Members of the Humane Society of Faulkner County Board of Directors were the last ones to know Best Buy raised $1,500 for them during Toad Suck Daze by allowing festival-goers to play a round of Plinko for charity.
And it was definitely a welcome surprise, according to board member Sloan Swindle.
"It was kept a secret from us and announced at our board meeting last night and we were all very pleasantly surprised," Swindle said Tuesday. "I think the board members all sat around with their mouths hanging open for a few minutes when we had just grasped the news that Best Buy had done this for us."
People from the Faulkner County community and those who traveled to the area just for the festival were invited to step up to the booth and play Plinko, which originated on a very popular pricing show, by dropping a disc down a board with several pegs to see which dollar amount it will land on.
Brian Boerum, who is the custom experience manager for the Best Buy in Conway, said the store's Plinko board began as a way to add some fun to the store's staff meetings.
"We had the game to make meetings more exciting for the employees so we got the idea of letting people play it for charity and see what happens, and obviously it took off," Boerum said.
After the festival was over and the money was counted, Boerum said his favorite part was having the opportunity to call the humane society and let them know about the donation.
"On the first phone call to the humane society, the girl thought we were just wanting to raise money, she didn't know we had already done it, but the second person I talked to was extremely excited and couldn't believe how much money we raised," Boerum said. "For me it feels really good and I think it's the reaction I get that I love the most, which is probably the reason I wanted to keep it a secret."
Although this may have been the first time a Plinko board was used, it wasn't the first helping hand Best Buy has given to a local charity, according to Boerum.
"At the store we always try to do a lot for local charities Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls Club, local schools and I wanted to do something this year that was near and dear to my heart," Boerum said.
Boerum said the main reason he chose the humane society as the receiving charity was because he has a special place in his heart for what they do for animals in need.
"It's important to me what they do when it comes to the hurricanes and the recent tornadoes and the animals who are misplaced after those events and I always adopt animals from the Humane Society because I think it's the right thing to do," Boerum said.
As for the donated dollars, Swindle said the board decided at its Monday meeting to use the funds to pursue their mission of spay/neuter in the county.
(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
