As a coordinator, time is important to making an event successful and this event was no exception. However, time we did not have enough of. This entire event came together in about three weeks. There are so many people to thank for the success of this event that if I miss someone I am extremely sorry. Let me first start with our vendors. Thank you very much to each and every one of you who paid the dues to be out there and took the time to stock up and create your items for sale. I expected this event to big and I do hope, despite a slight let down in attendance, that you all had a successful day of sales and fun. Thank you to Fresh Printz Ink and Trent Low, Neat Treats Ice cream and the Lipidus family, Thirty One Rep Aaron and Amy French, LNB designs Nicki Stainbrook Bearry, Advocare Rep Jake and Rochele Miller, Wild Thyme Erin Ortman, Sharon Rehrer, Tupperware Rep Nadine Tascott, Eder Jewelry with Tara, Pure Romance with Kim Davis, The whole gang with Chubby Churros, Captured Moments Faith Montgomery, Southern Swag and Phat Guy Sports Bar and Grill with Mike Barnes and the crew, Avon rep Olivia Otte-Shephard, Magnabilities Rep Anita Gault, 2U Its New and Bee Fit Rep Lindsey Redmond, Micha Handbags rep Ashley Lykins, Paparazzi rep Amy Mails, and PCA Skin Care Rep Tamara Palmer. The links to all these Heroes webpages and/or facebook pages will be in the link section of our site for anyone who wishes to purchase from them in the future.
A special thank you goes out to Greg Owens, Cody Perry, and Shayne Wilson our race car drivers who took the time to come out and sign autographs for us. Hunter truly enjoyed you all being there as being a young man, cars are a big thing for him. Thanks to those who revved up the engines and even allowed Hunter to get in the driver seat! Thank you for your gifts to him and for making his day extra special. Good luck in your upcoming races as you finish out the season and beyond.
Cody Perry # 38
Greg Owens # 18
Shayne Wilson #55
Hunter Driving Shayne Wilson
A shout out needs to go to the folks from Phat Guy Sports Bar and Grill. They provided food and cold drinks to our crowd. . Thank you all for your support and help.
We must also mention Phat Guys Muscle. Thats right the bouncers of Phat Guys Richard Barnes, James Hendricks, and Patrick Dooley joined Mr. Earl Taggart in making sure all was secure and stayed peaceful.
Of Course Mr. Taggart only helped when he was done teaching Hunter how to break the law by running stop signs in the Gator.
A special thanks to Hunters "girlfriends' Christy Graham and Danielle Hamilton who once again made this day special for all. These two helped with set up, served drinks, and entertained Hunter on the Gator and beyond! Thank you ladies
The Beer Garden was set up and sponsor by Phat Guy Sports Bar and Grill and Wicked Automation. Thank you very much to Mike Barnes, Mom and Pop Barnes, and Jeffrey Glennon for making this happen. Also thank you to Don R., Amanda Miller, and Joey Gault for helping with set up and tear down.
The band that started this whole ordeal is Blue Hearts. I dealt directly with Walker and Bill to start the process of putting together this event. The members of Blue Hearts came up out of Kentucky to play for Hunter. Walker made it his mission to involve Hunter and he sang several songs to Hunter as Hunter sat on the edge of the stage. Blue Hearts also gave Hunter a T Shirt and made personal and charitable donations to Hunters Heroes. TYVM to all the Blue Hearts members for making the trip and providing great entertainment to our supporters. https://www.facebook.com/blueheartsband
Lonesome Crow also took the stage to benefit Hunter. Brian York is their drummer and vocalist and Cory Lawless played guitar and sang for the crowd. Lonesome Crow can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LonesomeCrowAcousticShow and on Reverb Nation at http://www.reverbnation.com/lonesomecrowacousticshow This duo took down the house with their performance. Thank you guys!
Polaris was the third band to take the stage. This was a band added to the show by Blue Hearts and I do not personally know anything about them or their names. As soon as I get this information, I will edit this blog and provide you with the details.
Now for our hometown hit, Southern Swag. These guys know how to put on a show. Mike Barnes and Southern Swag provided all the equipment and sound to pull off this show. Thank You Mike! Southern Swag consists of Mike Barnes playing guitar and vocals, Scott Wease lead vocals, Dan Duncan plays bass, Charlie Gudgel plays lead guitar, and Cameron Wooley pounded the drums for us. OH and I can not forget their drummer in training, Hunter Darlage himself. Southern Swag graced Hunter in song as he sat on the edge of the stage with a drum stick in hand. But, since they didnt provide hunter with a drum, he decided to bang on the stage, The singers knee cap, and even his own hat! (See the video at this link ...... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153092220600118&set=vb.547640117&type=2&theater) . I can not go without mention of Thomas Fields, the sound man for the evening. Thank you Thomas for making these guys sound good! Southern Swag is a class act and I encourage everyone to support them as much as they support Hunter and the rest of their community. They can be seen playing at Phat Guys as well as other local bars and clubs.
Event after event, certain heroes are there to support us along every journey. Trent Low, We could not have pulled this off without you. Trent not only supplies our HH T shirts once again for this event, but he was there Friday night to help lay things out and get things set up. He also supplied the low boy to be used as a stage and borrowed the Gator to give Hunter an easy way to get around on the turf and out of his wheelchair. The gator was a huge hit as Earl Taggart and a team of supporters drove Hunter around and then later on Trent himself took his lil buddy for a ride. TY Trent and Smith Implements aka John Deere for providing this needed equipment. Trent also supplied tables, tents, banners, and a trailer for Hunters Heroes.
Another amazing hero is Jeffrey Glennon was an ever present help. He helped from set up to tear down and even started long before the event to be sure everyone had the electrical power that was required. Despite a few difficulties, everyone who needed it had power! Jeff helped with the beer garden and played janitor the entire time during the event. Jeff, when I asked the management team for names of those who helped and what they did, everyone responded, Jeff Glennon ~ He did EVERYTHING! Thank you Jeff for flying in from Las Vegas to be there to help our lil man!
Mr. Mike Barnes, the man who always tells me not to include him, but too bad. Mike was my right hand man. He took everything I put on paper as the coordinator and made it happen. Mike was my eyes and ears for the event and did everything from scoping out the site, to diagramming the area for vendors, to marking booths for the vendors, to performing with his band, to setting up and proving the beer garden and the license to serve alcohol, to proving us with security and bar tenders, and so much more. Mike you are truly a loving, caring person and we could not have done this without you! Thank you for all you do for Hunter on a weekly basis and allowing your wife, employees, and family to help along the way as well.
With each event we plan, a lot of work goes into running the Hero tent as well. For this event the Darlage family stepped up. A special thank you goes out to Cheyenne Howard and her soon to be husband Michael Sullivan. Cheyenne is the oldest sibling to Hunter and comes in from Indianapolis for each event to help with Hunter and the tent. (You can read Cheyenne's thoughts on being Hunters sister on a previous blog here on the site) Michael, or Mikey as he is known to Hunter, has also become a special part of this family and is truly a hero himself. Mikey, has helped with Hunter and many several events. Brain Darlage, Hunters Father ran to and fro from early morning getting Hunter ready to go til the last item was loaded into the trailer. Brian, You have heart of gold to not only help raise children that are not yours by birth, but to be an ever present help with your son Hunter. You were desperately needed for this event due to Monica's knee injury and you stepped up and then some. For the last, but certainly not the least of the family members, Braydon Howard, the often unsung hero of the family. Braydon is Hunter's older brother and the middle child. Braydon himself has special needs but over comes them daily to help his mother care for his baby brother. Braydon is constantly helping to move, lift, change, and care for Hunter. He is very sweet and gentle with his brother. Braydon also helps his family financially by working as a cashier at Wendys. The Darlage/Howard family struggle daily to survive and have very little to show for it, but they have a love and a bond for each other that no hardship or challenge could break. A special thanks goes out to AJ McKend for cooking the BBQ Pork for the HH tent and for all the others who stopped by for a few moments to help.
With this event behind us, we look forward to more events in the future. August 10th we are planning a Car Wash at AutoZone in North Vernon and August 17th a golf scramble at Fords Crossing. For more information on these and other events contact me, Ayana at https://www.facebook.com/huntersheroes.eventscoordinator . To follow our progress, make donations, or purchase gear please visit our website. You can also read addition blogs, stories about those who helped us along the way, and find links to great businesses in the area. TY All www.heroes4hunter.com.
