Volunteers (left) man the phone lines while others turn in donations Wednesday at the 51st annual Ernie Blankenship Memorial Radio-Telethon.
Jeff Gilliland | The Times-Gazette
Donors chat while they wait their turn in line Wednesday at the annual radio-telethon held at the Hillsboro Orpheum.
Jeff Gilliland | The Times-Gazette
Event chairman Rocky Coss (placing paper on the table) looks over some of the auction items at the radio-telethon for the Highland County Society for Children and Adults.
Jeff Gilliland | The Times-Gazette
Emcees Rick Williams (right) and Herb Day are pictured on stage at the radio-telethon.
Jeff Gilliland | The Times-Gazette
Merchants Bank, the host of this year’s event, and its employees donated a total of $10,000 to the Ernie Blankenship Memorial Radio-Telethon.
Jeff Gilliland | The Times-Gazette
Volunteers from Merchants National Bank are pictured with some of the free food and snacks that were available at the radio-telethon.
Jeff Gilliland | The Times-Gazette
Pulling in $150,434 in donations, the 51st annual Ernie Blankenship Memorial Radio-Telethon was the most successful fundraising event in support of the Highland County Society for Children and Adults in more than a decade.
An estimated crowd of nearly 400 people attended the fundraiser Wednesday at the Hillsboro Orpheum.
Each year, the Hillsboro and Greenfield Rotary Clubs organize the radio-telethon to support the Highland County Society for Children and Adults, which provided for the medical needs of Highland County residents when other help is unavailable.
The supporting event organized by the Greenfield Rotary Club was broadcast from the McClain High School studio in Greenfield. The Greenfield portion of the radio-telethon raised about $3,300 this year.
The two rotary clubs raised more than $117,000 during the 2022 event.
“It’s the best event we’ve had in 15 years,” said Rocky Coss, who serves on the board of the Highland County Society for Children and Adults and is the chairman of the event’s committee for the Hillsboro Rotary Club. “This was a really great year, and it’s really gratifying to see the community come together to support a local organization that helps local people,” he said.
Coss said the Highland County Society for Children and Adults is unique in its ability to ensure all the donations it receives are used to help people within the county.
“With things that have been going on with inflation and so forth, there’s been an increased need for families in the county,” said Coss. “We have spent quite a bit of money this year, so this is going to be really useful to enable the organization to continue its mission.”
The Hillsboro Fraternal Order of Eagles came through with the largest donation this year by contributing $25,000 plus an additional $1,000 from its auxiliary organization.
Checks for the Highland County Society for Children and Adults are still being accepted. They should be made out to HCSC and taken to any branch of Merchants National Bank or mailed to the society at P.O. Box 972, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133.
The following is a list of the top donations received at this year’s radio-telethon:
Hillsboro Eagles – $25,000 and $1,000 from the Eagles Auxiliary for a total of $26,000
Cassner Foundation – $15,000
Merchants National Bank – $10,000 plus donated Joe Burrow jersey, Heisman montage and Bengals items for auction
Hillsboro Rotary Club – $6,000 plus $4,737 from the Chili Super and Dessert Auction for a total of $10,437
Hillsboro VFW – $7,750 and $250 from the auxiliary for a total of $8,000
Lynchburg-Clay students and staff – $6,600
Emery family – $5,000
Allensburg Church of Christ – $2,910
Highland District Hospital and medical staff – $2,500
NCB – $2,500
Peoples Bank – $2,500
Hillsboro Elementary, middle school and FFA – $2,028
Weastec – $2,000
Southern Hills Bank – $1,500
Fifth Third Bank – $1,500
First State Bank – $1,500
Rick/Robin O’Dell – $1,500
Bagshaw Trust – $1,500
Jeanine/Jeff Rosselott – $1,500
Bright Local students and staff $1,037
The auction items and what they sold for were:
Ohio State football home game tickets – $400
Jason Aldean tickets – $150
Bengals items signed by David Fulcher – $120
OSU Heisman montage – $430
YMCA membership – $110
Joe Burrow framed jersey – $1,100
Joe Burrow framed signed photo – $850
CJ Stroud signed OSU football – $700
Total – $3,860
Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.
