Nearly 250 Highland County givers Wednesday night

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Nearly 250 separate donors contributed to the $94,000 raised Wednesday at the 45th annual Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon to benefit the Highland County Society for Children and Adults, according to a post-event analysis.

Highland County Common Pleas Judge Rocky Coss, the Hillsboro Rotarian who leads the fundraising effort each year, said Thursday that while more contributions are likely to come in, the money raised Wednesday “is an overall good chunk of money.”

Coss said he and other Rotarians are already exploring ways to increase contributions next year and involve more people in the process year-round.

Wednesday’s take pushed total donations past the $3.5 million mark since the radio-telethon began in 1973.

Coss’ wife, Gayle, who has served 12 years as executive secretary for the Society, told Hillsboro Rotarians recently that the organization is unique in that all funds are raised locally and used to help local people. She said that more than 650 people were helped by the Society with their medical needs during the most recent fiscal year.

She said the Society took 633 calls and helped 657 people with 608 separate items. She said the Society spent $157,000 – $24,000 more than it raised.

“So we have some reserves, but we need to build that back up,” she said.

Wednesday’s events in Hillsboro and Greenfield were sponsored by the respective Rotary Clubs in those communities. The Hillsboro event was held at US Bank, while Greenfield’s took place at McClain High School.

The event was broadcast live from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. on the local community access channel of the Spectrum Cable System, and on WSRW, along with periodic broadcasts on WVNU. Video production technical support was again provided by video engineer Terry Mikkelsen.

Contributions can be made to the Society at any time by sending checks to HCSCA, P.O. Box 258, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133.

Reach Gary Abernathy at 937-393-3456 or by email at [email protected].

Lee Koogler, center, president of the Hillsboro Rotary Club, is surrounded by other Rotarians as he makes some remarks Wednesday night at the conclusion of the Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon to benefit the Highland County Society for Children and Adults.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2017/03/web1_radtel-rotary-front-1.jpgLee Koogler, center, president of the Hillsboro Rotary Club, is surrounded by other Rotarians as he makes some remarks Wednesday night at the conclusion of the Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon to benefit the Highland County Society for Children and Adults.
‘A good chunk of money’ for radio-telethon

By Gary Abernathy

[email protected]

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