Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Log-a-Load event set for June 24

Whether its the fun, food or simply the chance to donate to a worthy cause, June 24 could be a great time to head for the Nevada County Fairgrounds for the annual Log-A-Load event. According to information from Potlatch, a turtle race will start at 3:30 p.m. with a fish fry slated for 5 p.m. Tickets for the fish fry are $10. An auction of donated items will be held following the meal.

Log-A-Load is an annual event that was initially created as a way for those in the timber industry to help the Arkansas Childrens Hospital in Little Rock. Today, the event is an opportunity for anyone who wants to support this cause to get involved.

Betty Steed, office administrator for the Prescott Potlatch facility, said the company first got involved in 1993, and that shes been working on the project annually since 1996.

I thought it was a good cause from the beginning, she said.

Steed said one of the unique points of this particular fundraiser is that loggers put actual loads of logs on the auction block.

While Log-A-Load may have started with those directly involved in the timber industry, many businesses and individuals have seen the opportunity to make donations and get active for this cause, Steed said. For example, those companies that provide equipment and supplies to loggers are often ready to contribute. The insurance agencies that insure trucks, equipment and even the people working in the timber industry may take part in the event.

We have lots of support, Steed said.

She said that over the past few years, several area counties have pitched in to hold a single Log-A-Load event  now called the South Central Arkansas Log-A-Load for Kids - rather than waging fund-raising campaigns in each county. Those participating locally are generally from Clark, Pike, Hemptead and Nevada counties.

The money raised during the event will go into an endowment set up through the Childrens Hospital to help fund radiology and magnetic resonance imaging, according to information from Potlatch.

Communities across the nation plan and implement their own fundraisers, each aimed at benefiting their own communities. Locally, the 2005 Log-A-Load event raised $110,000.

To make a donation or for information about local activities, contact Al Wilson at 887-3704 or Duane Leamons at 887-2746.