Sumner High School’s students — and some adult Sumnerites — put their talents on display last week to raise money for Sumner community man Dean Inglin.
Two evenings of the Benefit Night talent show were put on at the Performing Arts Center Thursday and Friday night. The shows were preceded by a dinner and silent auction held Wednesday night.
It was the seventh year of the charitable talent show, and the third year of the dinner and auction. Each year, Sumner High’s Associated Student Body takes nominations for community members deserving of assistance.
“There was an overwhelming amount of support for Dean,” said Bree Fealy, a senior student governor who co-organized the dinner with senior Meghan Hilden. “People were touched by his story.”
Inglin is a Sumner High School graduate who has remained invested in his home city. The husband and father of two is an active member of Sumner Rotary and has been an avid supporter of the Recreation Department and local Little League.
Inglin has been diagnosed with a severe form of brain cancer that — in addition to the costs in health and emotional wellbeing — comes with demanding financial costs in terms of medical care, lost income, travel to treatment and home remodeling to accommodate paralysis related to his illness.
The community response to the fundraiser was overwhelming.
“I think we were both generally surprised how big the response has been,” Hilden said. “We were worried about getting the word out … but everyone came together.”
Local businesses were quick to donate to the auction, Fealy said, and attendance to the dinner alone rose over the previous year. Last year saw 150 diners in all, but the 2013 dinner confirmed 107 in just pre-sales; the high school commons was nearly packed Wednesday night, once the dinner was in full swing.
The talent shows boasted 24 acts — from singing to dancing to monologue — performing two nights in a row.
Sumner Downtown Association director Laurie Miller opened the Thursday night show with her rousing lounge song “Don’t Ask Me Why.”
Anonymous Dance Crew — a Jabbawockeez dance crew tribute group whom have become a Benefit Night tradition over the past three years — once again brought down the house. This year they were joined by the mostly female Twisted Reality dance crew, a late addition to the show list.
A performance of Otis Redding’s “Respect,” the song made famous by Aretha Franklin, by Helena and The Kisses got the whole audience clapping and stomping their feet. And three-person rock group Raze The Dead brought some testosterone to the night with their rendition of Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People.”
The funds raised hadn’t been fully accounted by press time, but the total net was estimated at $24,000 as of Monday; more than double the amount raised in 2012.
