Special to the Times Vedette

You are invited to spend Father’s Day morning enjoying eggs, sausage, pancakes and drinks at the annual Tori’s Angels free-will offering breakfast benefit and silent auction on Sunday, June 16 at the Panora Community Center from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The annual breakfast celebrates the foundation’s first breakfast in 2010 for then-5-year-old Tori Heckman, who desperately needed heart surgery in Boston. The subsequent foundation was named for the 800 attendees who so generously donated money for Tori’s surgery and proved themselves to be one of Tori’s Angels.

Since that first breakfast, the foundation has accepted more than 150 children with life-threatening illnesses and currently supports more than 115 children across Iowa.  Nine of the foundation’s currently sponsored children reside or have resided in Guthrie County and will be honored at the event. 

• Tori Heckman of Panora is the foundation’s namesake.
• Emma Reinhart of Panora has completed treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, as has Emma King of Coon Rapids.
• Finley Jesko of Guthrie Center has been treated for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.
• Grace Webner of Panora has been treated for Stage III Hodgkins Lymphoma.
• Sammy Beal now lives in Greenfield and has been treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
• Ayden Wood of Menlo is being treated for a rare disease, CTX.
• Libbie Ashworth of Panora is undergoing treatment for colorectal cancer.
• Aroyal McGregory of Panora is being treated for anoxic brain injury suffered at birth.

All the foundation’s sponsored families have been invited to this annual benefit and may attend, depending on their child’s health. 

The silent auction will end at noon and features several one-of-a-kind items donated by local businesses and individuals. Winning bidders are urged to be present at noon to claim their items.

Donations are needed to help the foundation’s sponsored children.  Anyone wishing to donate to the silent auction can contact John Coons at 641-757-0971 (Panora) or jccltd@netins.net.  Guthrie Center residents can contact Lodema Pryor-Myers at berkclerk@aol.com.

The foundation raises funds to help the families of their supported children with life-threatening medical conditions. Tori’s Angels pays medical expenses not covered by insurance from the date of sponsorship until the child’s 19^thbirthday. This includes travel expenses to treatment (airfare, mileage, hotel, meals), as well as prescriptions, medical co-pays and deductibles.  The foundation depends on the generosity of community “angels” to help relieve the financial burden for these families.

Anyone who is unable to attend the benefit and wishes to help Tori’s Angels children is invited to send donations to Tori’s Angels at P.O. Box 186, Panora IA 50216. Online donation options are located on the foundation’s website, www.torisangels.org and on Facebook, www.facebook/torisangels.  Supporters are encouraged to follow the Tori’s Angels Facebook page to receive regular updates on the children. 

For more information about Tori’s Angels, check the foundation’s website.  To request an application for support, contact the foundation through its website or by calling 641-755-2011.

Special to the Times Vedette

The Iowa Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP) is seeking nominations for the 2024 Family Physician of the Year. Each year, the IAFP awards one family physician the title “Family Physician of the Year” based on outstanding service to patients and community, and devotion to Family Medicine.

If you would like to nominate your family physician, please nominate them online at: https://iaafp.org/awards/or send letters of nomination to the Iowa Academy describing why your family physician should receive the Family Physician of the Year Award. Letters can be sent by to the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians, 6500 University Avenue, Ste 100, PMB 123, Windsor Heights, IA 50324 or emailed to kcox@iaafp.org.Nomination deadline is Sept. 3, 2024.

The 2024 Iowa Family Physician of Year will be honored during the IAFP Annual Conference on Nov. 7 at the Meadows Event Center in Altoona.

Previous recipients have been: Scott Helmers, MD; Dale Christensen, MD; James R. Paulson, MD; Rodney Miller, MD; Marion Barnes, MD; Francis Pisney, MD; Kelly D. Ross, MD; David Paulus, MD; Alan Vasher, DO; John W. Barnes, MD; Ronald Zoutendam, MD; Donald Skinner, MD; Richard A. Jongewaard, MD; Cynthia Wolff, MD; David Crippin, MD; Michael Gimbell, III, MD; Kenton Moss, MD; David Carlson, MD; Sharon Bertroche, MD; Dale Nystrom, MD; Subhash Sahai, MD; Craig Thompson, DO; Michael AbouAssaly, MD; Douglas Peters, MD; Ried Boom, MD; Patrick Edwards, MD; Gerard Stanley, MD; Mark Haganman, DO; Chris VandeLune, DO; Esgar Guarin, MD, Noreen O’Shea, DO, David Nystrom, DO; Jeffrey Hoffmann, DO and John Thurman, DO.

Special to the Times Vedette

Midwest Partnership, an economic development group for Adair and Guthrie Counties, is holding its annual golf outing on Friday, June 28 at Panorama National Resort and Conference Center. Contests and prizes include longest drive, longest putt, closest to the pin and team prize for top flights. Check in is at 9 a.m., and tee time is 10 a.m. Awards at are 3 p.m. Cost for a team of four golfers, including lunch, is $375 and $100 for individuals. For details on sponsorships or to ask any questions, contact Brenda Dudley at bdudley@midwestpartnership.com or call 515-523-1262. 

Vehicles lined both sides of Bayard’s Main Street last year for the Wheels for Meals event, a fundraiser for the Bayard Church of Christ Summer Meal Program. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, June 15 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Special to the Times Vedette

Head to Bayard’s Main Street on Saturday for the Wheels for Meals Show. Money raised will be used to provide healthy summer lunches for youngsters in several communities.

Pastor Bob Rogers had a vision in the spring of 2023 to make and deliver summer meals to youngsters in Bayard, Bagley, Jamaica, Yale and Linden. With the help of volunteers and generous donors, approximately 9,000 meals were provided to youngsters over a nine-week period in the summer.

The big fundraiser is a car, truck, tractor and motorcycle show. Held on June 15 on the Main Street of Bayard, classic vehicles, or those that are a work in progress, will be parked so enthusiasts can enjoy viewing them. Hours are 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

There will be separate vehicle classes with cash prizes. There is no cost for vehicles to participate. Youngsters will vote to determine the winners. Brandon Patrick is in charge of registration. Call 712-210-1942 to pre-register.

In the Bayard Community Center, a vendor show is planned with no fees to participate. To register as a vendor, contact Rogers at 641-757-1175.

A barbecue meal will be served for a free will donation. Hot dogs and hamburgers are on the menu.

The youngsters will enjoy a variety of games, face painting and much more. A foam pit will provide lots of “wet” fun, so bring your swim suits and towels.

Working through the Bayard Church of Christ, about $20,000 was spent on the meals in 2023. Large donations have been provided by the Ten Squared Men and Women to the Summer Lunch Program so the funding for this year’s work is secured, but Rogers is already looking ahead to 2025.

The meals were delivered to the five communities starting on June 3 and will continue for nine weeks through Aug/ 5. Each sack contains five meals, enough for one week. About 200 children were served each week in 2023, but Rogers expects the program to be larger this summer. Linden topped last year’s figures with 60 meals each week followed by Bayard with 48; Yale, 30; Bagley, 28; and Jamaica, 12.

Pick up is once a week on Mondays from 11 a.m. – noon. Meals are provided for no cost to any students younger than age 18. Pick up locations are:  Bayard – Church of Christ; Bagley – Community Building; Jamaica – Shelter next to Tojo’s; Yale – Community Building; Linden – Town Park; and Panora – South Side of the MS/HS Building by the Greenhouse.

Hope Lutheran Church has initiated a similar program in Panora and is handling the arrangements there.

Volunteers Jill Albright, left, and Twyla Brede work together in the basement of the Bayard Church of Christ to fill the 200-plus sacks with healthy food. The sacks are delivered to Bagley, Jamaica, Yale and Linden plus picked up in Bayard each Monday between 11 a.m. and noon. Hope Lutheran Church in Panora is operating a similar program.

This display shows the food that was contained in the first week of meal delivery on June 3.

Special to the Times Vedette

Twenty-five students made little figures out of pipe cleaners and straws on Wednesday June 5 at Art on State. Carol Redshaw and Elizabeth taught the kids. The students were also excited to dip their hands in paint, add their handprints to the wall and write their names. The next project will be creating fairy houses.

Henry

Jesse

John

Brera and her grandma

Braylon

Lawson

Alyssia and Shua

Baylor

Georgia

Avery, Abbie and Amelia

Norah and Crosby

Lydia

Art on State is an art gallery created by the Guthrie County Arts Council as an opportunity to bring together the artists of the county, encouraging them in their talents by providing means to display and sell their work and to bring awareness of artistic endeavors to the community at large by presenting performing and visual arts programs. Art on State is located at 320 State St. in Guthrie Center. Learn more at www.guthriecountyartscouncil.org.