Goetze's Candy Co., Inc. officially declared the grand prize winner of the "Give & Goetze Initiative": Troop 772 from Short Pump, Va. The surprise announcement took place during the winning Troop's Court of Honor ceremony. John Leipold, the director of sales and marketing at Goetze's Candy Co., Inc., presented the $5,000 check to the winning Scout, Christopher Sims, his parents, and scout master Joseph Oleska. The money will go towards the entire troop to assist in their efforts to do things such as earn badges, purchase needed equipment, and take educational trips.
The "Give & Goetze" initiative started with the September issue of Boys' Life and ran through the end of 2010. Scouts were asked to work together to solve a mind-bending pictogram featured in each issue and submit their answers. Monthly troop winners were awarded with Candy-Grams, courtesy of Goetze's Candy Co., to personally deliver to a charity of their choice.
All winning entries were then placed into the Grand Prize drawing for $5,000. Leipold said in a prepared statement, "We wanted to give the scouts the ability to spend some time really getting to know the people in their community while giving them a special treat." He added, "Another opportunity for Troops to not only do a good turn daily, but do a sweet turn daily."