A four-person golf scramble will serve as the kickoff event for the
fifth annual Cattlemens Ball of Nebraska on Friday, May 31, at the new
Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln. The ball will take place Saturday,
June 1 at the Benes Cattle Company located 25 miles northwest of Lincoln
near Valparaiso, Neb.
The $400 team entry fee includes golf, cart, continental breakfast and
a social following the scramble. Prizes and awards will be given at the
after-golf social and will be announced at the ball. A hole-in-one prize
of a 2002 Mitsubishi Montero SUV will be awarded courtesy of Williamson
Auto Center in Lincoln. The field for the event is limited to 36 teams.
To reserve a foursome, call (402) 488-2446.
Additional ball activities include an art show, style show, horse-drawn
wagon rides, live and silent auctions, and a celebrity team penning
contest. Team penning is a timed sport in which three people on horseback
herd three designated cattle into a pen. The Honky Tonk Tailgate Party
Tour, a package concert tour presenting three country music artists, will
perform at the balls evening concert.
Staff members from the University of Nebraska Medical Centers Eppley
Cancer Center, with the help of nurses from Nebraska Health System and
the UNMC College of Nursing, will provide free screening for prostate and
skin cancer throughout the day.
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.
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, southeast of 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.