Radio station, singer step in to help family
Friday, January 12, 2007 10:56 AM PST
Julie Engel
Argus Observer
Fruitland
Many in this area know of Kevin Sharp, a local singer who lived in Weiser and successfully battled cancer to become a country music star.
Many also know of Nick Fenstemacher, a Fruitland High School student who is battling Hodgkin’s Disease and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Fenstemacher is the only known person in the world to have both cancers at once.
A desire to help the Fenstemacher family pushed Idaho Commerce and Labor Manager Jim Smith and KSRV Station Manager Dale Jeffries to work together. Jeffries said Smith had connections with Sharp’s personal manager, and after a conference call, “An Evening with Kevin Sharp” was born.
“It’s an evening with Kevin Sharp, but it’s also an evening for the Fenstemacher family to show them they are in our thoughts and prayers, that they’re not in this battle alone,” Jeffries said. “That’s what local radio is all about.”
The evening includes a dinner and concert and begins at 6 p.m. Jan. 20. Dinner is at 6 p.m. and the concert kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Olde School Community Center in Fruitland.
The catering is being donated by Sansei owner Margie Yasuda, Jeffries said, and the community center was donated by Connie Baines.
Ticket buyers have a few options to consider. A dinner and concert ticket is $50 and includes front section seating. Concert-only tickets are $25 for general admission and $15 for the balcony. Tickets are available at KSRV radio station in Ontario and Going Postal in Fruitland.
There have been 370 tickets printed, Jeffries said, which alone could raise $12,000 for the Fenstemacher family.
There will also be a raffle for prizes donated by sponsors and a donation jar at the event, Jeffries said.
Sponsorships are also still available, Jeffries said. Included in the sponsorship package are 25 30-second commercials running from Monday to Jan. 19, multiple 15-second DJ Liners, four dinner and concert tickets and one banner displayed at the concert. Sponsors are required to donate $100 worth of merchandise for the raffle as well. The sponsorship costs $500 plus the donated merchandise.
The sponsorships go to cover the costs of the show, Jeffries said, and any additional funds above those costs will be donated to the family as well. For more information about sponsorships call KSRV at (541) 889-8651.
“It’s something a local radio station can do to fill a need of the area,” Jeffries said. “We are a medium that broadcasts to the masses. Every day there’s people in need and some are greater than others.”
Nick Fenstemacher’s mother, Tamara Fenstemacher, said the community support her family has received is overwhelming and her son is excited about the event. She said her son is recovering from his last dose of chemotherapy, which means, hopefully, next week he will be feeling good enough to visit with Sharp when he comes to town.
“There’s just been so many awesome people who have come out and helped,” she said. “I can’t even tell you what it means.”
Even though the Fenstemachers have medical insurance, Fenstemacher said the new year brings deductibles. Also, she said driving back and forth to Boise and eating while there have added extra expenses on top of medical payments. Fenstemacher said her son’s Hodgkin’s is in remission, but doctors are not sure how to treat the Non-Hodgkin’s since it has occurred at the same time. Doctors have used a combination of chemo in six different treatments, Fenstemacher said, and doctors are cautiously optimistic about its results.
“I’m really excited about it (the concert), and I know Nick is excited — it’s good to have things to look forward to,” she said.
No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:
And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.
Disgusting. "