Chance Howard, of Arkansas, may have walked away from the Cross Family Benefit for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation as the steer-wrestling champion, but the real winners are future generations who won’t struggle like Kingfisher resident Floyd Cross did.
For 12 years, Cross fought cancer with the support of his family and friends. As a survivor, he’s raising money to fund disease research to help others.
“My dad wouldn’t be here without advances in medical science and the support of his rodeo friends and family,” said Sherrie Cross, who organized the event. In all, 71 bulldoggers came out to compete, including some from Brazil.
This year’s event raised about $5,000, said Cross, and will fund research into heart disease, cancer and childhood diseases at OMRF.
They’re already planning a follow-up event in October with a specific fundraising focus for heart disease research, which heavily impacts their community, she said.
“We are constantly inspired by the creativity and passion of our donors, including the Crosses,” said OMRF Vice President of Development Penny Voss. “They are creating a tradition of giving that will echo in Oklahoma and around the world for years to come by funding ground-breaking research at OMRF.”
