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Cancer Relief event raises $18,000
Nevada, Mo. -- For 21 years the Vernon County Cancer Relief Fund has been helping Vernon County residents who are undergoing cancer treatments with expenses by providing vouchers for gas, food, medication and other necessities.
"There is only one criterion, a patient must be a resident of Vernon County. There are no financial requirements," Mike Turnbull, Vernon County Cancer Relief Fund president, said.
Turnbull said that the VCCR spends over $12,000 annually helping Vernon County cancer patients.
In recent months, as the cost of food and gas have skyrocketed, Turnbull said that their patient load has put an increased strain on their budget.
"We wanted to find a way to raise money, without asking people for money and we came up with the idea of having a sit-down dinner. For the ticket price, I think everyone got their money's worth of food and a good time," he said.
Turnbull said they served more than 300 meals.
"We knew how many tickets we sold and we prepared enough food, but we didn't really believe that so many would actually show up for the event, so we had to set up seating at the last minute," he said.
In addition to raising money with the dinner he said that the VCCR board looked at this as a way to make people aware of the Vernon County Cancer Relief Fund and the work it does, he said.
"We didn't know what to expect, but in the end the community stepped forward to help a worthy organization," he said.
Between the Chateaubriand dinner prepared by Turnbull and Marie McCullough, sponsor fees, donations, a silent auction and tips collected by celebrity waiters, they raised about $18,000.
"It obviously will be an annual event now," Turnbull said.
He said that a lot of the people who bought items at the auction, donated them back to be auctioned off again by local auctioneer Ron Schulze, who volunteered his time.
Bill Turner was the top celebrity waiter, raising over $300 in tips.
"He was so good that I think he might have missed his calling in life. He's still raising tips," Turnbull said.
"Turner took me by the arm and led me around the room, telling everyone 'this is your chef,' to raise tips. He raised $144 in about nine minutes," Turnbull said.
For his efforts Turner was presented with a traveling trophy, which he has placed on his desk.
He said that in addition to Turner, they got the services of 11 other local celebrities to act as waiters for the evening.
Greg and Melissa Hoffman, Jason Meisen-heimer, Monica Compton, Tim Wells, Betsy McReynolds, Bill Denman, Bonnie McCord, Cindy Johnson and David Litten all volunteered their talents as servers to raise money for the Vernon County Cancer Relief Fund.
"All of the servers did a great job. I think everyone had a good time that evening," Turnbull said.
"It was huge," he said.
Although the VCCR Fund has done small things to raise money in the past, this was the first real fund raising event they have held in the 2-year history of the organization.
"It was a lot of hard work by the board members, but it was worth it," he said.
Turnbull said part of the evening was dedicated to recognizing Jody Renwick's efforts in starting the organization 21 years ago, with a grant from the Moss Trust for seed money.
Renwick also made arrangements for Ferry's Funeral Home to make families aware of the opportunity to have memorial; donations made to the Vernon County Cancer Relief Fund.
"That was very helpful," Turnbull said.
He said that they are one of the local organizations that that are funded by the United Way and also receive assistance from the Joy Shiva Cragin Charitable Trust.