Leftover proceeds from Celebration will go to Clinton County flood victims; sales of merchandise will help

The posters, not pictured, have the image from the back of the black T-shirt.
The T-shirts come in black, gray, sand and white.

The Spirit of 76 committee voted Monday night to dedicate all leftover proceeds from the celebration to the relief of flood victims in Clinton County.

The amount will depend largely on the sale of surplus merchandise from the Celebration: 118-page commemorative programs, T-shirts, caps, and limited-edition posters, including about 40 framed posters priced at $76 each. The other items are now all priced at $20 each and are available at the David Cross law office on the Albany square.

"The one thing that hurt us was the weather Friday night," which delayed Colton Bowlin's performance and hurt merchandise sales, said Cross, who raised $95,000 for the Celebration.

T-shirts are also available at the 76 Falls Country Club, which received praise from committee members as the central venue for the Celebration. The club raised $7,500 for flood victims during the events, which concluded with a huge fireworks show on the golf course that was visible for miles.

James Guffey's book has 44 pages.

Also available for purchase is Professor James Guffey's limited-edition book of photographs of all the Celebration events, priced at $76. To order, email him at profguffey@yahoo.com. Be aware that these books are printed to order in batches, so it may take several weeks to produce your copy.

The committee also voted to make $500 donations to each of the two churches that hosted a series of events on Friday and Saturday, July 3 and 4: the Seventy Six Baptist Church and Mount Union Christian Church. "We were just blowed over by the people who showed up," said Juanetta Sasser of the Seventy Six church.

Cross said the turnout at the church for music and historical discussions was larger than he expected. Mt. Union hosted presentations by children of the late Rodney and Jean Piercey and the documentary about Medal of Honor recipient Murl Conner, From Honor to Medal.

The committee also voted to confirm prior authorization of the payment of $1,200 in cash prizes to winners of the 7.6 Miler race to Albany from the Seventy Six Falls Recreation Area on Lake Cumberland. The vote was requested by staff of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, which is the fiscal agent for the Celebration, through the Clinton County Community Foundation. Staffers Amy Karr and Tammy Hignite said the Celebration was an outstanding example of what small towns in Appalachia can do for themselves.