Raccoon Grade School students, with the help of a ‘pie in the face competition,’ raised $23,469.46 for the Shriners organization this year.
The featured event saw Centralia Mayor Bryan Kuder give Salem Mayor Nick Farley a whipped cream pie topped with Orphan Red after out-fundraising him $21,028.60 to Farley’s $2,440.86.
Kuder will leave the mayor’s job 4-0 in the competition, but says he’ll be encouraging his replacement to continue the challenge with Farley, who is running for re-election and is ready to go again.
Kuder and his wife Christie organized a golf tournament, two gun raffles, and a BBQ dinner to raise the money. He was handed several envelopes full of money.
“It was heartwarming. It showed that the people genuinely care about the children and go that extra mile to make sure the children are taken care of through everything the Shriners offer. It’s just unbelievable the amount of generosity the people have had for this the past four years. It’s just unbelievable. ”
Farley raises a large part of his money through an Elk’s Chicken Dinner and canisters at several businesses.
“I’ll take a pie in the face every year if it means raising this much money for the Shriners. To get these two communities to come together, I think that says a lot about the folks in the communities. So hats off and congratulations to Mayor Kuder.”
And what does it feel like to get the pie in the face?
“It’s very cold, and the worst part is not when you get it; it’s when it starts to, I don’t know what the word is, but ‘rot’ is the best word that I can come up with,” said Farley. “But he was very nice; he didn’t hit me too hard this year.”
Raccoon Grade School Superintendent Misty Johannes says the competition in the school pits those going to Salem and Centralia High School against each other in friendly competition.
“We only had one week this year. We usually have two weeks. We had a sucker tree set up. I think we probably went through 500 or 600 suckers. The kids are able to pick one and see if they win a prize. We also had the penny wars, and the Salem students had the most for that.”
Raccoon students raised a total of $854.38. Centralia High School raised another $700.
Ed Meyer of the Salem Shriners says this year’s proceeds will help purchase a van to help get Southern Illinois patients to Shriners Hospital.
“We love it. It’s great. It is heartwarming for us to know you have this type of structure behind you helping out; that’s great.”
The ‘Shrine’ Week initially involved just students raising funds in 2014. In the first year, they raised just $800.
The school assembly that concluded the week saw students compete and try to out-scream each other in support of the Salem Wildcats and Centralia Orphans, who met Friday night on the football field for the annual Shrine game.
Centralia Mayor Bryan Kuder prepares to hit Salem Mayor Farley in the face with the Orphan Red cream pie as Kuder wins the fundraising competition for the Shriners. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
And after the pie is thrown, Mayor Kuder displays his trophy for winning the competition with a pie-drenched Salem Mayor Nic Farley. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
Check presentation to the Shriners Ed Meyer from Salem Mayor Nic Farley and Raccoon Grade School Superintendent Misty Johannes (left) and Centralia Mayor Bryan Kuder (right). Photo by Bruce Kropp.
Salem Mayor Nic Farley leads Raccoon students who will go to Salem Community High School during the conclusion of the Shriners Week fundraiser on Friday. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
