Hundreds gather for 'superheroes' benefit
Apr 9, 2018The room was resplendent with multiple incarnations of Batman, Supermen, Flashes, Wonder Women and a host of lesser-known, obscure characters – including a Hawkgirl, one unique Duffman and even a Sherlock Holmes.Everyone was on hand to boost community health care – and many of them left with some great auction deals, too.“I'm thrilled,” said Ryan Traver, chair of the annual event. “Ticket sales were way better than I had anticipated. We've blown last year out of the water, and everybody was having a good time. I'm extremely grateful for all the support we've seen, from the donors who have shown up to bid, to those who donated in advance.”For much of that excitement, Traver credit a visiting group of celebrity superheroes from Cosplay Crusaders, a Grand Rapids-based volunteer organization that offers charity-based appearances in Michigan. Saturday's visitors included The Dark Knight of Michigan, West Michigan Black Widow, Thor Michiganson, West Michigan Supergirl, 5'10” Vigilante as “Green Arrow” and Ryno Cosplay as “Spiderman.”“It's just been pure excitement,” said auction cochairman Nate Stewart of Eaton Corp. “The donations are up from last year, so it's really awesome and fun. It's great to see all the hard work that the committee and donors have put together, and it's exciting to see it come to fruition.”The event allowed the community to demonstrate its support for gold-standard, locally accessible health care, and the people who work daily to provide it to patients who come from throughout the region, said Traver, who is the owner and brand manager at BluFish Consulting, the event's title sponsor.A live auction of items donated by area businesses and individuals was conducted by Brent Belcher and Kevin Belcher of Belcher Auction Co. of Marshall.Several large-screen television systems also were raffled off during the evening, and were won by Kristen Gandy and Micki Bortell, both of Battle Creek, and Catherine Burtrum and Joe Caron, both of Marshall.Among the evening's winners of raffled jewelry items were... (Coldwater Daily Reporter)
