KIM TRIBBY BENEFIT A SUCCESS

Only 10 days after Kim Tribby was seriously injured in a head-on collision, her friends had organized a fundraiser that netted nearly $9,000 to help with her expenses. Tribby, a law enforcement dispatcher, was pulled from her burning vehicle by three of her colleagues and flown to Billings for surgery on her leg. She is now in rehab for a few weeks. 

The May 3 event at the Cottonwood started out as a pie auction, and there were lots of pies and cakes of every description, but there were also photographs, four fresh Maine lobsters, Bobcat tickets on the 50-yard line, a little green John Deere wagon, gift baskets, elk processing and more.

The auction was like a family event in the room filled with law enforcement officers and emergency responders. Auctioneer Luke Strommen, a deputy, outdid himself to infuse energy into the proceedings, with Brian Austin as the straight man with barbed comments. They have become a smooth team that knows how to work the audience for the maximum return on a warm apple pie or a handmade quilt.

Even Strommen was impressed with the generosity of the crowd, with people willing to hand over $120 for a pie made with Mississippi pecans, $250 for a deluxe picnic in a basket and $350 for an 8 by 10 Sean Heavey photograph (with a pie).