Golden Roadrunner sale enables $300K donation to St. Jude Children’s Hospital
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closing down of the Golden Roadrunner Ballroom on Main Street but its sale in summer 2022 has led to sizable donations to various nonprofits.
Former Golden Roadrunner President Ralph Reid along with former Vice President and Treasurer Sue Roff and former Secretary Connie Morris explained that they’ve previously donated proceeds of the sale to Amberly’s Place, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the Fraternal Order of Eagles and Disabled American Veterans.
And now, on Wednesday afternoon, the trio presented a $300,000 check to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Reid remarked that a lot of people in the community have wondered what happened to the money that came from selling the Golden Roadrunner. The answer is all charity.
“I knew a couple of families in Tennessee that went to St. Jude’s with their child and they never got a bill,” Reid said. “I always thought if I ever had a chance to give St. Jude’s anything, I’m gonna do it. I got my chance.”
St. Jude Philanthropy Advisor Tyler Mahnke shared that there are currently 119 active St. Jude patients living in Arizona. When patients from outside Tennessee are referred to the hospital, St. Jude covers their costs.
“It’s usually a lower income family that doesn’t even have insurance,” he said. “So if they were to go to Phoenix Children’s Hospital or Thunderbird or wherever in Arizona, they can’t even afford their bills – then they get referred to St. Jude.
“We’ll actually pay for them to get on a plane to get flown to Memphis and then we have housing for them. We have food for them. We obviously don’t ever make them pay for medical bills. So it’s not just like they’re getting free health care but they also are getting a free place to stay. They’re getting a place to travel there. It literally doesn’t cost a family a penny.”
Reid commented that he’s always thought a lot about St. Jude since doctor bills can be so expensive. Mahnke added that cancer patients face “one of the most expensive treatment plans in the world right now, unfortunately.”
Although the children of the families Reid knew had passed away, he affirmed that while “you can’t save everybody, it makes a difference.”
Mahnke thanked Reid, Morris and Roff for the “generous gift.”