Overwhelming support for the Warren County Backstoppers fundraising efforts has not waned since its inception. The organization has raised more than $565,000 during its nine previous years. 

Organizers hope this year’s total will top $100,000.

The 10th annual event was held Saturday, Feb. 15, at St. Ignatius Community Center in Concord Hill near Marthasville. As in previous years, the facility was jam-packed with auction items and hundreds of people ready to bid on this year’s items.

Ron Battelle, Executive Director of The Backstoppers, Inc. continues to be amazed at the incredible fundraising success of the Warren County organization.

“Whatever the formula is, these guys have it,” said Battelle.

Battelle said the only other event that raises more money than Warren County is the Guns and Hoses event held in St. Louis. He said every bit of the money raised is needed to support the families of first responders who die in the line of duty.

“We had seven line-of-duty deaths this year with 16 kids brought on board,” said Battelle. “We have 80 families with 70 kids and we’ve served 170 families since 1959.”

Development Board member John Dolan gave some examples of how families are helped after the death of a loved one.

“Within 24 hours, a family will receive $10,000 for immediate needs,” he said. “Within two weeks, a financial team will meet with the family. The family will become debt-free. Backstoppers will take over their house payments, their car payments, education, health and dental insurance.”

Dolan said whatever the family needs, Backstoppers will provide. He estimates the organization spends approximately $2 million per year in family support.

It was a long night for Rebecca Pruitt, daughter of Lonnie Cole, who served as a Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy and died in 2003. She spoke about what her father’s death could have looked like from his point of view.

As she talked about Backstoppers, she said her dad would have been worried about whether his family would have been taken care of. According to Pruitt, if he could have seen the response by the caring people of Backstoppers, he would have rested easy.

Jeff Backhaus, chairman of the Warren County Backstoppers organization, said the people from this county are eager to donate each year. They also are ready to empty their wallets during the oral auction. He said he often gets calls from donors ready with incredibly generous donations, including Cardinals baseball tickets, handmade quilts, hog processing, handcrafted wooden flags, crossbows or pedal fire trucks.

Backhaus said organizers are once again grateful for the outpouring of generosity from the community.

Other first responders remembered from Warren County are Paul Fricke and Vernon Seals. 

Fricke, employed by the Hawk Point Police Department and the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, was killed in an automobile accident in 2010. Seals, of the Truesdale Police Department, was also struck by a vehicle during a call and died in 2002.

Backstoppers was founded in 1959. A 30-member board of directors manages the financial support offered to families. The organization believes it is obligated to care for  “the loved ones of those who have protected us.”

To learn more about the organization, visit backstoppers@backstoppers.org.