Road Apple Roulette Proceeds Donated to Wenatchee Senior Center

The Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center is newly flush thanks to a surprise donation from the Wenatchee Sunrise Rotary Club.

In Wenatchee, where older people account for nearly half the population, there is much demand for a recreation facility that nurtures and stimulates seniors. With its rich compendium of education, exercise and even travel activities, the Senior Center is a godsend for elderly folk who might otherwise fritter away their golden years.

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But caring for this high-need demographic is not cheap. Thankfully the Senior Center received a tidy sum from the Rotary Club. At an all-you-can-eat crab dinner on Saturday, Rotary Club fundraising chair Wayne Massing proudly hoisted a check for $4,000.

Two other pure-at-heart benefactors - Jim Heinlein and David Solomon - spontaneously committed to large donations. Both Heinlein and Solomon attended the crab feed; they got swept up in the exultant hoots and hollers that greeted Massing, according to a Rotary Club press release.

Where did the Rotary Club come up with $4,000? Believe it or not this money was generated on the backs of defecating horses.

Road Apple Roulette is a guessing game, a fun little precursor to the horse-strewn Stemlit Grand Parade. Participants try to predict where on the parade route horses will drop their "road apples." This is followed by a raffle with cash prizes of up to $10,000.

The prize money only accounts for a fraction of raffle proceeds. The remaining proceeds are steered to a nonprofit of the Rotary Club's choosing. In this case the primary recipient was the Senior Center.