Teen uses royalty competition to help community one last time

It was the fundraiser that almost wasn't until one ambitious teen decide to set another goal.

Each year, the chamber of commerce uses the Fourth of July royalty contest to raise money to pay for the following year's events. Nobody had entered this year's competition until Tyson Messmer stepped up mid-May to help.

Messmer, who graduated high school this year, will attend the University of Miami in Florida. Though the school awarded him a scholarship, he still needs to raise money for his schooling to get a degree in anesthesiology. But that wasn't his only reason for competing.

"I wanted to raise a little money for college, but I also wanted to help out the community one last time before I go off to college because it helps fundraise for the Fourth of July next year," Messmer said. "That's what gives us our fireworks, egg toss and all our events. I just want to help out our community."

Candidates raise money through direct raffle ticket sales or by including tickets with food purchases if they choose to run a food booth, which is the route Messmer decided to take. Thirty percent of the money raised goes to the candidate. Messmer said his personal goal is to sell more than $50,000 in tickets. Last year's ticket sales totaled about $115,000.

"He's pretty ambitious," said Messmer's mother, Lisa Messmer. "He's the one who wanted to do the (food) booth. I wanted him to sell tickets, but he was like, 'No, we can do the booth,' so here we are."

Lisa Messmer said her son is very goal-oriented and gives whatever he's working on his complete focus, whether sports, school, his job as a deckhand with Summit Charters or running a food booth.

Messmer began selling food last Thursday out of the pavilion on Front Street and will continue through July 2. The menu, created by Janell Stutz, has daily items such as hamburgers and hot dogs, but also includes a bevy of different dishes throughout the month. Items like pork tacos, lasagna, halibut balls, enchiladas and Philly cheesesteak will be available.

"It's an awesome menu. I have to thank Janell Stutz," Messmer said. "She did the menu for me. She's the food manager."

Stutz said it's an act of service for her, having helped out many times over the years.

"It's about them (the kids)," she said. "It's about what they accomplish. Between helping every person, (I've done this) about 17 times."

Messmer's father, Luke, will staff the booth some days, and his mother will be on hand to cook some of the food, but he is still looking for volunteers to help run it on certain days.

The booth runs daily from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers would only need to sell and serve food.

As Messmer is the only one competing in this year's royalty contest, he's guaranteed to win the title of king. However, much effort stands between him and the crown.

"I'm the only one running this year, so there's going to be a lot of demand," he said. "It's going to be a lot of work, but we're up for it."