Spring Fling helps raise funds for Floyd County YEC

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Wedding parties, family reunions and countless educational opportunities are some of the functions that the Floyd County Youth Enrichment Center can facilitate.

The multi-purpose venue can even host its own fundraiser.

The Second Annual Spring Fling brought out many who purchased tickets for a night of food and entertainment at the two-year old youth enrichment center that sits on the edge of the Floyd County Fairgrounds.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will be directed toward helping with the costs associated with running the building and the general upkeep of the facility.

Amy Staudt, president of the Floyd County Fair Board, said about 200 tickets were sold for the event. Attendees were able to dine on either a pork loin or lemon pepper cod entree with a host of sides, desserts and appetizers.

There were silent and live auctions, as well as live music. Beau Timmerman provided the entertainment with his mix of country music and rock songs.

Staudt said that the building is available for all, even those outside of Floyd County who may want to rent the space for an evening or weekend.

“It’s more than Floyd County. We’d like to actually be known on the map. Hopefully we’re a bridge between. If you’ve got wedding parties or family reunions — that you’ve got people coming from Iowa City and people from Minneapolis — we might be a meeting point in the middle,” said Staudt.

Jim Lundberg, a vocational agriculture teacher at Charles City High School and FFA Advisor, said the first priority is for students or youth from Floyd County to use the venue, free of charge.

“And we want to make improvements all the time. So like tonight, we have these brand new round tables,” said Lundberg.

The Comet Cafe, along with the Charles City FFA, helped plan and prepare the meal.

“We really partner with the fair board in preparing the meal, getting the door prizes, cleaning up, setting everything up,” said Lundberg.

The future looks bright for the YEC, according to Staudt.

“We’ve got different options and a lot of things that we’re hoping to add to the building in the next coming years,” she said.