There is a great Warren Zevon song titled “Lawyers, Guns and Money” about a guy who needs someone to send him — follow me here — lawyers, guns and money.
Generally speaking, if you need one of those things something might be amiss. If you need all three, you likely are in deep Limbaugh.
But not always.
Let’s say we’re talking just about lawyers and money.
And let’s say that we’re also talking about lawyers trying to raise money for a really good cause.
In that case, things aren’t so bad. In fact, they’re pretty good.
OK, I’ll admit that might have been one of the lamest ways to write my way into a column about a fundraiser sponsored by folks associated with the Jasper County legal system, but I really like the song “Lawyers, Guns and Money.” I figured this might be the only time to work it into a column.
Hey, it’s my column.
The fundraiser, which involves both a golf tournament and a silent auction, is sponsored by the Jasper County Bar Association, the Jasper County courts, juvenile and prosecutor’s offices and area law enforcement.
Organizers are hoping to raise $50,000 for Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity. They have accepted a challenge by Gov. Jay Nixon to be part of an effort to build 35 new homes in Joplin this year.
Nicole Carlton is an attorney with the law firm Buchanan, Williams and Stiley, and just happens to be heading up the golf tournament, which is this Saturday at Schifferdecker Golf Course. Nicole said when she heard about plans to sponsor a golf tournament she attended an early organizational meeting. When Nicole’s fellow attorneys found out that she used to run a charity golf tournament for former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tom Pagnozzi she was quickly roped in to run the event.
“I did it willfully,” Nicole said. “We all are busy and have things going on but we all want to be active and to help out.”
Like virtually every segment of the Joplin population, people who work in the legal system and in law enforcement were not immune to damage caused by the May 22 tornado.
“So many members of the bar and the legal system lost homes in the tornado. Many attorneys lost their businesses,” Nicole said.
Saturday’s golf tournament, called Building with Justice, is an 18-hole four-person scramble. The shotgun start will feature two flights with the first flight getting underway at 8 a.m. and the second at 1 p.m. The cost is $75 per golfer or $300 per team and lunch will be provided. Register by calling (417) 781-8280 or (417) 782-5900 or just show up at Schifferdecker on the day of the event and pay and play.
The silent auction, which is open to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Kitchen Pass, 1212 S. Main St.
Nicole said the auction will feature things such as St. Louis Cardinal baseball tickets, a private guided fishing trip on the White River, a mountain bike, dinner and movie packages and a host of other neat items. Admission to the auction is $20 and hors d’oeuvers will be served and music provided by the band Sober as a Judge.
Both the golf tournament and the silent auction promise to be pretty fun deals. I happen to know many of the folks involved with both and I can assure you they know how to have a good time. And I know that they also care deeply about this community.
I’m not sure where they stand on Warren Zevon.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Mike Pound: Lawyers, law officers, take up worthy cause
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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Joplin insurance agent seeks donations for Moore, Okla.
After losing an office building and her home in the tornado on May 22, 2011, Loretta Bailey is familiar with the destruction that a tornado brings. The 400 households that her insurance agency helped through the aftermath of the tornado also know that loss. \
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Joplin team drove through storm to get to Moore
It was a long drive in the middle of a severe thunderstorm that had earlier produced a massive tornado in Moore, Okla. With the two-year anniversary of Joplin’s deadly twister approaching on Wednesday, a team of 14 Joplin emergency workers was ready to risk the trip in order to get help to a hurting Moore.
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Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery
A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.
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Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
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Rick Rescorla award named for hero of Vietnam War, 9-11 terror attacks
The Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience is named for a 62-year-old vice president of security for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. who directed an evacuation of the company’s 2,700-person workforce in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2011.
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Community gearing up for two-year anniversary ceremony this afternoon
With the playground full of children, it could be any other day at Joplin’s Cunningham Park, but the white tents popping up and neat rows of white chairs lined up nearby indicate something more is happening today.
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Farmers Insurance teams up with Rebuild Joplin
Farmers Insurance announced Tuesday that the company will team up with Rebuild Joplin for an initiative to help the community complete its recovery efforts. The company already has placed one of its executives in Joplin, and it is pledging additional funds and volunteer hours by company workers to go toward the city’s recovery.
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Joplin man continues struggle to recover two years after tornado
As the Joplin tornado passed overhead, sweeping the house at 2430 S. Pennsylvania Ave. away in its wake, there was a moment of calm. Delbert Mcguirk was on his back in the basement, where he had sought shelter along with his wife, daughter and two grandchildren. In that moment of relative quiet, he stared up into the eye of the tornado.
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Storms cause damage throughout the Four States
Four-State Area residents hunkered down twice Monday to ride out tornadoes and powerful spring storms, then went to work cleaning up. The worst damage from Monday night’s storm was being reported in Ottawa County, Okla., near Wyandotte. That followed a report of an EF-1 tornado early Monday morning near Carthage.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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