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The Lloydminster Kinsmen Club had the hottest ticket in town as hundreds enjoyed a steak dinner for a great cause.
Hosted in the newly-renovated WLS Convention Centre at the Lloydminster Exhibition and a Border City tradition for 23 years, the goal on Saturday was to bring in as much money as possible to support the Kinsmen’s annual 20-hour Telemiracle Telethon, which is being held in Saskatoon on Feb. 25. The local club is keeping its total a secret until they make their donation on stage at Telemiracle 47.
Aside from a steak dinner, Saturday’s fundraiser was emceed by none other than Kurt Price and Heather Klages and featured a guest speaker, live and silent auctions, music by The Milk Fed Turkeys, and a midnight lunch.
For the local club’s president, Matt Read, being able to host a large-scale fundraiser after two years of social distancing was a breath of fresh air.
“We were super happy about the night, and it was great to be the first big event in the renovated space at the WLS Convention Centre, and what a fantastic job they’ve done there,” he said.
“It was a great night. The meal kicked it off well and the guest speaker we had tugged at everybody’s heartstrings, and it was an amazing thing to listen to. That’s why we’re there and that’s why we do what we do, is for people like her.”
Last year’s telethon brought in an astonishing $8,002,722 total, with just over $20,000 coming from the Lloyd club.
“We’re very happy with where we’re going to be, and I think Lloydminster will once again be on the top of the ladder in terms of club donations to Telemiracle. We’re super thankful to the residents of Lloydminster for that,” he said.
“For a community of our size to be bringing in the kind of donations we do is amazing.”
This year’s guest speaker was Lloydminster resident and cancer survivor Leila Simbulan. At 20 years old, Simbulan knows the impact cancer can have on someone and their family as she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when she was 17.
“The Telemiracle Kinsmen Foundation had a huge and significant impact on me and my family’s life,” she said.
“I never thought at 17 death would be right in front of my face. Being a former cancer patient, I learned in such hardships that is childhood cancer, I believe it wasn’t possible to get through it without the support we received from other people. Cancer is debilitating, life-changing, and lonely. Not just for me, but for my whole family.
“The Telemiracle Kinsmen Foundation is truly an answered prayer to any family going through sickness. They were right there at my family’s lowest, and to say they were a big help, would be an understatement. A huge financial burden was lifted the moment we received help from them. They began to cover not only our travels but also our accommodations and meals. This meant so much to my family.”
Similar to Terry Fox, Simbulan now has a prosthetic leg.
Another highlight of the night was the arrival of Kinsmen member Ean Bull, who once again had jaws on the floor with his flashy rose-gold jacket.
“Ean’s a life-member with the Kinsmen Club of Lloydminster and has always been a tremendous support to the club. Telemiracle is also a big part of his business, Dynasoft Communication’s, charitable work in the community,” said Read, adding the fact Bull auctions off his jacket every year.
“I hear he gets those jackets custom made. The boots were something new this year, and I hadn’t seen boots like that in a while.”
The Lloydminster Kinsmen Club would also like to thank their major sponsors, Dynasoft Communications, First General Services Lloydminster, Kal Tire, Lash Enterprises, Synergy Credit Union, Westridge GMC, Astec Safety Inc., Dekker Oilfield Services and Stuart Wright Ltd.
