The 2007 Cattle Barons’ Ball earned a total $146,700 last month for the local office of the American Cancer Society, bringing the ball’s five-year total to nearly $800,000.

More than 500 guests attended the fifth annual Western-style event at RiverWood Studios in Senoia, where Ernie Johnson Jr. of Turner Sports presided as master of ceremonies, Southside band Crystal & The Cruizers rocked the house, LowCountry Barbecue served up a delicious dinner and a Joan Rivers look-alike greeted arriving cowboys and cowgirls on the red carpet.

The ball, themed “Reel Cowboys With a Real Cause,” included a dozen games and featured both live and silent auctions. The evening’s big winners included Carol Henson of Sharpsburg, who won the Champagne and Diamonds game to take home a diamond bracelet and earrings, which were generously donated by Mucklow’s Fine Jewelry of Peachtree City and valued at more than $5,000; Patti Kadkhodaian, owner of AJAKO Inc. in Peachtree City, who received two international Delta Air Lines tickets and cash to spend as winner of the Blink Blink for a Cure game; and Jean McCollum, American Cancer Society Cattle Barons’ Ball committee member, who won the Gem Guess game and with it a 9.9-carat oval rhodolite garnet, compliments of Town Square Jewelers in Fayetteville.

The biggest winner, however, was the American Cancer Society, which will be able to use the proceeds to benefit the programs and services that it offers free to the local community and to fund research, legislative efforts and education.

“It was another fantastic evening,” said event chair Kelly Batcho. “We were thrilled with the turnout and support for our fifth annual event. We are so grateful to this community for its generous donations of time and treasure toward finding a cure.”

Guests of the 2007 Cattle Barons’ Ball are encouraged to visit www.thememorycottage.com to view photos of the event taken by studio owner Debbie McFarland. Click on the client section and use the password “baronsball.” If you choose to order photos, call The Memory Cottage at 770-631-7676. More photos can be viewed at www.TheCitizen.com.

The 2008 Cattle Barons’ Ball committee will begin convening just after the New Year to get working on the sixth annual ball, now scheduled for Nov. 8, 2008. For information on how to get involved or for more information on the American Cancer Society, contact the ACS’s Peachtree City office at 770-631-0625 or visit www.cancer.org.

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