Thanks for supporting farmers, ranchers at fundraiser

I cannot express how proud I am to be a lifelong resident of Southern Maryland. This past Saturday I had the privilege of witnessing the greatest act of human kindness I have ever seen. Farmers from all over Southern Maryland came together to put on an extremely successful benefit auction for the farmers and ranchers of Clark County, Kansas, who lost everything they had in wildfires that took place in early March.

We packed the largest building on the fairgrounds with hundreds of people, and I can proudly say we raised well over $83,000 that night. Every single penny of that money will be sent directly to the Ashland Community Foundation located in Clark County, Kansas. The funds will then be sent to farmers and ranchers who are in desperate need of resources.

Clark County was scorched by the fires in upwards of 85 percent of the county. Half a million acres of pasture land were burned, 10,000 head of cattle were killed, 25 homes were destroyed and countless farming operations were completely destroyed.

I cannot thank our community enough. We had so many people put forth countless hours of hard work in this event. We had wonderful donations to bid on. Everything from wedding venues, fishing trips, paintings, shot guns and even local meats. I want to thank everyone who worked to put this on, everyone who donated items and everyone who showed up to purchase items. I want to also thank Sen. Thomas “Mac” Middleton (D), the only elected official to show up, for coming to the auction, and donating to this wonderful cause.

For everyone that helped in any way, I say thank you. Southern Maryland truly is the greatest place in the world, and we have the greatest people in the world. I am proud to know every last one of you.

David Hancock Jr., Bel Alton The writer is the president of the Charles County Farm Bureau.