Wide World of Sports visits Lake Wawasee

Light drizzle caused a little concern 45 minutes before the Wawasee Flotilla as did the 85 percent chance of thunderstorms heading straight for the lake Saturday, but the rain and storms held off and the annual flotilla was underway under cloudy skies.Women of Today’s entry, “Agony of Defeat” with four Time magazine covers was the commodore’s choice as the top entry. This is the second year for the club to win the top award.The planning was six months in the making for members of the Women of Today’s committee to design and create a flotilla entry. Deb Webb, one of the members, stated “someone suggested the agony of defeat,” and so the creation began. “Kathy Boyts gets most of the credit,” Webb said. Utilizing a projector to create the four imitation Time magazine covers, the group choose the infamous fallen skier which was the first “agony of defeat” guy filmed for television. The next three were searches for artwork relating to Mike Tyson and the ear biting incident, Nancy Karagan’s assault and Lance Armstrong’s steroid use.As winners of the commodore’s trophy, the club received a cut-glass ice bucket but also a cash reward. Webb stated the money will go to the club’s community service project fund, focusing on school backpacks.The judges had to spend the entire parade deliberating which entry stood out above the others for the remainder of the prizes as all entries were said to be among the best in years. Many of those entered had never participated in the flotilla before.[youtube id=uf8gnDCfwUE]The “Indiana Sports” entry won the Wawasee Property Owners Association award, entered by Jerry, Marilyn and Sydney Hollensbe, Pier 630, and the Hojnack/Huntzinger entry from Pier 434Q won the DNR award.Winning the neighborhood award was the entry of Brian Eckrich, Pier 749, with their Blackhawks entry. Wawasee High School’s “20 Sports, 1 Team” won the best Lake Wawasee history. The IU Student Painters entry by Brad Miller won first in commercial/business with a Cubs entry taking second.The most original entry was won by Pat and Kathy Jones with their “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” theme. The McNary family’s entry of USA Olympics in honor of Ted Rogers, former commodore and committee member, won most patriotic.Scott Abbs’ entry of the Highland Games won the non-profit award.The youth awards went to “Team USA” entered by Maggie Bruner, Pier 231, taking first, and Jon Leetz’s entry from Pier 340E, another “Blackhawks” winning second. Third in youth went to a group of “Tailgaters.”The antique and wooden boat judges had just as hard of a time choosing the best antique and best wooden entries. There were a total of nine wooden/antique boats entered this year.Jim Donahoe’s 1940 17-foot ChrisCraft was chosen the winner of the antique division with Jan Appenzeller’s Skiff the winner of the wooden boat division.The committee will be deciding the theme for the 2014 Flotilla and date in the near future. Several individuals have already indicated they are awaiting that announcement to begin next year’s planning.