Every year all the marty groups come together at once in the spirit of giving to raise money for our favorite charity, Childrens Mercy Hospital. The Marty for Mercy is truly one of the highlights of our work together, is our most satisfying event of the year, and really shows what can be accomplished when business people cooperate to give rather than to get. In the last three years, the Marty Connection has raised over $40,000 for the kids. Of course, you can't discount the fun and good times had by all in putting on and executing these events. The following pictures will help you get some sense of our enjoyment and our

Mercy Marty 1:

Marty for Mercy at the York's
Since the original idea to do a charity event came from one of our first founding members, Patti York, it was only fitting that the first "Marty for Mercy be held at Patti and Kevin's house in their back yard. Ordinarily getting over three hundred people into someone's back yard would be impossible, but since their home sits on 4+ acres, we managed quite nicely.

Build it and they will come
Many team members had a hand in the preparations and there were times when we didn't know if we could pull it off, but when the time came we were ready. It looked like a circus had come to town as you drove up with the big tent right in the middle of it all, but everyone was glad to have it as the temperature had been over 90 degrees that day.

We had over 160 auction items under that tent, and until it cooled down most of the team members stayed under there as well. There was cold beer and wine for the adventurous, pop for the rest, a dunk tank for the those with a vengeful streak, and the burgers and franks were cooked by one of our own.

Gettin down for the kids
As evening descended, and all the bidding had been done, then it was time to celebrate as only martyers can. The DJ's (we had two) cranked on the music, we turned the back yard into a disco and we all danced the night away.

The teams even got into a singing competition, and we raised several hundred dollars as team after team paid to hear the other sing. Only for the kids would we have endured such pain.
After a good time was had by all, and the proceeds were tallied up, we had raised over $6000 for the kids at Children's Mercy Hospital. All were so pleased that we decided to make this an annual event.

Mercy Marty 2:

This time, we really got organized
With our first marty for mercy such a big success, we decided to begin our preparations for the next one much earlier. Our volunteers eagerly came forward, and we really got into the spirit of the event as our goal was to put a new thereaputic whirlpool in the physical therapy section of the hospital.
As a result of our members generousity, we ended up with over 300 auction items to sell and much of the refreshment was donated. The food for over 450 people was all prepared by Joyce and Corky Scarlett and their relatives so everything was fresh and homecooked. You could tell as folks began to arrive in droves, that it was a good thing we had rented out the whole community center as this was going to be a night to remember.

Celebrity items brought big prices
Many of the items we had to auction were celebrity donations such as jerseys from local KC Chiefs football stars, putters donated by national golf champions, a George Brett bat, and even a complete set of custom made golf clubs. For these items we had a live auction, and there wasn't a person there that bought an auction item that was unhappy. We all felt great about what we had done.
Of course, after the work was done, the DJ cranked up the music, the dancing was begun, and eating and drinking resumed.

Just to liven things up, we also had strolling magicians, face painting, massages for those whose backs were hurting from too much dance, and a caricature artist to help record the moment.

When all was said and done, all the guests had gone home and the proceeds were counted, the totals even amazed us. We had raised $21,197 for the kids this time, and I don't think there was a dry eye among the volunteers who had worked so hard for this moment.


Mercy Marty 3:

In this casino, everyone wins
For our third Marty for Mercy, we wanted to do something that would be different from anything we had done before, and we wanted to have a barrel of fun in the process. What better place to do both than our own casino. So we brought Las Vegas to Kansas and threw a casino marty for the kids.
Of course the idea was to lose, as all the losses became proceeds for the kids, and so the team members, played blackjack, shot craps, spun the roulette wheel, and had a great losing as much as they could. Many said this was the only casino they had ever been in where you won even if you lost.

The tradition continues.
Again, after the music stopped, the dancers had left the floor, and the last beer was consumed, we set about counting up the losses (winnings). We had raised another $5000 for the kids and we couldn't have had more fun doing it.

This gives all of us in the Marty Connection such satisfaction that the Marty for Mercy will continue to be one of our traditions that will go on for years to come.