2002 Cattlemen’s Ball to kick off May 31 with four-person golf scramble in Lincoln

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.