Often it is better to knock
out two birds with one stone,
and Memories and a Cure at
Remington’s Hunt Club invites
people to do just that by enjoying
themselves and simultaneously
helping to cure cancer tonight.
The charity event is the brainchild
of Garan Manufacturing
regional personnel manager Patty
Stuckey, whose husband Rob
passed away in June after a two year
battle with renal cell carcinoma,
the most common form of
kidney cancer.
Every year, Garan holds various
fundraisers benefiting the
American Cancer Society through
Relay for Life, an annual event
celebrating cancer survivors and
raising funds for cancer research.
Various Garan Manufacturing
employees choose to meet and
discuss ideas about possible fundraisers
for upcoming Relay for
Life charity.
In the past, the Garan team
decided on raffles for items such
as iPods, TVs and outdoor cooking
equipment and has also held
cookouts to raise money for the
ACS. Patty Stuckey added to the
plethora of creative fundraisers
the Garan team has held over the
years by suggesting a benefit concert,
this year’s chosen fundraiser.
“I almost didn’t say anything,”
Stuckey said. “It was one idea of
many that we had. My husband
loved music, and I thought to
myself, ‘Well, involving music
could be a good way for us to
raise money for [ACS].'”
She said she soon realized a benefit
concert could be an achievable
fundraiser.
“My brother-in-law is in a
band, and when I called him, I
asked if he would be interested
in volunteering his band for the
event,” she said. “He was all for it.
Of course he had to ask the other
band members, but he was sure
they would agree.”
But even then Stuckey said
the whole thing was still just a
thought until she got in touch
with representatives from Hunt
Club, who said they were interested
in holding the event.
Soon after the ball got rolling,
the Garan Team found itself with
three confirmed participating
bands – Trademark, Under the
Gun and Blackberry Wednesday
– with three additional bands
interested in performing at the
event.
Lucreshia Brown has been helping
with Memories and a Cure
since Stuckey suggested the idea
and said she was surprised all the
bands were so eager to help.
“When [Patty] said, ‘What
about a concert; I think I’ve got a
band,’ I said, ‘That’s big’,” Brown
said. “But if we can do it, let’s
do it.”
Brown contacted The Hunt
Club to ask if Garan could hold
the event there and she said Hunt
Club representatives were very
interested in helping. She and general
manager Corey Poole began
working together, planning all the
little details of the event. The
Hunt Club agreed to donate the
space of its 1000-person accommodating
Camp House Room for
the event.
With the help of senior art
major Sean Galey, promotion for
the event began. Galey created
posters explaining both the charity
and the concert that will be
held in Rob Stuckey’s memory.
Galey was glad to design the
poster after a friend who works
at Garan mentioned the event
needed one.
“Sometimes an event comes
along where I can see my artistic
abilities can be used beneficially,”
Galey said. “After [my friend] told
me about charity
event, I said
I wouldn’t mind
doing the work
pro bono.” Even
though Patty
Stuckey originally
created the
idea of holding
a concert, she
did not intend
on holding the
event in memory
of her late
husband.
“I had no idea
it was for Rob
until I saw the
poster,” Stuckey
said. “Rob loved music. In fact I
used to joke that he loved three
things: music, his motorcycle and
me.”
Brown said the name Memories
and a Cure came from two different
things involved in helping
cure cancer.
“Cancer means something to
each of us,” she said. “If you had
a person you care about pass away,
you are left with nothing but
memories. We have people here at
Garan with cancer and loved ones
with cancer, and every day they
praying for a cure.”
She also said Garan chose the
name because it does not create
conflict for holding the event
down the road.
“The Hunt Club said that in
the future if we want to do this
again they will be happy to work
with us,” Brown said. “We are
hoping we can hold it again in
memory of different people.”
The tickets for Memories and
a Cure are $10 at the door and
on the Hunt Club’s Web site
remingtonshuntclub.com with all
ticket proceeds going to the ACS.
Drinks are not included in the
ticket price. Stuckey stressed how
significant $10 can be in cancer
research because
cancer can only
be solved when
it is understood
and understanding
cancer
requires research
which in turn
requires money.
“When people
buy the tickets
they should
know that $10
might be the
$10 that saves
someone’s life,”
Stuckey said.
Brown said
she encouraged
everyone to come, hoping to
make the Memories and a Cure
event a sellout.
Stuckey said she hopes people
enjoy the concert enough to make
it an annual event for the coming
years. She said she also wants
people to leave with the feeling
that they have helped make an
impact.
“You’re a part of something
that could change the world,”
Stuckey said. “Cancer touches
everyone in one way or another,
[but] we believe strongly cancer
will be cured.”