Kuttawa Cannonball Run Organizers Donate $60,000 To Local Charities—And Still Going

<!–

In the News: Kuttawa Cannonball Run Organizers Donate $60,000 To Local Charities—And Still Going

–>

Organizers of the 2022 Kuttawa Cannonball Run, which happened just a month ago, mailed out donations today to local charities and service organizations from the proceeds of its charity auction. The Kentucky Sheriff’s Boys and Girls Ranch, an outreach program of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office—the event happens in Lyon County—will receive $30,000. Another $25,000 is going to the law enforcement agency’s Water Response Unit and another $5,000 is going to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office Donation Fund.

Beyond providing a fine weekend for more than 130 powerboat owners and their guests, the 2022 Kuttawa Cannonball Run raised money for worthy local charities. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

The event raised more than $92,000 through the Saturday night auction with high-energy second-year Kuttawa event auctioneer Nolan Ferris embracing the role as only he can. Delighted with the event-record-setting results, organizers/volunteers Jeff Hoefling and his girlfriend, Audra Nicole, Terry Martin and Melanie Martin, Stephen Miles and Heather Gibson Miles, Mike Lewis, Cynthia Bianco Lewis, Kiran Pinisetti, Jessica Thrasher-Pinisetti and Josh Pritchard are committed to keeping their charitable efforts local—where they can make the greatest impact.

“Our organization gave out $60,000 this week and that is just the beginning,” said Jeff Hoefling. “We are giving $10,00 to an elderly couple who lost their mobile home in the tornado that hit Western Kentucky on December 10, 2021.

“Everything they had was destroyed and rebuilding at their age is nearly impossible,” he said. “We are able to help, and that is what we are going to do. And there are a few other things we have in the works that we’ll announce later.”

Volunteers are foundation of the annual event on Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake.

Hoefling credited several auction bidders including Burton Kirsten, Andy Robinette and Chuck Stark for their event-record-setting generosity. He also credited speedonthewater.com chief photographer and this reporter for bringing the event story to life and presenting it to a substantial national and international boating audience.

“I mention these two individual with a lot of love,” he said. “Without speedothewater.com, we would not be able to reach the demographic and caliber of boaters we do.”

The organizers will keep a small portion of the event proceeds to cover 2022 event costs as well as seed money for the 2023 event. And they already are looking forward to next year’s event.

“We can help fill in the gaps to improve conditions in our lake community,” said Terry Martin. “The generosity from our sponsors, partners, and the participants who come from all over this great country make this happen. It’s truly overwhelming.”