Remarkable

Many community events that have been around for 17 years often exhibit signs of getting tired or simply being the same-old, same-old.
Not so with the Riverside Foundation for Health Care’s annual fundraising dinner—and all because of the amazing efforts of its Special Events committee.
Always working tirelessly year in and year out to stage an awesome evening of entertainment while raising much-needed dollars for local health care, the group certainly outdid itself Saturday night with its “Under the Big Top” dinner at the Copper River Inn.
When everything was tallied up, a record $36,900—well above the $25,000 goal—is going towards the purchase of a transportable Lifepak defibrillator and AED cardiac monitor for the ER at La Verendrye Hospital here.
Obviously, that money stemmed from the sold-out crowd that attended the event through buying tickets, bidding on the live and silent auctions, and ponying up to participate in the various games, as well as the local individuals, businesses, and organizations which donated all the items on the block.
But none of this would have happened without the Special Events committee, which comes up with the various themes to keep the dinner fresh, does all the planning and groundwork, and recruits other volunteers to lend a helping hand, which this year included the Muskie football team acting as servers to help cut down expenses.
With so many other local events suffering from volunteer burn-out, it’s truly remarkable that this group continues to show such creativity, dedication, and enthusiasm year after year.
As quality “care close to home” hinges more and more on residents having to open their wallets for renovations and equipment for local health centres, our community is fortunate to have such a passionate and clever group at the forefront of this essential fundraising task.