"Save Our Club!"--And, They Did

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[It was truly an unprecedented night of nights for Du Quoin.

Saturday's 24th annual Du Quoin Youth Club Charity ball is believed to have raised over $80,000 for the club, according to chairwoman Cori Maynor. As the text messages poured onto her Blackberry Sunday morning one of them read: "Best Charity Ball Ever!" And, it was.

There were 609 attending the event. The live auction that included a Walt Disney package raised over $20,000 by itself. The silent auction raised $8,900. The largest single item of the night was a spa from Jackson Pools & Spas. You won't believe this, but the Jacksons drew their own name, gave the spa back to the youth club, then auctioned it as part of the live auction. It sold for $3,800. Between the raffle tickets that had been sold during the past month and the Jacksons' gift back to the club, that part of the fundraising brought in $7,800.

Emcee and entertainer Keenan Rice --the perfect voice for this event--surprised the audience by donating his band for an evening of entertainment. That gift added another $450 to the night. Halfway through the live auction there was an impromptu fundraiser called "Time Out for Our Youth" where attendees were asked to sponsor club members who couldn't afford a membership. Forty attendees raised their hands at $75 each to sponsor these youth club scholarships. "One person donated five scholarships," said Maynor.

The evening included a catered dinner prepared by Cathy Chaney with the barbecue coming from Rickey Rover Rooter Roasters of Campbell Hill.

Mr. and Mrs. Roger Brand decorated the Expo Hall.

The Du Quoin Evening Call will detail the corporate sponsors and the committee that put together this remarkable event in Tuesday's edition.

Local Facebook pages are loaded with comments about this amazing evening.