Country music artist Ricky Van Shelton will be featured at the third
annual Cattlemens Ball of Nebraska to be held June 3 at the Haythorn Ranch
near Arthur, Neb.
In addition to five platinum and three gold albums, Shelton has had
12 hit singles including I am a Simple Man, Between the Lines and Just
as I Am. He also has written and published a series of childrens books
called Tales From a Duck Named Quacker.
Other event activities include an art show, a general store, cowboy
poetry, music by the Messengers 4, and a dance featuring the music of Blackwater.
Jerry Dias, a one-armed cowboy who was judged Entertainer of the Year by
the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, also will perform, as well
as the Front Street Crystal Palace Review, an entertainment troupe whose
performance is highlighted by reenactments of scenes from the Old West.
The 2000 Cattlemens Ball will be hosted by Craig and Jody Haythorn
of the Haythorn Ranch, world-renowned as the single largest producer of
American Quarter Horses in the United States and the third largest in the
world.
Weve had cancer in our family and would really like to do anything
we can to help raise money for cancer research, said Jody Haythorn, 2000
Cattlemens Ball host.
The Cattlemens Ball is held to promote beef in a healthy diet and to
showcase rural Nebraska. All of the money raised will stay in Nebraska
with 90 percent of the proceeds going toward research projects at the University
of Nebraska Medical Center Eppley Cancer Center. The remaining 10 percent
raised at this years ball will be directed to health care in the Ogallala
area. The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center received $140,000 for cancer research
from the 1999 Cattlemens Ball held at the Robb Ranch near Lexington, Neb.
Top Hand ticket holders ($50) may attend Saturday afternoon and evening
activities beginning at 1 p.m. Top Hand tickets will be $60 after April
30. Trailboss ticket holders ($500) receive a champagne reception, commemorative
gift, brunch and preferred seating for the evening dinner and concert.
Tickets are limited.
For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the Ogallala/Keith
County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau at 1-800-658-4390.
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, a partnership between UNMC and Nebraska
Health System (NHS), is a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center
— a distinction held by only 59 centers in the country. Of the nearly
$31 million in competitive, external research grants and contracts awarded
to UNMC in 1998-99, cancer-related research accounted for about one-half
of that amount.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment, solid organ transplantation and arthritis.
UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals
practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.
NHS is the partnership of Clarkson Hospital, the first hospital in Nebraska,
and University Hospital, the primary teaching facility for UNMC. The combined
hospital is a 635-bed facility and serves approximately 25 percent of the
Omaha-area market. NHS operates clinics and health care centers serving
Omaha, Plattsmouth and Auburn in Nebraska; and Council Bluffs and Shenandoah
in Iowa. In addition, NHS physicians operate more than 300 outpatient clinics
in 100 communities in four states. NHS provides access to tertiary and
primary care including world-class specialized treatment such as solid
organ transplantation, burn care, wound care, geriatrics, bone marrow (stem
cell) transplantation and other cancer treatments.