The Buck Scholarship Benefit!

The Basket Prep Team! Getting in touch with your feminine side JED!

I'm sure all of you have been waiting for this post - because many of you had the opportunity to come to the benefit, and others want to how it all went down!  First, a little insight into the the planning!  Rickert drove up from Milwaukee early Saturday morning to hit up a round of golf and freeze his hands off before the big benefit - nice!  Later that morning, all those in the preparation party gathered the donations we received, baskets, stuffing, markers, and their creativity and headed over to Bergy's for the party preparation!  We invaded his house and slowly filled it full of sparkling tinsel and signs!  It was the hub of Operation Buck Benefit!

Bergy's Place - Operation Buck Benefit!

After getting everything prepared and inventoried - we loaded up the minivan (man I love Curty's Man Van - so handy!) and brought the loot to Jackson Point!  It was fun to get it all set up for the evening, and time was flying!  We were competing with DJ Skip for stage space and he was running around like crazy - DJ Skip is a busy man apparently!

The MAN VAN loaded up!

Right around 7PM is when the ticket selling began - the boys posted up in front of the baskets and manned the ticket station!  The lady's were running around and selling 50/50 raffle tickets!  Oh, and I forgot to mention - the place WAS PACKED!  The turnout was absolutely amazing!  It was only a week ago that Sam was plastering Seymour with fliers!

Our 50/50 Raffle Team!  Nice waist bank!

The night went by quickly and we tossed in a few door prize drawings of pint glasses and hats for those who came out to the benefit!  The 50/50 raffle winners were so generous and donated some of their winnings back to the cause!  It was just awesome - I can only imagine Joel's reaction to all this!  He probably wouldn't have liked the spotlight, but I am positive he is grateful we all got together to share some laughs, some shnuffka, listen to some country music, and help young bucks in the Seymour Community!  That's a perfect Saturday night in my eyes!

When the time came, DJ Jed jumped on the microphone and started raffling off the baskets!  There was such a variety - so it was fun for everyone to throw tickets into their favorite basket!  You could win pampering at Kapture Salon and Spa, at Sun Drop basket, children's toys and games, and the movie Kindergarten Cop!  There was something for everyone!

We cannot say thank you enough to the local businesses and individuals that donated items for the silent auction, basket raffle, door prizes, and gave monetary donations.  We never imagined the out-pouring of support that arrived for the benefit.  Absolutely amazing - words cannot express how thankful we are.




There are just too many pictures to include in one post, so I decided to include a large photo slide show for you to feast your eyes on!  You can also CLICK HERE to go to the web album of pictures from Buck's Benefit!

You are all so wonderful - thank you for your support!

Thank you from all who made this benefit possible, especially Justin Rickert, Jed Roffers, Kyle and Sam Bergsbaken, Van Gompels, Chris Westerhoff, Marc G, Jackson Point, and all those who contributed to making the benefit a huge success! 

As always, a warm and heartfelt thank you from...

The Marsh's

Thanks for the Wings Buck!

Flying home...

As many of you who follow this blog may know, we had the Joel "Buck" Marsh Memorial Benefit, but it was in Wisconsin... and I live in Pittsburgh.  A small obstacle to get over!  Rickert and I had been in contact about the benefit and were thinking about some dates that would work to host the gathering.  That's when I told him that Buck was flying me home for a little sneak surprise trip for my parents!  (Click HERE to link the blog post!)

Thanks Chris for helping with Buck's flights!

I came home on Wednesday night and surprised my parents!  It was funny because as soon as my Dad saw me he said, "Oh man, I was going to call you tomorrow to say that you should fly home for Joel's benefit!"  Ohhh, great minds think alike, and I was one step ahead of them!  It was fun to talk back in forth with Mom about the benefit and the amazing donations that were coming from every corner of Seymour and the community!  She would call me and say, "We received a beautiful basket today, what should I do with it?!?"  I would always respond and say that I had no idea what was going on, and that I would forward the info to Rickert - hahah! Joke!  I knew all along!  My mom also asked me if I could fly in for the weekend because she had no idea what this banquet would be like and needed a little help!  I said, sorry, I'm too busy with school.  Gotcha!

Wisconsin Springtime...

That week went by so quickly!  Thursday and Friday consisted of getting some odds and ends together for the benefit as well as spending some quality time with my Grandparents in Seymour.  It was fun to relax and have lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Marsh.  I also had the chance to go on daily dates with Lyssa.

It was so nice to be able to fly home, and what a gift that Joel gave me.  Together we surprised Mom and Dad and I was able to get home for some quality family time - the most important time of all.  Thanks BUCK!

A pair of Mallards on the pond Sunday morning...

Joel's Memorial Benefit

I forgot to place the flyer of the recent event on Joel's page - but I think it's definitely worthy of a post in its own to compliment Joel's friends in managing to pull off such an event so quickly!  When people from a small town come together, we can do great things...

My parents and I had nothing to do with the planning and idea of this benefit - Joel's closest friends thought up this fun and exciting event to hold in honor of Joel and to contribute to Joel's scholarship! We feel so blessed that Joel's friends continue to keep Joel's memory, legacy, and mission alive.  I am excited to post more about the benefit and outpouring of generosity and support that family, friends, and Seymour businesses all contributed!  A deep thank you to all those who planned and made this wonderful event possible...

(...there's more to come!)

The Marsh's