Coaches vs. Cancer nets $19,515 for Cancer Society

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By Missy Klatt

This year’s Coaches vs. Cancer event which was held on February 10 at Boyceville High School netted $19,515 due in large part from area business sponsors.

History

This event, which is now in its 12th year, first started back in 2011. It was the brain child of Katie Ouellette who works at Tiffany Creek Elementary School in Boyceville. She approached Jolene Bird, the then girls varsity basketball coach about having a fundraiser in conjunction with the basketball game.

The first year the event was held, it was in honor of Larry (Bud) Gilbertson, long time teacher and Athletic Director at Boyceville, who was battling cancer. “He is doing well today!!” reports Bird.

Today

The event has grown over the years and today it is a whole evening of fundraising and entertainment. It is also an evening where the community honors those who have battled cancer, are still battling cancer, and remembering those who have gone before us due to cancer.

Katie Ouellette has organized this event every year that it has been held. They were unable to hold the event in 2021 due to Covid restrictions. Ouellette along with numerous volunteers, packs the evening with events and fundraisers. Besides two varsity Bulldog games this year, there was halftime entertainment provided by the Boyceville Community Little Dancers during the Boys’ game against the Colfax Vikings and the Boyceville Community Dancers during the Girls’ game against the Glenwood City Hilltoppers.

Throughout the evening there were opportunities to bid on items in the silent auction, buy raffle tickets, and partake in some goodies from the concession stand and bake sale. The very busy concession stand was manned by the BHS football team and brought in a little over $2,000 including free will donations from the bake sale. Silent auction items accounted for over $1,000 and one of the big ticket raffle items, a 65” TV, brought in about $1,200. Bird stated that they had over 130 raffle items that brought in a large sum of money.

T-shirts were also available for purchase and they brought in $540. 

Between the two games there was also a bean bag toss that added around $600 to the total. During the first timeout of the girls’ game there was a Dash for Cash that brought in another $1,150, where players ran through out the stands collecting donations. There was also a shooting contest during halftime that added another $150. These events along with personal donations from families and community members combined with the aforementioned business sponsors tallied $19,515.

Pastor Brad Peterson acted as the MC for the evening and before the Girls’ varsity game all Cancer Survivors/Fighters were invited to half court where they received a flower with players from both teams taking turns handing them out. A poem was read and a moment of silence was also observed for those who have lost their battle.

All of the money is donated to the American Cancer Society of Dunn County which allows some of the money to stay local.

Besides the countless volunteers that help organize and run the event, Bird and Ouellette are definitely amazed at how supportive the Boyceville community and the communities that partner with them for the event have been over the years. This event touches everyone in some way or another.