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Every once In a while you meet one of those people; you know the ones I mean… The tireless, the funny, the never say quit kind of people that everyone knows. In my neck of the woods one of these people is Burleigh Kay. If you are an Elvis fan or if you shop at the local Bloom store or if you have ever needed The Children’s Miracle Network, you DO know Burleigh Kay. I asked Burleigh to do this interview and in typical Burleigh fashion he said, only if I promote the charity and not him. And that in a nutshell is Mr. Burleigh Kay. Father, Son, Husband and to anyone that really knows him, a local icon, and very extraordinary person. Here is the Blind Banana interview with Mr. Burleigh Kay. What is the Children’s Miracle Network? CMN is the alliance of 170 premier children's hospitals in United States which treat 17 million children each year for every disease and condition imaginable. They treat children with cancer, pediatric AIDS, muscular dystrophy, heart disease, leukemia, sickle cell anemia, asthma and accident trauma. They are committed to serving children above all else. How long have you worked with them? I started raising money for the Children's Miracle Network about 7 years ago. That is when I decided that instead of just selling the Miracle Balloons at the cash register, we could do something else outside in the parking lot at the Food Lion to raise more money. So, with the help of other Food Lion associates, we had a car show, some local bands playing music, and sold hotdogs and hamburgers. We probably made close to a $1000.00 which inspired me to make the following year even better and we did, so much that 4 years later we had to move from the Food Lion parking lot to the Fredericksburg Agricultural Fairgrounds. In our 6th year we raised $16,500.00 and this year we were able to raise $12,200.00. What do they do primarily? The Children's Miracle Network serves its hospitals by raising the much-needed funds to pay for the life-saving equipment, charity care and break-through research. Since 1983, Children's Miracle Network has raised more than $2.7 billion for hospitalized children - most of which is donated a dollar or two at a time by individuals throughout the United States and Canada. What made you choose to work with them? I started working for CMN because I was blessed with a healthy son who also helps with all the fundraisers and of course my wife who is my right arm when it comes to putting these fundraisers together, keeping track of all the money, and scheduling all of the events. I have also had the opportunity to meet many of the mothers and fathers of these miracle children and heard their stories which inspired me even more to help raise money for such a great charitable organization. What kind of events do you produce to raise money for the CMN? In January 2007, at the Outback Steakhouse we had an Elvis Presley Birthday Luncheon from 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM. Jeffery Pierce provided the sound. We raised over $2,000.00 for CMN. We do have a large fundraiser each year at the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds where we had to go after our fundraisers got too large to conduct in the Food Lion Parking lot at Lee Hill Shopping Center. We have face painting, petting zoo, horse rides, two barrel train rides, games and other things for the children to do, plus area bands performing, craft show, car, truck, and bike show, and great food. Just a great family day for all. Our next fundraiser will be November 3 and 4, 2007 at Massaponax High School. It will be an Elvis Presley Impersonator Contest. Where else does Burleigh Kay work? I work full time at Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate at Fort Belvoir, Virginia in addition to the full time job at Bloom Grocery Store #2742 at Lee Hill Shopping Center. Just how many hours a week do you work? About 70 hours a week How long have you been married? I have been married to Patricia Ann Kay, wonderful wife and mother, for over 35 years and she is the best. She helps me with all my fundraising, being beside me through it all and listening to me complain about everything. She is my right arm when it comes to putting the fundraiser together. She also has babysat her nephew since he was 2 years old and has tutored him and prepared him for kindergarten thru his present 4th grade of elementary school. If you could convey one message about CMN What would it be? I would say to each and every mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt, and anyone else who would be willing to listen, children are our future and each one of us can play an important roll in raising money to help those children who are unable to help themselves. Your daughter, son, granddaughter, grandson, niece, nephew might some day need the services of the children's hospital, so if you can afford a dime, nickel, quarter, anything please give when asked to for the Children's Miracle Network. You see you would be helping a child in our area who might need the services of the children's hospital whether or not they have the ability to pay. No child is turned away at a children's hospital. Every dollar made goes to help a child at the children's hospital. What shows are in the works now? Our next fundraiser is scheduled for November 3 and 4, 2007 at the Massaponax High School Auditorium. It is the Michael and Bobbie Hoover Regional Qualifier for "Images of the King" 2008. This is an Elvis Presley Impersonator Contest with 1st place winner receiving $2000.00, 2nd place winner receiving $1000.00, and third place winner receiving $500.00. We presently have 14 Elvis Impersonators registered for this event with two of them coming from Canada. The others are from New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and one from the West Coast. The winner also is pre-qualified for the "Images of the King" contest which is held in Memphis, Tennessee during Elvis week in August 2008. This contest is the largest Elvis impersonator contest in the United States. Michael and Bobbie Hoover are now running this event each year. Last year we held this event at Courtland High School and raised $9,000.00 for CMN. |
