Donovan Kessler Little Swimmers Fund cookout raises $1725 for swimming lesson scholarships
(Talk of the Town photos by Athena Metzger) Beth Hershman, above left, and her daughters Laura and Linda volunteered as a family during the Donovan Kessler Little Swimmers Fund community cookout on Saturday. Below, center, Tammy Azar, who coordinated to support her late grandson’s fund that provides scholarships for children to take swimming lessons, prepares for a television interview. At bottom, many of Donovan Kessler’s family members came out in support of the event, including, from left, his great aunt Deb Wilkinson, his mother Beth Kessler and his aunt, Sam Geschwind.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano & Athena Metzger 
On Saturday afternoon, Donovan Kessler was on the minds of many in Morsches Park.
Family members remembered him fondly as a curious, energetic boy who would have loved a barbecue in the park. Others had never met him, but wanted to help raise awareness and funds in his name so that other families might not have to face the unimaginable despair of losing a child to drowning.
So, Saturday, over hot dogs, door prizes and a relaxing afternoon in the park, the community gathered and raised $1725 to support scholarships for swimming lessons.
The event was coordinated by Kessler’s grandmother, Tammy Azar of Big Lake. Azar was also assisted by Kessler’s other grandmother, Tammie Kessler, and other family members.
Additionally, CCHS sophomore Linda Hershman, a Key Club member, saw the event as a great opportunity to volunteer. Hershman said she joined Key Club to participate in “community service projects and help people," she said. Her mother, Beth, and sister, Laura, tagged along to help. The Hershman family helped set up tables and chairs and were serving food.
The event, heavily supported by local businesses, featured more than a hundred door prizes.
The family was pleased with the turnout for the event and the emphasis it placed on family. Having been through one of the worst tragedies, losing a child, they felt the greatest thing anyone could take away from the event was the importance of family – and cherished time spent together.
The funds raised with support the Donovan Kessler Little Swimmers Fund, a fund through the Whitley County Community Foundation, that provides for scholarship so that needy children may take swimming lessons.
Kessler, a toddler, died last spring after wandering into a fenced, locked, covered swimming pool while on vacation with his family.
For more information on the Donovan Kessler Little Swimmers Fund and the swimming lesson scholarships, contact the Whitley County Community Foundation at 244-5224.