Hannah’s House fundraiser features Family Feud format

The survey says area residents will be howling with laughter at 7 p.m. Saturday night as Wyandot County-based non-profit Hannah’s House holds its annual fundraiser at the Elk’s Lodge in Upper Sandusky.

The organizers believe it could be biggest and best fundraiser yet.

“I hope to set a fundraising record because we have such good quality of all our auction items and we have so many participants in our games, double from last year,” Hannah’s House Executive Director Misty Droll said.

“This is what helps keep the doors open at Hannah’s House.”

Upper Sandusky Mayor Scott Washburn will return as the game show host for the event, which will use a Family Feud theme this year, pitting four organizations against one another.

The first game will be Team Hannah’s House from the Hannah’s House Board of Directors against the Wyandot County Young Professionals.

The second game will be the Upper Sandusky Middle School taking on the high school.

“The second game is the main event,” Washburn said.

“Those two have really started some trash talking. There’s been a lot of trash talking from everyone, but the high school and junior high are playing for keeps.”

The winners of the first round and second round will play the special fast money speed round and whoever ends with the highest points from the speed round will be crowned the overall champion.

Washburn said local volunteers are pulling out all the stops to make the game look as good as possible for all attendees.

“Keith Niederkohr and Mark Droll have been getting together for a couple weeks after work in the evenings down in Keith’s shop and the set they’ve designed is pretty amazing,” Washburn said.

“Anyone who knows Keith Niederkohr knows he doesn’t do anything half way. He is all in. (Burt) Dible from the junior high donated some buzzers from the quiz bowl so we’re fully prepared. It’s as real as we can get to California Family Feud in Upper Sandusky.”

Washburn also said he’s put in his homework, watching as many YouTube clips of Family Feud as he could find.

“I’d like to think of myself as a collection of Richard Dawson and Steve Harvey,” he said.

“I think I’ll be somewhere right in the middle of the old school version of Family Feud and the modern version.”

To avoid spoiling the survey questions, Washburn said he polled people from all over the state of Ohio and even parts of Indiana.

No polling came from anyone in the local area.

He said the only people who know what he’ll be asking locally will be himself, Andy Voorheis and Mark Droll, who are assisting on the technical side of the game.

In previous years, the fundraiser included roasts of local celebrities like Wyandot County Sheriff Mike Hetzel and Stombaugh-Batton Funeral Home owner/manager Brad Batton.

“We wanted to get away from the roasts because they were getting kind of stale,” Washburn said.

“Last year we did the Not So Newlywed Game. The game show theme is really popular and it’s a fun way to get people to support a good cause and have a good laugh. … We have to keep elevating our game. I think we’ve done it this time. I think this is going to be the best one yet.”

Additional fundraisers at the event a chance auction a 50/50 raffle and a live auction.

“Paul Wagner will be running the live auction for us,” Misty Droll said.

“Items include a week stay in Las Vegas at the Grand View Hotel donated by Saull Law Offices. The Vegas trip also include $200 in Vegas.com gift cards that can be used towards shows or restaurants as well as $250 in cash that can go towards airfare, gambling, whatever they want. Other live auction items include a 65-inch smart TV, a Field & Stream gun safe, box seats for a Cleveland Cavaliers game as well as Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball tickets.”

Hannah’s House is a supervised visit and exchange home that acts as a drop-off point for weekend visits or other custody-related services with children.

“In 2018 we did 487 supervised visits, 85 more than the year before,” Droll said.

“We also did 108 custody exchanges and still provide parenting class, the children in between class for divorces. We continue to grow.

“Lisa Ogg recently came aboard as an employee. There still are five volunteers who help with supervised visits but they’ve been worked hard this last year and Lisa has taken the pressure off them. We could be adding a second employee by the end of the year as we potentially expand our services and I begin stepping back to a more administrative role.”

Droll also got her chemical dependency license because a heavy current factor in children’s custody issues is chemical dependency due to the opioid crisis.

“I felt I needed to get more training to help understand, to help work with the parents better, to be a little more empathetic towards their situation instead of judgmental,” Droll said.

“It also trained me better to recognize if anyone is under the influence when they come here for visits.”

Droll said Hannah’s House has gained use as area agencies have become more comfortable with the services it provides.

Hannah’s House will serve any county that wants its services and it currently works with a case as far away Coshocton County.

“We serve wherever the need is,” Droll said.

Doors for the fundraiser open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $25 and may be purchased by calling Droll at 419-310-1530.

By BRIAN HEMMINGER
Staff writer