$9,171.00...

...was raised through all HoggFest related activities yesterday.  Roch Smith, Jr. has been counting money all day to get the final tally.  He had to wait for Patrick to drag his butt off the golf course and for the good folks at the Flatiron to tabulate thier generous contribution of 10% of their bar's sales. Now, let that sink in... over $9,000 was raised.

As the beneficiary of such generousity, Jinni and I have made an executive decision regarding how it will be spent.  The vast majority of the proceeds will go to reducing our medical bills as everyone intended.  But, we believe in "paying it forward", so 15% ($1,375.00) of the total will be held back for the following purposes.

• $500.00 will be set aside to start a college scholarship fund for a deserving and qualified Guilford County senior next year.  This HoggFest funded scholarship will be given to a college bound child of a breast cancer patient.  The financial hardships brought on by this disease have the ability to easily lay waste a family's long-laid plans to send their children to college.  Hopefully this modest amount of money will help keep alive some family's dream of higher education.  In future years, our goal will be to increase this scholarship fund.

• $875.00 is reserved as seed money for future HoggFests.  We agreed to become the beneficiaries of this fundraiser only if everyone agreed that the event will be repeated.  In future years we hope to grow HoggFest into a larger and larger community event that will carry on the work of helping families get through the financial devestation that breast cancer treatments can cause.

I'll change one word on a popular phrase making the rounds in blog/newspaper circles to fit what just happened around here: None of us are as strong as all of us.  Together this burgeoning community has accomplished things we never even envisioned twelve months ago.  Given that, just think what we can acheive twelve months hence.

Again... a big ol' heartfelt Thank You goes out to everyone who gave of their time and/or money to help my family during a time when we really needed it.  We'll never forget this kindness. Never.

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Update: Billy Jones has a richly linked round-up of HoggFest. Mine is here.

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East Greensboro desperately needs an influx of new businesses.  Living in this part of town means we must travel great distances to find the kind of shopping choices that most of the rest of the city enjoys through a drive or walk of only a few minutes.  Beyond a few grocery stores, a dollar store or two, some independent clothing stores, check cashing services and little else, the folks who live around here have to go way across town to find, say... A WalMart.  But that's nothing that $300,000 in taxpayer money can't fix. 

According to Councilwoman Sandy Carmany it appears our City Council is headed toward spending that amount for...that's right, a WalMart.  I think we should pass.  If Dr. Don Linder, the owner of the old Carolina Circle Mall, wants to attract a WalMart to East Greensboro, then he should go to WalMart for the money because they're flush with the stuff.

I'm not buying Dr. Linder's hard luck story that the development of his property won't happen without $300,000 in taxpayer supplied incentives.  If he paid too much for the Carolina Circle Mall property, or if he didn't investigate all of the pitfalls of bringing his development to market, or if the leases he negotiated with potential tenants are too low to recoup his investment in the private development, then he made a miscalculation.  It is not the job of our City Council to reward miscalculations or bad business decisions.  They've done enough of that over the years.

Sunday's N&R's editorial on changing the rules for awarding incentives (why now?  It appears that Dr. Linder has been a busy guy) is right on the money. 

The stated goals of taxpayer supplied incentives for industry, (and now some retail businesses), should always be to create jobs that pay a living wage or better.  WalMart pays crap.  Also, under the specifics of the deal the city is working on for Dr. Linder, there is no guarantee the taxpayers are ever going to get their money back through taxes on property improvements or incremental sales tax increases in the manner that incentives are supposed to accomplish.  WalMart does not create new shoppers or new sales, it simply takes them from other businesses.  From the available information provided so far the proposed WalMart/Linder incentive package will accomplish squat for the tax base (or taxpayers) other than subsidize a local developer's equity position in his real estate holdings.

So, if the City Council approves Dr. Linder's requested economic bailout, the only benefit I can see coming from his new development is the creation of convenience for retail customers.  Although I would appreciate having a first class shopping center so close to my house, creating shopping convenience is not the business of government and hardly worth $300,000.00.

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The numbers: 

10:30a - HoggFest organizer extraordinaire Mebane Ham (N&R article) just stopped by our abode.  She placed the attendance yesterday at nearly 1000.  Is that possible?  Others put the attendance at 600 or so.

9:15p - Total raised - $9,171.00.  Damn.

Bloggers weigh in:

Mary Layton got home late and filed this report before going to bed.  She and others were womanning the silent auction table.  Mary helped assemble much of the local artwork for the auction.  Because of a very generous gesture, the painting she created especially for HoggFest will be hanging in the Hoggard mansion.  It will always serve as a visual reminder of everyone's generosity.

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Woody and Sara came early and stayed late.  They promise pictures soon.  He's right, when a party keeps even 12 year olds from becoming bored, it can safely be said a good time was had by all.

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Sam was there, too.... but, unlike when he attended our Derby Party a few weeks ago, he apparently couldn't find any drunk liberals to debate.  They were there in abundance, however.

Michael got out of his corner to join us.  Billy was a ton of help (and his truck was damn handy, too.)  BTW, Billy got his name added to the Blogebrity "C" list.

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After witnessing how Patrick Eakes handled the volunteers during yesterday's setup, I'm convinced he missed his calling as a benevolent drill sargeant. 

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David Wharton did it all and photographed the whole thing.  I never did hear that banjo of his get picked.  Great quote from his post:  "...it was a nasty reason to have a great party, and a really amazing testament to one of Greensboro's great strengths: small-scale community action."

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I missed seeing Ann when she stopped by the house with a mess of brownies and some pig meat the night before HoggFest.  I finally got to meet her yesterday and told her how much I admire her stength in the face of familial adversity.  She was getting around just fine despite her recent back surgery.

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Cone lists many of the good things that came from yesterday's event including one of my main motivations: "...It was an excuse to drink during the day."   As if he or I need an excuse... it was more like an obligation.  Thanks for all of your help, Ed.

Jay Ovittore was like a party tornado.  He worked his (perhaps) tattooed butt off and it was noticed by everyone (the work, not the alleged tatoo).  Caffiene is a wonderful thing, ain't it Jay?  Jay got Yagermeister's music division involved in the event and that was a very professional touch.  Every volunteer got a Yagermeister hat to identify them as such.  One of the coolest items in the silent auction was that beautiful skate board provided by the Yagermeister folks.  I don't know how Jay made it through the day without sitting in on one the 11 bands' sets - Jay is a hell of a drummer.  Thanks Jay... you are a true friend.

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Chewie puts it all together within a wonderful perspective of the true impact of such an event.  Thanks girl... you are a class act.

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Billy Jones' account of the day has more links than Carter's got liver pills.  Thanks again Mr. Poet.

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Yes!Weekly publisher Charles Womack was there and promptly went home and started his own weblog.

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Anonymoses has a Technorati snapshot of HoggFest coverage.  Beckwith offers this as well, "Don't tell me blogging is bad for society."

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Every now and again, when I wasn't cooking or gabbing, I would step away from the crowd and go to a far corner of the HoggFest venue and take it all in.  It was an amazing event and the Hoggard clan is humbled and grateful beyond words.

I'm sure someone got a count of bodies and money that just kept coming in but all I kept counting was my blessings.  At times I felt like Jimmy Stewart standing in front of that Christmas tree at the end of Its A Wonderful Life.

I'll not even try to thank everyone by name because if I missed anyone, it would devastate me.  But you know who you are and you all are simply wonderful people.

I finally left the Flatiron around midnight but Jinni stuck it out til the end.  The winner of the last raffle item was to be announced following the last band.  A whole bunch of folks stayed on to see if they were going to take home the Music Loft donated Fender Stratocaster.

Several people were brandishing digital cameras and have promised to post pictures and video of the event.  I will link to them as they become available so far flung friends and families can get a feel for what transpired yesterday.  But I'm afraid no image will be able to capture what Jinni and I felt yesterday. (Update - Well, Wharton got close)

I would never wish the circumstances that sparked HoggFest on anyone, but if it does happen, it is my wish for you to find yourself in another circumstance my family has now experienced: being enveloped within a great community of selfless people.

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