"It is an opportunity for football fans, regardless of the teams they like, to have an enjoyable evening talking football and eating," said Herschel Wisebram, an ex-officio foundation board member and current fundraiser.
This year the event will feature four speakers -- Tony Barnhart, Wes Durham, Scott Howard and Loran Smith. Barnhart is known as "Mr. College Football" and is the author of "Southern Fried Football;" Durham is a sportscaster for Georgia Tech and the Atlanta Falcons; Howard is a sportscaster for the Georgia Bulldogs and Smith is a former sportscaster for the Georgia Bulldogs.
This will be the first year Howard will be featured at the event.
"[Tailgating for a Cause] started before I joined the foundation and [Wisebram] got these guys together to come out," said Executive Director Paige Miller. "It was successful the first year and last year we tripled profits, so we were really excited about that."
She said the 2009 event raised about $7,000 and last year's event raised $21,000.
"Based on last year's numbers it was one of the highest profiting fundraisers netwise ... in Bartow County," Miller said. "[Last year] was kind of just a big surprise and looking at the numbers right now we're in a pretty good place to do equal to what we did last year if not better."
The event will feature a panel discussion followed by a question and answer period with the audience, food and silent and live auctions.
Some items up for auction include autographed footballs, several footballs signed by coaches in the Southeastern Conference, other sports-related memorabilia including a baseball bat signed by Hank Aaron, fire pits and a Barnsley Gardens package.
The food will include tailgate staples like hamburgers, hotdogs and hot wings as well as food from local establishments.
"Last year we had 300 people come and 12 restaurants donate food," Wisebram said.
Since 1982 the foundation has helped more than 3,000 students across Bartow County attend college by awarding more than $3 million in scholarships.
"We're one of only 10 organizations of our type in the nation, so the fact we have this resource here in Bartow County is really significant. Everything we raise at the fundraiser goes directly toward providing scholarships here in Bartow County," Miller said. "Not many people can say by going [to a tailgate] they're proving education opportunities here and I think that's very significant."
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. for VIP "Press Pass" tickets and 6:30 p.m. for all other tickets. Tickets are $40 for food and non-alcoholic beverages, $15 for students under 18 and VIP "Press Pass" tickets are $75. For more information call the foundation at 770-382-1757.
What: Etowah Scholarship Foundation Tailgating for a Cause
When: Thursday, Aug. 4
Where: Clarence Brown Conference Center
Cost: Tickets are $40 for food and non-alcoholic beverages, $75 for VIP "Press Pass" tickets and tickets for students under age 18 are $15
For more information: Call Etowah Scholarship Foundation, 770-382-1757