The third time was definitely a charm. By all measures, the 3^rd annual HOGTOBERFEST, a FOOD, FRIENDS and FUNdraising event to benefit the Good Samaritan Fund, was a success. Some gift-in-kind and expense amounts are still outstanding, but this year’s revenue was nearly $18,400, a significant increase over the nearly $6000 in revenue realized from the 2015 event.

Much of the boost in earnings came from contributions from this year’s HOG & Kisses Contest, an event activity. Rev. Cam McConnell, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church, raised nearly $4000, earning the privilege of kissing Harriet, our little hog. Thank you, Cam! He and four other contestants, representing five of our founding churches, raised a total of $10,541.36. Yowza! An anonymous gift from a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church, also one of our founding churches, was part of Rev. McConnell’s winning campaign.

The other HOG & Kisses candidates, in alphabetical order by church, were Rev. Susan Evans, Blue Valley Memorial UMC; Rev. John Parsley, First Baptist Church; Dave Rogers, a board member at First Christian Church, and Kyle Olson, Director of Spiritual Growth at First Lutheran Church. They were all such good sports and brought great energy to the event and recognition of the Good Samaritan Fund.

Another well-received feature of this year’s event was the inaugural 50/50 Raffle. Rick Pfeifley of Pfeifley Jewelers was the lucky winner. A team of 14 sold nearly 6,300 tickets for a total of $3442. The proceeds were to be split evenly between the Good Samaritan Fund and the winner, meaning Rick’s prize is $1721. When the prize money was delivered, Pfeifley promptly wrote a check to Meadowlark Hills Foundation, donating $721 back to the Good Samaritan Fund. Thank you, Rick!

The Foundation appreciates, too, the many who purchased barbecue meals on Oct. 13. Hundreds ate at the restaurant, others had food delivered and still others picked up food to go. Cox Bros. BBQ donates 10 percent of the day’s proceeds to the fund, and their gift this year was $125 more than last year’s. That means their food and beverage sales were $1,250 more than in 2015. Oink!

Hip, hip, hooray to our returning event sponsors: Cox Bros. BBQ, McCullough Development and Flint Hills Beverage. Here’s a thankful welcome to three new sponsors: B104.7, NZone and Powercat Illustrated/GoPowercat.com. Darrell Parks of Manhattan and Parks Pasture Pork loaned us Harriet HOG for the afternoon.

Our door prize drawing – a barbecue package for 10 from Cox Bros. BBQ – was won by Sean Griffin, a 9-year-old from Manhattan who had a late lunch with his mother. Videos of the 50/50 Raffle and door prize drawings may be viewed on the Meadowlark Hills Facebook page. Please view and LIKE our page, so you’ll continue to receive information, photos and video about your favorite retirement community.  

 Hip, hip, hooray to our returning event sponsors: Cox Bros. BBQ, McCullough Development and Flint Hills Beverage. Here’s a thankful welcome to three new sponsors: B104.7, NZone and Powercat Illustrated/GoPowercat.com. Darrell Parks of Manhattan and Parks Pasture Pork loaned us Harriet HOG for the afternoon. 

 Our door prize drawing – a barbecue package for 10 from Cox Bros. BBQ – was won by Sean Griffin, a 9-year-old from Manhattan who had a late lunch with his mother. Videos of the 50/50 Raffle and door prize drawings may be viewed on the Meadowlark Hills Facebook page. Please view and LIKE our page, so you’ll continue to receive information, photos and video about your favorite retirement community.