Jan Nutt (center) visits with Marie Richter (left) and Teresa Scott (right) at the March 3rd Benefit.
THANK YOU!! The community of Port O’Connor has once again rallied around a very good cause – The Jerry Nutt Benefit, to help out a fellow citizen, Jan Nutt. This was held at the Port O’Connor Community Center on Saturday, March 3rd. It is great when a whole community comes together and this has truly been a community-wide event and then some. It is very touching to see this unfold.
“Thank you” seems totally inadequate for all the hard work of the volunteers, the donations from all the companies and individuals, and those who baked all the great desserts along with those who supplied and cooked different parts of the dinner and then served it. Between the ladies of Jan’s church – Fisherman’s Chapel and the ladies of the Port O’Connor Service Club, who had already held one bake sale in February and again at this event, there was excellent help and everybody knew just what to do. Even the husbands pitched in automatically. See, I didn’t forget the guys who worked hard also. Billy Hemphill worked many hours in securing some of the great auction items. I had no idea of the number of talented artists in Port O’Connor and they graciously donated their work. There are a lot of talented people here in many different fields.
To make the occasion even better, there were also donors and participants from many surrounding towns besides those in Port O’ Connor. There are too many individuals and companies to list, so we will simply say that – We can’t say “thank you” enough! Thank You!
Donnie Haynes, chairman of the event, and his crew – The Smokin’ Nuts did a superb job! After cooking on Friday and into the night, they were there working bright and early on Saturday morning. The barbecue brisket was delicious! What a team! They were on hand running errands and just doing what needed to be done. If you missed the benefit, you really missed something. Not only did our citizens come together, but they helped set up on Friday and were around to clean up late Saturday afternoon. Our volunteers didn’t leave until all the work had been done.
Our own Justice of the Peace, Nancy Pomykal, touched our hearts with a reading that was just perfect for the occasion. I’ve asked for a copy. The silent and live auctions went very well with Calvin Ragusin officiating as he does so well. The auction spotters did an excellent job and didn’t even drop anything. I also had an opportunity to join in with describing the items, of which we had quite a few. That was also fun. The winner of the 50/50 drawing was Kim Sonnier who graciously and generously donated her winnings to Jan.
To top the occasion off and truly make it more wonderful, we had an excellent performing Band – Hi Way 316, of which we are very appreciative!! The Band under the leadership of Rick Smith volunteered their time and talent to this event. Not only did the adults enjoy the music, but there were small “Band Groupies” attracted to the band. It was good to see so many small children just enthralled. They toe tapped to the beat and on occasion just sat and listened from a couple of feet from the band. It was as if they were magnetized to the band. Once in a while one of them would sort of check to see if their parents were still in the area. We apparently will have some great band students coming up in Port O’Connor who appreciate good music.
Jan Nutt was overwhelmed with heartfelt thanks in the response and very appreciative of everyone and their concern and help. She said there were so many people who really liked Jerry, but at the same time, Jan – we all love you, too.
