Relay For Life Extravaganza raises $8K

The Great American Gut- Bustingly Serious Display of Undiscovered Natural Talent Extravaganza was held Saturday April 19th at the Georgia Mountain Fair Anderson Music Hall and raised over $8,000 in the fight against cancer. The event was sponsored by Relay For Life teams from Towns (Georgia Mountain Fair & Brasstown Valley Resort), Union (Cadence Bank, Union Realty and Black Bear Realty) and Clay County (IHM Catholic Church) and showcased local talent performing songs, skits, magic and comedy routines all in an effort to bring a little fun and community support to a cause that has affected most of our lives.

The theme for the event was "when pigs fly" as that was the initial reaction to trying to organize three very different counties into one big fundraiser. The emcee, Brett Beazley (GM of The Ridges Resort & Club Lake Chatuge) kept the crowd entertained with ongoing raffles, humor and the much coveted slingshot flying pigs throughout the evening.

Judges on hand to help pick the winners were Union County Commissioner Lamar Paris, Young Harris College President Cathy Cox, District 8 State Representative Charles Jenkins, 32 year cancer survivor Paul Hedden, Sgt. Chad Deyton of the Union County Sheriff's Office, Brasstown Valley Resort General Manager Charles Burton, Strategic Vision CEO David Johnson and Talk of the Town Host Marquis Arender.

First place went to Dr. Church and the Synergy Health Village People, second place went to The Little Sisters of Hoboken and third place went to Hallye King and Dylen Nelson. Other acts were Bert "The Bavarian" Kunze, Holly "Liza Minnelli" Massman, Roy "Elvis" Perren, Robert Miller, Dr. Hilty "Hillbilly Bill" Burr, James "The Guitar Man" Stephens and Zeke the Magician.

This event would not have been possible without the support of the following people and sponsors: Todd Kirkland, Jimmy Curtis, Paul Schuette, Candace Lee, Amed Troche, American Shakespeare Center, Appalachian Community Bank, Atlanta Braves Radio, Aviagen, Inc, Bank of Hiawassee, Barber Signs, Bi-Lo, Black Bear Realty, Bob & Michele McGinnis, BodySense, Brasstown Valley Resort, BRMEMC, Cadence Bank, Colditz Trucking, Comfort Café, Espee Spa & Beauty, First Citizen's Bank, Flowers Bread Company, FunWorld, Galaxy Bowling, Gary & Laurie Schuh, Georgia Mountain Fair, Hardee's, Hayesville Printing, IHM Catholic Church, Interstate Welding, Jan Simony/Blairsvilleland.com, Lanier Mtn Builders, Linda Denison, Main Street Bargains, McDonalds, Mountain Cheer Allstars, Mountain Eye Care, NFLPlayers Assoc, Nantahala Bank, Nelsons Ace Hardware, Rib Country, Robert & Mary Child, Shell at The Crossings,

Shirley Properties, Stephens Federal Bank, Stonewall Jackson Hotel, Strategic Vision, The Ridges Country Club, The Cherokee Grill, The Ridges Resort and Club Lake Chatuge, The Stables at Brasstown Valley Resort, Union/Towns Employer Committee, Wendy's, West Printing, United Community Bank, Jon Moon, Mark Mote, Windstream Channel 4, Jim Geer/Common Cup, North Georgia News, Union Sentinel, Towns County Herald, Towns Sentinel, Clay County Progress, Wolf Creek Broadcasting, Ray Graphman, Janice Boling, and all the supporting Relay For Life teams, volunteers and communities who came out to support our attempts-we truly appreciate you!

Until next year, keep the faith, keep the hope and keep on believing…together we WILL find the cure for cancer!