To raise money for new baseball uniforms, the Francis Marion University (FMU)
Athletic Department hosted its 12th annual chicken bog fundraiser on the Smith University Center (UC) lawn on Oct. 9.
Murray Hartzler, athletic director, is in charge of the monetary aspects of the
fundraiser each year.
The Athletic Department uses the money from the chicken bog meal differently every
year.This year, Hartzler said, the department was seeking to raise at least $5,000 dollars
through the fundraiser.
With such a large amount of money, Hartzler explained, it has to be allocated in an
effective way.
“The department desires to raise money each year for purchasing new athletic
uniforms and equipment for one sport,” Hartzler said. “Last year, we used the money for
the basketball team uniforms. This year, we plan on purchasing new uniforms for the
baseball team with the funds.”
However, Hartzler added, the money raised can be divided among two different sports
in the same year if the given sports are in need of the funds.
Deliveries were free to individuals that bought more than 10 boxes of chicken bog at
a time. Each customer that bought chicken bog paid seven dollars per plate.
Baseball coach ArthurInabinet has been running the event since it started.
“This event gives FMU an opportunity to reach out to the community,” Inabinet said.
“It is more than just a fundraising event; it’s an opportunity to connect the Athletic
Department with the Florence community.”
Other coaches from the department aided in the effort by volunteering their time
to load chicken bog into cars for deliveries. Some helped serve food to the individuals
that stopped by. Members of thesurrounding Florence community were also present to
contribute. These volunteersoffered their support by serving food to customers and
packing food for deliveries.
Lezlie Bowen, who serves as the university’s catering manager, said preparation is
one of the most important parts of the event. This was Bowen’ssecondyear catering for
the fundraiser.
“We prepared the food yesterday and sold all 1,000 plates today,” Bowen said. “We
used 20 cases of chicken and sausage, 200 pounds of rice, 160 pounds of green beans and
yams.”
There were a few major contributors to the chicken bog this year, Inabinet said, and
added the he was very keen on making sure that everybody was satisfied with the meal.
“Two large contributors to the chicken bog this year were Mike Reichenbach-Ford
and King-Cadillac-Buick-GMC car dealerships,” Inabinet said. “We sold a combined
147 plates of chicken bog to the dealerships.”
The money raised helps the department balance out purchases for all sports, Hartzler
said, and each sport has a four-year rotation in the system for receiving money from the
fundraiser.With the development of new equipment and jerseys,Hartzler explained, the
money from the fundraiser is necessary for the Athletic Department to have upgrades.