Every year the local Epsilon Sigma Alpha (ESA) chapter holds an extremely successful radio/cable-thon to help raise funds for St. Jude Children's Hospital. The upcoming 2018 edition will mark their 38th year and will be held on March 2-3. As usual, the event will be simulcast on KHLS 96.3 FM from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. on March 2 and again from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. the next day (Saturday).
The two-day event will begin on Friday, March 2 and continue on Saturday, March 3. Friday, during the day, they will be announcing “live remote locations” where donations may be dropped off.
That Friday night, the Hope Concert, sponsored by the Mississippi County Electric Cooperative, will be held at the Holiday Inn Ballroom from 6:45 p.m. until 11 p.m. Tickets may be purchased for $35 in advance at Thunder Country, 125 South 2nd Street, or by calling 870-762-2093. Tickets will also be sold at the door for $40. Wade Hayes and David Adam Byren will be performing at the concert.
That Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. viewers and listeners can tune in to Thunder Country 96.3 FM, Ritter Communications’Tubetown Facebook or to Channel 21 (for Ritter customers) to find out where to donate. Patient interviews and live talent will take place on both Friday and Saturday.
The event would not be possible without the generosity of dedicated volunteers and local businesses. Events like the radiothon are what allowed St. Jude to offer cost-free medical care to its patients. In 2017 the local event raised $201,715.
gwilliams@blythevillecourier.com