The Lake of the Ozarks Shootout “SuperCat Fest 4 Kids” Live Charity Auction—already a popular event and huge fundraiser for Shootout charities—just got a major upgrade.
Shootout organizers have announced major “gets” for this year’s Shootout Auction: two brand-new Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines will be on the auction block, along with a Barletta Aria A22UC Tri-Toon.
“We are thrilled to have these new additions to the auction,” said Shootout Executive Director Leah Martin. “Mercury Racing just revealed these engines in June, and they’re nothing short of incredible. Demand is high for these new outboards; it’s awesome to be able to offer them to one lucky bidder for the Shootout auction. How exciting to be able to be one of the first to get to experience them!”
The Barletta Aria is the first step into luxury and family fun on the water. “This Barletta is a great lake boat,” Martin said. “We’re so thankful to Marty’s Marine and Barletta for helping get this boat on the Shootout auction block. It’s going to make an auction winner really happy, and it’ll be an enormous benefit to Shootout charities.”
Additionally, Martin says the Shootout & Super Cat Fest is pleased to announce this year’s Super Cat Fest 4 Kids Live Auction co-chairs are Randy and Taylor Scism. Randy, the founder of MTI, is famous in the powerboating world, and his daughter Taylor has also found success as a boat racer and in the powerboating business scene. Randy was the first Top Gun in 1989 and still races in the Shootout. In fact, the Shootout was so important to Randy that he attended the day after his wedding.
"I am honored to be asked to be help with the shootout auction for the second year in a row," said Taylor. "It’s our backyard and we couldn’t be more excited about having the 500R outboards on the roster for the auction this year. We were able to test the new engines prior to their release and we hope these raise a lot for charity!”
Taylor serves on the Make-A-Wish Foundation board and is role model to young girls across the world. Last year, she served as the Live Auction Chair and raised over $300,000 for 40 Charities, including Make-A-Wish. Alvin Heathman, organizer for SuperCat Fest, says “I’m very excited for Taylor and Randy to be joining us as Co-Chairs, I have a front row seat watching father and daughter continuing to build the MTI legacy together.
The Scisms’ relationships in the powerboating community and the Shootout make them ideal co-chairs, Martin said. “We can’t thank Randy and Taylor enough for coming aboard to help with the Shootout Auction this year,” she said.
The Shootout Auction will be held 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26, at at Camden on the Lake. Register to bid by phone or online by emailing Leah Martin at director@lakeoftheozarksshootout.com.
The Lake of the Ozarks Shootout boat races will take place on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 26–27, on the main channel of Lake of the Ozarks near Captain Ron’s Bar & Grill, which is the host venue for the event. The Shootout is preceded by more than a week of events, all of which help raise funds for Lake area charities. View the full Shootout events schedule online and list of items at LakeOfTheOzarksShootout.com.