DECATUR — Royce Johnson’s friends and family have been working as a team to finalize the details of the chili supper and benefit auction in his honor.

With just a few days left until the event scheduled for Saturday, event organizer Kim Wilkins’ office is beginning to fill with donated items. But they represent only a small part of the contributions that have come in, she said.

The generosity of community members really shows how much people in Decatur really do care, Wilkins said. Help with the benefit has only been a phone call away. “That is one of the really great things about Decatur,” Wilkins said.

Johnson was diagnosed with colon cancer of the liver and has been undergoing a series of chemotherapy treatments. Doctors were able to remove the tumors in his colon, but not in his liver, he said. He recently received the good news that his tumors had shrunk by 50 percent -twice what his doctors had expected.

Even though Johnson has been able to continue working through his ordeal, health insurance can’t cover all of his expenses and the cost of treatments quickly adds up.

All proceeds from the chili supper and auction will go to pay for medical expenses, Wilkins said.

Wilkins said she would like to raise at least $10,000 for Johnson during the benefit. She has decided to hold a silent auction inaddition to the live auction for those who can’t stay for the whole event.

“You’ve seen a man that gives so much of his time and doesn’t ask for anything,” Wilkins said. In addition to his work organizing the Decatur Barbecue as president of the Chamber of Commerce, Johnson has served a number of years on the city council and the school board. He also helped out with fundraisers for the Decatur Schools when they faced possible annexation into another district in 2008, Wilkins said.

At Monday’s city council meeting, council members voted to donate three month’s of paid residential water bill to the benefit.

“Royce Johnson sat on this council for many years and I would like to see the city donatethree months of paid residential water bill,” Mayor Bill Montgomery said.

The donation will be good for April, May and June of 2010 and will include water, sewer and trash for customers up to date on their water bills, the council decided.

Other donations to be auctioned include a steer to be delivered to the processing plant, one full day of bulldozing, a weekend getaway for four including dinners and spa treatments, two tickets for Nascar Races at the Texas Motor Speedway in April, two tickets to the Show-me 100 race at the Lucas Oil Speedway and many other items.

The chili supper will begin at 5 p.m., March 13, in the Northside Elementary School Cafeteria.Meals are $5 for adults and $3 for children 3 and older. The pie and live auction will begin at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Decatur City Hall at 752-3912.

News, Pages 1 on 03/10/2010