SMOKEY POINT — The Buzz Inn Steakhouse at 5200 172nd St. NE in Arlington drew an estimated 400 attendees through its seven-hour “Oso Strong” silent auction and benefit concert on Saturday, April 26, raising thousands of dollars in the process.
“We made a little more than $7,500 from the auction of merchandise donated by the Buzz Inn, as well as the gift baskets the Buzz Inn staff made,” said Josh Herschlip, general manager of the Buzz Inn. “Surrounding businesses also donated items for the auction.”
While patrons such as Tiffany Poynter and Theresa Laschober were checking out a Keurig Coffee gift basket, and Marcie McMurtrie was bidding on a “movie night” gift basket, with its own DVD player included, the Buzz Inn was also generating an additional estimated $4,000 in combined cash contributions from its spaghetti and bar sales.
“Mike Collins, of Latigo Lace, donated a signed Seahawks football that fetched $1,080,” Herschlip said, noting that the Seattle-based Latigo Lace country band performed at the Buzz Inn that same day at 6 p.m. “Between that, and all the money that was just flat-out donated, we raised a combined total of $14,170.”
Herschlip even invited those who were unable to attend the auction and concert to contribute by sending a donation check to the Latigo Lace Oso Fund, P.O. Box 80651, Seattle, WA 98108. All checks should be made payable to the North County Family Services Relief Fund Association.
“All the money we raised was donated to the North County Family Services Relief Fund Association, through an account at Coastal Community Bank that will only be dispersed to the families who have been directly affected by the tragedy in Oso.”
Herschlip thanked not only his customers, his staff and the surrounding community for showing their support for his fundraiser, but also expressed his appreciation to the lineup of musical acts who played for the event, including not only Latigo Lace, but also their fellow country musicians, the Leavenworth-based Marlin James Band and Arlington’s own Jesse Taylor.
“It’s very inspiring to see so many people come together for the same cause when people are in need,” Herschlip said. “I can only hope that the support that will still be needed by the Oso community continues to roll in. It will be a long process for this community and its residents to recover from this tragedy, and obviously those loved ones who were lost can never be replaced, but hopefully, Oso’s neighbors can help them bear some of the financial burden that this slide has caused.”
In addition to performing at a number of benefit concerts for Oso, Taylor also designed “Oso Strong” T-shirts, of which 3,100 were sold online, with all $52,020 of the proceeds raised going directly to the Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund for Oso.
