“HIGH ON HEALTH”
Press Room
April 16, 2008
Curry Health Foundation Grosses $15,000
and $6,000 for Gold Beach Rotary
By Matthew Smith
(Reprinted from the Curry County Reporter, April 16, 2008 issue, Page 18.)
A little piece of Hawaii came to Gold Beach this past Saturday night, with most guests sporting their favorite floral-print shirts and dresses. This is the sixth year for the event, and CHF President Steve Denney is excited about how the annual affair has grown.
“It grows at about ten percent each year. It’s really developing nicely,” said Denney.
“This year’s event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Barbara Huston (Vice President CHF) and Alice Hammermeister. They did an incredible job.”
Proceeds from the event will go to a myriad of grants and projects the two organizations help fund. X-ray and CAT-Scan technologies, electric-adjustable beds, early prenatal care and newborn hearing analyzers are just a few of the grants that CHF help fund through the event.
Rotary profits from the event will help fund Curry Cares for Kids (a dental program for underinsured children), sports-related programs that encourage exercise, and scholarships for high school seniors that want to enter health/medical fields.
“When Curry Cares for Kids began, we had one dentist in Brookings in the program,” said Rotary President Mary Stansell.
“Now we have several dentists, and events like this have really helped the program expand.”
Ticket sales, donations, silent auction (for CHF) and live auction (for Rotary) kept the funds coming in all night – and of course no event would be complete without some entertainment.
The first act for the night was The Hawaiian Five – Kira Stevenson, Emily Ross, Katie Bradley, Megan Ross and Katherine Zuber.
Tammy Ross proudly introduced the group before the girls (ranging in age from four to 16) took the stage to showcase their hula dancing skills.
Rogue River Jam concluded the night’s entertainment. Lead singer Jan Burris, guitarist and vocalist Sharon Guinn, percussionist Frank Burris and bassist Jack Gollaher make up the popular group; which formed in 2007.
The group played warm upbeat classics, or as Jan Burris put it, songs that “we all know and love.”
One highlight of their performance was calling Denny, Stansell and Hammermeister on stage to help sing the chorus of “Under the Boardwalk.”
The fun wasn’t over yet though. Not technically billed as entertainment, but close enough, Dave Little then took the stage to begin the Rotary live auction.
The charismatic and “wise-cracking” Little kept the fundraising and laughs going the rest of the night.
