Tatum Northington
Elmore/Autauga News
Top Photo: First place winners were Prattville YMCA Leaders Club.
The Emerging Leaders Board of the YMCA hosted their 5th Annual Sinkapalooza at the Willis Bradford Branch Saturday. The atmosphere was chaotic but full of fun while those in attendance helped raise funds for the YMCA’s “Coach a Child” Program. The event this year was sponsored by Blue Haven Pools, BWS Technologies, Buffalo Rock, and Caldwell and Sons Plumbing.
The Emerging Leaders Board was created to allow the next generation of leaders in Prattville to begin giving back to the community and YMCA. This is their largest annual event and each year it gets bigger and better.
The “Coach a Child” Program helps to give scholarships to children and families who may not be able to afford membership to the YMCA and its services, which means children still get to participate in sports and other Y activities regardless of their ability to pay.
According to Keith Cantrell, Prattville YMCA Assistant General Director/Development and Branch Executive, “Since 2005, over 30,000 children in the community have been helped through this wonderful scholarship program.”
Emerging Leaders Board Chairman Kyle Shirley said “I was blessed to grow up at the YMCA and so much of who I am is due to the impact of the YMCA. My kids are now 4th generation members. Not everyone has the ability to be involved in the Y, and I am humbled and grateful to be able to help the community by helping raise funds with the Emerging Leaders for the ‘Coach a Child’ Program. This opens the doors for children to participate in all activities we offer here at the Y.”
Sinkapalooza asks community members to become “Boat Captains” and fundraise for approximately one month prior to the date of the event. All captains are tasked with raising money in order to “sink their ships” which are really just blow-up floating boats. All captains are in their boats for an hour, and with the money they raised people try to “sink” them by dumping buckets of ice water, shooting them with water cannon super soakers, and even making some captains “walk the plank.” All in all it is a fun, family friendly event, which encourages community members of all ages to come and support the Coach-a-Child Program.
There is also a dunk tank, lovingly called the “Flush Tank” sponsored by Caldwell and Sons, where Community Leaders sit for 20 minutes each to allow citizens to throw balls to flush them into the tank. The member that raises the most funds receive the coveted “Golden Plunger Award.” For $20 you received three chances to knock your target into the tank.
David Lewis, Keith Cantrell, Kyle Shirley, PFD Deputy Chief Josh Bingham, PPD Chief Mark Thompson, Mayor Bill Gillespie and more participated in the flush tank. One of the highlights of the event was when Mayor Gillespie bought 15 Flush Tank tickets and passed them out to get people to knock Police Chief Mark Thompson in the tank….over and over again.
This year the Emerging Leaders Board elected Kasey Hope to head up the annual event. This is the first year that Sinkapalooza was held on a Saturday. Hope told us that “The goal this year is to raise $20,000 and we have an amazing group of people putting this together, and I just know this is going to be the best one yet.”
She was not wrong, as unofficial totals have tallied to over $27,000! This is the largest amount raised in the five years of Sinkapalooza, almost doubling the former largest amount of $14,000. Shirley told us “With this one event we were able to raise almost 15% of the goal for Coach a Child this year.”
If you were unable to attend the event, you can still donate to your favorite Boat Captain by going HERE – the website will be open until August 27.
This year’s group captains were:
Blue Haven, Exit Realty, First United Methodist Church, The Leaders Club, Prattville Police Department, P’Zazz Art Studio, Autauga County Bama Fans, Aronov Realty, WSFA, Prattville High School Junior Class, Prattville High School Senior Class, and the Probate Office
This year’s individual captains were:
Jessica Sedgwick, Steven Evans, Cody Hensley, Cassie Fields, Mark Riddle, Janice Stockman, Ellis Messick, Tara Vest, Shawna Short, Victoria Connell, and Susan Carter
Winners:
Gold Plunger Award – Kyle Shirley; $700
Group Captains Division:
3rd Place: P’zazz Art Studio; $1600
2nd Place: Aronov Realty; $2,400
1st Place: Prattville YMCA Leaders Club; $3,000 (their 3rd win in 5 years)
Individual Captains Division:
3rd Place: Janice Stockman; $1,100
2nd Place: Jessica Sedgwick; $1,200
1st Place: Steven Evans; $1,600
