The Lake of the Ozarks Shootout is pleased to announce that for the third consecutive year, Marine Technology Inc. Vice President Taylor Scism, daughter of MTI founder and President Randy Scism, will be named honorary chair at this year’s Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Live Auction.
“I am so very excited to continue to be a part of the Shootout’s Live Auction Committee as this year’s honorary chair,” Scism said. “While the Lake of the Ozarks is one of my favorite places to be, it is equally important to give back to the community that we love. The Shootout not only helps the 40+ charities and nonprofit organizations across Camden, Miller and Morgan Counties, but it has a substantial economic impact as well. We strive to raise more funds with each passing year, and I believe that 2024 will be another great one.”
Like Scism, Shootout Executive Director Leah Martin is equally ecstatic about all that the 36th Annual Shootout will bring to the Lake of the Ozarks community this year.
“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.”
Over the past several years, the Shootout itself has resolutely and dutifully prevailed at going back to its roots–where all hands on deck means more money written across checks–and all proceeds support move than 40 of the tri-county community’s nonprofits, associations, and local businesses. Without the help of the Shootout’s many charities, rescue teams, and a wide variety of annual volunteers, the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout would not be what it is today.
“The momentum of the Shootout Live Auction began when it was originally held at Performance Boat Center, 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, a former six-year Shootout Live Auction honorary chair, 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 between $80,000 and $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 Shootout Auction Committee determined that a fitting name for the live auction should be called, “Super Cat 4 Kids.”
In unprecedented news, two longtime supporters of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout have stepped up and upped the ante for this year’s annual fundraising groundwork.
“The Shootout is so excited to release that RJ Noble Company & Good Boy Vodka have teamed up with one another to match funds raised at the Shootout’s Live Auction this August–up to $100,000,” explained Austin Carver, president of RJ Noble Company. “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.”
Carver’s co-donor and friend, Good Boy Vodka Founder & CEO Alex Pratt, expressed similar sentiments of excitement.
“We have a long and incredible history of supporting the Shootout and the Lake of the Ozarks as a whole, which is a place we call home,” Pratt said. “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.
Over the past several years, the Shootout has accepted that 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. The Shootout is therefore pleased to announce that this year’s live auction event will be hosted at a new venue for 2024—Lazy Gators on Friday evening, August 23rd, 2024, directly following the Shootout’s annual poker run (which hosts its last stop at Shady Gators). It was previously held in the banquet room of the Camden on the Lake Resort.
“Last year, the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout donated a staggering $675,000.00 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 so much more.”
An alphabetized list of annual Shootout recipients 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.
—Christy Wagner