Successful run to another big mark

Lyle Area Cancer had some familiar words to describe the 2016-17 run of fundraising events: awesome, amazing and unbelievable.

“A very, very successful year,” said LAC co-chair Larry Ricke said.

LAC pledged about $215,500 to the 63rd Eagles Cancer Telethon in Rochester, brining LAC’s 38 year total to over $2.6 million.

“It’s just like any other year: It’s very successful — very, very, very,” Ricke said.

The auction was held Friday and Saturday at the Lyle Legion and adjoining Lyle Maintenance Building.

The event caps a year of fundraising events such as Spin for a Cure, Oktoberfest, the Halfway to January Cancer Bash, Cruise for a Cure, Quilting for a Cure, Crop for a Cure, Farmboy Barbecue, Cans for Cancer, the auction’s kitchen and more. All those events enjoyed good years, Ricke noted.

“They amaze us every year,” he said.

As with every auction, there were emotional moments, like when Cans for Cancer organizers and LAC committee members Dave and Keri Yerhart presented on Friday. Dave is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. But when Dave spoke to the LAC crowd on Friday, he thanked LAC for being a strong support system.

That’s nothing new, as LAC committee member Roe Naylor shared about how the LAC community rallies around people battling cancer, like it did for his sister-in-law, Susie Naylor, who passed away after battling cancer.

“It’s amazing to see the amount of people that come together and make this happen and the people that come and the money that is spent,” Roe said.

And as always, many items sold for big money: a lemon meringue pie sold for $1,400, two wracks of ribs sold for $1,600 each, a rocking horse sold for $3,500, and an LAC quilt sold for $1,500 before being donated back and selling again for $1,000.

Such high-dollar sales have long been commonplace at the auction.

“People don’t come here to look for deals,” Roe said Friday night. “They come here to buy things and donate money and have a lot of fun.”