The Walla-Pa-Looza folks and our friends from the Johnsburg Lions will be presenting a check to the Radtke family. I am so pleased with the effort that was put forth by all the folks involved. As I had said in last week’s post, it was so great to see the people come out to support a family that needs our help. I have a feeling of pride knowing that every little bit helps – and who better to help than someone that brings such happiness to others.

I enjoy seeing the results and the impact our efforts make.

I know that Monday’s posting had a hint of sadness in it but I started to think that maybe I needed to focus on the positive in my life and not the negative. So, with that said I wanted to promote an event put together by our parade chairman Mike Betts. Mike has signed up the Walla-Pa-Looza folks to walk in the Second Annual Shamrock Salute, Rotary St. Patrick’s Day Parade in McHenry on March 14th, 2010. The parade starts at 1:00 pm. We will be in our standard issue purple gear handing out candy and doing what we do best. Our volunteers will be out in full force promoting our next event, scheduled for July 31st. I hope you and your family will come out and say hello. Mike has put some work into this parade and I am very thankful to him and all the volunteers that work so hard promoting and working for Walla-Pa-Looza.

Also, my friend Donna Grabow has set up a team for the ABTA Path to Progress walk. Look for the Just Jackson team if you would like to donate.

Again, thank you for your efforts on the Radtke benefit and I hope to give you some updated information on how much was raised and how the check presentation went. I am sure we have some pictures to share as well.

Thanks again.
Craig

I was attending the Johnsburg Lions meat raffle at C’s Pizzeria & Pub across the street from our house, when I saw an ambulance and police cars heading into our neighborhood. Moments later, my cell phone rang and my heart skipped a beat. It was Joanne. She had concern in her voice. She told me that they brought out a stretcher next door and someone was on it. My first thought was that someone had a heart attack or something. I was wrong.

Later on that evening I was still across the street when I was told that our teenage neighbor took his own life. I decided to wait until my children were asleep so I could go home and explain the situation to my wife. I felt that discussing this that night would not be the best choice. It would be better to explain it to them in the morning. We eventually told both boys. It was pretty hard for us to explain what had happened but we made it through. We left a note for the family in their mailbox letting them know that we were sorry for their loss and that if they needed anything to please let us know.

On Saturday, I spoke with one of the siblings and asked how she was doing. She said she was ok, but that she was afraid to go into her brother’s room because she was the one that found him. I felt so sad for her but she seemed pretty strong. She had said they were working on the funeral plans and things that go along with that. I told her that if her parents needed anything to please let us know. Later that afternoon her other brother and a cousin were fixing a spaceship out in the driveway that belonged to the deceased. I guess they were paying tribute to him in there own special way. I didn’t ask why they were doing it, I knew why.

Even for those of us with children, we can only imagine what this family is going through right now. Please take a quick moment to say a prayer for them today and give your children an extra strong hug.

Taylor Radtke Autographs Craig's Shirt

This morning I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to write about. It wasn’t because I had a lack of topics. I mean we had an earthquake in Chile, the threat of a tsunami in Hawaii and the issues that Haiti is dealing with. But today, I am thinking about how a community rallied around a family and a little girl.

Her name is Taylor Radtke and she is one of the coolest little girls I know. She showed up at the benefit and even won the dart tournament! Her mother Laurie told me that she has had some serious setbacks but, you would have never known it. She was so polite, happy, and of course social. Meeting Taylor made my weekend. She is an incredible individual.

This past Saturday night I witnessed young and old come together to eat, drink, dance and donate for a wonderful cause. This event didn’t make CNN or even CLTV for that matter but for one cold February night in northern Illinois, a group people tried to make a difference. Four different groups – Walla-Pa-Looza, Peter & The Versatiles, The Johnsburg Lions and The Woodstock Infantry Club – organized a great benefit. I am not sure at this point how much money was raised but I can tell you I saw a ton of money being spent. I saw money being spent on meat raffles, 50/50 tickets, pizza, beer and much, much more. That just shows me that even in this lousy economy that people still want to help.

I am hoping that whatever we brought in helps take the load off of the family because they have gone through way too much. Nobody deserves the pain and anguish that Laurie and Jeff are going through. I told Laurie that I put this together because I was hoping if something ever happens to our family people would do the same, and you know what? I have a feeling that they would!

My only other hope is that I get to see Taylor show up at other Walla-Pa-Looza events because her smile and her courage are contagious and I would love to have her sign every benefit shirt I ever wear for the next 50 years.

Taylor, you’re the one that is "choice" not me……

Saturday night will be the first time the members of Walla-Pa-Looza will volunteer along side the Johnsburg Lions. We will have live music from Peter & The Versatiles, 50/50 raffles, meat raffles and dart tournaments. A $5.00 donation is the entrance fee for an evening of fun.

Although we are serious about raising money for a family in need, during the event we will be celebrating two birthdays, one of my closest friends Sheryl Smith who has always busted her ass volunteering for Walla-Pa-Looza and a new friend Erin DeYoung. Please stop and wish them both a very Happy Birthday!

I am looking forwarding to seeing all of you this weekend.

Thanks,

Craig

Mike Betts holding the official Walla-Pa-Looza guitar that was raffled off at the event.

Over the past couple of years, I have had a ton of friends come back into my life and it has been incredible. One of those friends is Mike Betts. Mike has gone through so much over the past year that it is nice to see him bounce back. He has a great job at Motor Werks in Barrington and is starting to find his way again. My new joke with Mike is that because of Facebook he has been able to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. Because of that, I decided to give him a new nick name so, I nick named him “Captain Reconnect”. The “Captain” and I hadn’t really spoke in about 20 something years. In fact, I had to remind him that at one point in the past I was sitting at Fox Hole eating dinner and he walked right by me! He doesn’t remember it so I will give him a pass, but I am incredibly happy he is in my life again and I hope to have him as my closest buddy until we are old and gray.

Oh, wait, we are both bald so, just old!

Today I am writing about Mike because he lost his father a few years ago to cancer. Mike’s father had brain tumors and the doctors could not do anything for him. So when I posted a note on Facebook asking for volunteers, Mike was one of the first people to step up.

Original Walla-Pa-Looza Note on Facebook

See, it was important for him to do something to raise awareness – but Mike has a different story too.

The Betts family is currently involved in the McCullom Lake Cancer Cluster lawsuit. I have some information on what is taking place because I happen to own a rental property in the village. But it wasn’t until I took a ride around the area with Mike pointing out the places his relatives lived did I realize the seriousness of it. All of those relatives lived in one particular area. You can connect the dots, read the local papers, or just take a ride with Mike one day if you can’t figure it out, but it’s scary folks. I have posted a link below for you to take a look later on so you can understand the seriousness.

Walla-Pa-Looza is important to Mike because he wants to make a difference. I joked with Mike this past summer about making time in between announcements at our 2009 summer event to take out the trash and clean the toilets but he wouldn’t have cared. He just wanted to be part of something that was so important to him. I love him for his dedication and loyalty.

Although I lost a mother in law and a grandmother to cancer, Mike has lost an entire part of his family tree. I couldn’t even imagine the heartbreak they went through because if you ever met the Betts family you would know how important family really is. I was fortunate enough to witness what a kind and caring family they are first hand at Mike’s surprise birthday party.

As you can see we all have our reasons to do something to raise money for cancer and cancer research. Mike does his part, and you can too. Just contact us for more information on how you can help.

Here’s a link to the story on the McCullom Lake Cancer Cluster.

Tonight the Walla-Pa-Looza volunteers get to meet with the Johnsburg Lions again to discuss what role they will take in the Kinney/Radtke benefit on Feb 27th. I am excited for a couple of reasons.

First, I enjoy meeting with the Lions because I am completely amazed at the contacts they have and how they are able to get things done. Second, I believe I will be sworn in as an official Lion in front of my friends in Walla-Pa-Looza. The Lions can use the help and I hope I can bring the same energy to their organization that I have for Walla-Pa-Looza. I was joking with one of the Lions the other day asking if I started out as a “cub”. I think he laughed at me not with me but I’m used to that.

Anyway, some of the things we are planning for the Kinney/Radtke benefit are a 50/50 raffle, a meat raffle (meat provided by Val’s Foods) a dart tournament (AH Entertainment, Sunnyside Inn), music provided by Peter & The Versatiles, Pizza by Half Times and much more. It is really nice to see two organizations work together as a team. I can truly say I am proud that I was able to bring them together.

The planning does not stop though folks. You might not hear from us for awhile as we don’t want to bug the crap out of you, but I can promise you as soon as the Kinney/Radtke event is over, we start working on THE big event – Walla-Pa-Looza 2010 – scheduled for July 31. This one is going to be huge. We have some new and exciting ideas for young and old. I am anxious to tell you the specifics but I need to you to keep reading my boring blogs and besides the Walla-Pa-Looza legal department will be all over me in a New York minute. So, keep coming back to our website as we are working on changes to it as well.

As most of you know, I am very proud of our volunteers and next week I am going to talk about one in particular. Have a great week and please continue to spread the word.

Craig

Since our group only does two events a year I decided to reach out to Ed Hettermann, the Johnsburg Village President, a Lion, and a family friend. He invited me to a Lions meeting and the Lions were kind enough to give me a few minutes to talk about Taylor. They decided they wanted to help us out but they also had a local family they were trying to help, the Kinney’s. We talked about having the two super powers of charity teaming up and doing an event together. I thought of it as Batman & Superman working together to fight crime. No one can stop us! We had our first meeting together a couple of weeks ago and besides a small fender bender things went really well. It did however take us an hour to get a date (Feb 27th).

Each group gave a quick story on the families that needed our help. The Lions talked about Annmarie Kinney, 19 who was in a terrible car accident and how she has had 13 operations on her leg and may lose her leg altogether. Her medical bills are mounting and she is in desperate need. Next up was our discussion on the Radtke family. Their daughter Taylor, age 9, has Fibrous Dysplasia, a disease that spreads from the patient’s bones. She was tumor free but in early 2009 the tumor was back and this time, according to doctors, is spreading rapidly and operations will not help. Taylor’s mom, Laurie, is not ready to give up and who blames her? I doubt any of you would give up hope either! I know I wouldn’t. So this is where you come in.

I know we have asked a lot from our friends and families but as I stated to friend of mine just the other day, “if the only social time I ever have is working or going to benefits to help others so be it. I have wasted so much time and money not really helping anyone. This is my way of giving back.”

It’s true.

I figure over the past 20 years I have spent enough in bars and restaurants to build a duplex or two for the homeless. So, I am asking you to look at how you spend your entertainment dollars. Our Walla-Pa-Looza events are pretty reasonable. You get live music, raffles, and inexpensive beverages. The event for the Kinney/Radtke families will be just like the others so grab a pen and write this down:

THE KINNEY/RADTKE BENEFIT – Saturday, Feb 27th from 6:00pm till 12:00am at the Johnsburg Community Club. A $5.00 donation will get you live music from Peter & The Versatiles, Calcutta, Meat Raffles, 50/50 and much, much more!

As a great friend had once said, “You can’t do this alone” – and we’re not. The Johnsburg Lions are in our corner….

For more information take a look at our homepage or feel free to contact one of the folks on our contact page. Have a great week.

You see, we are working with the Johnsburg Lion’s Club to put together an event to raise money to help the Kinney and Radtke families with their mounting medical bills. This event is happening February 27th, at the Johnsburg Community Club (that’s a Saturday and we start at 5:00pm). I’m working on the flyers for that now, but time is short, so I was wondering if I may ask all of you for a small favor. Could you help me spread the word in the meantime? Could you tell your friends and family about the event, ask them if they wouldn’t mind stopping by for a little while to show their support. We’ll do our best to make it worth checking out. We’re asking for a $5.00 donation at the door. We’ll have some Meat Raffles ($1.00 a ticket), a 50/50 raffle ($1.00 a ticket), there will be a single elimination Calcutta Raffle (each ticket is a $5o.oo donation), we’ll have live music, food, drinks and other stuff going on. The event will go until 1:00am. It’s an event for folks 21 and over. By the way- you should start seeing the Calcutta tickets in the community soon, there will only be a 100 tickets sold prior to the event so if you want one you should act fast. We’ll have detail of how exactly that’s going to work very soon.

If you could let people know we would really appreciate it (especially me). We only have a short time to do this and you can help us make the event a great success to help these two local families through their hardships. All the proceeds will go to Kinney and Radtke families to help pay their mounting medical bills (I already said that didn’t I? That’s why I have the other Walla folks check my flyers before printing- I tend to repeat myself).

Background on Taylor Radtke

• Though tumor’s return likely, it’s good post-op news for Taylor Radtke – Northwest Herald (5/11/2009)
• Radtke family gets heartbreaking diagnosis – Northwest Herald (12/8/2009)
• In a story of too many miracles, hope for one more – Northwest Herald (12/10/2009)

Background on Annmarie Kinney

Annmarie Kinney was driving to class at MCC and a distracted driver crossed the yellow line and hit her. She has had 13 operations and is in danger of losing one of her legs.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I put on a bra and had people guess which color I was wearing. I e-mailed one of our volunteers the color so the game was played fairly. I promised a $100.00 donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation and a gift card to the winner. We had over 20 people try to guess and finally had a winner. Game over?

Not so fast …

These ladies wanted proof. They smelled blood. What they didn’t realize was I was up for the challenge. So, I had my wife Joanne snap a photo of me in her blue paisley bra. See below for your proof.

I can sense the guys out there saying “is this guy a nut-job or what?” Well, I guess I was trying to get a point across. You can still have fun and raise money for charity. What we do at Walla-Pa-Looza is just that! We know that cancer is a serious problem and tons of people die from this disease every year but why not enjoy what you are doing? No one had ever said “raise money but be somber”. We do it a bit different.

If you have some fun and unique things you would like to do to raise money for charity visit our contact page to get more information.

Walla-Pa-Looza started as an event to raise money for cancer & cancer research and became an organization. We put together two events during 2009. Our first ever summer event occurred on August 1, 2009. We raised over $15,000! We had bands, food, sponsors and much more. We were so excited that the team of volunteers decided unanimously to do a second event. We called that event Jolly-Pa-Looza. We raised around $8,000 at that event. We had more bands, more food and more sponsors. This money is dispersed locally and nationally.

I never thought I would ever be part of something so awesome.   I have a true fondness for the folks that bust ass for something that started as a party in the backyard. I owe these people more than they will ever know.  I just have to remember not to burn them out … they are getting older!

For me, on a personal level, involvement in these efforts helped me reconnect  with old friends, has given me an opportunity to meet a few new friends, and given me a new sense of purpose.   I think its also given all of us a good way to make a difference.

Check back here often, as this is the spot that I will be updating you on current goings on, including additional event plans and announcements about where we have donated money.

If you would like to particpate, feel free to contact one of the folks on our contact page.