August 20, 2003

Foot-stomping fun

American Cancer Society Cattle Baron's Ball fund-raiser Saturday

By Gretchen Murray
      Special to the Herald
      Bob Burian is willing to wager anyone that he's the luckiest man in the world.
      This week the executive director of the Northern Michigan Area Service Center of the American Cancer Society is deep in plans for Saturday's Cattle Baron's Ball, the agency's annual fund-raiser. The event is being held from 5 p.m. to midnight at Ranch Rudolf, 12 miles south of Traverse City.
      Burian admits the task would be overwhelming if he weren't lucky enough to have the help and support of many enthusiastic volunteers.
      "I have been involved in ACS events for six or seven years now and I have never seen so many creative people, or a group of volunteers so committed to an event," Burian said.
      Some 200 volunteers are working to make this year's ball a success. More than 50 are heavily involved as committee chairs, Burian noted adding that many are driven by their own or a loved ones' experience with cancer.
      The casual event takes on a Western theme and will feature Southwestern food prepared by 15 area chefs along with a casino, live and silent auctions, racing pigs, a midway full of games and raffles, live music and dancing.
      The Cattle Baron's Ball started in Dallas more than 20 years ago, Burian said. The events were so wildly successful that they spread across the country as the Cancer Society looked for ways to generate revenue through special events. There are now 42 gala events in Texas alone.
      The Cattle Baron's Ball has spread to Michigan with Traverse City and Lansing blazing the trail last year.
      Burian chose Brenda Biederman to chair the event relying on her extensive experience in organizing fund-raisers for causes such as the Women's Resource Center and Old Town Playhouse.
      In speaking of the cancer society's event, Biederman said she particularly felt guided to do this.
      "It just happened that after the first ball, my dad got cancer and died a few months later. That had to be why I felt I was guided. Someone terribly important to me became affected," she said.
      Biederman has recruited many volunteers from the Traverse City area who share her enthusiasm.
      "About 100 people on the committees are either cancer survivors themselves or have otherwise been affected by the disease," she said.
      Much effort has gone into making this year's event bigger and better than the last. New this year is a main stage for dancing to music by Traverse City's Judy Harrison and High Impact. Also new this year is some advance preparation in the form of dance lessons.
      WTCM radio personality Ryan Dobry has been busy teaching Country-Western line dance lessons to anyone wanting to boot-scoot the night away, but not sure how best to go about it. The lessons have been offered several nights a week for the last month.
      This year's extensive list of prizes and raffles are both luxurious and exotic. In particularly a Chocolate and Diamonds raffle features a five-piece set of diamond jewelry donated by Miners North and chocolate by Fudge by Design. Tickets for that raffle are $50 with just 200 tickets printed.
      Auctions will feature plane rides, sailing charters, a golf course outing for 20, and a completely catered beach bash and many other items. Volunteers also will be selling chances on a 2003 Hummer H2 that will be raffled during the Detroit Cattle Baron's Ball next month.
      This year additional transportation will be provided by three busses making a continuous loop from the parking lot of Timberlane Bowling on Garfield Avenue. The busses will run on the hour, 20 and 40 minutes after the hour to insure guests will have no parking problems.
      On a solemn note, the event also serves as a remembrance and celebration of those who have been touched by cancer.
      The Trail of Tribute, an incarnation of volunteer Barb Maitland, is a candle-lit walkway which serves as a memorial for those who lost the battle with cancer. Cancer survivors are honored by roses to signify their fight. Anyone wishing to honor or remember a loved one on The Trail of Tribute that night may do so with a $25 donation to the American Cancer Society. Attendance at the ball is not required.
      With all the fun that is planned for the evening, the walk serves as an emotional and poignant reminder of what the event is all about.
      "Something always reminds you of why we are here," Biederman said. "People in this community are being helped by the money we raise. It is a labor of love for all of us."
      Tickets to the Cattle Baron's Ball are $100 per person which includes dinner, dancing and the pig racing. For more information, call the American Cancer Society at 947-0860. A limited number of tickets will be sold at the door.