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Update - Hybrid Good Samaritan Tribute Dinner Moved Outside
Posted 09/10/21
Former Sheriff Tom Burgoyne to Be Honored
For Immediate Release
Sept. 10, 2021
Contact: Betsy Bethel-McFarland, bmcfarland@ysswv.com
To watch the event livestream on Topper Station, click here.
WHEELING — The 14th annual Good Samaritan Tribute Dinner has been moved outdoors to the Wheeling Park Memorial Ice Rink and will feature eat-in or carry-out dining options on Sept 16.
The move was announced Tuesday by Youth Services System officials in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases.
For those choosing to stay at home, West Liberty University Television will livestream the celebration honoring former FBI agent and Ohio County Sheriff Tom Burgoyne.
“However folks choose to celebrate, we look forward to enjoying a very special night in honor of an extraordinary man,” said Terra Crews, YSS director of development.
To purchase dinner tickets, email tcrews@ysswv.com or call 304-940-6899. Donations to YSS in Burgoyne’s honor may be made online by texting GS2021 to 44-321 or by mailing a check to YSS Good Samaritan Dinner, 87 15th St., Wheeling, WV 26003.
“Tom Burgoyne is kind, giving, compassionate and fair. We have interviewed people from all over who have testified to his positive — many times life-changing — influence on their lives. Some of them will be at the event. We don’t think there will be a dry eye in the audience by the end of the night!” Crews said.
In addition to his 39 years in law enforcement, Burgoyne has been a baseball star, coach and fan; a board member for various charities, including 21 years at YSS; and a volunteer for causes ranging from Wheeling Central Catholic High School athletics to substance abuse prevention to the YSS Winter Freeze Shelter.
“One of the things I find remarkable about Tom is he and his friend Dick Ferda would sit up all night talking and drinking coffee with the guys in the freeze shelter, and then I come to find out he had arrested some of them years ago! That speaks to the character of a law enforcement officer — his fairness and respect for the dignity of a person — that he would be welcome at the table,” YSS CEO John Moses said.
The Good Samaritan Tribute Dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 16. Chef Charlie Schlegel will prepare many of his favorites for guests. Musician Gregg Molnar will perform, and a chance auction will take place. Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston Bishop Mark Brennan will deliver the invocation, and Wheeling Central Catholic High School Coach Mike Young will introduce Burgoyne. Central students under the direction of Deb Warmoth compiled a tribute video.
Tables will be spaced out in the ballroom and masks are encouraged when guests are not eating or drinking. To-go dinners may be picked up at the White Palace.
For those wishing to watch remotely, West Liberty University Television will livestream the event on WLU-TV 14 on Comcast, for those whose subscription includes that channel, as well as on www.topperstation.com, the Topper Station Facebook page and YouTube Channel, and the YSS Facebook page. The footage also may be viewed online afterward, accessible through Youth Services System’s website, www.youthervicessystem.org.
Youth Services System has been creating better futures for children, families and our community since 1974. Programs include youth emergency shelters, outpatient behavioral health services, in-home parenting support, school-based mental health, before- and after-care at local schools, resource referral, crisis hotline, the Youth Mentoring Network, the Winter Freeze Shelter and the YSS Recovery Homes.
Photo Caption: YSS Development Director Terra Crews and Board Chair Robert Dobkin invite the public to attend the Good Samaritan Tribute Dinner in person or online Sept. 16. Dinner tickets are $50 for eat-in or carry-out options. The celebration will be livestreamed on various online platforms, which will be available at no cost to the viewer.
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