Everett bar chips in for a cause
Published 11:19 pm Sunday, August 10, 2008
Talk about the little tavern that could.
Home Port in Everett is a neighborhood joint. Folks walk in from nearby small apartments and homes that used to house mill workers to sip a brew.
Seniors get 50 cents off a Budweiser.
When they heard a regular wanted to walk in a Breast Cancer 3-Day fundraiser, benefitting Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund, why, they threw an auction.
They hadn’t been this jazzed about a cause since they raised money for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Karla Lawson, 52, has been touched by cancer and she wanted to raise $2,200 to make the walk. Her grandmother died of cancer. Her friend had a double mastectomy.
Her daughter, Tiffany McCutcheon, and friend, Janeen Jennings, both from Friday Harbor, hoped to participate, too.
But surely they couldn’t raise a combined $6,600.
Lawson, who works at the Mukilteo post office, and her husband, David, who works at a Mukilteo machine shop, live in Lake Stevens. They often pit stop at Home Port, since the tavern was kind enough to sponsor Karla Lawson’s softball team.
It’s a place where friends meet and mingle. The hot item for customers is a video bowling game. There are a couple of pool tables and no darts.
Owners Greg Smith and Rick and Sharmon Baird set the date, Aug. 2, and spread the word. Folks collected auction items, from their homes, or local businesses.
Those with nothing to give but sweat put up eight hours of work.
Bartender Steve Thomas, 28, donated his wages that night. Not only had he been touched by cancer, the disease had given him a pounding, claiming his uncle, aunt and both grandfathers.
Auctioneer Max England worked the crowd. David Lawson channeled Vanna White, prancing goods past countertop machines where folks played trivia games.
By the end of the evening, they pulled in nearly $8,500.
The trio plans to walk together, from Bellevue to Seattle, Sept. 12 to 14, wearing their Home Port T-shirts.
The end of the walk, at the Seattle Center, could be on television news, Lawson said.
Everyone plans to sit at the bar, watch for their friend, and drink beer.
Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
