Alumni club provides community for local Buckeyes

The Ohio State University alumni club kicked off football season Saturday with its annual tradition: food, friends and drinks at Captain Curt’s on Siesta Key and a recital of the school’s alma mater song.

The back “saloon” of the restaurant and bar was decked out in scarlet and gray, and every TV screen featured the Buckeyes’ season-starter game against the Navy Midshipmen. Across the driveway, Captain Curt’s Tiki Bar was equally bedecked in the school’s colors.

“You’ll find very, very old people … and people with babies,” said John August, the club treasurer.

The club’s activities entice tourists, too; vacationing Buckeyes often come to the Saturday gathering.
The Sarasota-Manatee chapter of the OSU alumni club boasts a membership of around 300 households — about 500 people — and was named in the top 10% best OSU alumni clubs by the national organization, said Jamie Jalwan, former club president.

The club has been in Sarasota for almost 30 years and has gathered at Captain Curt’s for 14 seasons, said restaurant owner Brad Stewart.

The club approached the owners of Captain Curt’s almost 15 years ago to ask if it could use the saloon area in the back, Stewart said. Then, there were only 60 to 75 people in the club.

“Now we fill up the back and the tiki bar,” Stewart said.

Stewart grew up in Michigan and rooted for one of OSU’s biggest rivals, the Michigan State Spartans. He’s since converted to become a Buckeyes fan after the club began congregating at his family’s restaurant.

“The organization is like a big family … the same people have come for years,” Stewart said.

Behind Stewart in the saloon, a loud cheer from some 200 Buckeyes shook the walls as OSU scored its first touchdown.

Besides cheering for their Buckeyes, though, the alumni dedicate their time to community service and fundraisers for scholarships for local graduates who will attend Ohio State.

This year the club raised $22,000 for 11 students. The club also sends care packages to OSU students during finals week.

During the year, various fundraisers help grow the scholarship fund, such as a golf tournament, wine and beer tastings and a student send-off party. During the weekly OSU football games, the club raffles off prizes and sells T-shirts.

The club also performs community service activities in Sarasota. It cleans up Bird Key Park as a part of the Adopt-a-Park program and competes in a balloon volleyball tournament at the Pines of Sarasota with the senior citizens living there.

“The Pines won last year,” Jalwan said.

Jalwan said the sense of community keeps people coming back to both the watch parties and service activities. Some people move to the area without knowing anyone, and the club gives them a group of friends with a common interest, along with new connections among the locals.

“It’s extended family for a lot of us … it feels like home,” she said.

 *This story was changed at 11:58 a.m. Sept. 5 to reflect that the club sends care packages to OSU students, not student athletes.