Nance County Ag Society President Riley Lane presents a check to Brandyn Berlin. Photo provided
FULLERTON — The Nance County Fair held its annual extreme bull riding competition at the end of June. To add to the excitement this year, a benefit for Brandyn Berlin, a Genoa native, was incorporated into the event.
A former classmate, Andy Johnson, volunteered to try his luck at extreme bull riding in order to receive donations and sponsorships that he could then turn around and donate all proceeds to Brandyn.
“I just wanted to do something to help him out,” Johnson said. “My son Ashton started riding bulls, and I was watching him practice one night and the idea just hit me. People might find entertainment from watching me be an idiot trying this and if I could raise money for Brandyn at the same time-well that’s just perfect!”
Brandyn has been battling Pancreatic cancer since the beginning of this year. He has been through several rounds of chemo and is going in for a Whipple surgery on Aug. 19, to try and remove the remaining cancerous cells, to be on the path of recovery and remission.
There was a specifically designed calcutta this year, that people could bid on how many seconds Andy would stay on the bull, as well as a normal calcutta for all bull riders.
The Nance County Ag Society donated their portion of the calcutta, which was $5,065.
Preister Ag Supply agreed to donate $500 per second that Andy stayed on the bull. Although Andy’s ride lasted 2.09 seconds, Preister Ag still donated $2,500 to the benefit.
Scott Beck with Herd Report agreed to pay $200/second that Andy stayed on. He ended up donating $900.
Miranda Johnson and Peg Cuba designed and organized t-shirt sales for the event and ended up raising $920 to add to the pot.
Jake Henn volunteered to be a Rodeo clown/Bull fighter to make sure Andy made it safely out of the arena. He ended up raising just under $200 for fans taking their photo opportunities with the Rodeo Clown.
Several other donations were received. All proceeds went into Brandyn’s benefit account at the Genoa Community Bank, and will be given to Brandyn to use for recovery expenses as he will be unable to work for some time following his surgery. Donations are still being collected, but the current total is around $10,000.
Brandyn attended the event as well as several of his alumni from Genoa High School.
“I am very thankful, and very humbled to see so many people come together to support me,” he said. “I would’ve never expected to see this turnout, and the support alone means the world to me.”