FUN FEST WINNER FOR SENIORS

Before Bob Hente could find his way to the bingo tables at Senior Fun Fest Saturday afternoon, he already had won a $25 Sears gift certificate.

"It's hard not to win something if you stay long enough," the retired state highway department employee said. "I've been to every one of these and each time it seems to get bigger and better."

Hente and his wife, Madeline, will likely apply the gift certificate toward an anniversary present. They will be married 42 years Thursday, Madeline Hente said.

The Senior Fun Fest, which was begun in 1984, is free to adults 55 and older.

Corporate sponsors include Mercantile Bank of Cape Girardeau, Schnucks, the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging and Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Like many of the 4,000 participants, the Hentes used the senior fest at the Show Me Center to renew old acquaintances and meet new people. "It's a great way to stay in contact with your friends and just have a great time," Bob Hente said.

Hente didn't know if he would participate in the Karaoke, but he planned to stop by and see what it was like. Then, he said, "I did sing on the KFVS breakfast show. Who knows, maybe I'll give it a try."

The Hentes weren't the only ones wearing winning smiles.

Mildred Ford never seems to win at bingo until she plays the game at Senior Fest. "I'm never lucky at this game, but today I've already won a blood pressure kit," she said. "I don't really care if I win anything, though. This is a nice way to spend the day with friends."

Bob and Adell Hartle of Jackson usually travel in their motor home to Kentucky Lake or to various cities in Florida. But Senior Fun Fest became their best option Saturday.

"We went to this a few years ago and really enjoyed it, so we decided to come back again this year," retired insurance agent Bob Hartle said. The Hartles bought the motor home to travel to see their children and the country.

They might have gone to Kentucky Lake if it weren't for the amount of rainfall that hit this region lately.

"They tell us that it's not good to fish if it rains as much as it has lately," Adell Hartle said.

Indeed, Donna Gerard, who helped organize the 1995 Senior Fun Fest, said every year there is something new added to entertain senior citizens.

"We added putt-putt golf, Karaoke sing-a-long and My Daddy's Birthday Booth," Gerard said. "We like for the people who attend to be surprised by something they didn't see the last time."

Seniors who weren't interested in singing along with Karaoke or playing bingo could sit down and enjoy music by the Jerry Ford orchestra, featuring singer Pat Blackwell.

Rob Huff, who bills himself as the Master of Mystery and Amusement, was entertaining seniors with feats of magic.

As Gerard glanced at bingo players studying their cards, she said the months of planning and work it takes to produce Senior Fun Fest is hard work but ultimately rewarding. "They seem to enjoy it so much," she said. "It makes the volunteers feel like they've done something good for people."