'Battle of the Mayors' raises $2,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs

Prescott area residents turned out in full force March 7 to support Prescott- and Prescott Valley-area kids attending the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona. Aaron Meisheid and Matt Anderson, owners of The Firehouse Kitchen, hosted the event. The second event in the "Celebrity Bartending" series, Battle of the Mayors, raised $2,000 in one evening to be donated to the nonprofit organization.

Former mayors Daiton Rutkowski and Rowle Simmons went up against current Prescott Mayor Marlin Kuykendall in a competition to bring in funds to benefit the Boys & Girls Club. The Firehouse Kitchen provided appetizers and all tips were donated.

The organization will have a final event in the Celebrity Bartending series, Battle of the West, in which the Shady Ladies and the Regulators battle it out, at Matt's Saloon 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 28.

The Boys & Girls club serves more than 2,000 kids annually at four locations in the Prescott and Prescott Valley areas in after-school and summer programs. The clubs provide five core programs to the children that include character and leadership development; education and career development; health and life skills; the arts, and sports, fitness and recreation. The goal of the club is to provide a safe and productive place for children to attend while enabling young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.

The Prescott Club is located at 335 E. Aubrey St. Prescott, and the Prescott Valley Club is at 8201 E. Loos Drive, Prescott Valley. For more information, contact the club's chief professional officer, Casey Knight, at 776-8686.