O’Neill marks final turn as Hawgs for a Cause MC
Hawgs for a Cause, the fundraiser for Arkansas Enterprises for the Developmentally Disabled, was a little later than usual this year. Normally held in mid-October, it took place Nov. 2 at the agency’s Little Rock multipurpose center.
That’s because members of the Arkansas Enterprises auxiliary wanted to ensure that Craig O’Neill would once again be able to appear … just one more time. O’Neill, a news anchor for KTHV, is retiring from his charity-event master of ceremonies/live auctioneer duties at the end of the year. So this was presumably his last time bringing his Bro. Rufus J. Hogg character to the event to lead the audience in the familiar Arkansas Razorbacks cheer.
Hawgs for a Cause started off with a patron reception, a silent auction/sale of Razorbacks-theme merchandise and music by the Marchese Hendricks Project Band. It culminated with the presentation of the 2017 Champion for a Cause Award to Centennial Bank for its support of the agency.
Once again, Team Woo Pig Q-ee brought out Big Frank, the razorback-shaped grill, and served a barbecue dinner with all the trimmin’s. Agency consumers — students and veterans of the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Tech’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute — helped with preparation and passed out desserts. The evening also included raffle drawings for cash prizes; wine, cigar and liquor pulls and an “adopt a mile” special appeal to get agency consumers to and from a Gulf Shores outing.
O’Neill hawked a small variety of items that included a seven-night stay in “that” Costa Rica villa — the one that has been making the Little Rock live-auction circuit for the past several years.