Local Elks Lodge Officer Bob Lawson wished to thank each and every individual who had a hand in organizing, as well as those who attended, a local dance (held on July 10) which was a benefit fundraiser for businessman Charlie Goetsch (of Goetsch Music) who suffered a serious injury during an accident which took place at the lodge a few months ago.

“I wanted to thank everyone for attending; we had a very large crowd and it was standing room only as there were about 500 people,” Lawson said.

“This shows what a community can and will do for a good cause, and I just wanted to thank everyone who came and donated their time and energy.”

Lawson was on hand when Goetsch suffered the unfortunate incident.

“I happened to be there when Charlie got hurt,” Lawson said.

“We’re both good fiends and officers with the Elks Lodge and have a lot of interactivity, so I have known Charlie for many years,” Lawson said.

“He doesn’t have very much insurance and his liability insurance isn’t enough to cover hospital bills, so we put this fundraiser together.”

One of the ensembles performing at the benefit was the Long Rider Band whose members are Lawson, Bill McCumber, Casey Burke, Andy Gonzalez, Johnny Mitchell, Danny Zapata and Steve ‘Sag’ Geary.

Also jamming out some tunes were Sandy Alexander, Alan Hausler and Carol Cannon; former members of Sandy’s Six-Pack.

Gary Hunt, Bud Whittington, Ron Murray, Cesar Silva, and Tyler Cannon also performed.

Closing the show was the Mesquite Band that included Steve Cavazos, Orlando Zepeda and Ovidio Barbour.

Goetsch’s road to recovery has taken some time, but he has definitely come a long way.

“He is making remarkable progress, and his wife brought him down to the event that night and he is looking good,” Lawson said.

“We just got his physical and speech therapy lined up which starts soon,” he said.

Goetsch even took the microphone and personally thanked everyone in attendance.

Lawson also extended his gratitude to Mary Murchison, Ron and Donna Orr, Terry and Lisa Lawson, Sam and Peggy Cox, Harvey and Rosie Swan, Quincy Quintanilla, and Jonas Quintanilla.

“I know a lot of people were involved and I would not want to offend anyone by not mentioning them,” Lawson explained.

One big ‘gracias’ Lawson also offered was to the Operation Role Model youth group.

“This is a group that I would especially like to thank, because they are a bunch of teenagers in high school,” Lawson said.

“They helped us set up for the event, but their real contribution came on Sunday when they helped clean things up and put away the tables and chairs,” he said.

“They’re a good bunch of kids with a great cause.” Among the members of Operation Role Models are President Carlos Lopez, Vice President Samantha Smith, Celeste Resendez, Jessica De Leon, Anthony Munoz, Bianca Salinas, Audrey Rios, Angie Goff, Tina Cavazos, Melinda Torres, Deputy Chief Juan Gonzales and Gina Smith.