Joe Loffland, left, of Crothersville and Sandy Sadler Roberts of Austin hold the stained glass panel they made to donate to the live auction during the upcoming Ride for a Cure on Sept. 24.
Zach Spicer | The Tribune
Sandy Sadler Roberts met Joe Loffland at a yard sale at his Crothersville home.
While there, Roberts talked to him and his wife about stained glass, and Loffland asked if she would like to see his studio.
“I love stained glass. I’ve got a lot of stained glass in my house,” the Austin woman said. “I said, ‘Well, sure,’ and I said, ‘Do you give lessons?’ and he said, ‘Well, yes, I do.’ That was on a Saturday, and I started the next Wednesday, so I’ve been with him ever since. It has been a little over a year.”
Once Loffland learned of Roberts’ connection to Ride for a Cure Inspired by Wendy Nasby, they began talking about donations and the live auction that’s part of the annual event that’s a fundraiser for people battling cancer. This year, it’s set for Sept. 24.
“I said, ‘Sandy, why don’t we make a decent-sized stained glass panel and I will donate my time and materials for this plan, and then it’s going to draw in a lot more money than what I would give in cash,’” Loffland said.
Since the ride mainly draws motorcycles, they thought it would be a good idea to create a panel that would be appealing to that audience.
The result was a 24-by-36-inch stained glass panel featuring a Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail motorcycle.
“It turned out really good, and there’s an appeal there for motorcycle riders, which that’s who’s going to be there the 24th,” Roberts said.
A car show and an auction were conducted this past weekend for Ride for a Cure, and the live auction featuring the panel, a rebuilt motorcycle and some other large items will be Sept. 24 at Mid-America Science Park, 821 S. Lake Road South, Scottsburg.
“To me, it’s very rewarding getting to be part of this,” said Loffland, who has been making stained glass for 30 years and is a retired educator. “I want to give back to the community. I have always given back to the community in the way of education, and now, I can give back to the community in other ways.”
The 16th annual Ride for a Cure will start at noon and is open to motorcycles, Jeeps, off-road vehicles and even cars and trucks. The cost is $15 for a single rider and $20 for two people.
“Anything that you want to drive, just come,” Roberts said. “It’s for Jeeps, Razors, four-wheelers or just anything that drives. People can drive their own personal vehicles.”
The entry fee includes a hog roast at the end of the ride, which will be around 5 p.m. The live auction will start around 6 p.m. There also will be live music, door prizes and a 50/50 drawing.
Loffland said if someone can’t make it to the live auction but is interested in bidding on the stained glass panel, they can call him at 765-470-2794.
Proceeds from the ride and other fundraisers already conducted will benefit seven cancer patients in Scott County: Isabella “Bella” Campbell, Angela Dosso, Patsy Sadler, Treva Stagnolia, Dora Thomas, Charlene West and Eddie White.
Roberts said Ride for a Cure started in honor of Nasby after her co-workers at Pepsi in Austin found out about her cancer diagnosis.
“They decided that she was going through so much and had so many medical bills that they needed to do something to help her, so they held a motorcycle ride, and I think they raised like $5,000 the first year,” Roberts said.
Roberts’ brother, Steve Sadler, and sister-in-law, Missy Sadler, kept growing the event. Ride for a Cure became a nonprofit organization, and over the years, it has been able to benefit multiple cancer patients each year.
The Sadlers accept nominations of people to benefit from the funds and conduct interviews to pick the recipients.
“Each year, as they made more money, they would add more recipients. This year, they are up to seven,” Roberts said.
Softball tournaments, roadblocks, discos and raffles have been conducted along with the ride as fundraisers. Last year, Roberts said they raised $85,000.
“They pulled in enough money that they brought in another person that they knew that had cancer that was not expecting any of the money, and they were able to help another person,” she said. “If there’s anything that’s left over, they do the Secret Santa at Christmas. They get on their motorcycles and they go to the other people who have cancer and they’ll say, ‘Here’s $500,’ and they do that until all of the money is gone.”
This year, Ride for a Cure is close to Roberts’ heart in more ways than one. Along with teaming with Loffland on the stained glass panel, her mother, Patsy Sadler, is one of the cancer patients to benefit from the fundraising efforts.
“While she was having her cancer treatments, I would be waiting on her and I would be cutting out the patterns or foiling the glass. A lot of this was done at the cancer center in Madison,” Roberts said of her work on the stained glass panel.
Loffland said they put a minimum of 70 hours into the panel.
“It’s such a rewarding hobby,” he said. “You get to see these rich colors coming together to form a panel and see a finished product. Where some people use oils or pastels or whatever as their medium, I use glass as my medium to talk for me.”
If you go
What: 16th annual Ride for a Cure Inspired by Wendy Nasby
When: Noon Sept. 24 (registration goes from 9 to 11:30 a.m.)
Where: Mid-America Science Park, 821 S. Lake Road South, Scottsburg
Who: Anyone with a motorcycle, a Jeep, an off-road vehicle, a four-wheeler, a car or a truck is welcome to participate
Cost: $15 for a single rider or $20 for two people; that includes a hog roast after the ride, and there also will be live music, door prizes, a live auction and a 50/50 drawing
Proceeds will benefit seven cancer patients in Scott County: Isabella “Bella” Campbell, Angela Dosso, Patsy Sadler, Treva Stagnolia, Dora Thomas, Charlene West and Eddie White.
For information, call 812-707-1665 or 812-707-1202 or visit the Ride for a Cure Inspired by Wendy Nasby Friends page on Facebook