No leaping leprechauns: Standings remain same in Grand Leprechaun contest

Mike Crowley, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·5 min read

Mar. 14—Meadville's answer to March Madness is gearing up and heading toward the buzzer, but there have been no upsets and no Cinderella stories so far.

Two weeks into the 2023 Grand Leprechaun contest and the leprechauns did little leaping with regard to the standings. With just days remaining to vote for your favorite candidate and the charity they represent, Alisha Sheatz and the Meadville Medical Center Foundation remain atop the leaderboard, precisely where they were a week ago. The other four spots remain the same as well.

The contest, which raises funds for local charities and serves as a lead-up to the Jack Curtin St. Patrick's Day Parade and Celebration on Saturday, has raised close to $5,000, according to Victoria Dickson.

"We are hoping people in the community are enjoying both the special events and using the contest as an opportunity to support downtown businesses as well as the candidates and charities," said Victoria Dickson, a member of the committee that organizes the contest.

The contest continues this week with gold ballot boxes located at a dozen downtown shops and restaurants. Each vote costs $1 with proceeds going to the nonprofit the candidate represents. Voters are encouraged to vote early and often in the contest.

Sheatz, thoracic clinical navigator at the Yolanda G. Barco Oncology Institute, continues to ride the success of proceeds from a basketball tournament held during the contest's first week and a guest bartending stint she performed last week.

Part of what makes it easy for Sheatz to ask people to give to her cause is because she is so familiar with the ways in which Meadville Medical Center and the Yolanda G. Barco Oncology Institute in particular give back to community members.

"As a patient at the Barco Institute, you are never just a patient, you become family," she said. "The Barco Institute is here to support Crawford County and the surrounding areas to help people through some of the toughest times they will endure."

Sheatz also feels a connection to St. Patrick's Day.

"I love that no matter how old I get, the leprechaun still makes an appearance at my house," she said, "and after all of these years, I still haven't caught one."

Jackie Roberson, the executive director of Family and Community Christian Association who continues in second place this week, still recalls dressing in green for St. Patrick's Day in his kindergarten class. The class read "Green Eggs and Ham," devoured chocolates wrapped in green and green cupcakes, and even tried dancing to Irish music.

His Grand Leprechaun candidacy is rooted in belief.

"I believe in Meadville and Crawford County, and I believe that the best is yet to come for this area," Roberson said. "The evidence that I am a leprechaun at heart is that I truly want the best for the Meadville community. No matter your socioeconomic status, no matter how much money you have or don't have, no matter how you identify yourself, I love people."

Greg Panchura's love of the arts — he and his wife, Julie, perform as 50 Miles to Empty — led him to support Meadville Council on the Arts for his campaign. He also has a leprechaun-like side to his personality.

"I'm mischievous at heart, love to laugh and play," Panchura said. "Although I don't have a physical treasure, what I offer is a warm feeling in your heart that will restore your faith in humanity and help you to remember why you live in such a diverse and welcoming town."

Crawford County native Kim Adsit identifies strongly with leprechauns' love of fancy footwear, but there's more than just pointy shoes to her campaign for Grand Leprechaun. There's also her love of food, which will be in evidence Thursday when she hosts a drive-thru benefit dinner at St. James Haven, 779 N. Main St., the nonprofit her campaign benefits. The emergency shelter facility for men is located in the same building in which Adsit and her husband, Chris, started their business, Vision Source Meadville, more than a quarter century ago.

The beard that Jimmy Severo grew in preparation for St. Patrick's Day this year isn't red like a leprechaun's — it's black — but it's red in spirit, and at a guest bartending fundraiser last week, several of his supporters donned bushy black costume beards to raise awareness of Severo's #GoBlackbeard campaign theme.

Severo is hoping for more of the same tonight when he is once again behind the bar — not at Ranz Bar & Grill, the Liberty Street establishment that he owns, but at Julian's Bar & Grill, 299 Chestnut St. He'll be there from 5 to 7 p.m. working for tips that will support what he described as "a cause that's near and dear to me": the Northwestern Pennsylvania NTMA Education Foundation.

Grand Leprechaun standings after week two

1. Alisha Sheatz, Meadville Medical Center Foundation

2. Jackie Roberson, Family and Community Christian Association

3. Greg Panchura, Meadville Council on the Arts

4. Kim Adsit, St. James Haven

5. Jimmy Severo, NTMA Education Foundation

You can vote

The 2023 Jack Curtin St. Patrick's Day Parade and Celebration, which marches down Chestnut Street from Diamond Park to the Downtown Mall, will begin at noon on Saturday. The Grand Leprechaun contest, the parade's charitable fundraiser, continues this week and features five competitors raising funds for local nonprofits with the top fundraiser winning the Grand Leprechaun title. Vote for your favorite Grand Leprechaun candidate — or vote for more than one — with donations in the gold boxes that can be found at various downtown locations.

Gold Box locations for 2023 Grand Leprechaun contest donations

Cup n' Spoon, 882 Park Ave.

Save Room for Dessert, 910 Market St.

Chateau Christine, 246, Chestnut St.

The Cutting Edge, 214 W. Center St.

French Creek Coffee and Tea, 285 Chestnut St.

Loeffler's Flowers and Gifts, 207 Chestnut St.

Tattered Corners New and Used Bookstore, 247 Chestnut St.

The Woolen Mill, 257 Chestnut St.

Purple Fox Games, 209 Chestnut St.

Confections of a Cake Lover, 272 Chestnut St.

Whole Darn Thing Sub Shop, 899 Market St.

Downtown Mall Bistro, 920 Water St.

Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.