Guests browse silent auction items during the 35th Tyler Cattle Baron’s Ball at Texas Rose Horse Park. The event benefits the American Cancer Society and funds go to local and regional cancer support services and research. (Santana Wood/Tyler Morning Telegraph File)

With many wearing a cowboy hat and their best pair of boots, East Texans came out to the Texas Rose Horse Park on Saturday to support a good cause for the 35th annual Tyler Cattle Barons’ Gala.

Supporters showed up in droves to the Brunson Equestrian Center on the park’s grounds to support the annual gala, which benefits the American Cancer Society.

The gala, established in 1988, is a longtime mainstay event for East Texas, known as one of the state’s top galas for raising record-breaking amounts to aid in the fight against cancer.

The event saw a huge turnout and featured food, entertainment, dancing, games, silent and live auctions, charitable raffles, music from country singer and songwriter Jack Ingram as the headliner along with secondary band Texas Renegade.

Funds raised at the gala, themed “Hope on the Horizon,” directly benefit the local and regional area. Since its inception, the gala has raised over $17 million for local and national cancer support services, as well as ground-breaking cancer research.

This year’s fundraising goal was set at $530,000, said 2023 Co-Chairs Ryan and Sara Nash, who expected to reach that Saturday. The funds will go toward education and prevention events, transportation support for those who have difficulty getting to their treatment or appointments, and more.

In 2022, ACS awarded $15,000 to Smith County health systems through patient transportation grants. Over 2,000 rides have been provided to patients from Smith County and beyond. The Dallas Hope Lodge has provided over 1,200 free nights in 2022 to patients from East Texas.

Funds raised during Saturday night’s “Paddle Raise” will go toward patient transportation, lodging grants and sarcoma research – a cause close to Nashes’ hearts, as Ryan’s mother passed away from the rare form of skin cancer last year.

“It’s very important for me to try and give back to honor my mom and what a good person she was. She always took care of everybody else,” Nash said.

Dr. Steven Curley, oncology chair at Christus Trinity Mother Frances and chief of surgical oncology at the Northeast Texas Cancer & Research Institute, reiterated how vital this fundraiser is for East Texas.

“I’m sorry to say in Northeast Texas, we have one of the worst cancer survival rates in the state and that’s because too many patients are diagnosed with late-stage cancer,” Curley said.

He mentioned current and upcoming clinical trials at the local cancer institute, including one involving a blood test that will aim to detect early stage cancer, but also spoke on the importance of regular checkups and screenings.

Physicians want to be able to help as quickly as possible before cancer spreads, but patients have to take control of their own health and not ignore symptoms before getting checked out, Curley said.

“Go to the doctor,” Ryan Nash said. “Go to your annual checkup. Don’t be scared. That’s the best way to find out.”

The Nashes said East Texas is fortunate to have the new Northeast Texas Cancer & Research Institute located in Tyler, which saves patients and caregivers from traveling to major metros for necessary care.

Organizers called Saturday night’s event a success. The Nashes both credited community support for yet another year of successful fundraising for cancer support services and research.

“We had a lot of people say yes to helping out this year. It’s awesome to see that coming together. Some people gave a lot of money for this and every bit counts. We really appreciate it because that’s where it starts. This couldn’t happen – giving back to the American Cancer Society – without our community stepping up and doing their part, so we’re very fortunate.”

Curley said high attendance at the gala not only shows East Texas is philanthropic but also how many people are touched by cancer.

“… I’ve not met anybody who doesn’t have a family member or a friend who’s been diagnosed with cancer. Everybody is affected by this, even if it’s not them personally; it may have been a parent, an uncle, a cousin, a co-worker, and they’ve seen what that puts a person and their family through. … We really want to touch as many people who have unfortunately been affected by cancer as possible,” Curley said. “So what this (high turnout) tells us is that people recognize this is a really major health problem in the region and we need to be doing what we can to address it.”

PHOTO GALLERY 1: Guests

PHOTO GALLERY 2: More guests

PHOTO GALLERY 3: Event, entertainment

The gala was presented by Trinity Mother Frances and the Northeast Texas Cancer & Research Institute. The cancer institute, which officially opened in November and is a partnership between Christus and Texas Oncology, is making a tremendous impact on local patients, Curley said.