'Pulling Together for a Cause' Raises $12,446 for Diabetes Assoc.

By Martha Slater

Donna Bryan is still shaking her head over the $12,446 that the fundraiser she organized in memory of her father raised for the Vermont chapter of the American Diabetes Assoc.

"People in the little towns in our valley were just so generous!" she marveled, "and we may go over that amount as there are still a few pledges to come in."

The event, dubbed "Pulling Together for a Cause," took place Friday, Aug. 31 and Saturday, Sept. 1 at Brykiss Farm in the Gaysville section of Stockbridge. Through the course of two days, about 750 people attended to enjoy seeing 55-60 pairs of horses and ponies compete in five classes of pulling events.

There were also demonstrations of different breeds of horses, including Morgans by Rick and Cheryl Rivers and Taylor Benson, Arabians by Carol Burke and Grace Pfeil, Icelandics by Sigrun Breynjarsdottir and Jason Brickner of Solheimar Stables in Tunbridge, and Paso Finos by Haley Mears and Miranda Francis.

On Saturday afternoon, a dedication ceremony was held, naming the indoor arena after Bryan's father, the late Walter Bryan, who died as a result of diabetes. His daughter was particularly touched by a letter from Dr. Milton Fowler of Randolph, full of memories of her dad, which was read at the ceremony.

Nick Nikolaidis cooked a pancake breakfast, with all food items donated by Rhonda Ketner of the Second Cup Café in Bethel. There were many raffle prizes, an auction of grain donated by Green Mt. Feeds of Bethel and Steve Osgood of Cargill Feeds, and wagon rides throughout the day, drawn by a team of Belgians from New York State, owned by Mike Casey of Fort Ann, N.Y. Casey is the mason who constructed the brick pillars at the entrance to the arena. There was also live music from three different bands that played Friday night and Saturday afternoon and evening.

This is the second fundraiser that Bryan has done for the Diabetes Assoc. The previous one, held in 2001, raised $8,500. Added to this year's total, that makes over $21,000 Bryan has raised to help fund diabetes research and programs.

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