Turkey 'BINGO!'

With nary a gobble, nor even a squabble, Carson Valley folks racked up $2,600 for Douglas High School scholarships and programs during the Carson Valley Kiwanis Club Turkey Bingo on Saturday.

The CVIC Hall in Minden was 3/4 full of people for the first bingo round, and "at capacity" for the evening bingo game, which was lead by caller Douglas County Sheriff Ron Pierini, according to Kiwanis scholarship chairman Tom Peters. Sixty-eight turkeys were given away to the winners.

"It was fabulous," said Peters on Monday. "All the money made from this goes right back to scholarships for Douglas High.

"I want to thank the generous business people in Minden and Gardnerville," he said, also expressing his appreciation for volunteer Linda Amati's hard work collecting 65 raffle prizes for the event.

Last, but not least, he thanked members of the Douglas High School Key Club and their adviser Vanessa Ozolins for their assistance throughout both games.

"They stayed all the way through and helped us put the tables and chairs away and swept the kitchen," said Peters. "The kids made it happen."

Peters said a percentage of the Kiwanis Club raffle earnings will be given to the Key Club for the students' efforts. The Key Club was working on a fundraiser of their own Saturday, and received donations totaling $320 to give to the non-profit Building Tomorrow, an initiative aimed at raising funds to build schools and provide school supplies in Kampala, Uganda. The program was developed to benefit orphans impacted by HIV/AIDS. Whatever percentage of the raffle given to them will be added to the $320, according to Ozolins. More information on the initiative can be found at www.buildingtomorrow.org.

In addition to helping at Turkey Bingo on Saturday, on Friday night Douglas High School Key Club members handed out six turkey dinners to families recommended by the Family Support Council of Douglas County, according to Ozolins.

"(The Key Club members) were quite busy," said Ozolins. "I'm very proud of them."

The Kiwanis Club will present "ham bingo" at Easter-time next year.

n Jo Rafferty can be reached at jrafferty@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 210.