Community Corner
Bonney Lake Joins 'Team Neil' at Fundraiser Dinner
Swiss Park was filled to capacity on Wednesday night in support of Mayor Neil Johnson, who is battling leukemia.
On Wednesday, May 18, was filled to capacity with support for Mayor Neil Johnson.
raised over $5,000 to support Johnson in his and assist his family in growing hospital bills.
The idea for the fundraiser started at .
Find out what's happening in Bonney Lake-Sumnerwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“I have known him since I was six, and me and a group of friends came up with the idea [for a fundraiser],” said Sarah Collins, a junior at Bonney Lake High. “We’ve been planning it for over a month.”
Collins, fellow junior Jake Lueders and sophomore Karissa Olson got a group of friends together to plan the event. Johnson has been their coach and his daughter, Rendi, is a friend. Collins said Rendi gave some input into planning the event, but not much – the night was meant to be a gesture of support from her friends.
Find out what's happening in Bonney Lake-Sumnerwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We didn’t want to worry her or her family,” said Collins. “We just wanted them to come enjoy themselves.”
The students approached Swiss Park about renting the facility, put in requests for auction items and got to help with the food. They recruited , head of special events for the City of Bonney Lake, to help with logistics.
Friends at the event wore T-shirts that declared their allegiance to "Team Neil" with the catch phrase "Cancer Sucks." They hung letters of support on the walls, took video testimonials from friends and family and projected a family photo slideshow on the wall near the stage. Be The Match, the official bone marrow registry, was on hand to sign people up.
The overwhelming community response was evident Wednesday night – the city council, police force, friends and family filled Swiss Park to capacity. Swiss Park even ended up donating their rental fee toward Johnson’s fundraiser.
“Neil does so much for the community, he is such an advocate for sports and kids,” said Peter Esser, head football coach from Bonney Lake High School. Esser was the night’s MC and encouraged partygoers to continue to donate to Neil through an envelope passed around each table.
“Anything we can help him do to get through this time, we want to do it.”
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.