$5,000 also raised for the Warren Bailey Community Service Scholarship

LACONIA—Hundreds boarded the M/S Mount Washington at Weirs Beach Friday night, selling out the 2025 Sweepstakes Social and raising $15,000 in cash prizes and $15,000 in matching cash to Pub Mania teams that support the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction.

The sixth annual event also raised $5,000 for the Warren Bailey Community Service Scholarship, which awards $5,000 in grants each year to Lakes Region graduating seniors to support their college journeys.

The scholarship honors Warren Bailey, the founder of the Children’s Auction who passed away recently.

Coincidentally, the Sweepstakes Social was held only hours after a four-hour celebration of life for Bailey at Gunstock Resort. Many of those who attended the memorial were on board the Mount in the evening, continuing to honor a community hero.

“It was so appropriate that an event raising funds for the Children’s Auction and the scholarship in Warren’s name followed the celebration of his life,” said Event Organizer Jennifer Beetle.  “I think Warren would be very pleased with that.”  

Presenting sponsor Meredith Village Saving Bank and nine other local businesses supported the Sweepstakes Social, and Pub Mania Team Captain Judi Taggart of Tagg Team sold 59 event tickets and was given a shout-out on board for her efforts.

As party goers danced to music by Holycow! Music DJ, Jeff Lines, and enjoyed the late summer evening on the water, names were drawn intermittently for cash prizes. Individual winners received the prize and a matching amount went to the Pub Mania team they selected when purchasing their ticket.

“We had a blast on the Mount under perfect skies last night, and we’re grateful for all the support we received from teams that helped us sell out the event,” Beetle said. “We had lots of fun with a community of friends, and we did it for our region’s kids. That’s why we come out.”

Four $500 prizes went to Steve Wainwright and the Beetle Books team, June Hibbs and Tagg Team, Deb Peverly and Lakes Region Realtors, and Holly Ruggieri and Lakes of the Lake. 

Three $1,000 prizes went to Paul Ardizzoni, James Hutchins and Bill Finethy, with matching gifts for all three supporting Patrick’s Kings Corner. 

A $2,000 prize went to Susan Spooner-Bishop and Lakes Region Realtors; $3,000 to Bill Kaik and Body Covers; and the grand prize of $5,000 went to Wendy Beetle and Patrick’s Kings Corner.

Bailey founded the Children’s Auction as a one-day event in 1981, and over 44 years, it has grown into an organization that fundraises all year long and is supported by over 700 volunteers. The auction has raised over $9.2 million to fund local nonprofits.

Donations to the Warren Bailey Community Service Scholarship are accepted all year long via the Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation. For more information, email scholarship@lrscholarship.org.

For more information about the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction, visit childrensauction.org.

For more information about Pub Mania, visit patrickspub.com.

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Recognition for community philanthropy comes from the 

GILFORD—Patrick’s Pub & Eatery has been named a Good Neighbor for 2020 for its community philanthropy and support by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and American Express. 

In granting the recognition, NRAEF cited fundraisers Patrick’s holds on behalf of community groups, and the Pub Mania event founded over a decade ago to support the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. 

This marks the fourth time Patrick’s owners Allan and Jennifer Beetle, and Jeffrey and Wendy Beetle, have received the award; Patrick’s was also honored in 2008, 2013, and 2018.

“We’re proud. Staff is excited about it,” said Patrick’s General Manager Megan Page, after a plaque was presented April 22 at the restaurant by Samantha McDonald, membership and WC Trust director of the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association (NHLRA). “It’s the best award to receive. It’s great to have an award-winning burger or chowder, but being recognized for being a good neighbor means a lot. We’re being good people.” 

NRAEF said nine out of 10 restaurants are actively involved in community service, yet the organization’s leaders were impressed with Patrick’s creation of Pub Mania, and its pivot to the pandemic-proof It’s for the Kids Community Challenge, which Patrick’s owners launched last year when it was not possible to host Pub Mania live because of COVID-19.

Going forward, the challenge will replace the pub event as the fundraising can be done virtually and can include more teams and participants; in its first year in 2020, the challenge raised $249,460 for the auction, bringing the 11-year total raised to roughly $2.6 million.

McDonald said, “Patrick’s has always been a community-oriented organization. Even in the midst of the pandemic, they have found innovative ways to continue their support of the auction. The NHLRA is very proud to be able to present them with this award, and to have them as part of our community.” 

Page, Patrick’s general manager, said the restaurant owners model community philanthropy for staff in many ways. “We’re constantly working to inspire staff to be part of our fundraising efforts,” she said.

In 2020, for instance, Patrick’s dedicated 50 percent of its proceeds on St. Patrick’s Day to a nonprofit called Got Lunch, which provides free lunches to children in need in the region. The restaurant also provides annual support to many community youth sports teams and hosts occasional fundraisers for individuals or families in crisis.

Many staff were also involved in Pub Mania and remain involved with the Community Challenge as well as the Shuffle—a weekly fundraising walk that raises money toward the annual challenge total. 

“We’re always talking about community fundraising here,” Page said, adding, “I encourage it, but it really comes from the top—Allan and Jennifer and Jeff and Wendy.”

Patrick’s owners also model giving with the staff, assisting them with resources, troubleshooting, and financial assistance when emergencies and life’s disruptions come along.  

“We encourage a family culture here,” Page said. “This is not just a job. It’s a family.”

For more information on Patrick’s Pub, call 293-0841 or visit www.patrickspub.com.

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The Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction is a nonprofit in Laconia, New Hampshire, that raises money each year for children and families in need. My brothers run an annual event called Pub Mania that helps to bolster the auction’s fundraising efforts. This year, I got to write about two Pub Mania volunteers—who are also friends of mine. The blog was used on the Children’s Auction website and in its newsletter; I also sent it to local media in the Laconia area.

Jennifer Bailey grew up in the Lakes Region and has a long memory of the good cheer that the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction brings to the holiday season. When her children were young several decades ago, the family donated toys. Jennifer also purchased holiday gifts while listening to the radio broadcasts.

Shawn Bailey came to the region as an adult and began to take part as an Auction volunteer 14 years ago. He took bids on the phone banks, with his coworkers from Coldwell Banker, and also helped organize annual toy drives in the office.

“It was addictive to see the magic that goes on there, and how many people help,” Shawn recalls. “I was impressed with the community and how generous people are.”

Jennifer says she tends toward the shy side; getting involved with the Auction in person didn’t feel like her thing. Until her longtime friends, Jennifer and Allan Beetle, co-owners of Patrick’s Pub & Eatery, started dreaming up Pub Mania 11 years ago. 

“Allan proposed the idea, and Shawn and I loved it so much, we said, ‘We’re in. Tell us what we can do,’” Jennifer says. “That first year, it was meeting and talking—throwing ideas around. They did the majority of it. We just kept saying, ‘What can we do? What can we do?’”

Since that first year, Pub Mania has grown tremendously, becoming an event that provides the lion’s share of the funds raised during each year’s Auction week. The event is a 24-hour barstool challenge involving 31 teams of 24 people each.   For each of the 24 hours, teams participate in fun games and activities; fundraising also happens year-round, as do various events that range from yard sales and dinner gatherings to the Pub Mania Shuffle, a two-mile walk held on Wednesday nights in the spring and fall.

“I was thrilled when Allan came up with the idea for Pub Mania,” Jennifer says. “It’s made it easy for me to get involved.” 

Jennifer has been a Pub Mania referee since the event’s start. Shawn first served as team captain with his Coldwell Banker colleagues and came on board as a referee three years ago. The refs stay up for 24 hours, working with the crowd, answering questions, leading games and raffles, and handing out prizes. Shawn also judges the dance contest and helps the event’s many musicians set up and break down.

Allan and Jennifer; Jeff and Wendy Beetle—also Patrick’s co-owners— and Kate Flaherty are the other event referees.

Pub Mania raised $47,000 for the Children’s Auction in its first year—crushing Allan’s goal of $30,000. Last year, the amount raised was $353,361, more than half of the total $580,584 that was raised for the Children’s Auction.

“I feel really good about it and really proud,” says Shawn. “The amount of money—it’s needed in this community. To be able to be a part of raising so much money is very rewarding.” He adds that there is pressure to keep pace! “We just have to keep doing it somehow.”

Jennifer says, “I love the emotional part of it. Closing ceremonies gives me such a good feeling. I cannot believe the amount of money raised. We live in a beautiful area, but we have a lot of need. It’s amazing how much the Children’s Auction does and how the community comes together.”

In 10 years, Pub Mania has raised nearly $2 million for the Children’s Auction. The 2019 edition of the world’s greatest barstool challenge is just around the corner, kicking off on Dec. 5 for 24 hours. 

Look for the Beetles and Baileys there. Shawn and Allan are sure to perform “Pub Maniacs Answer the Call,” a traditional song the Beetles wrote to tell the event’s backstory.

Says Jennifer, “I can’t imagine the holiday season without Pub Mania and the Auction. 

“When we get to opening ceremonies, there’s always this feeling of, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we’re here again,’” she adds. “You get to see familiar faces from years past. And when closing ceremonies come, a recipient speaks about what the money has meant to them. It puts all our efforts into perspective.”

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Patrick’s Pub Mania team member made $4,225 for the Lakes Region Children’s Auction knitting hats in 2018

GILFORD— If you saw a woman knitting last year while out in a restaurant—or while boating, or on a bus, or in a doctor’s office—it was probably Judi Rogato. She had her needles in her hands everywhere she went, even on a Caribbean cruise.

“Who knits a hat on a cruise in the Caribbean?” Rogato said with a laugh. “Me!”

Rogato’s goal at first was to create 25 hats to sell for $25 apiece to raise money for Patrick’s Pub Mania and her team, The Diving Ducks, to benefit the 2018 Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. Rogato got carried away, though. She made and sold 169 hats, raising $4,225.

“It was a great conversation starter,” Rogato said, noting that in addition to raising dollars for Pub Mania and the Children’s Auction, she also inadvertently raised awareness. “People would ask ‘What are you making?’ It gave me so much pride to tell them what I was doing, and a lot of people learned about Pub Mania and the Children’s Auction through me.”

Children’s Auction Coordinator Jennifer Kelley says that Rogato offers people in the community a great example of what one individual can do to benefit the auction, which provides grants to children and families in need.

“The amount of heart and soul in this community is unbelievable,” said Kelley. “The Children’s Auction and Pub Mania have brought out so many people like Judi who have huge hearts and worked so hard for this cause. It’s great for people to think of their own unique ways to contribute, and they inspire others to do the same.”

Last year at this time, Rogato had taken part in Pub Mania on The Diving Ducks team with other members from the Winnipesaukee Yacht Club for the fourth time. She hadn’t done much in the way of fundraising, making a donation herself instead. She wanted the fifth year to be more remarkable.

“I wanted to do more,” she said. “I wanted to give more. It’s such a good cause.”

So, Rogato began brainstorming. Her 29-year-old daughter Jenna suggested she use her knitting talent to make and sell hats.

“I said, ‘I bet I could make 25 hats and sell them. I’ll donate my time and the yarn,’” Rogato recalled.

She started selling the hats through word-of-mouth to friends at the yacht club and at a few club functions. “All of a sudden, I started getting orders and had to make up order forms,” she said. “One person ordered 11 for Christmas gifts.”

As the orders came in, Rogato got nervous about whether or not she could keep up. She began knitting in every free moment—no matter where she was.

Rogato ordered tags that she sewed into each hat. They read, “Handknit by Judi. Pub Mania/Diving Ducks.” She worked with nearly 60 different colors of yarn, making two styles of hat: a cabled hat that takes about five-and-a-half hours to make and a more lightweight, striped hat that takes less time. The hats come in three sizes and can be custom-ordered, with optional pom-poms.

“I absolutely loved it,” Rogato said of her fundraising project. “I did get stressed sometimes, like when I had 15 orders to do. I loved when people would send photos of their children and grandchildren wearing the hats I made.”

“I am so proud of what I was able to do, and I am so thankful that so many people supported the effort and bought hats,” Rogato said, noting that when she tallied the total amount she’d raised, she was a bit shocked.

Members of the yacht club were also impressed. They presented Rogato with the first-ever Diving Ducks team award: a plaque with a pair of knitting needles on it.

Even with 2018’s Pub Mania behind her, Rogato hasn’t slowed down.

“I haven’t stopped knitting,” she said. “I can’t stop! I’ve already started working toward next year’s goal!”

For more information on Patrick’s Connect, or to register your business as a featured business, call 293-0841 or visit www.patrickspub.com/connect.

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GILFORD—When Will Swart was first invited to take part in Pub Mania as a team captain by Patrick’s co-owner Allan Beetle three years ago, Swart was sure his 24 teammates could each raise the suggested $100.

Made up of employees and riders associated with the Laconia Harley Davidson dealership in Meredith, where Swart is general manager, team Laconia Harley Iron Butts felt great about the idea of raising $2,400 to benefit the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. Swart remembered that a collective reality soon dawned on them, though: They could raise even more.

“Our efforts snowballed from there,” Swart said.

Every team captain associated with the annual Pub Mania event at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery reports this same desire to have the competitive edge. “It’s what makes Pub Mania more successful each year,” said Co-owner Allan Beetle.

In 2018, the 10th anniversary year for the greatest bar stool challenge ever, 744 participants on 31 teams raised a total of $353,361, bringing the Children’s Auction to its largest total in 37 years at $580,584.

“We are incredibly awed and grateful to everyone who took part, and we’re proud of Will’s team—the top fundraiser at over $31,778,” Beetle said.

Last year, the Iron Butts raised $15,278. What allowed the team to double the funds raised in 2017 was raffling off a 2018 Harley Anniversary Street Glide, which brought in $14,000 through $20 ticket sales.

“Our biggest reason for wanting to get involved in Pub Mania was to channel what we can do as a business, a dealership, a group of people, into a charity that does so much for the community we live and work in,” Swart said. “Part of the joy of participating in Pub Mania is just the fun of doing it, part of it is supporting the charity itself, and part of it is the competitiveness.”

Jaimie Sousa, chair of the Children’s Auction since March, said each year the board braces itself to learn the Pub Mania total. “We hope for the best, and then we’re thrilled when the fundraising amount is even more than we expected, going up $40,000 or $50,000 each year,” she said. “It’s hard to think about what our community would look like without fundraising from Pub Mania. So many local agencies depend on it.”

Funds that funnel through Pub Mania to the auction provide such things as lunches for children in the Lakes Region who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. The dollars provide food, clothing, shelter—and even Christmas gifts—for families in need. It also offers enrichment through support of organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakes Region and other mentoring programs that give children a safe place to play and “a glimpse of what life can offer,” Sousa said.

“This makes a difference in people’s lives,” Sousa added. “That’s what we hope for.”

The Children’s Auction was created in 1982 by Warren Bailey, then a radio DJ on WLNH, who started conducting the event on air. In 1998, Sousa said the auction became televised. It continues to follow the same general agenda: Tuesday through Saturday, during the first week of December, items are auctioned off, and the proceeds benefit dozens of local nonprofits.

Many people get involved—from donating items to raising money to shopping the auction. Some tell stories that help others understand the need. “Leaders from the nonprofits we support speak and share stories,” Sousa said, “and we have groups of young people doing community service hours and getting interested in giving back. It’s cool to see there is a next generation for the Children’s Auction.”

Swart said his wife, Kathy, is a very active member of the Iron Butts because she was once a single mother and remembers what it was like to need—and receive—community support. “Now she wants to help others,” Swart said.

In addition to raffling off the Harley, the Laconia Harley Iron Butts organized fundraising events like Biker Bingo Nights, which typically raised about $1,000. They collect donations during customer grill-outs, and one employee—the team’s top individual fundraiser—brought in more than $1,800 by selling handmade ornaments.

As captain of her own team, Fusion, Sousa also knows the adrenalin rush that comes with bringing in more—and more, and more. Fusion is made of up young professionals. They raise money through admission to networking and special events, as well as individual team member fundraising initiatives. This year, they raised over $15,000.

“I’m really happy that I can be a part of it in both ways,” Sousa said, speaking of her role with the auction and as a participant of Pub Mania. “We’re all working toward the same goal.”

She added, “I credit Pub Mania with really giving the auction a year-round face and a way to fundraise throughout the year. Thirty-one teams are all promoting their own events and fundraising in a variety of ways. It’s an amazing thing.”

For more information or to participate in Pub Mania visit www.patrickspub.com/pubmania or email info@patrickspub.com.

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Annual challenge takes place Dec. 6 and 7 this year at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery

GILFORD—In 1993, Lisa Cornish was supporting a family of four. She worked a steady job but felt the pinch of need.

Cornish earned too much money then to qualify for welfare—but not enough to make ends meet. It was particularly difficult to afford winter clothing and Christmas presents for her 16-month-old daughter Anna and her 7-year-old stepson Mark.

She reached to St. Vincent De Paul for winter jackets and boots for each of the children and received the clothing as well as a box of toys they could open on the holiday.

“I was very thankful that my kids were warm,” Cornish remembered, noting she very much appreciated having one door open for her. “It’s hard, and it’s embarrassing when you ask for help and get turned down,” she said.

In 1994, Cornish reached out again for help, receiving clothing from St. Vincent De Paul and holiday gifts from the Salvation Army. Two years later, after breaking away from an abusive relationship, Cornish needed help one final time.

“That’s when St. Vincent De Paul helped me to rent an apartment and gave me a month’s worth of food,” she said. “That’s all I needed to set me up. In a little over a year and a half, I was back on my feet and had purchased my own house.

“I was humbled by so many strangers who helped,” she added. “I was very proud, but it’s amazing what your children can do to change that.”

The much-needed assist from the community isn’t something Cornish forgot. She began almost immediately to volunteer for these organizations, with Anna by her side, and she continues to serve on several nonprofit boards.

For over a decade, Cornish has been a fixture at the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction and recently joined its board of directors. She continues to do whatever is needed to help, making it a point to bring a steady flow of items for the auction.

For the last three years, Cornish has also served on a team for Pub Mania, and she’s a regular volunteer for the Pub Mania Shuffle. “You always want to pay it forward,” Cornish said. “There is always going to be someone in need.”

Pub Mania is a 24-hour barstool challenge imagined by Patrick’s Co-owner Allan Beetle nine years ago while participating in Laconia Athletic & Swim Club’s Cycle Mania.  Funds are passed directly to the Lakes Region Children’s Auction, which offers grants to local nonprofits that help meet children’s basic needs—nonprofits such as those that supported Cornish.

Fundraising by Patrick’s Pub Mania’s 33 teams is ongoing all year, bolstered by the Shuffle, a two-mile walk that’s held on Wednesday evenings in the spring and fall. Thus far, Pub Mania has raised over $1.6 million for the Children’s Auction.

Cornish has taken on the role of captain for The Real Downtown Santas team, working to support the cause during the annual Pub Mania challenge, held this year on December 6 and 7. 

Anna is also captain of her own team, Crossfit Juggernaut.

Each Pub Mania team fields 24 participants, one for each hour of this round-the-clock event. Cornish said both she and Anna are competitive, striving to raise the most funds as a Pub Mania team and to also collect the most Pub Mania points, which are awarded for such things as bringing the greatest number of food donations for the local food pantry.

“My team won the Feeding Families Award last year,” Cornish said with pride, noting that Anna “gets her team all riled up about giving back to the community.”

“The need is growing tremendously,” she said. “In Laconia, between 63 and 70 percent of children are eligible for free and reduced lunches. The opioid crisis has hit the city hard, too. There’s a lot of parents with addictions whose children are being raised by their grandparents.

“This community amazes me every year,” Cornish said of residents’ willingness to donate to the cause. “I get chills down my spine thinking of the money we’ve raised. I feel very privileged and humbled to be a part of it, after all the years I received help.”

For more information or to participate in Pub Mania visit www.patrickspub.com/pubmania or email info@patrickspub.com.

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GILFORD—It began as a tag-on event to Laconia Athletic & Swim Team’s Cycle Mania fundraiser for the Children’s Auction, and now, nine years later, Patrick’s Pub Mania is billed as the “World’s Greatest Barstool Challenge” by Patrick’s co-owner and event referee Allan Beetle.

This because Pub Mania raised $47,000 for the Children’s Auction during the initial Pub Mania event in 2009 and raised the bar to a record $303,630 last year for a total of $1.6 million.

“A few years back we revised our Pub Mania logo and decided to add “World’s Greatest” to it,” said Beetle. “Who knows if it is true, and who cares? It’s about having fun and making an impact on our community. It’s also hard to imagine another restaurant or pub that hosts an event like this with such an amazing group of people who want to make a difference in children’s lives—and have fun while doing it.”

Thirty-two teams each lay claim to one barstool, and each team has 24 participants (aka Culinary Athletes), one for each hour of the 24-hour event. Participants raise and/or donate money, many working throughout the year on fundraising. This year, they will show up to sit on their stools and celebrate their accomplishments, beginning with Open Ceremonies on Dec. 6 at 9 a.m.

What follows are 24 continuous hours of music, games, contests and antics designed to allow participants to have a fun and memorable visit, hopefully returning the following year inspired to participate again.

“We play a Plus $1 game each year with the goal of surpassing the money raised from the preceding year,” explained Beetle. “Every year, I’ve been fairly certain we won’t accomplish that, and I’ve been wrong every year so far. The generosity of this community keeps blowing my mind. I can’t imagine raising any more this year either.”

Beetle said Pub Mania’s team captains are the backbone of the event, building and inspiring their teams to contribute, fundraise and show up ready to have fun around the clock.

What’s extra special this year for Allan and his brother/business partner Jeff Beetle, and the entire Beetle family, is to have a team in honor of their father, Harvey Beetle, who passed away in October.

“Dad was very proud of this event and all the volunteers who work to make this happen. He helped kick off Opening Ceremonies at the very first event in 2009 with a special song by the barbershop quartet he was part of then, called Reverb,” Allan Beetle said. “This year one of the barstool teams is called Harvey’s Harmonizers in his honor, with family friend Dan Wilkins taking the lead as team captain.”

Known by most in his community as “Scud,” Harvey Beetle loved music sung in four-part harmony, and he sang in barbershop choruses and quartets for the past 50 years.

“Singing was one of his true passions, and we have many fond memories of watching him perform,” Beetle said. “Dad was also an investor with Jeff and I when we purchased Patrick’s in 1994. As the business and our contributions in the community grew over the years, he became more and more proud. Having a team in his honor is a very fitting tribute.”

For more information or to participate in Pub Mania visit www.patrickspub.com/pubmania or email info@patrickspub.com.

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Weekly fundraiser resumes tonight at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery and runs through Oct. 24

GILFORD—When Kate Flaherty moved back to New Hampshire from Massachusetts in 2015, she was drawn back into the fold by her longtime friends at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery as a volunteer for the Pub Mania Shuffle and the Pub Mania event itself.

These days, Flaherty’s face is often the first one that new members of Pub Mania teams see when they arrive in the pub parking lot to Shuffle on a Wednesday evening in the spring or fall, and it’s Flaherty who offers the welcome and draws people in.

“Every time we do a Shuffle, we always meet new people; they come down because they’ve read about the event in the newspaper,” said Flaherty, who mans the ticket booth at the Shuffle along with fellow volunteers Jennifer Beetle, Jennifer Bailey, and Lisa Cornish.  

Flaherty’s Shuffle story, and that of the fundraiser itself, is told online at www.patrickspub.com in a new blog Patrick’s launched on Aug. 13.

Flaherty said they all enjoy telling Shufflers how the two-mile walk/run supports Pub Mania, which, in turn, provides a large portion of the proceeds for the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. Last year, Pub Mania raised $303,630 and has raised over $1.6 million in its first nine years.

This spring, the eight Wednesday Shuffles raised $9,020 for the 2018 Pub Mania event, bringing the five-year Shuffle total to over $52,000. The fall Shuffles begin tonight and continue through Oct. 24. All are welcome to attend.

“What I have noticed is that the Shuffle gets people from different parts of the Lakes Region together, and our common goal is making this beautiful place even better and helping children who need our support,” Flaherty said.

“Many people don’t know about Pub Mania or the Children’s Auction,” she added. “It’s always a conversation I have that starts with, “Did you know…? We love telling that story.”

This because the Pub Mania story is an exciting one.

Inspired by Laconia Athletic & Swim Club’s Cycle Mania, Patrick’s Co-Owner Allan Beetle first imagined the innovative, 24-hour barstool challenge nine years ago as a fundraiser for the Children’s Auction. A major community event held every December for over 33 years, the Children’s Auction provides grants to local nonprofits that help meet children’s basic needs and provide services and initiatives that improve their lives.

Fundraising by Pub Mania’s 33 teams is ongoing all year, bolstered by the Shuffle, which Patrick’s launched in the fall of 2013 to bring more fun and healthy competition into the mix and to keep the Pub Mania conversation going all year long.

Flaherty said everyone does the Shuffle differently. Some people make the $10 required donation and walk the two-plus-mile course that begins at Patrick’s, heads to the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, and winds back. Others run. And some people simply take their raffle and complimentary drink tickets into Patrick’s to have a drink and check out the menu and the specials.

“People can get what they want out of it,” Flaherty said, noting that after Beetle has biked the course and made sure everyone made it back safely, Shufflers have their cocktail, usually with apps or dinner, and hope to win a Patrick’s Frisbee or sweatshirt in the raffle. “They give away good stuff.”

Pub Mania teams have fun competing in the Shuffle over how much money they are raising and how many team members show up to take part—just as they do in the 24-hour event.

Flaherty said her job as Shuffle ticket master is an easy one, but she does have to pay attention. “I have to give out three raffle tickets and one drink ticket to each person—and not the other way around,” she jokes.

The Shuffle has been around long enough, Flaherty said, that it’s become a tradition for many. “It gives people in the community a chance to connect with one another while exercising and raising money to help people in need at the same time,” she said, adding, “I’ve learned from Jennifer and Allan that fundraising can be a lot of fun. It doesn’t feel like work.”

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