Helping out one of the good guys in the area
By Dave Heun
Daily Herald Columnist
Posted Sunday, August 05, 2007
It is well known that those in the Tri-Cities region are generous to many fundraising causes.
On occasion, those fund-raisers have a reverse twist to them by supporting a person in the community who has hit hard times but has done so much to help others in the past.
Such is the case with the “Concert for a Cure” that will benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation, through the support of the Paul Ruby Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
And this concert, featuring the Ides of March at Mill Creek Golf Course on Aug. 17, is all about helping Ruby, the general manager of Geneva’s Herrington Inn and Spa. Ruby was diagnosed with Parkinson’s last year and has been vigilant in gaining support for the foundation ever since.
A golf outing that is part of the event has been sold out, but those interested in the concert can get tickets at Kiss the Sky in Geneva or by visiting the foundation’s site at paulrubyfoundation.org
If this helps, let me say this: The Ides of March put on one terrific show. If you have never seen them perform live, this is an event worth putting on your calendar.
For a good guy:
When news releases were being sent out about the “Concert for a Cure,” Kay Catlin of the Fox Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross singled out Paul Ruby as a person who had done so much for her organization in the past that she was hoping to see a big turnout for this event in the fight against Parkinson’s, which has hit Ruby at the age of 42.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s pay back time for this guy,” Catlin said of Ruby. “Over the years, I’ve been involved in lot of charities, fundraisers, what have you — be it for breast cancer, the Red Cross, sick kids, etc.
“Never once has this guy turned me down,” said Catlin, who said she could relate to Ruby through her own experience with breast cancer and then devoting much of her time and effort to prevention and cure causes.
“More than generous, he’s got a big heart that he doesn’t mind sharing,” Catlin said.