Scism Returns To Chair Lake Of The Ozarks Shootout Live Auction At New Venue With $100,000 Set Up For Donor Matching
In a press release sent out this morning, the organizers behind the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Central Missouri announced that for the third consecutive year, Taylor Scism, the big-hearted vice president of Marine Technology Inc. in Wentzville, Mo., has been named the honorary chair for the 2024 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Live Auction, which is an essential fundraiser for the massive event that donated $675,000 last year to more than 40 charitable groups within the community.
The Lake of the Ozarks Shootout committee announced it is moving its live auction to Friday night at Lazy Gators following the poker run. Photo courtesy Lake Shots Photography
The release also included news about a couple of generous performance boaters stepping up to support the cause with matching donations along with a date and venue change for the popular auction that’s been held on Camden on the Lake Resort for several years in conjunction with Super Cat Fest.
“I am so very excited to continue to be a part of the Shootout’s Live Auction Committee as this year’s honorary chair,” said Scism, who is the daughter of MTI founder and president Randy Scism, the event’s original “Top Gun” from 36 years ago. “While the Lake of the Ozarks is one of my favorite places (to boat), it is equally important to give back to the community that we love. The Shootout not only helps the 40-plus charities and nonprofit organizations across Camden, Miller and Morgan counties, but it has a substantial economic impact overall. We strive to raise more funds with each passing year, and I believe that 2024 will be another great one.”
The Shootout’s executive director, Leah Martin, said she’s ecstatic to have Scism back to support the auction and the 36th annual event as a whole.
“We are incredibly excited to work closely with Taylor again, and to help grow this live auction event with the direct support of MTI,” Martin said. “Going back to the beginning of the Lake Rescue Shootout in 1989, the Shootout was built on the backs of the charities that it supports, and it was supported by volunteers. All funds raised support the volunteers’ organizations that work so very hard to make this event not only possible, but they aid in driving lake area tourism. This auction and all Shootout-related events throughout the year provide critical support to the recipients that need our funds the most.”
Martin stressed that without the help of the volunteers from the event’s many charities, rescue teams and wide range of people from the lake’s general population, the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, which has been presented by Performance Boat Center in Osage Beach for several years, would not be what it is today.
“The momentum of the Shootout Live Auction began when it was originally held at Performance Boat Center (during the Welcome Party), when well-known powerboat enthusiast Kenny Armstrong stepped up and challenged other powerboaters to match his pledge for (Make-A-Wish) wishes,” explained Tiffany Maasen, the event’s former Shootout Live Auction honorary chair and its current Make-A-Wish event chair and Missouri-Kansas community liaison. “It was so heartwarming and exciting to watch as big-hearted powerboat racers from across the country raised their hands and pledged to donate close to $100,000 for critically ill children. Because auction funds were directly supporting local kids’ charities such as Beds for Kids through the Sharing & Caring Foundation, Coats for Kids through the Raising Hope Free Store, and advocating for abused children through Kids Harbor, the auction committee determined that a fitting name for the live auction should be called, ‘Super Cat 4 Kids.’”
The honorary chair of the 2024 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Live Auction, Taylor Scism recently married the love of her life, Shaun Peters. Photo by Tom Leigh/Tommy Gun Images
Soon thereafter, the Shootout partnered with Super Cat Fest and expanded the event’s Saturday night dinner at Camden on the Lake in an effort to expand the auction and raise even more money. This year, however, the committee has decided to change things up because “hosting its live auction event on the night of Saturday’s peak race day was exhausting for race attendees, sponsors, donors, volunteers and the racers themselves.”
That means that this year’s live auction event will be hosted at Lazy Gators on Friday evening (August 23), directly following the Shootout’s annual poker run, which hosts its last stop at Shady Gators.
“Last year the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout donated a staggering $675,000 back to its many recipients,” Martin said. “Our auction is the cornerstone of the main event, alongside funds raised through merchandise sales, registration, golf tournaments, poker runs, street parties, trapshooting events and much more.”
In unprecedented news for the event, according to Martin, two staunch supporters of the Shootout are helping up the ante for this year’s annual fundraising groundwork. She said that R.J. Noble Company and Good Boy Vodka are teaming up to match funds raised at the Shootout’s Live Auction—up to $100,000.
“For me, it’s not about marketing opportunities, it’s about supporting the kids and those who are positively impacted by the funds raised annually at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout,” said Austin Carver, the president of R.J. Noble Company who also contributed a matching $100,000 donation for the Speed On The Water Key West Bash last November.
R.J. Noble Company’s Austin Carver (in green) is on a mission to help perofrmance boat events around the country raise even more money. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp/Helmkamp Photos
Carver’s co-donor and friend, Good Boy Vodka founder and CEO Alex Pratt, expressed similar sentiments.
“We have an incredible history of supporting the Shootout and the Lake of the Ozarks as a whole, which is a place we call home,” said Pratt, who opted to launch his “Every Pour Helps a Pup” brand four years ago at Lake of the Ozarks. “It is both our honor and privilege to increase our involvement in 2024, and we hope to see record-breaking numbers at the 36th annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout.”
In case you are curious, the release included an alphabetized list of annual Shootout recipients. It is as follows: Boy Scouts of America (supporting local youth), the Camden County Sheriff’s Employee’s Association, Camdenton Lakers Youth Football Leage (CLYFL), Citizens Against Domestic Violence (CADV), Coffman Bend Fire Protection District, Central Ozarks Medical Center (COMC) Patient Care Fund, Dogwood Animal Shelter, Elks Lodge #2517, Elks Lodge #2705, Elks Lodge #2857, FF14-17 Volunteer Fire Protection District (Edwards, MO), Forget-Me-Not Horse Rescue, Ivy Bend Fire Protection District, Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance (LOWA), Lake Area Industries, Lake of the Ozarks Soccer Association (LOSA), Lake Ozark Fire Protection District, Lake Ozark Police Department, Lake Regional Hospital Patient Care Fund, Lake West Chamber of Commerce, Laurie/Sunrise Beach Rotary, Livabilities, Macks Creek Booster Club, Magic Dragon Trails & Skills Park, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Mariah Walter Memorial Fund, Marine Corps Mess Deck Aboard Ships (MESS), Mid-County Fire Protection District, Northwest Fire Protection District, Osage Beach Fire Protection District, Raising Hope, RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks Charitable Foundation, Rocky Mount Fire Protection District, School of the Osage Upper Elementary PTA, St. Patrick’s Knights of Columbus, Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District, Sunrise Beach Police Department, Stover, MO–Project Prom, The Changing Table, Jessica & Malachi Brazil Memorial Foundation, and Wonderland Camp.
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