Local Students Assist Rehab Telethon
Garden City Beta Club, National Honor Society and 4-H volunteers, under the leadership of Jill Tubb, Randy Gartman and Charlene Belew, will be among friends of West Texas Rehabilitation Center manning telephones for the Rehab phone bank during the Center’s annual telethon Saturday, Jan. 19.
Originating live from the Abilene Civic Center, the five-hour show will be carried by 10 television stations covering Texas and portions of New Mexico and Oklahoma. Station KLST-TV in San Angelo is among host stations. Also, the event may be viewed on satellite at Galaxy 24/14C.
Popular musical group Restless Heart will be the featured entertainment, and will be joined by hosts Red Steagall and Charlie Chase. Other performers will include Bill and Susan Hayes, Anacani, Brad Maule, Twyla Foreman and the Rehab 2008 Orchestra.
In addition to entertainment, the telethon includes an auction of more than 400 items donated by businesses and individuals. Items can be seen – and bids placed – on the web site from mid December to midnight Jan. 19 at www.westtexasrehab.org. An auction tabloid and toll-free bidding numbers will be published in the San Angelo Standard-Times Jan. 19.
Traditionally, the benefit telecast raises more than $1 million for the Center’s operating expenses at facilities in Abilene, San Angelo and Ozona where more than 23,000 individuals are served each year. Since 1953, WTRC has provided comprehensive rehabilitation services for children and adults with disabling illnesses and injuries, regardless of their financial circumstances.