"I selected the crescent wheat grass bale for Kandi because crescent wheat is really tough grass. It grows anywhere. It survives really harsh conditions. It's just a fighter. That's why I selected that one for Kandi. Because Kandi is a fighter. She's gonna make it. She's gonna blow through this surgery and she's gonna come out shining." - Shane "Crested Wheat is tough, but cow's love it. Some of those cows will choose a crested wheat grass bale over an alfalfa bale any day. It must be life candy for cows. Cows love to eat it. It's tough but it's sweet." - Erica
"I had someone say to me that Mom paid it forward to everybody in the community for 30 years. Now everybody is paying her back to her for paying it forward," explained Billy Pierce in describing the outpouring of love, support and generosity for his mother, Kandi Marino. Kandi, a well-loved member of our community, needs a new kidney. The weekend of October 8th-10th, the community gathered together to raise money for medical expenses. It all started with a bale of hay.
Friday evening, a truckload of hay was auctioned off to raise money for the Big Sandy EMS. Shane Chauvet, who donated the round bales, explained what happened next: "Scott, my brother, he said "Well that concludes the sale. We are out of bales." Then I got on the mic and said 'Scott, we're not counting right. There's one more bale.'" That last bale was a secret up until that point. It was Shane's donated bale to raise money for Kandi. His reason for donating it was powerful, and perhaps explains why the rest of the weekend went like it did: "Kandi brought us a meal. She was the very first one to bring out a meal to us after the accident. She brought a very nice meal, and when she left I told Erica "Kandi shouldn't have brought that out to us. She needs that grocery money for herself, to save for her kidney." Erica looked at me and said "But she wanted to do that for us." So I agreed. It was one act... I mean we had so many acts of kindness that were given to us after the accident. I am so appreciative of every one of them, but this one from Kandi was kinda the hardest one to accept. Just because I knew it had to have hurt. She needed to save for herself. She needed to protect her own life."
That act of kindness from Kandi spurred Shane to donate the 24th bale in her name. "Friday was a really busy day, and I thought somebody would bust me on it. I put that bale on the bale bed and nobody ever asked my why I put it on there. We had 24 bales, and we were actually advertising 23 to sell. It was a surprise to Erica. I knew she would support me on it. We knew where we both stood. I emailed Billy that morning asking if he could have Kandi come down to the hay auction at 5:30. That's kind of what led up to it... I thought 'If we could get $700 to $1000 off that bale, that would pay for some of Kandi's groceries for the meal.'" Shane's goal was simply to help pay the grocery bill for the fundraiser dinner Saturday evening, for which many of the food items would ultimately be donated by others. "When we started on it, we sold it after the the big load went. They had donated so much for that. We had the momentum starting there. Micah Griffith bought the first bale for Kandi. Then it just went. He rolled it back. Then Fred Finke bought it second, then Fred Finke bought it again the very last time... We put it up there and it sold 21 times. It brought $12,550 at the end of the day. It was crazy. That thing brought over $16,000 a ton. I don't think there is a piece of cow hay in the United States that is gonna sell for $16,000 a ton."
The community's response to Shane afterward has been a round of compliments: "Everybody has been really complimentary and really supportive. They say 'Hey, that was a really nice thing you did.' But then I respond to them by saying: No, these bales of hay we brought were just straight cow hay. What made this event was the town of Big Sandy. They came and they supported it. We brought a measly old round bale and said we were going to donate it in Kandi's name. Everybody in that audience who had been affected by Kandi said 'Hey, we're gonna support that cause.'
And they took it to the next level. I think all the credit needs to go back to the town of Big Sandy, because it just speaks volumes about what we think of Kandi... Most everybody was local. The only non-local people that were there, was Erica's mom, who bought a
bale and Mike Evans from Valley Furniture bought a bale. Other than that, everybody who bought it... I am sure she had given to every one of those people." Erica, Shane's wife added: "It seems like everyone who bought the bale was probably affected in a positive way by Kandi. Either with a meal or something. It seems like all the donations were a repayment for the multiple umpteenth meals she's made for people across the community. Almost a repayment to her."
The community's outpouring of support did not stop at the auction on Friday. The following evening a fundraising meal and raffle was held to raise additional support. Billy explained the community response to the meal: "When we started putting this thing together, mom's big thing was, 'We just want to be able to earn the money.' Cooking that food was a way for Mom to show a little bit of her heritage, but also to show appreciation. This was our way to hopefully earn the money. To get as much in donations that we've gotten, to even the raffle items... people were just dropping stuff off to Mary. We were getting new raffle items added each day, and we didn't expect that. People were just reaching out and wanting to do something for Mom. It was pretty powerful."
The first hint that something big was taking place happened at the meal itself: "Between when we planned the dinner, we had online sales and for two weeks, I just never checked the bank account. I talked to Demra Brown on the night of the event and she was like 'Billy, people have just been coming in and depositing money.' So I looked this last week, because we were just expecting the sales and the bale hay, which would have put us around $26 or $27,000, but over the last weeks of people just coming in and donating to Mom, and they weren't even at the dinner. They didn't come in and get a to-go order. People really just... I would get text messages or messages from PayPal or Venmo or people just donating who don't even live in Big Sandy anymore. They live in Washington or Billings. They live in Kansas. They just remember mom and when they were here." The current total for the fundraising efforts has landed well beyond the $27,000 estimate. "So far, as of this morning, I ran through some totals and some checks haven't gone through the account yet, but we're at $40,617."
"Just the love of this community, that everybody really cares for Mom. They say things like: 'She did this for my mom or dad's funeral,' or 'she did this for our wedding...making salads.' They remember her from when she worked at the bakery and would make them sandwiches. I feel Mom has touched peoples' lives in this town in different ways and it showed. It showed by everybody who showed up and helped Mom. It showed by everybody who came to dinner. For that, we are just grateful."
The sentiment shared by Shane and Erica regarding Kandi's love and generosity over the years was not isolated to them alone. "I had someone say to me that Mom paid it forward to everybody in the community for 30 years. Now everybody is paying her back to her for paying it forward."
Kandi's response to the community's show of love has been gratefulness, appreciation, just plain shock: "I am just totally overwhelmed. I can't believe how people come around and just donate everything and stuff like that. Everybody just came through. We didn't have to ask. They just say 'yes.' I was shocked... I'm so thankful!. You have no idea. I tell the people who have donated the meat, donated all kinds of stuff...I want to do something. The vegetables from down at The Grocery Store, I told Deb that I would love to do something. She said 'No. You are not doing anything. You are not paying me back. I'm doing it because we want to, because we love you Kandi.'"
"Mom's been trying to make up for everybody who has made donations and people who bought the bale of hay and people who bought raffle items... and people are saying: 'No. It's not meant to pay us back. You paid it forward.' It's just Mom's nature. It's been kind of hard for her. We're just grateful and blessed to live in this community. Mom loves and truly cares about every single person in this community. It's very special."
Kandi explained her own attitude toward others: "I just do stuff for people. I just like doing stuff for people. They're always saying they're so grateful. You don't have to Kandi. Stuff like that. I just it's just my nature." I've heard plenty of people describing it as "paying it forward."
I'd like to suggest that a more apt analogy can be found in our own little farming community. Every year, my neighbors go out and plant seeds. Those seeds grow into whatever it was that was planted. Kandi's attitude, kindness, and generosity have taken root in the community around us. She has sowed love, and now the harvest that is sprouting in the lives of those around her is a harvest of the same love given back. It is beautiful to see, but every farmer knows that what you plant will be what you reap when the time comes. Kindness and love grows into more of the same. "From our family to the town, we're just thankful. We're thankful for everybody's love and support. We're thankful for everybody's concern for Mom's well-being. Everybody is so used to seeing her smile. It wasn't a thing she advertised. She powered through her problems so she could make somebody else's day better. All we can say is, 'Thank you.' I don't know how we can ever repay the community of Big Sandy. We'll always be in their debt."
"I had someone say to me that Mom paid it forward to everybody in the community for 30 years. Now everybody is paying her back to her for paying it forward," explained Billy Pierce in describing the outpouring of love, support and generosity for his mother, Kandi Marino. Kandi, a well-loved member of our community, needs a new kidney. The weekend of October 8th-10th, the community gathered together to raise money for medical expenses. It all started with a bale of hay.
Friday evening, a truckload of hay was auctioned off to raise money for the Big Sandy EMS. Shane Chauvet, who donated the round bales, explained what happened next: "Scott, my brother, he said "Well that concludes the sale. We are out of bales." Then I got on the mic and said 'Scott, we're not counting right. There's one more bale.'" That last bale was a secret up until that point. It was Shane's donated bale to raise money for Kandi. His reason for donating it was powerful, and perhaps explains why the rest of the weekend went like it did: "Kandi brought us a meal. She was the very first one to bring out a meal to us after the accident. She brought a very nice meal, and when she left I told Erica "Kandi shouldn't have brought that out to us. She needs that grocery money for herself, to save for her kidney." Erica looked at me and said "But she wanted to do that for us." So I agreed. It was one act... I mean we had so many acts of kindness that were given to us after the accident. I am so appreciative of every one of them, but this one from Kandi was kinda the hardest one to accept. Just because I knew it had to have hurt. She needed to save for herself. She needed to protect her own life."
That act of kindness from Kandi spurred Shane to donate the 24th bale in her name. "Friday was a really busy day, and I thought somebody would bust me on it. I put that bale on the bale bed and nobody ever asked my why I put it on there. We had 24 bales, and we were actually advertising 23 to sell. It was a surprise to Erica. I knew she would support me on it. We knew where we both stood. I emailed Billy that morning asking if he could have Kandi come down to the hay auction at 5:30. That's kind of what led up to it... I thought 'If we could get $700 to $1000 off that bale, that would pay for some of Kandi's groceries for the meal.'" Shane's goal was simply to help pay the grocery bill for the fundraiser dinner Saturday evening, for which many of the food items would ultimately be donated by others. "When we started on it, we sold it after the the big load went. They had donated so much for that. We had the momentum starting there. Micah Griffith bought the first bale for Kandi. Then it just went. He rolled it back. Then Fred Finke bought it second, then Fred Finke bought it again the very last time... We put it up there and it sold 21 times. It brought $12,550 at the end of the day. It was crazy. That thing brought over $16,000 a ton. I don't think there is a piece of cow hay in the United States that is gonna sell for $16,000 a ton."
The community's response to Shane afterward has been a round of compliments: "Everybody has been really complimentary and really supportive. They say 'Hey, that was a really nice thing you did.' But then I respond to them by saying: No, these bales of hay we brought were just straight cow hay. What made this event was the town of Big Sandy. They came and they supported it. We brought a measly old round bale and said we were going to donate it in Kandi's name. Everybody in that audience who had been affected by Kandi said 'Hey, we're gonna support that cause.' And they took it to the next level. I think all the credit needs to go back to the town of Big Sandy, because it just speaks volumes about what we think of Kandi... Most everybody was local. The only non-local people that were there, was Erica's mom, who bought a bale and Mike Evans from Valley Furniture bought a bale. Other than that, everybody who bought it... I am sure she had given to every one of those people." Erica, Shane's wife added: "It seems like everyone who bought the bale was probably affected in a positive way by Kandi. Either with a meal or something. It seems like all the donations were a repayment for the multiple umpteenth meals she's made for people across the community. Almost a repayment to her."
The community's outpouring of support did not stop at the auction on Friday. The following evening a fundraising meal and raffle was held to raise additional support. Billy explained the community response to the meal: "When we started putting this thing together, mom's big thing was, 'We just want to be able to earn the money.' Cooking that food was a way for Mom to show a little bit of her heritage, but also to show appreciation. This was our way to hopefully earn the money. To get as much in donations that we've gotten, to even the raffle items... people were just dropping stuff off to Mary. We were getting new raffle items added each day, and we didn't expect that. People were just reaching out and wanting to do something for Mom. It was pretty powerful."
The first hint that something big was taking place happened at the meal itself: "Between when we planned the dinner, we had online sales and for two weeks, I just never checked the bank account. I talked to Demra Brown on the night of the event and she was like 'Billy, people have just been coming in and depositing money.' So I looked this last week, because we were just expecting the sales and the bale hay, which would have put us around $26 or $27,000, but over the last weeks of people just coming in and donating to Mom, and they weren't even at the dinner. They didn't come in and get a to-go order. People really just... I would get text messages or messages from PayPal or Venmo or people just donating who don't even live in Big Sandy anymore. They live in Washington or Billings. They live in Kansas. They just remember mom and when they were here." The current total for the fundraising efforts has landed well beyond the $27,000 estimate. "So far, as of this morning, I ran through some totals and some checks haven't gone through the account yet, but we're at $40,617."
"Just the love of this community, that everybody really cares for Mom. They say things like: 'She did this for my mom or dad's funeral,' or 'she did this for our wedding...making salads.' They remember her from when she worked at the bakery and would make them sandwiches. I feel Mom has touched peoples' lives in this town in different ways and it showed. It showed by everybody who showed up and helped Mom. It showed by everybody who came to dinner. For that, we are just grateful."
The sentiment shared by Shane and Erica regarding Kandi's love and generosity over the years was not isolated to them alone. "I had someone say to me that Mom paid it forward to everybody in the community for 30 years. Now everybody is paying her back to her for paying it forward."
Kandi's response to the community's show of love has been gratefulness, appreciation, just plain shock: "I am just totally overwhelmed. I can't believe how people come around and just donate everything and stuff like that. Everybody just came through. We didn't have to ask. They just say 'yes.' I was shocked... I'm so thankful!. You have no idea. I tell the people who have donated the meat, donated all kinds of stuff...I want to do something. The vegetables from down at The Grocery Store, I told Deb that I would love to do something. She said 'No. You are not doing anything. You are not paying me back. I'm doing it because we want to, because we love you Kandi.'"
"Mom's been trying to make up for everybody who has made donations and people who bought the bale of hay and people who bought raffle items... and people are saying: 'No. It's not meant to pay us back. You paid it forward.' It's just Mom's nature. It's been kind of hard for her. We're just grateful and blessed to live in this community. Mom loves and truly cares about every single person in this community. It's very special."
Kandi explained her own attitude toward others: "I just do stuff for people. I just like doing stuff for people. They're always saying they're so grateful. You don't have to Kandi. Stuff like that. I just it's just my nature." I've heard plenty of people describing it as "paying it forward."
I'd like to suggest that a more apt analogy can be found in our own little farming community. Every year, my neighbors go out and plant seeds. Those seeds grow into whatever it was that was planted. Kandi's attitude, kindness, and generosity have taken root in the community around us. She has sowed love, and now the harvest that is sprouting in the lives of those around her is a harvest of the same love given back. It is beautiful to see, but every farmer knows that what you plant will be what you reap when the time comes. Kindness and love grows into more of the same. "From our family to the town, we're just thankful. We're thankful for everybody's love and support. We're thankful for everybody's concern for Mom's well-being. Everybody is so used to seeing her smile. It wasn't a thing she advertised. She powered through her problems so she could make somebody else's day better. All we can say is, 'Thank you.' I don't know how we can ever repay the community of Big Sandy. We'll always be in their debt."
