Tina Nutt founded Ralls County Cornhole with the help of her husband Brandon. They organize tournaments and fundraise for a number of community events in Audrain, Ralls, Montgomery and surrounding counties.

Tina works with Jennifer Rice of the Central Missouri Veterans Monument Foundation at The Home Depot. That was how she learned about the cornhole tournament fundraiser.

“We held a fundraiser tournament in April and they sponsored our league so we now do quarterly (tournaments) out here,” Tina said

There were 11 teams competing in Saturday’s tournament, a significant decrease from the 36 individuals who competed last quarter, but Ralls County Cornhole plans to continue to organize tournaments for the Central Missouri Veterans Monument Foundation.

“We’re fundraising for them to help them out,” Tina said “That’s what we’re here for.”

Throwers in Saturday’s tournament came from Mexico, Vandalia, Perry and Louisiana, Missouri, to name a few, and while many sport team jerseys, Tina said the tournaments are for anyone who likes to play.

The previous tournament brought in about $1,000, which Foundation Treasurer Raymond Legg said just isn’t enough.

“When you’re trying to raise money, you’re competing with a lot of other people trying to raise money and you’re competing with people who have been running programs for a long time,” Legg said. “The reality is, in a community this size, there’s only so much money to go around.”

The Central Missouri Veterans Monument Foundation signed an official agreement with the city of Mexico July 30 that outlined the city’s responsibilities.

The construction of the monument is expected to cost $350,000 and their total fundraising goal is $500,000 to cover maintenance, upkeep and energy bills post-construction.

“It’s not going as fast as I optimistically hoped for when we started, but I was over-optimistic too,” Legg said.

But he is steadfast in his optimism.

Recently, the Central Missouri Veterans Monument Foundation received $20,000 from the Edmonston Foundation and $10,000 from the Graf and Son’s golf tournament.

Construction is contingent on a few items, including securing the engineering services and figuring out a time when Operating Engineers Local 513 can begin.

“I was hoping to get started this fall but realistically, I think it will be next spring before we even start it,” Legg said.

The foundation also has a number of grant applications pending, a capital campaign in the works and even more community fundraisers on the horizon.

“We’re going to keep plugging along,” Legg said.