By Patricia Beech-
A wealth of donations brought a world of comfort to a Peebles family during a Friday, Feb.8 benefit at Peebles High School.
Hosted by the PHS Athletic Boosters, the “Ballin for Browning” benefit raised several thousand dollars for longtime Peebles Indians fan, Larry Browning, who was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer and cancer of the sternum in Sept. 2018
Browning began radiation and chemotherapy, but after sustaining a broken leg during a fall, doctors were forced to temporarily stop his cancer treatments.
Browning’s wife of 54 years, Sheila, spoke at the benefit about his love for his family and his enthusiasm for Peebles basketball.
“He wasn’t always the Peebles Indians fan that he is today,” she told the crowd. “He was a proud Franklin Panther basketball player.”
Browning was a three-year varsity starter for the Panthers. He received Top 10 accolades in both the Adams County and Tri-County Leagues in 1961-62 during his junior and senior years.
“He went from Panther Pride to Peebles Proud in support of his children and his grandchildren – all of whom have been fortunate enough to wear the Indian colors,” Mrs. Browning said. “That is what made Larry the proud grandfather and Indian fan you see tonight.”
Following the event, PHS Athletic Booster Vice President, Amy Huffman Swango, took to Facebook to express the Booster’s appreciation.
“Thank you is not enough for the enormous outpouring of love and support that was shown tonight at PHS for a great man,” she wrote. “Together, we were able to raise over $14,000 to help ease some of the strain that fighting cancer can cause.”
As the Boosters Vice President, Swango oversees and organizes special events and fund raisers.
She said once the Browning family agreed to the benefit, she began “making calls and sending messages to get the auction donations started”.
She enlisted the help of Maria Sowards, owner of the “Stitch Happens” printing shop in Peebles to design the benefit’s black, Ballin for Browning T-Shirt.
“Every time I spoke to someone about the event, they always had nice things to say about Larry and his family and were eager to show their support,” Swango says. “The night of the benefit was an ‘all hands on deck’ for us, and we were so thankful for everyone who offered to help.”
The benefit included a silent auction which brought in over $6,000 and a live auction that produced nearly $5,000. Among the live auction items, the signed PHS team ball brought over $2,500 and the signed Manchester High School game ball went for more than $1,000.
Wearing gray “no one fights alone” t-shirts, the Browning family (including some from as far away as Georgia) filled nearly the entire center section of the PHS home bleachers.
Browning’s daughter Becky told the Defender her family was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support they received from the Peebles and Manchester fans.
“After Dad’s diagnosis, we thought we would be fighting this as a small family, but suddenly there’s all this support from all these friends,” she said. “We’ve found out first hand, it is a battle. In the beginning, we thought no big deal, we’ll beat this in no time, but five months later, we really haven’t even begun to fight – I just can’t say enough about how much we appreciate all the support we’ve received.”
The PHS Athletic Boosters have hosted numerous benefits for many causes over the years.
Swango says she believes the organization should always be willing to help when it can.
“We have a strong network of support throughout the community – these are people who never fail to come on board when we call for fundraiser help,” she says. “At the end of every event we’re tired and we think, -‘Why do we put ourselves through this?’ – then we take a look at the families we’ve helped and the community’s outpouring of love and support, and all we can say is – that’s why we do it!”
