The fifth annual BBQ for Backstoppers, held Sept. 26 at the Big River VFW in Cedar Hill, raised $52,575 for Backstoppers, organizer Chuck Gerding said.
He said that’s a significant increase from last year, when a little more than $32,000 was raised for Backstoppers, which provides support to the spouses and dependent children of police officers, firefighters and other first responders who die or are seriously injured in the line of duty.
“We had a lot of people donating,” Gerding said “The community really came together.”
Gerding said more than 3,000 people attended the event, which was held from 11 a.m. until after dark.
He said approximately 400 pork steaks and 275 racks of ribs were sold.
The Cedar High and High Ridge fire protection districts helped with the drive-thru for the barbecue, Gerding said.
He said curb-side or walk-up service also was available.
All the food was cooked on the Screaming Eagle Grill, which Gerding owns. He also owns Gerding Enterprises, which was the main sponsor for the event.
He said besides food, the event included live music all day and a fireworks show after dark. Gerding said J&M Displays provided the fireworks show as a donation.
“That topped the evening off,” he said. “It was really cool.”
Gerding said money was raised from donations, food sales and a raffle.
Steve Wilken won the first-place prize in the raffle – a new Honda Pioneer 1000 UTV. The second-place prize was a $1,000 Visa gift card, which went to Joe Reuther, and the third-place prize was a big screen TV, which Zachary Faulkner won.
Gerding said he plans to present the $52,575 to Backstoppers in late October. He said he was happy with how much money was raised this year.
“It makes me proud of the community,” he said. “I can’t say enough of the community I live in.”