Bullett

SHEPHERDSTOWN–Members of the Shepherdstown Kiwanis Club gathered for the fifth year to host a wine and food paring dinner, raising funds for the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle. The event, held this year on Oct. 7 at The Club at Cress Creek, featured five wines paired with five courses.

Wines were provided by Martin Distributing Company. Chad Thacker was on hand to share a few words about each wine selection and why it was chosen to be served with its particular course.

Newly elected president of the club, Terry Walker, welcomed guests, explaining that the wine pairing dinner is one of three major fundraisers done each year by the club. The other two events include a chili and cornbread dinner, held the Friday after Thanksgiving each year, in conjunction with the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in downtown Shepherdstown, and an auction held each May.

“The Boys & Girls Club are the recipients of tonight’s proceeds,” Walker said, adding that a silent auction, featuring baskets with wine and other goodies, would also be used to raise funds for the club that evening.

Walker ended his remarks, by sharing that the Kiwanis Club is currently hosting a membership drive and encouraging those who were not yet members to consider joining. He stressed that the focus of the club is helping the local community, specifically schools and children.

“The world is full of good people. If you can’t find one, be one,” he encouraged.

Speaking on behalf of the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle was CEO Stacie Rohn, discussing how an impact can be made in people’s lives, through a variety of ways. She referenced one child in particular who has attended the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle, who came to the club sharing that families were recently displaced in Jefferson County by a fire.

“She said, ‘we can raise some money for those families,'” Rohn said. “A bake sale raised $1,000.”

Rohn also referenced the impact made by the evening’s guest speaker, Vicky Bullett. Bullett, an Olympic gold medalist and member of the WNBA, grew up in the Boys & Girls Club in Martinsburg. During her remarks, Bullett said that she came to the club with her brothers, adding that girls didn’t really come to the club much at that time. She laughed, as she shared that she was told to put a hat on and blend in with the boys.

“I got to go,” she said, adding that they had a ball — it was all about sports.

“I remember the stairs. We shot over a beam to get to the basket. We mastered that,” Bullett said, before the beam was cut out.

“I’ve come full circle,” Bullett said, as she now works at the Boys & Girls Club.

“I always wanted to be an educator. I embraced being a role model,” Bullett said, mentioning that when she played for the Olympic team in 1988, the community rallied to send her parents to Seoul, South Korea, to see her play.

“I want to give back — it’s what you do,” Bullett said. “I enjoy what I do, I work with great people and the Boys & Girls Club.”

Bullett went on to say that she is “so fulfilled,” getting to hang out with children every day.

“These kids will grow up to be heroes in their community,” she said.

The Shepherdstown Kiwanis Club gratefully recognized the sponsors for the evening, including City National Bank, UniCare, River Riders, Brown Funeral Homes, Shepherdstown Pharmacy, Ours Lawyer Lewis CPAs and Shepherd University, who served as a marketing partner.

More information on the Shepherdstown Kiwanis Club can be found on their Facebook page. Information on Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle can be found at www.bgcepwv.net or by calling 304-728-3143.