Ford City Lion’s Club Chairman Tim Malec shows Leo Club members how to fill plastic eggs with candy and prizes. Leo Club members included: Nick Gavran, Calista Dosch, Elizabeth Rosenberger, Angela Gongola, Evelyn Shields, Hailey Crissman, and Emma Sanford.
About 25 students from the Leo Club at Armstrong High School assisted Ford City Lions Club members preparing approximately 6,000 plastic eggs for the annual Easter Egg Hunt.
The Hunt is scheduled for 1PM on Saturday, April 20.
Lions Club Event Chairman Tim Malec said the Easter event has been held for more than 40 years.
“This is my 24th year doing this,” Malec said. “I inherited this project because my dad had done it for nearly 20 years. Then Roger Faulx did it and he passed away and that’s when they convinced me to join the Lion’s Club. And then I inherited all his projects. Roger Faulx was the treasurer of the Lion’s Club forever because he was the manager at Mellon Bank in Ford City at the time. Then I inherited the position of treasurer and I’ve held that ever since.”
Malec, who said he is “pushing 70”, said he’s always looking for the next person to take over the project, but that person hasn’t arrived yet. So until then, Malec said next year’s event begins for him the day after Easter each year.
“The day after Easter, I start making my rounds. I know which stores to go to. I check the merchandise to see what they have. If I see something that I know will not last long on the shelf, I might go 50% for it. If I see a ton of stuff, I may hold off for 75%.”
Malec said the event costs approximately $2,000 to hold each year, so he is always looking for a bargain.
“It was about three weeks after Easter last year and I was still checking out stores. I ran across a Wal-Mart down the river that had a ton of Easter merchandise left. It was all 90% off. I had four shopping buggies heaped to the top and I’m working my way to the checkout counter and everybody’s watching me in the store - it was like the coupon lady on TV. They were all waiting to see what my total was. I had almost $500 worth of merchandise and it came up to I think $36 or $38. And, the people there in the store were kind enough to pick up the tab for me.”
Tim Malec and Leo Club member Nick Gavran discuss the proper way to fill the plastic Easter Eggs. The goal was to prepare 6,000 eggs.
First there is candy to buy, then other prizes to be won during the Easter Egg Hunt. But one thing is very important - how to find 6,000 identical plastic eggs!
“The original plastic Easter eggs were 40 years old. My father and Roger Faulx went up to Toronto, Canada. He had an old station wagon and they filled the car with plastic eggs. They brought them down and we used them up until 2015. Over the years, we ask people to return them and we get a little less and less. We were at the point where we had donations from merchants, but they were all different types of plastic eggs. I found plastic eggs made in the United States and I ordered 6,000 brand new eggs and that’s what we use. Then, this year I ordered an extra 2,000 to put away for future for whoever’s going to do the Easter Egg Hunt after I’m gone. It’s hard to find eggs made in the United States. They are really nice eggs. They’re just a little smaller than we used, but the snap together and when the kids roll them out, they don’t come apart.”
Malec said the children are divided into four age groups: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-10.
“There’s all chocolate candy in the 1-2s and the 3-4s because that’s what they can eat. The 5-6s and 7-10s have non-chocolate candy. The problem with chocolate candy is that if you put it out an hour before the Easter egg hunt, it’ll all be melted by the time the hunt starts, so we have to put it out 5-10 minutes before the hunt.”
Once again, the Leo Club assists in distributing eggs throughout Ford City Memorial Park.
It all depends on how many kids I have. They don’t hide them, they just throw them all over the ground. The eggs are placed in such a way that it is easy for children in that specific age group to find them.
“We have a rule ever since I’ve done the Easter Egg Hunt: No adults are allowed in the roped off areas,” Malec said. “And, if you have a special needs child, we make special arrangements. The one year, we put a blind child in the middle of the group with a Lion’s Club member and we put eggs all around him so that he could feel them. And then when I blow the whistle, then all he had to do was feel them. So, we try to accommodate everybody. We make sure that everybody gets something.”
In addition to candy, the eggs are filled with other surprises and the chance to win larger prizes.
“I have 300 gold coins in the eggs. This year, I have 200 Dairy Queen wooden tokens for the Dairy Queen. We have Pizzaria certificates, and, a lot of merchandise.”
The Lion’s Club with donations from the community and its members create the event each year. Malec said it is the largest community project sponsored by the Ford City Lion’s Club. No registration is necessary and Malec said the children do not have to be from Ford City.
“Anybody’s welcome. We’ve had people from all over come in. We’ve had people from out of state come in to visit their grandparents. We’ve had a lot of good comments. We had a guy came in from Philadelphia for years he was coming in and he said he never seen anything like this for the community. It’s usually limited to an organization or a church. Ours is open to the community.”
For the Leo Club, stuffing 6,000 eggs last night was just the beginning. This Saturday, they are going to clean-up the Park in advance of the Easter Egg Hunt on Earth Day. Then following week, they will return to put the eggs out.
“It will all be over in less than a minute,” Malec said.
Filling plastic Easter Eggs for the annual Hunt on April 20 at Ford City Park are Leo Club members: Miles Stockdill, Tanner Stockdill, Rachel Stockdill, Kaitlyn Rimmel, Caitlin Wheat, Kaitlyn Arkbuckle, and Abby O’Donnell.