The outpouring of support for Frank Ori continued Monday night at a fund-raising event held at the Utah State University Eastern Jennifer Leavitt Student Center in Price. About $8,000 was raised and will be donated to the Frank Ori family.
Frank suffered a severe stroke in early December and has been recovering in the hospital since then. He is an alumnus of USU Eastern, attending when it was the College of Eastern Utah, and coached baseball under Head Coach Scott Madsen for 15 years. He was also sports editor of the college paper, the “Eagle.”
Bread ‘N’ Soup Night, which also included a silent auction and bake sale, was organized by Associate Professor and Eagle Advisor Dr. Susan Polster, and Cosmetology Department Associate Professor Debbie Pritchard.
The response to the fundraiser from the community was literally and figuratively overwhelming. Polster said they were prepared for 450 people, but the turnout quickly surpassed that mark. When members of the USU Eastern baseball team served up the last of the soup, Sun Center volunteers went out and returned with 37 pizzas to accommodate the still-growing number of people lined up in support of the event.
Polster said, “This community has always been and always will be incredibly generous to anyone in need. Their support was demonstrated Monday night when hundreds came out and bought goodies from the bake sale, bid on silent auction items, and waited in long lines for food. Everyone on the committee is proud to call Carbon County our home because of the generosity of the people in this community. They just do not get any better than this.”
Organizers also expressed gratitude to the Carbonville LDS Ward, Assumption Orthodox Greek Church, Notre Dame Church, Groggs, Smith’s Food King, Lin’s Fresh Market, and Domino’s Pizza for donating food for the event. They said thanks also goes to Jason Tatton of wholesale food distributor, Nicholas & Company which provided the soup at cost.
Polster added, “We also have to thank Greg Dart, vice chancellor of enrollment services, and everyone at USU Eastern who helped make this happen for the Frank Ori Jr. family.”
Soup and bread benefit at USUE raises $8,000
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