Saturday, October 18, 2014
 
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Champion Couch Potatoes ends in three-way tie at the Arlee
 

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[October 18, 2014]  MASON CITY - After 21.5 hours of sitting, Larry Hodges, Tristan Line and Megan Arnold decided to split the winner’s prize and end the Arlee Theater’s Sit-a-thon at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

“It was the easiest money I ever made,” quipped Arnold. “All I had to do was sit for it.”

They began the sitting marathon Friday at 7 p.m., and endured nine showings of “Groundhog Day” – one in Portuguese – as well as about 45 viewings of the “Spongebob Squarepants” movie trailer.

Contestants were allowed to sleep in their seats and were given regimented five-minute restroom breaks every three or four hours. For sustenance, they got all the popcorn and beverages they wanted.

Larry Hodges also won a free one-year pass to all Arlee events for raising the most donations for the Arlee’s Save Our Seats campaign.

Proceeds of the Sit-a-thon go toward restoring 350 of the 78-year-old Arlee seats. It cost $100 to enter, with the winner getting 10% of the take.
 


“We planned the event to have a minimum of 50 contestants so we could give at least $500 in prize money,” said Gaye Maxson of the Arlee. “We only had ten brave people enter the contest, but thanks to several generous sponsors, our ten percent prize came to $165. The contestants all decided to go for it.”

By 7 a.m. Saturday, the contest was down to four drowsy people – the three teens and Andrew Cook, who sits for a living driving a school bus. They were roused by reveille played by Corey Hull. Shortly after, sponsor Lois Rickard delivered fresh donuts donated by Mason City IGA.

Around noon, John Maxson started trying to bribe contestants to bow out, offering gift certificates donated by Do Drop In, Casey’s, Subway and Smokey’s Bar and Grill. There were no takers.

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After 4 p.m. Maxson offered a bigger package and after some thought, Cook took the bribe, leaving the contest to the teens. It became apparent to the trio that all were stubbornly in it for the long haul, so they started negotiating amongst themselves about all coming out with something, and got an eager okey-dokey from the exhausted Maxsons.

“I was real proud of the contestants for lasting so long,” said John Maxson.

“We could not have done this without all the sponsors and our crew who helped us: Randy Tucker, Corey Hull, Lois Rickard, and our daughters Mary Day and Marcia Schwartz,” Maxson said. “We appreciate the enthusiasm of the community for this fundraiser to restore our seats, and are closer to our goal.”

Anyone who wants to help with the Arlee’s S.O.S. campaign can email Maxson at jmaxson@arleetheater.com  or write the Arlee at 139 S. Main St., Mason City, IL 62664 for more information.

[Gaye Maxzon, Arlee Theater]

 

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