Olison meat giveaway lives on
In 2011, the late Rance Olison and his family and friends spearheaded a community campaign to help put meat on the table for low-income families during Christmas.
The meat giveaway has since grown into an annual event that is held each December and supports hundreds of families in El Dorado, Olison’s hometown, and the San Antonio, Texas, area, where he lived for a number of years, coaching athletics, teaching and raising his own family.
Olison’s mother, Carrie Kendrix Buggs, passed away at the age of 88 in March 2012, three months after the inaugural meat giveaway, during which 150 turkeys were distributed to local families.
Olison vowed to carry on the giveaway in honor of his mother, whom he credited for instilling in him the virtue of altruism, and to give back to the local community who helped to rear him.
Now, Olison’s family and friends are doing the same for him.
Olison died March 11 due to heart complications. He was 65.
Mary Olison, of San Antonio, said those who were closest to her husband are rallying together to continue his legacy of service to others.
The 2018 Mrs. Carrie Kendrix Buggs and Rance Olison Holiday Meat Giveaway is set for 10 a.m. Dec. 1 at the American Legion Post 10, 105 Christian Drive.
Events were held last weekend in San Antonio in remembrance of Rance Olison and to help raise money and donations for the annual meat giveaway, his wife said.
Mary Olison said a swimming pool and pool house were named after
Rance Olison in the San Antonio subdivision where the couple lived.
“He loved volunteering at that pool. Over 200 people were in attendance,” she said.
More than 250 people, including friends and relatives from El Dorado, attended a fundraising gala, which was also held last weekend in San Antonio.
The gala was sponsored by the National Football League Former Players Association, San Antonio-
Austin Chapter, Mary Olison said.
Rance Olison was a former professional football player whose career including stints as a free agent in the NFL and a member of the practice squads of the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.
He also played in the U.S., World Football and Canadian Football leagues before wrapping up his pro football career in 1982.
Rance Olison was an active member of the NFLFPA, San AntonioAustin Chapter, of which he was elected president in January 2015.
In 2014, he was welcomed into the American Football Hall of Fame.
Mary Olison said organizers of the meat giveaway will be working
with the Susan G. Komen organization and churches to donate meat to families in San Antonio this year.
They are also training their sights on El Dorado.
Mary Olison said the group is soliciting donations in the El Dorado-Union County area, noting that local individuals, groups and businesses chip in to make the meat giveaway a success each year.
For those who would like to make a donation, Mary Olison said an account has been established at Firstmark Credit Union in San Antonio and asked that donations be sent to account number 743710 by calling 210-342-8484.
Rance Olison Jr., former NFL player Priest Holmes and others will return to El Dorado this year to help distribute turkeys, hams, ducks and game meat, including raccoons, Mary Olison said.
She said there will be fewer turkeys this year, and she advised those
who prefer turkeys to arrive as early as possible on Dec. 1.
The same eligibility requirements will also apply this year.
Recipients must be onsite, at least 50 years old, on a government assistance program — Social Security, Social Security Disability, food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. — and their annual income must be at or below the Federal Poverty Level guideline of $24,600 a year for a family of four.
Applicants must also present proper identification or any other proof to demonstrate age and need.
For more information, call Mary Olison at 210601-7512 or Josie Wyrick, Rance Olison’s sister, at 870-918-7058.