50,000 Reasons to Celebrate
Tue, 10/13/2015 - 2:26pm
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Written/Submitted by Barb Geer
It was a night of appreciation held at American Legion Post 444 in Middle River. It all started out with a great meal…something the Mardy and Ronnette Anderson family is known for. People who had worked at the 2015 Cancer Ride were invited, and over a dinner of grilled chicken, potatoes smothered in cream gravy, green beans covered in cheese and crispy onions, with yummy apple crisp for dessert, they anticipated the big announcement of the income for this year’s benefit.
First, all of the raffle winners were announced. Connie Korunta of Grand Forks won the two nights lodging for four at Sunset Lodge on Oak Island, courtesy of Davidsons, Hetteens and Millers. Jack Beito of Middle River won the beautiful queen sized quilt donated by Dana Jenkins and Adele Rosencranz. Pete Mattison of Thief River Falls won the five-piece wrought iron dining set donated by Underdahl Hardware Hank of Newfolden and Karlstad. Mike Hemmestedt of Goodridge won the Savor Pro LP gas grill donated in memory of Jo Ann Hatton. Tammi Olson of Wannaska won the John Deer trike and pull behind wagon donated in memory of Paul Erickson.
The chili cookoff was a huge hit this year, with seven cooks vying for the prizes and hundreds of taste testers taking advantage of the event. First place went to Holden Engman, second to Marcie Fisher (Holden’s grandma), and third to Pat Lindstrom. Holden’s chili also earned the people’s choice award.
Friday night’s Fun Run winner, in which half of the entry fee was paid to the person who came in first, was Hannah Bergsnes. She took home $140 for her first place.
The chili cookoff was followed by the Second Annual Karaoke Contest, another extremely popular event. Devin Stromgren from Lake Bronson, who has become a local favorite because of the Kick’n Up Kountry contests at which he is a frequent performer, took home Third Place at the TTT event. Nathan Bukowski, imitating the Kirkeide style of playing with the crowd, sang his way to Second Place, and Jody Kirkeide crooned her way to First Place and the People’s Choice Award, earning a pair of Kick’n Up Kountry tickets.
And finally, it was time to get into the announcement of money raised at the event! Mardy Anderson, chair of the Trails to Treatments Committee, began his report by stating that we had 50,000 reasons to celebrate. I’m not sure that everyone in the room caught his meaning, but many did.
Even so, line by line, he went through the income from each portion of the event and the expenses incurred before the total number was announced. The profit after expenses of the 2015 Cancer Ride was $50,511.65!!! Cheers erupted throughout the Legion. Unbelievable! This year’s ride more than doubled last year’s income!
Mardy then announced that, with the two grants that were approved that day, Trails to Treatments had now gone over $100,000 in their donations to cancer patients in a total of 262 grants. All that just since the fall of 2011!
Income for the Cancer Ride and Benefit comes from many areas of the event. There is the sale of luminaries, the karaoke contest, chili cookoff, offerings for various breakfasts, lunches and dinners, root beer floats, the sale of raffle tickets, the silent auction and live auction, meal tickets, registered riders and other miscellaneous donations.
Three teams were responsible for much of the financial success of this year’s event; the Flying V Cancer Fighters donated $3360, the Klub Club donated $2295, and the Eagles donated $11,237 for a team total of $16,892. Sponsorships totaled $15,080. The TTT Committee would like to encourage other teams to join the fight, as well.
Trails to Treatments is very grateful to the many sponsors of the event, and to average citizens to donate items for the auctions. They are many in number!
Trails to Treatments is a non-profit organization whose mission is to assist those in need of funding during their treatment of cancer. Because most people are not fully prepared for the out of pocket expenses cancer treatment requires, grants are awarded to help defray those costs. Volunteers are dedicated to the long term success of this grant program through ongoing donations and fund raising efforts. The surrounding communities have made the success of the organization possible by their generosity, and the TTT committee could not be more thrilled with the response to the needs of people who are battling cancer.
Cancer does not discriminate! It chooses people of all shapes and sizes, all heights and weights, all ages, all colors. It comes in many forms, attacking various parts of the body. TTT, with its many volunteers and donors, is making an attempt to help people fight this disease by eliminating some of the financial burden that insurance does not cover.
Applications for grants can be downloaded from the Trails to Treatments website at http://trailstotreatments.webs.com/ or may be obtained by mailing a request to NCH Trails To Treatments, PO Box 161, Middle River, MN 56737. Private donations, memorials or other fundraisers are also welcome and payments can be made to that address, as well. It takes many hands and open hearts to continue a program that has grown to this magnitude.
Thomas Jefferson said, “May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.” We have done that and we will continue to do that, with more than 50,000 reasons to celebrate!