Sassy’s Hope offers help for those facing cancer
Featured Stories June 19, 2022 , by Susan KirklandGroup offers gas assistance for cancer patients
With gas prices approaching five-dollars per gallon, those facing chemotherapy and radiation may feel the pinch at the pump on top of other worries.
It started as a way to give back to her community after losing her father to lung cancer in 2015 by taking snack bags to cancer centers. Sassy’s Hope has grown to help those facing cancer with gas and items like wheelchairs and potty chairs. According to the Georgia Department of Health, about 45,000 Georgians are diagnosed with cancer and nearly 15,500 die from it each year.
A work of faith to help cancer patients
“A group of us met at Chick-Fil-A and started talking about how we want to give back,” said Lynn Noland Hawkins said.
She credits their faith that everything fell into place.
“Each one of us had an avenue to attorneys, accountants and others to help us,” said Hawkins.
The group began to deliver snack bags to cancer centers in the area that included their contact information and Bible verses.
“It just kept going from there,” said Hawkins. Hawkins said she wanted to spread hope to those facing cancer. As for Sassy, she said that is what her grandchildren call her.
Daily prayers and faithful givers make it possible
She said her daily prayer is to not have to turn away anyone who needs a gas card and so far, the answered prayers have been plentiful.
“We haven’t had to turn anyone away,” she said. “From the beginning, it was our faith that kept going.”
Read how local rodeo is helping Sassy’s Hope here.
She said patients who are getting chemotherapy can get one gas card per month. If treatment is chemotherapy and radiation, they can get a little more. They also assist with lodging if patients are traveling to larger hospitals such as Emory. Sassy’s Hope does not help with utilities, however, as there are other options for those with that need.
Hawkins said she sends out a mass email monthly stating what the needs are and people give as they are able.
Bush Hog to be raffled at Phillips Rodeo this month to help Sassy’s Hope
This month, they are getting help from Drifter’s Trading Company, in Chatsworth, who is raffling off a Bush Hog at the 43rd Annual Phillips Rodeo.
Tickets are available through Drifters Trading Company or at Phillips Rodeo on June 24 and 25.
Hawkins said she hopes to expand Sassy’s Hope in the future, when she retires. She is the wife of Eddie Hawkins and mother of Colby Victor Hawkins, named for her father Victor Noland.
Phillips Rodeo celebrates 43 years
Community, Featured, Featured Stories, Lifestyle, Sports June 19, 2022 , by Susan KirklandFamily fun, sweet tea are the hallmarks of Phillips Rodeo in its 43rd year
As Garth Brookes sang, it’s the boots and mud, dust and blood. It’s the white in the knuckles and the gold in the buckle.
It’s the rodeo and it will bring more than eight seconds of fun at Phillips Arena in Resaca on June 24 and 25.
Phillips Rodeo tips its hat to Gene Autry and Roy Rogers
“It’s one of the first rodeos in Georgia,” said Bridgett Phillips, daughter-in-law to Larry Phillips, who first brought the rodeo to Northwest Georgia.
“He wanted to bring that atmosphere to Northwest Georgia,” she said. “No one in his family ever rodeoed.”
She added that Larry Phillips grew up watching Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and he wanted to preserve that area of entertainment.
Cowboys rode out the pandemic at small town rodeos
She said because many Georgia rodeos closed or took time off from the circuit,
she was certain that Phillips Rodeo is the oldest in the state. Even COVID didn’t stop the cowboys and cowgirls from coming to Phillips’ Arena.
“We had record attendance during COVID,” said Phillips. “The small town rodeos kept going, while the big ones cancelled. We brought in new fans.”
Phillips rodeo marks 41 years in Bartow County
They also hosts the Bartow County Rodeo, an event that surprised her with the growth.
“If you don’t get there early, it’s standing room only,” she said of the event, which is celebrating it’s 41st year on July 8-9.
Bridgett, an Oklahomoa native, and her husband of almost 30 years, Danny, met on the rodeo circuit in Peotone, Illinois, where she was barrel racing and he was competing in calf roping and team roping.
She said the arena they use for the rodeo only gets used for the rodeo because their ranch is an operational one, raising horses and cattle. Increasing the number of events requires using space needed for the livestock and to raise hay.
Tough Enough to Wear Pink
In 2008, Bridgett was diagnosed with breast cancer and the rodeo became the “Tough Enough To Wear Pink” rodeo to raise awareness about the disease and the importance of early mammograms.
Phillips Rodeo is also hosting a raffle sponsored by Drifters Trading of Eton, which is selling tickets for a chance to win a Bush Hog. Proceeds goes to help Sassy’s Hope, a local group that provides gas cards and other assistance to local cancer patients.
Read about Sassy’s Hope here.
Spectators can expect all eight rodeo events: bareback riding, bull riding, calf roping, team roping, barrel racing, breakaway ropers, saddle bronc riders, and steer wrestlers. There will be funnel cake and concessions available, including Phillips’ Ranch sweet tea, and souvenirs.
The rodeo is part of the Professional Cowboy Association so spectators may recognize some of the competitors and there may be some locals competing as well.
At a glance:
Who: Phillips Rodeo
Where: Phillips Ranch
475 Mt. Zion Rd. NE
Resaca, GA 30735
When: June 24&25
Gates open at 6 p.m.
Rodeo starts at 8 p.m.
Costs: General admission $15
Children 5-9 $10
4 and under are free.
Who: Phillips Rodeo
Where: Bartow County Saddle Club Covered Arena
43 Saddle Club Lane
Cartersville, GA 30120
When: July 8&9
Gates open at 6 p.m.
Rodeo starts at 8 p.m.