colors and begin throwing your bags at will,” Gaffney said at the start of the games.
Some of the participants said they had only played once or twice before, while others confessed it’s an activity they often play in their backyard while drinking with friends.
Bean bags were hurled left and right, some hitting the boards, some not — stopping just short or well beyond the target. Some bags slid right into the board’s hole while others hung off the side before sliding to the ground.
Throwers are awarded one point if the bean bag stays on the board and three points if it goes into the hole.
It took two hours and seven rounds to get a winner.
The final four
The championship game came down to Gary Lewis of Niles, representing Bridgestone, and Ron Kugel, of Evan City, Pa., against Jim Zevenbergen of Munroe Falls and Beth Stout of Randolph Township, both representing Labor Local 894. Lewis and Kugel called their team GL/RK; the labor union staff called themselves Fire & Ice.
“The office came up with the name,” Stout said. “He’s fire and I’m ice. Jim starts the fires, and I go around putting them out.”
First prize — $100 and a set of cornhole boards — went to Lewis and Kugel, who said they play often.
“Gary called and said it was a fundraising event,” Kugel said. “It was a beautiful day, so I took off and came down to have some fun.”
Lewis and Kugel donated their $100 winnings back to United Way, then gave a set of the cornhole boards and bean bags to the runners-up. Lewis said the other set will go to one of his relatives who keeps borrowing his personal cornhole boards.
Seasoned veteran
Lewis admits he owns six cornhole sets.
“I used to play all the time, but then I slowed down a bit, but I still enjoy playing,” Lewis said.
“We’ve traveled to Indiana and West Virginia for tournaments and if Ron and I win we never take the money, that’s why it’s so great to play with this guy. We are in it for the fun and the competition.”
Kugel said it really is about giving back, “It’s great to give back and this is such a worthy cause.”
The runners-up also donated their $50 prize back to the charity. They plan to take the cornhole set back to the office and set it up there.
Some celebrity games also were played.
Summit County Executive Russ Pry publicly challenged Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic.
After Pry bragged about his forthcoming win, Plusquellic took center stage and suggested they double the bet because Pry was so confident. The mayor said he had a secret weapon, his partner, Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalese, who grew up outside of Steubenville and had a history of cornhole throwing under her belt.
But Pry and his partner, Summit County Clerk of Courts Dan Horrigan, made good on their brags. The mayor and fiscal officer quietly donated $50 to the United Way campaign. Horrigan helped clinch the 21-11 win by throwing four consecutive bean bags into the hole.
Champion partner
In another celebrity game, Summit County Prosecutor Sheri Bevan Walsh said she sent out an office memo looking for a partner.
“I said they had to be good because I’m not any good. I knew I needed help,” she said. “One of the [assistant] prosecutors, Elliott Kolkovich, was the first to respond, and when he said he was a recent champion at an Ohio State cornhole tournament, I knew he could carry me.”
Kolkovich clarified that the game he and his wife, Elizabeth, won was at a regional Ohio State campus in Mansfield.
The pair beat Scott Wynn and Sue Wilson of the WQMX (94.9 FM) morning show Wynn and Wilson, 21-11.
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.
