Giving Something Back to the Community (GSBTTC) will hold its fourth annual cornhole tournament on Saturday at Hickey White Park, 237 County Road, in Crystal City. Proceeds from the tournament will be used to pay off delinquent lunch accounts.
The check-in for the tournament will start at 10 a.m., with games to start at 11 a.m.
GSBTTC founder and chairman Wyatt Becquette, 72, of Herculaneum said the two-person teams will play with standard cornhole rules, and each team will play a minimum of three games. The cost is $30 per player.
Becquette said players may preregister by calling AJ Riney, the cornhole tournament chair, at 636-209-1836 or emailing GSBTTCevents@gmail.com. Same-day registration also will be available.
Becquette said GSBTTC has helped students in four school districts in previous years, Jefferson R-7, Crystal City, Festus R-6 and Dunklin R-5. He said the tournament has raised about $1,000 to $2,000 each year.
“You’d be surprised at how much these bills are racked up at the different schools,” Becquette said. “It can be $20,000 in unpaid lunch bills. We can’t do that much, but we try to help where we can. That’s why we do this cornhole tournament and why we’re trying to recruit as many people as we can. The more folks we get to play, the more we can get to one of the schools.”
Becquette said the event is open to spectators. He said anyone who wants to donate to the organization without playing can send money through Venmo to the group @gsbttc2000.
Inspired beginnings
Becquette said GSBTTC started with a simple question 25 years ago.
After returning from overseas while serving for more than 22 years in the Air Force, Becquette was walking around his mother’s neighborhood in Crystal City when a neighbor, Sydney Brown, stopped him and asked him, “When are you going to give something back?”
Becquette, along with his friend Denise Brown, who is not related to Sydney Brown, started the nonprofit organization. They both believed they had been blessed in their lives and wanted to pass those blessings onto others.
“I’ve been pretty fortunate,” Becquette said. “There’s always room for someone to step up and lend a hand.”
Becquette said he saw people who were struggling to pay for prescriptions, bills and housing and was determined to find a way to help. As he and Brown recruited volunteers, they were able to help more people, especially with support from food pantries, schools and community chests. He said the group raises money through events like fish fries and barbecues.
“We try to come up with new ways of raising money so that we can help people that may need help, usually here in the Jefferson County area,” Becquette said.