The Honky Tonk Tailgate Party Tour, a package concert tour featuring
three country music artists, will be featured at the fifth annual Cattlemens
Ball of Nebraska. The ball will be held June 1 at the Benes Cattle Company
located 25 miles northwest of Lincoln near Highway 79 and the town of Valparaiso.
The Honky Tonk Tailgate Tour is made up of three solo artists
with very different styles. Daryle Singletary has deep country roots and
sings traditional country tunes. Rhett Akins specializes in rowdy, up-tempo
country music with a Southern rock flair. Wade Hayes has a talent for heartfelt
country ballads. Each artist will perform for 30-minutes and then conclude
the performance together.
Event activities include an art show, live auction, cowboy poetry and
celebrity team penning. Staff members from the University of Nebraska Medical
Center Eppley Cancer Center with the help of nurses from Nebraska Health
System and the UNMC College of Nursing will provide free screenings for
prostate and skin cancer.
The hosts of the 2002 Cattlemens Ball include Ermin and Delores Benes,
Dan and Kathy Benes and their families. Chairpersons for the 2002 event
are Dr. Elliott and Lynne Rustad of Lincoln.
Nearly the entire Valparaiso community has been involved with the ball
planning, said Dan Benes, as cancer is a disease that touches just about
every family. The Benes family is no exception. Kathys parents are both
cancer survivors. Dans grandfather suffered and died with lung cancer,
and his cousin passed away last fall with a brain tumor. In addition, 31-year-old
Lyle Bouc of Valparaiso, a patient at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center,
lost his battle with lymphoma earlier this month.
“Planning the Cattlemens Ball has been a lot more work than we anticipated,
but we have had tremendous community support, said Dan Benes. If the
Cattlemens Ball can save just one life because of our fund raising efforts,
it will have been well worth the time spent.
The Benes Family and the 2002 Cattlemens Ball Planning Committee are
already at work with pre-ball fund raising efforts including the upcoming
Nebraska Team Penning Event to be held April 6 in Lincoln at the Lancaster
Event Center. Team penning is a timed sport in which three people herd
three designated cattle in a pen. They hope to raise more than $2,000 for
the Cattlemens Ball and the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at this event.
The Cattlemens Ball is held each year to showcase rural Nebraska, promote
beef in a healthy diet and to raise money for health care research. The
UNMC Eppley Cancer Center in Omaha is the primary recipient of this fund
raising effort with 90 percent of the proceeds going toward cancer research
programs at Eppley. The remaining 10 percent of the funds raised stay in
the local area and are used for health care activities.
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center received $133,000 for cancer research
from the 2001 Cattlemens Ball held at the Thacher Cattle Company near
Valentine, Neb.
Invitations are not sent, as the event is completely open to the public.
At the 2002 Cattlemens Ball, Top Hand ticket holders ($60) may attend
Saturday afternoon and evening activities beginning at 1 p.m. Trailboss
ticket holders ($250) receive a champagne reception, commemorative gift,
Trailboss brunch and preferred seating for the evening dinner and concert.
Tickets are limited. For tickets, call 1-800-666-8071 or send
a check to P.O. Box 181, Valparaiso, NE 68065.