|
Saturday, July 04, 1998
Bucks for the bang
Fourth of July fireworks sales help nonprofits
By Hubble Smith
Review-Journal
Lamont Scurry believes every child should have the opportunity to play baseball.
He volunteered a couple of hours each day this week to run the Marty Barrett Little League fireworks booth across from the Silver Nugget casino in North Las Vegas.
Scurry said only about 10 percent of parents of the league's players can afford sign-up fees, which are the lowest in the valley. Therefore, proceeds of the fireworks sale go toward making it possible for underprivileged children to play the great American game.
"These are the kind of things that keep the league going," Scurry said of the weeklong fund-raiser.
More than 200 nonprofit organizations set up booths throughout Las Vegas Valley to capitalize on the Fourth of July fireworks tradition, selling everything from 99-cent packages of smoke balls to the deluxe, grand finale assortment at $130.
"Where else can you make $5,000 in a week?" asked James Sivalon, assistant pastor at Church on the Street, as he strung a banner of flags on his booth at the 7-Eleven on Rancho Drive and Cheyenne Avenue.
Sivalon would like to net the $5,000 his West Valley Assembly of God fireworks booth brought in a couple of years ago, but said $3,000 would be more realistic.
The church's business agreement with Phantom Fireworks Co. mandates a 50-50 split in sales revenue, with a 7 percent sales tax to be paid on returned inventory, Sivalon said.
Roy Parrish, regional manager for Phantom Fireworks, did not return calls for comment on the company's financial arrangements with the nonprofit groups.
Sivalon said the church takes a "calculated risk" in ordering fireworks, speculating on which items will be the hottest sellers.
"You start out selling a little of everything," he said. "And, by the end of the week, you're swarmed with people.
"You can go back and reorder, but if they're out of inventory (at Phantom), on the Fourth of July people come by and see you're sold out and that's not too good. They'll remember that next year."
Sivalon said proceeds benefit church programs such as the Royal Rangers youth group and a sidewalk ministry for inner-city children.
Representatives of the nonprofit groups must attend an orientation class on fireworks guidelines presented by the Clark County Fire Department to obtain a permit.
The booths, which are inspected prior to opening, sell only the legal "safe and sane" fireworks that do not explode, rocket or rotate.
Mike Cyphers, a chemical engineer for the fire department, said there's no ordinance on age requirements for purchasing fireworks. But he said operators are told at orientation to "use their judgment."
A $50 business license is required for booths in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City, but no license is required in unincorporated Clark County.
Some groups are granted tax-exempt status under NRS 372.3261, which specifies exemptions for organizations created for religious, charitable or educational purposes, according to Robert Palmer of the Nevada Department of Taxation's Las Vegas office.
Each organization makes arrangements with local businesses for booth locations.
Marvin Glenn, coach of the Pop Warner football Thunderbirds, said he pays $600 to the Price-Rite store, formerly Smith's Food and Drug, for his Las Vegas Boulevard North site.
Phantom charges him another $200 to set up and take down the booth and a $50 refundable deposit for cleanup.
Still, Glenn said the Thunderbirds clear $2,500 to $3,000, varying from year to year. The team uses the money to pay for transportation to out-of-town games and for trips to Magic Mountain in Southern California.
"It's a good deal," Glenn said. "You come out with a pretty good fund-raiser at the end of seven days."
Americans annually spend an estimated $400 million on fireworks, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association in Chestertown, Md.
Give us your FEEDBACK on this or any story.
Fill out our Online Readers' Poll
|
|
