Area coming together to help family

Tammy Winfield and Wanda Himmelman have fond memories of their friend and coworker, Wendall Conrad.

Winfield shared a story of when she first started at KFC and got to know Conrad. “He’d hide behind a garbage can under the counter, and I could walk past their five times in an hour, and every time he would jump out and scare me,” she laughs.

Conrad passed away in late September, at the age of 31. To help the family with funeral expenses, his coworkers have rallied together and are holding a fundraiser at the Liverpool Fire Hall on Oct. 17.

They’ve got a big day planned, opening the doors at 1 p.m., for a bake sale and auction. Support is pouring in as well, with a list almost two pages long of donated items. The plan is to have hourly auctions, with all day auctions on larger items like a flat screen TV.

The variety of items is vast. Everything from hand made birdhouses to a one-night stay in a King Suite at Best Western.

There will also be a variety show, kicking off at 3p.m. with Jamie Cotter and then local entertainers changing hourly until 8p.m. Also set up will be a Barbeque, serving hotdogs, hamburgers, sausages and pop.

From 9p.m.-1a.m. is a dance, with the fire department handling the door and bar.

Admission is $5 per person, which is good for the whole day.

Anyone that would like to donate an item can drop it off at the fire hall from 9-12 in the morning Oct 17, or can contact the organizers to make arrangements for pickup. They are still looking for bake sale donations as well. Anyone interested in donating items or bake goods can contact the Liverpool KFC at 354-2233.

John Baker, known for his fundraising efforts, is handling things at fire department end and helping them through the parts they have questions about. Michelle Colp has handled the music end of things. Both get a huge thanks from the pair. “I think it’s beautiful that a small town can come together and do something like this,” says Himmelman. “That’s the thing about living in a small town. You just don’t get this in the city,” says Winfield.

The event is getting support from outside Queens Co. too. The owner of KFC who is based out of Halifax is coming down, and Conrad’s story is going to KFC stores across the province. So far the support is tremendous, says Himmelman, and employees from other stores are coming down to cover shifts on the day of fundraiser.

The two organizers obviously miss their friend. They describe him as a sweetheart, very funny, and an excellent coworker. What stuck out in their mind were the odd concoctions of food he would make at KFC for himself. They both laugh and say it could be pretty gross.

A big part of his life was his five-year-old daughter, who he absolutely adored. One trip to the Halifax hospital was the same day she started school for the first time. Conrad was distraught that he wouldn’t be able to hear about his daughter’s day when she got home.

The news is still sinking in with them, and they say it still doesn’t quite seem real. However one of the ways they are coping is by organizing this fundraiser. “We want to do something for our friend, and this is the best way to help his family and his daughter. If we can do that, he’s going to know we did something good.”

nmoase@theadvance.ca