Burlington singing its fight song
Local boxers will have the chance to show what they are made of in front of politicians, police and fire officials, and ordinary citizens tomorrow night at ''Friday Night at the Fights." The annual event, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Burlington, benefits charitable causes in town.
The 10 three-round amateur fights will start off with lighter weights and end with the heavyweights as boxers from their late teens to their mid-40s climb over the ropes and enter the ring.
Paul Swanfeldt, president of the Burlington Rotary Club and owner of Lynco Fire Protection, grew up with the Rotary because his father was the club's president in 1978 and 1979 and his family was active with the group throughout his childhood.
Swanfeldt has made it a tradition for the past eight or 10 years to bring all of his employees at Lynco Fire Protection to the fight night. ''It's my thank you to them," he said.
''The audience runs the gamut from a local guy on the street who saw a poster in the grocery store to people like me who buy a table for a bunch of people every year," said Swanfeldt.
Last year the Fight Night wasn't held because the Knights of Columbus Hall in Burlington, where the event had been held, was sold. This year the event has been moved to a new location, the Elks Lodge in Billerica.
''People enjoy it so much. They look forward to doing it each year," said Swanfeldt.
The first year it was held in the early 1990s, 200 people came to the event. Two years ago the crowd grew to 320 and had to be capped because it was growing so much.
This year's event will feature a six-course meal, a raffle with the winner having a choice of a laptop computer or a 32-inch flat-screen television, and door prizes.
Something new this year is the addition of sponsorship. For $500, a business can become a major contributor and a large banner with the company name and address will be hung in the hall. For $125, a business can become a fight sponsor and the company name and address will be shown on a poster board in the ring before each round of a three-round fight. For $50, a company can sponsor one round and the company name and address will be shown from the ring before the start of the round. Table sponsorship is also available for $25.
In the past, this event has raised between $13,000 and $15,000. The Rotary Club hopes to raise the same amount this year. Sponsorship was added this year because the cost of running the event is increasing and more money had to be raised to reach the goal.
''All of the monies raised will go to various charities and community-service projects throughout the year," said Swanfeldt.
Some of the service projects sponsored by the Rotary Club include donations of more than 100 turkeys, and gift cards to clothing stores, for needy families around the holidays; cleaning the grounds at the Burlington Senior Citizens Housing Complex; delivering $200 of fresh produce to the local food pantry every month; sponsoring and coaching a Special Olympics softball team that won a bronze medal at the 2005 regional tournament; and sponsoring a summer concert on the Burlington Common.
In addition, the group gives $35 to every kindergarten teacher in Burlington at the start of each school year. ''They're always pulling money out of their own pockets for stickers and supplies," said Swanfeldt.
For the third year in a row, at the start of the school year, the group gave a dictionary to every third-grader in town. ''The amazing part of that is that the kids that get the dictionaries are so excited," Swanfeldt said. ''That surprised me, because you're thinking a dictionary is no big deal, but it was to them."
At past Fight Nights, Swanfeldt remembers the energy that filled the room.
''Because there are a lot of Burlington people, it's like Old Home Week. You see people up there that you don't always see around town like you used to," he said. ''The crowd is in awe of the whole thing, and there is a lot of camaraderie."
