Lasers tag LV area kids with laughter

Bob Shemeligian

Thursday, Feb. 19, 1998 | 10:24 a.m.

For more than 300 area children who benefit from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Nevada, it was an ultra-cool evening at Ultrazone.

"Many of these kids have been anxiously waiting for this night, and they're very excited," said Kelly Stidham, case manager and activities coordinator with the private, non-profit organization that provides adult mentors for children, many of whom live in single-parent homes.

As Stidham spoke Wednesday evening in front of the Ultrazone Laser Game Arena at the corner of Maryland Parkway and East Sahara Avenue, she had to shout to carry her voice over the laughter of children as they played the interactive laser version of "cops and robbers," or munched on hot dogs and pizza.

"These kids absolutely love laser tag," Stidham said. "After the first event last year, they kept asking, 'When are we going to do it again?' "

The free evening of laser tag for children in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program was organized by Sam Eigen, president of Ultrazone, and manager Gene Capachietti explained that it is just one of the community events conducted by the laser game entertainment company.

"Our business is kids," Capachietti said. "We love to see them enjoy themselves, and we also like to give a little something back to the community."

Drew Pawlak, Ultrazone's vice president of development, said he also had a great time Wednesday night.

"It's nice to see all the kids having such a good time," Pawlak said. "They really love it. There's so much energy here tonight -- this is by far our most exciting event."

Stidham noted that more than 40 area businesses helped sponsor the evening of laser tag for the children by providing everything from free stadium food to coupons.

Among those who participated were Chicago Hot Dogs, Pepsi-Cola, Papa John's Pizza, and Terrible Herbst, which provided coupons for free car washes.

The annual event, which helps raise awareness about the work of Big Brothers Big Sisters, a United Way agency, also provides an evening of supervised entertainment to more than 100 boys who are without male mentors and are on a waiting list.

"We get more female volunteers than males," Stidham said, "and more volunteers are always needed, especially in this area where there are so many single-parent households."

[For information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Nevada, call 731-2227.]