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October 13, 2005Northern NotesTeddy bears and bands help hurricane victimsByRecord-Eagle staff writer Nineteen first-graders in Mrs. Halliday's class at Frankfort Elementary School know how important it is to have something familiar to hold on to when you're afraid. Wanting to do something to help the young victims of Hurricane Katrina who have lost everything they know and care about, they decided that teddy bears were just the thing to help the children feel better. The students worked hard selling popcorn to raise money to buy the teddy bears and composed a letter explaining their gifts. "It made us feel very sad when we heard about Hurricane Katrina. We wanted to do something to help you feel better. We know that our own teddy bears make us feel happy," the Frankfort children wrote. "When we hug our teddy bears at night, they help us so that we don't feel afraid. We want each one of you to have a teddy to hug and to love. We hope that your bear will help you feel better." - Organizers wrote that the Rock 'N' Relief benefit for Katrina victims, held at Streeters Entertainment Center, was a great success thanks to Kenny Olson, WKLT, Williams Kia, Trophy Trolley, Sound Environments, Peninsula Grill, Print Masters and so many more. One hundred percent of the proceeds, totaling more than $16,000, went to the American Red Cross in an effort to help the victims of Katrina. Bands and musicians that performed during the benefit included Rumor, Mike Moran, Soldiers, Amanda Waggener, Blisstrip, Brian Shram, Miriam Pico and Joe Caine & 75 North. Those attending also enjoyed jambalaya and appetizers provided by the Peninsula Grill and took part in bidding on silent auction items donated by generous area businesses. Commemorative T-shirts donated by Trophy Trolley are still available for $10 at Streeters, WKLT or the Trophy Trolley, with 100 percent of the revenue going to the Red Cross. Organizers also send a special thank you to everyone who came out and helped make the event so special. - The BigEazy was the site of a two-night relief concert to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims. The event was organized by Dan and Myrna Jacobs to provide funds to the Salvation Army, and George Falaras generously donated the use of his club, the BigEazy, contributing 25 percent of gross receipts for the event. The staff also pitched in, including executive chef Kevin Green, who put together a Cajun buffet; Kathy Nobles ,who provided coordination and behind-the-scenes support; and Tom G., manager at the BigEazy, who handled a silent auction and other details. Bands that provided music for a standing room only crowd included the Epsilon Jazz Band, Ronnie Hernandez and David Chown and friends, Kathy and the Rhythm Doctors, Al Jankowski and Into This, Luther Gravey and the Soul Biscuits, Leo Creek with an all-star quartet, Jeff Haas and NOD, Mike Hunter/Kevin Smith Big Band, Big Rand, Dan Jacobs and Jazz Co-Motion, the Mudbugz, Blisstrip and others. Many others contributed to the success of the fundraiser, including Al Jankowski, who in addition to performing also handled sound; Nelson Asper of Mainstream Marketing for providing a portion of the cost of commemorative T-shirts; Sysco Foods for donating a portion of the food; FastSigns for making up signs; David Fox and Dominic Sondy, who donated framed photographs of New Orleans jazz and blues musicians and street scenes for the silent auction; Randy Hackett and many others who also donated silent auction items; Marshall Music for providing the sound system, drums and other musical equipment; Jan Staycer and Northern Express for donating an ad; the Antrim County News, the Record-Eagle, WCCW, The Fox 92.5, WCFX, The Breeze, WJZQ 92.9, Eric Hines and WNMC 90.7, and Today's Country Music WTCM 203.5 for promoting the event; and to Michael O'Shea of WCCW for broadcasting his "Wacky Wednesday" show live from the BigEazy. Organizers send a "thundering round of applause" to the Salvation Army and Maj. Tom Riggs and his wife, Belinda, family and associates for collecting all donations and ensuring that they are delivered to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. Riggs said $2,095 was collected from $5 cover charge donations and the silent auction. The tally from the event's receipts was not completed yet. "Deserving of special mention is jazz trumpeter Dan Jacobs for the initial idea for the event, for his organizational and promotional skills ... and Myrna Jacobs for her creative talent in photography and graphic design that provided the logo, the posters, T-shirt design as well as documentary photography of the entire event," organizers wrote. "Also a big thank you goes to all the BigEazy employees and patrons who came to support this great effort and contribute to the success." Items for this column may be sent to Northern Notes, Record-Eagle, P.O. Box 632, Traverse City, MI 49685-0632; e-mail sbeach@record-eagle.com.
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