Next Saturday, you can both test your trivia expertise and help the families of local first responders. The Firefighter’s Fathead Challenge will take place at 10350 Glaser Way, Fishers, in the parish life center. Happy hour and check in start at 6 p.m. and trivia starts at 7 p.m. on Feb. 22.
For the last 11 years, the Firefighters Fathead Challenge has packed the house. Register your team at this link. (Photo provided)
“The Firefighter’s Fathead Challenge is a trivia event hosted by the Hamilton County Professional Fire Fighters IAFF Local 4416,” Communications Director Erik Scheub told The Reporter. “The event was founded on the idea of helping brother and sister firefighters who have children with extraordinary medical needs. We’re very thankful for our health insurance, but you know as well as I do that there are many obligations associated with children with special medical needs that are not covered. It’s the goal of the event to help fill the gap.”
In addition to the money raised from trivia contest entry fees, the event will include auction items, opportunities to donate, food and fun for all.
Hiner
According to both Scheub and Event Chairman Chad Hiner, 100 percent of the proceeds go to Hamilton County Professional Firefighters Foundation to help those in need.
David and Michelle Bobo started this event 11 years ago and Hiner has been involved since the beginning. Seven years ago, he started helping the Bobos run the event and this year marks his third as the event chairman.
In addition to helping the children of local firefighters, the Hamilton County Professional Firefighters Foundation also helps families when tragedy strikes.
“One of our captains lost his leg above the knee in a motorcycle accident,” Hiner told The Reporter. “We were able to do a pop-up auction and with permission from him we made a replica of the leg lamp from the movie ‘A Christmas Story’ and auctioned that off. All the proceeds went to help his family. The medical bills were just ridiculous. A lifeline helicopter was $44,000. Our insurance if good, but it doesn’t cover some things.”
The Fathead Challenge allows L4416 to help families in a variety of ways. Hiner told The Reporter about a little girl born with bladder exstrophy, a birth defect where the bladder is partially outside the abdomen.
In addition to the trivia con-test, auction items like this leg lamp help fund Local 4416’s various programs. (Photo provided)
“Our insurance will cover medical expenses, but what it doesn’t cover are a family’s daily trips down to Riley Hospital when they have to be down there every day for months, food while they are down there, both parents missing work,” Hiner said. “Those kinds of things stack up over time and we can’t provide that relief entirely, but we can help take a small chunk out it to help.”
Last year, a Fishers police officer was injured, paralyzed from the waist down in a motorcycle accident.
“We auctioned off a couple Hamilton tickets and a hotel stay in Chicago,” Hiner said. “I believe someone from the crowd bid $3,200 on it and all those proceeds went to his family to help them out.”
Registration is open until Wednesday, Feb. 19. Visit fatheadchallenge.com to register your team, to become a sponsor, to sign up as a volunteer at the event and for more information.
If you would like to see a video of some of the kids who were helped by this event last year, visit fatheadchallenge.com/meet-the-kids.