Anderson Bowl-a-Thon this Sunday
Fundraiser memorializes Scout leader, sends Scouts to summer camp
Art Anderson was committed to Scouting, and it showed. A retired Delco engineer, amateur radio operator, math tutor, and scout leader, he continued mentoring youth right up to his tragic death on the Nickel Plate Trail in August 2011 while leading two Scouts on a nature hike.
This Sunday, March 13, the ninth annual Art Anderson Memorial Bowl-A-Thon will be held at Heritage Lanes in Kokomo to memorialize Anderson’s accomplishments in Scouting BSA, and to raise funds to help send local Scouts to summer camp.
The Bowl-a-Thon attracts hundreds to Heritage Lanes. (photo/Sagamore Council BSA and Emily Wheeler)
“Art was always helping Scouts that couldn’t afford to go to camp”, says Anderson’s daughter-in-law Carol Anderson, who is also organizing a silent auction at the Sunday event.
The Art Anderson Memorial Bowl-A Thon’s inception came in 2013 when a member of Anderson’s Scout troop, Jeremy Ramberger, felt the need to deal with the loss of his mentor and friend.
“Jeremy came to us with the idea as a memorial to Art, and to raise money to send Scouts to Summer camp”, noted local BSA Sagamore Council Trading Post Manager Emily Wheeler.
“Originally, (the Bowl-A-Thon) was to cope with the death of my friend,” stated Ramberger.
“He took me under his wing and helped me with my merit badges for physical activities. I have a disability, but he worked with me on my swimming and physical fitness badges, and I became an Eagle Scout!”
In 2011 Art Anderson was conducting a nature hike on the Nickel Plate Trail near Bunker Hill with two scouts from his troop when a mentally disturbed individual ran from a nearby house and stabbed him to death. Anderson’s killer received a 45-year prison sentence, and Anderson’s family, along with his scouting family were devastated.
Ramberger also mourned his friend and mentor, but decided that Anderson would have wanted him to be proactive.
“I tried to think what Art would have wanted me to do, and I started to formulate a plan,” said Ramberger.
After a year and a half, the pieces fell into place, and the first Art Anderson Memorial Bowl-A-Thon was held. Since the first Bowl-A-Thon and the establishment of the Art Anderson Memorial Scholarship to help scouts go to Summer camp started, more than 100 Scouts were able to attend Summer Camp due to the fund. According to Ramberger the last Bowl-A-Thon raised almost $5,000 for the fund. The event has had corporate involvement as well with Button Dodge, FCA, and Functional Devices sponsoring the last event in 2019.
Scout Leader Art Anderson (photo/Sandra Gruber)
Registration and check in at Heritage Lanes, 1301 W. Lincoln Road, begins at 11:30 a.m., and bowling starts at noon. Tickets at the event are $25 per person. The price includes shoe rental and three games.
There are three sponsorship levels that also include two to eight bowlers. The sponsorship prices are $100-$500, depending on the number of bowlers on a team. There will be a silent auction as well, with all proceeds going to the Art Anderson Scholarship which helps send youth to a BSA Scout Summer Camp. Donations are accepted on site or afterward at the BSA Trading Post, 518 N. Main St., in Kokomo.
For more information contact Ramberger at 765-319-3425 or the Hingst Service Center (BSA Scout Offices) at 765-452-8253.