Top fundraiser at Pub Mania relies on healthy competition

GILFORD — When Patrick's Pub & Eatery co-owner Allan Beetle invited Will Swart to take part in Pub Mania as a team captain three years ago, Swart was sure his 24 teammates could each raise the suggested $100.

The team, made up of employees and riders associated with the Laconia Harley Davidson dealership in Meredith, where Swart is general manager, team Laconia Harley Iron Butts felt great about the idea of raising $2,400 to benefit the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. Swart remembered that a collective reality soon dawned on them, though: They could raise even more.

“Our efforts snowballed from there,” Swart said.

Every team captain associated with the annual Pub Mania event reports this same desire to have the competitive edge.

“It’s what makes Pub Mania more successful each year,” said Beetle. 

In 2018 — the 10th anniversary year for the bar stool challenge — 744 participants on 31 teams raised a total of $353,361, bringing the Children’s Auction to its largest total in 37 years, at $580,584.

“We are incredibly awed and grateful to everyone who took part, and we’re proud of Will’s team — the top fundraiser at over $31,778,” Beetle said. 

Last year, the Iron Butts raised $15,278. What allowed the team to double the funds raised in 2017 was raffling off a 2018 Harley Anniversary Street Glide, which brought in $14,000 through $20 ticket sales.

“Our biggest reason for wanting to get involved in Pub Mania was to channel what we can do as a business, a dealership, a group of people, into a charity that does so much for the community we live and work in,” Swart said. “Part of the joy of participating in Pub Mania is just the fun of doing it. Part of it is supporting the charity itself, and part of it is the competitiveness.”

Jaimie Sousa, chair of the Children’s Auction since March, said each year the board braces itself to learn the Pub Mania total.

“We hope for the best, and then we’re thrilled when the fundraising amount is even more than we expected, going up $40,000 or $50,000 each year,” she said. “It’s hard to think about what our community would look like without fundraising from Pub Mania. So many local agencies depend on it.”

Money that funnel through Pub Mania to the auction provides such things as lunches for Lakes Region children who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. The money provides food, clothing, shelter, and even Christmas gifts for families in need.

It also offers enrichment through the support of organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakes Region and other mentoring programs that give children a safe place to play and “a glimpse of what life can offer,” Sousa said.

“This makes a difference in people’s lives,” Sousa added. “That’s what we hope for.”

The Children’s Auction was created in 1982 by WLNH radio, and really took off in 1998, the auction became televised through Lakes Region Public Access Television.

It continues to follow the same general agenda: Tuesday through Saturday, during the first week of December, items are auctioned off, and the proceeds benefit dozens of local nonprofit organizations.

Many people get involved, from donating items to raising money to shopping at the auction. Some people tell stories that help others understand the need.

“Leaders from the nonprofits we support speak and share stories,” Sousa said, “and we have groups of young people doing community service hours and getting interested in giving back. It’s cool to see there is a next generation for the Children’s Auction.”

Swart said his wife, Kathy, is a very active member of the Iron Butts because she was once a single mother and remembers what it was like to need — and receive — community support.

“Now she wants to help others,” Swart said.

In addition to raffling off the Harley, the Laconia Harley Iron Butts organized fundraising events like Biker Bingo Nights, which typically raised about $1,000. They collected donations during customer grill-outs, and one employee — the team’s top individual fundraiser — brought in more than $1,800 by selling handmade ornaments.

As captain of her own team — Fusion — Sousa also knows the adrenalin rush that comes with bringing in more ... and more, and more.

Fusion comprises young professionals who raise money through admission to networking and special events, as well as individual team member fundraising initiatives. This year, they raised more than $15,000.

“I’m really happy that I can be a part of it in both ways,” Sousa said, speaking of her role with the auction and as a participant of Pub Mania. “We’re all working toward the same goal.”

She added, “I credit Pub Mania with really giving the auction a year-round face and a way to fundraise throughout the year. Thirty-one teams are all promoting their own events and fundraising in a variety of ways. It’s an amazing thing.”

For more information or to participate in Pub Mania, visit www.patrickspub.com/pubmania or email info@patrickspub.com.