Northwest Dallas APA combined forces with Wizards Sports Cafe in Richardson, Texas on Dec. 22 to hold their inaugural Toys for Tots 8-Ball Scotch Doubles Tournament. Thirty-two teams showed up with toys as an entry fee and over 200 toys were collected.

Lori Way, Northwest Dallas APA League Operator, donated two Action pool cues for 1^st Place and an assortment of APA merchandise for 3^rd Place; Wizards Sports Cafe donated $50 in gift certificates for the 2^nd Place team.

Jose Dorado Jr. and Juan Contreras took 1^st Place, Richard Dankovcik and Lucy Kimble placed 2^nd, and Kevin and Deanna Bush finished 3^rd.

For more information on Toys for Tots visit toysfortots.org; and for more information on Northwest Dallas APA visit nwdallas.apaleagues.com.

Sixteen players competed in the 2^nd Annual Blue Ridge APA Toys for Tots Tournament.  The event was held Dec. 10 at Fat Cat Billiards in Arden, N.C.  A total of $220 and 135 toys valued at over $1,300 were donated to the charity.  Staff Sergeant Russell from the Marine Corps attended the event to meet the players and collect the toys.  He even drew the winner of the pool cue raffle, which was won by Lee Hines.

The tournament was a modified single elimination 8-Ball Scotch Doubles competition.  Tony Hollifield and Joe Daly took home the 1^st Place prize.

For more information on Toys for Tots visit toysfortots.org; and for more information on Blue Ridge APA visit blueridgeAPA.com.

When Stephanie Johnson heard fellow APA member James Owens was the victim of a house fire her immediate reaction was, “What can I do to help?”  Her second thought was, “Organize a charity pool tournament.”  And that’s exactly what she did.

“Me being one person can’t do much,” Johnson remembers thinking, “but if we brought the entire League together, we could.”  So she spoke to the owner of Scottie’s Last Chance Saloon in Punta Gorda, Fla., and got permission to hold the benefit tournament for the Owens Family at his location.

The charity event took place on Dec. 10 and featured 20 individuals competing in a double elimination 8-Ball Singles tournament.  Shawn Collie won the tournament, with Albert Baker finishing 2^nd.  Both members donated their winnings back for the family.  The event also featured a barbecue and raffles, including a cue donated by Charlotte County APA League Operator Vito Faieta.  At the end of the day $377 was presented to James and his family.

“It was so good to see so many people come together at this time of year to help one family,” Johnson remarked.

For more information on Charlotte County APA visit charlottecounty.apaleagues.com.

On Dec. 10, 15 teams competed in the 2011 ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) Fundraiser 8-Ball Scotch Doubles Tournament held at The Break Billiards in Cahokia, Ill. Winning pool cues, cue cases, large baskets of APA pool stuff and 1^st Place trophies were the father and son team of Marty and Martin Kaczmarowski. Winning pool cues, cue cases, a small basket of APA pool stuff and 2^nd Place trophies were Mark Montgomery and Niki Politte.

There was also a 3-ball contest, 9-Ball break contest, in-house poker run, 50/50 drawing and basket of booze which contained bottles of liquor from 11 local Host Locations.  Paul Malter won a cue as 1^st Place prize in the 3-ball contest. John Stoffel III won a cue as 1^st Place prize in the 9-Ball break contest. Brien Youngblood had the winning hand of four 9’s to win a cue in the in-house poker run. Brien also won $57 on the 50/50 drawing. Marty Kaczmarowski won the basket of booze.

The tournament was sponsored by Midwest Illinois APA and was held in memory of Bob Hinkle Jr. Bob became an APA member in 1993 and was a skill level 6 when he was diagnosed with ALS in October 2006. He passed away at age 50 in November 2007.

Many thanks to all who helped with the tournament and contests: Judy Hinkle, Alex Hinkle, Dale Miller, Brien Youngblood, Shelli Eichelberger, Bob Nier, Buffy McKinney and Jim McKinney.

Thanks to The Break for providing the pool room and tables at no cost for the day. Also thanks to all locations who donated items for the booze basket: Carol’s Bridge Inn, Doit’s Village Inn, Fairview Inn, Humdinger’s, Ken’s Lounge, Laurie’s Place, Old Town Tavern, Shooterz, Shorty’s Pub, Time Out and The Break Billiards.

Other donators were Gary Newingham and Rixstine Recognition.

All proceeds—a total of $1,046—were sent to the ALS Association, St. Louis Regional Chapter, which helps all families in the Missouri and Illinois Metro East areas who are dealing with ALS in their lives.

Please visit alsa.org for more information about the ALS Association; for additional information about the Midwest Illimois APA visit midwestil.apaleagues.com.

Sixteen shooters turned out for the 3^rd Annual Toys for Tots Benefit tournament held at Terry’s Billiard Club in Topeka, Kan., on Dec. 4.  Leon Sylvestor took 1^st Place in the tournament, which used a Speed 8-Ball format.  Local merchants donated enough gifts that everyone who entered the tournament received a prize.  Northeast Kansas APA League Operators Jim & Rosemary Halladay matched the entry fees and Terry Munson, owner of Terry’s Billiard Club, matched the quarters that went into the tables, making the total donation to Toys for Tots $600.

For more information on Toys for Tots visit toysfortots.org.

Northwest Dallas County APA raised $470 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure during two separate events.  League Operator Lori Way donated two Action pool cues that were raffled off to raise money for the charity—both were signed by APA spokesperson Jeannette Lee “The Black Widow” and Robin Dodson.  The first drawing was held during the 2011 Summer Awards Ceremony on Sept. 25, with Jonathan Bearfield becoming the first winner.  The second cue was raffled off during the 2011 Top Gun Tournament on Nov. 11— Tony St. Clair was the lucky recipient of that cue.

For more information on Susan G. Komen for the Cure please visit komen.org; and for more information on Northwest Dallas County APA visit nwdallas.apaleagues.com.

Hawaiian Brian’s Billiards in Honolulu was the site for the 2^nd Annual Oahu APA Shoot for the Cure, held Oct. 30.  The single elimination 9-Ball tournament raised $2,000 for the Hawaii Affiliate of the Susan G Komen for the Cure.  Participating players raised money by getting sponsors to pledge between ten cents and one dollar per ball pocketed. Kevin Higuchi was the high pledge earner, taking that honor for the second year in a row.

Kimo Polk took 1^st Place in the tournament with a victory over Gene Starling in the finals.  Tony Bonelli and Sophina Placencia finished in 3^rd Place.

Oahu APA and Poison Billiards sponsored the event and donated prizes. Hawaiian Brian’s Billiards hosted the event and donated table time.

For more information about Susan G Komen for the Cure visit komen.org; and for more information about Oahu APA visit oahu.apaleagues.com.

Sixteen teams competed in the inaugural APA pool tournament to benefit the Annual Leslie Colucci-Sparano Summerfest, raising $478 for the cause.  Ken Atkinson and Randal Burbick took 1^st Place in the Scotch Doubles tournament, with Bob Brawn and Melena Thompson finishing in 2^nd Place.  The tournament took place at the VFW Stanley Snyder Post on Nov. 5.  League Operator Mark Kasiorek hopes to make the benefit an annual event with just one minor change.  “I think the timing was bad because of hunting season here in Pennsylvania, so next year we’ll look at changing the dates,” Kasiorek said.

The Leslie Colucci-Sparano Memorial Foundation was established by the Colucci family in February 2004 after the tragic death of their daughter Leslie Colucci-Sparano.   For the past 9 years Leslie’s family, along with the staff of Mercer County Behavioral Health Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have sponsored the Annual Leslie Colucci-Sparano Summerfest.  The Summerfest provides a fun summer outing for mentally and physically challenged individuals and their families with activities that include boating, fishing, carnival games, face painting, bingo, live music and a picnic lunch.

Leslie was a Supports Coordinator who worked at Mercer County Behavioral Health Commission.  It’s in Leslie’s spirit of life and giving that the family established her foundation with the hope of continuing where Leslie left off.

The 9^th Annual Leslie Colucci-Sparano Summerfest is scheduled to be held at Shenango Dam in July 2012.

For more information on the Leslie Colucci-Sparano Memorial Foundation visit mercercountybhc.org/Summerfest.html; for more information on North West Pennsylvania APA visit playapapool.com.

Starship Billiards in Decatur, Ill., played host to the Inaugural Cues for Kids Pool Tournament to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois.  During the tournament on Oct. 29, $999 was raised for the organization.

The goal of the event was to not only raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters, but to have fun in the process.   The tournament used a format called Hurricane 8-Ball, which is a faster paced version of 8-Ball, perfect for a fun tournament atmosphere.

League Operator Kim Jones said, “It was a small event for the first year, but I’m happy with the results.”

For more information on Big Brothers Big Sisters visit bbbs.org and for more information on Central Illinois APA visit illinoisapa.com.

After holding three more tournaments during the month of October, APA of San Antonio wrapped up their month-long charity drive by participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk.  APA of San Antonio had 26 walkers involved in the event that took place on Oct. 22 at Hemisfair Park—they were among the top 5 “Friends and Family” teams participating.

The APA team exceeded their fundraising goal of $5,000 by raising $5,170 during the month-long charity drive.

For more information about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society visit leukemia-lymphoma.org, and for more information on APA of San Antonio visit sanantonio.apaleagues.com.