‘Steak and Burger’ fundraiser celebrates member success

August 23, 2019 | 3:10 am

Updated August 22, 2019 | 10:11 pm

This year's 37th annual Steak and Burger Dinner features several prominent guests, most notable being the keynote speaker and head men's basketball coach at Western Kentucky University, Rick Stansbury. | Photo courtesy of WKU

The Cliff Hagan Boys and Girls Club is set to host their 37th annual Steak and Burger Dinner fundraiser on Aug. 28. This year’s dinner features several prominent guests, most notable being the keynote speaker and head men’s basketball coach at Western Kentucky University, Rick Stansbury.

The Steak and Burger Dinner, which begins at 5:30 p.m., will take place at the Mike Horn Unit of the Owensboro Boys and Girls Club, located at 3415 Buckland Square. Tickets for the event are $75 per person, $300 for a table of four, and $500 for a table of eight. To register for the event, one can contact the club at 270-685-4903.

The Boys and Girls Club host several fundraisers throughout the year such as a golf scramble and 100 Men Who Cook, but this event is different. At the Steak and Burger Dinner, several of the club’s young members are invited, and even more special, the kids will chow down on the juicy steaks, while the community receives the handcrafted burgers.

The Club’s ultimate goal is to offer a ‘kids positive place’ at all of their extensions, and CEO Steve Winkler believes that this dinner best exemplifies that message.

“While everything we do is for the kids, this event allows us to send that message to our members,” said Winkler. “We have several activities and speakers in place for this year’s event, and we are hopeful that it will be our biggest one yet.”

The Club served upwards of 3,300 members last year, and Winkler fully expects them to reach 3,800 by the end of this year. In addition to raising money, this event serves as the ultimate reward for approximately 70 of their members who can gain admittance to the function by exemplifying positive behavior and participation throughout the year.

“The funds raised by the dinner help us to offset membership costs for families in need and allow us to add more programming,” Winkler said. “It also gives us an opportunity to reward kids and connect them with some of our alumni who were in the same seat as them years ago.”

This year’s speakers include Hilltopper head coach, Rick Stansbury, and Ceary Thomas who attended the Wightman Unit of the club during her youth and presently serves as a success coach at Owensboro Community and Technical College.

Adding to the already prominent guest list are Cliff Hagan, Bobby Rascoe, and Owen Lawson, three local boys who built quite the basketball resume. Hagan was a five-time NBA all-star and a national champion for both the University of Kentucky and the NBA’s St. Louis Hawks. Rasoce was an all-American at Western Kentucky while Lawson earned all-conference honors for the Hilltoppers.

This year’s title sponsor is Independence Bank while LongHorn Steakhouse donated all of the food for the event.

Winkler most looks forward to seeing the look on the kids’ faces when they first enter the event and dig into their steaks.

“The purpose of the event is and always has been to celebrate success,” Winkler said. “We want to celebrate the success of our many alumni, our current members and our operation as a whole. It is a great reward for our kids.”

August 23, 2019 | 3:10 am

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