Oceanside Rotary Club partnered with Mulligan’s Beach House on Saturday to hold the first annual Shell Tossing Championship. It was a Floridian twist on the popular corn hole game where participants tossed oyster shells into buckets instead of beanbags into holes. Participants arrived at the Sexton Plaza beach early, shed their shoes, wiggled their toes in the sand and gave it their best shot at winning a cash prize and the coveted title of champion.
“This is something different and fun” said Elaine Jones, president of Oceanside Rotary Club. “One of our members played in an oyster toss in Cape May, New Jersey, and suggested it might be a good fundraiser for us. After all, we have the beach, the ocean, oysters and who doesn’t want to do something fun on a beautiful sunny day?”
Guests wandered back and forth from the beach to Mulligan’s, where they imbibed cool tropical drinks and feasted on delectable food. Mulligan’s patrons relaxing on the beachside deck clapped and cheered when they heard the clunk of a shell landing in the bucket. MJ Wicker entertained everyone at Sexton Plaza with his lively repertoire of beach songs and melodies.
“We are excited about sponsoring this event and bringing something different to Indian River County,” said Athena Barton, general manager of Mulligan’s. “We are big supporters of the Rotary Club as they are constantly working to make our community better.”
Proceeds from the event will be distributed to various charities. “We are part of the Rotary International, so we help charities out of the country as well as locally” said Maureen Labadie, charter member of Oceanside Rotary. “We are currently paying tuition for a Mayan girl in Guatemala who is in school to learn a good trade, and we also help a school for orphans in Guatemala City.” Locally, the club assists the Veterans Council with food drives, and twice a year they go to nursing homes to help vets from all the different wars record their memories as family keepsakes.
The Oceanside Rotary, now in its ninth year, is one of five in Indian River County and more than 35,400 Rotary clubs around the globe. “Service Above Self” in the community, in the workplace and throughout the world is the international motto. Rotary’s six areas of focus are supporting education, growing local economies, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, and promoting peace.
Article by: Kerry Firth, Correspondent
Photos by: Gordon Radford
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