Six years have passed since Susie Zammar of Lee&#x2019;s Summit lost her oldest son.</p><p>Kyle Zammar died at the age of 22 of a cardiac condition called myocarditis, a heart condition that has no recognizable symptoms and is often fatal to young, athletic men like Kyle.</p><p>Zammar, creator and chair of the first Mantels and Martinis benefit for Special Olympics-Lee&#x2019;s Summit and New Longview Foundation, said as a Lee&#x2019;s Summit High School student, Kyle was an accomplished athlete, broadcaster and leader, and most thought he had a bright future in one of those fields.</p><p>However, during the summer after Kyle&#x2019;s senior year in high school he started working in a classroom for severely disabled children and after that experience found himself dedicated to becoming a special education teacher and a coach.</p><p>At the time of his death, Kyle was coaching a basketball team of 15-year-olds.</p><p>&#x201C;He was a great kid,&#x201D; Susie Zammar, a retired educator and active real estate agent, said of her son. &#x201C;I know everybody says they have great kids, but he really was an exceptional young man. That was going to be his life&#x2019;s work; a special education teacher and a coach.&#x201D;</p><p>Mantels and Martinis is a tour of five New Longview homes and two businesses &#x2013; JBean&#x2019;s Gathering Place and Gusto Coffee Bistro &#x2013; to view mantels decorated by eight local designers. Each home on the tour will offer a holiday martini and hors d&#x2019;oeuvres. Tickets for the Dec. 6 event can be purchased online at www.mantelsandmartinis.com for $40 each. The homes and venues will be open from 5:30 to 9 p.m. </p><p>Many of the students in the summer school classroom where Kyle worked are now young adults, Zammar said. The proceeds from Mantels to Martinis will help 100 Lee&#x2019;s Summit Special Olympians who participate in eight sports to continue competing. Several athletes will serve as hosts and hostesses at each decorated home.</p><p>The fundraiser will also contribute to the endowment for the long-term upkeep and maintenance of the Longview Arches and Pergola on Longview Farm. </p><p>The occasion is a unique way for Susie Zammar to honor Kyle&#x2019;s memory, she said.</p><p>&#x201C;We all handle grief in a number of different ways,&#x201D; Zammar said, adding Kyle died on the 14th birthday of her other son, Austin, now 20. &#x201C;I decided that I would be the person that Kyle is proud of and I have to do what I could do to carry on his legacy because he would have done great work in his life. He would have done a lot of good and helped a lot of kids along the way.&#x201D;</p><p>The eight designers lending their talents to Mantels and Martinis are Jo Wilson of New View Interiors; Kevin Kelly of Five Petals; Lisa Holiman of Lily Wolfgang; Kelly Acock of The Monarch Flower Company; Jill Waits and Lori Privitera of All A&#x2019;Bloom; Pam Rosanbalm of Home Finishings; Susan Tominia of Cameron&#x2019;s Home Furnishings; and Jana Laswell.</p><p>For more information on the event call 816-520-0409 or visit www.mantelsandmartinis.com or the Mantels and Martini page on Facebook.