Cattlemen's Ball prepares for first event in the Nebraska Panhandle

For the first time ever the Cattlemen's Ball of Nebraska will be holding its annual event in the Panhandle.

The ball, which was started in 1997 by a group of beef industry leaders, is held every year throughout different parts of the state serving as a way to raise funds for cancer research at the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

According to the organization's website, the donations for the 2013 event hosted in Paxton reached $2.12 million with 4,300 people in attendance. The 2014 event, to be held June 6, 2014 through June 7, 2014 with the theme "Corral a Cure for Cancer", will be hosted at the Hoot Owl Ranch in Banner County by Kenny and Misty Stauffer, who serve as the ranch managers, and Jeff and Kathy May, the owners of the ranch.

The goal for the 2014 event is to raise $2.5 million for cancer research.

All proceeds from the event will also stay in the state of Nebraska with the 90 percent going to the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and 10 percent is spread amongst different medical facilities and organizations in the surrounding area that the event is held in.

Though the ball has been predominantly held in central and eastern Nebraska, local residents have become familiarized with the ball in recent months through Kimball residents who have volunteered their time to help with the ball, including Keep Kimball Beautiful who have volunteered their time to pick up the recycling and trash before and after the event, according to Trish Lukassen, Publicity Chairman for the Cattlemen's Ball of Nebraska.

"Hundreds of people have stepped up and unselfishly donated their time over the last year for an incredible cause -- to help in the fight against cancer. Your support and attendance at this even will make a difference. There are no personal agenda's here -- instead a very public agenda. Everyone you know has been affected in some way by cancer, and we hope for all in the area to be able to say, 'I helped,'" Lukassen said.

However, the event is not only a way to raise money for cancer research, but it is also a way to show off the benefits of the Panhandle and the positive qualities of the western part of the state that are often overlooked.

"It is also an opportunity for Western Nebraska to showcase what we have to offer in terms of the beauty of our area and our rural lifestyle. It will also be an opportunity to show many in the area are closely related to beef production and how it relates to all of us as consumers," Lukassen said.

In keeping with showcasing the Panhandle, all of the beef that will be served at the even, which totals out at nearly 6,000 pounds, was raised on the Hoot Owl Ranch.

"That's never been done before. They normally bring in the beef from somewhere else. I have a friend that works at the processing plant, and he said, 'We just killed all the beef last week for it.' And it's just a huge endeavor doing that," Lukassen said.

Local residents such as Amber Wilke will also take part in the event by selling arts and crafts in booths set up throughout the location.

The event will also have an element of beef education serving as a way to better inform the public of the processes and elements of it that they may have previously been unaware of.

"They're going to do a lot of beef education out there as well. They'll have speakers talking about different cuts of meat and try to educate the consumers about it," Lukassen said.

The event will also be using a token system as far as payment for food and drinks in the area to make the process of keeping money in order easier on the workers of the event.

"Everything will be done with tokens so there's not cash transactions. I believe that the general store where the vendors are set up, they'll take your credit card, but as far as drinks or concessions, there'll be a token booth there. You'll get an armband after showing proper ID, and then you buy tokens so that the volunteers don't have to deal with the cash," Lukassen said.

There will also be a free shuttle service for the event with residents of Kimball being able to be picked up at the Super 8 Motel near the interstate for Friday and Saturday's events. According to Lukassen, this is not only a measure of convenience but also serves as a safety precaution with alcohol being served at the event.

Though there will be great entertainment throughout the event such as Montgomery Gentry playing a concert at the location Saturday, a dance to be held at the closing of the event on Saturday and both live and silent auctions throughout the day, organizers have made sure to incorporate elements that will keep attendees from getting lost in the excitement of the different elements of the event and forgetting why they're truly there.

"I just don't think people really get a grasp of what a huge deal this is, and that it really does make a difference. There'll be a huge opening ceremony and I know they've got some people who are cancer survivors who are going to speak at it. The style show typically has cancer survivors that model. So lots of touching stories and moments and kind of reminding everyone what the cause is," Lukassen said.

The whole event, though it is physically put together by a local committee, is overseen by the Cattlemen's Ball of Nebraska Board Members, a group of approximately ten members, who consistently take part in the planning of each event throughout the state each year.

"Everything we do, we have to account to them as far as where we're going to put the tents, the program layout and all of the fine details It's a pretty strict governing board, and I think it helps with the integrity of the whole event and makes it consistent from one year to the next and that type of thing. They all came out to one of our meetings, and it was really cool to see them all take such a vested interest in it. It's a cool deal," Lukassen said.

For Lukassen, as well as many others spread throughout the nation, the cause is personal which has helped event organizers push through the grueling process of putting the event together and bring a certain level of passion to setting everything up.

"It's overwhelming, but we are all, especially the core committee which is about 100 people, so passionate about this cause that a lot of our lives have been put on hold for the last year just to make this happen. And it's hard for me not to see the whole community, the whole Panhandle as passionate about it. My father and my father-in-law both died of cancer. It's close to my heart, and there's no one that has not been touched by cancer. That's what we're trying to stress to everyone is that this makes a huge difference," Lukassen said.

Tickets for the event are still available for purchase at the Cattlemen's Ball of Nebraska website. However, any tickets purchased after May 29 will be held at the will call booth at the location for residents to pick up.

For more information on the event along with schedules of the event and shuttle pickup times, visit http://www.cattlemensball.com.