By Chad Searcey | February 05, 2011

Members of our team are excited to participate in Hunt for a Cure this year. We will be guiding and filming a youth hunt at the annual HFAC benefit. This annual fundraiser takes place March 25-27 in Savannah, Tennessee and is a benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Chris and Kristie Bell are just two of the members of a group of caring individuals who help organize this event. Recently, I  caught up with Chris and Kristie for a little Q & A about HFAC.

Chris and Kristie Bell Bio:

Our son Aaron first participated in March of 2007.  In September of 2007 he was diagnosed with brain cancer.  His tumor was resected and he received 33 rounds of radiation at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.  He was cancer free until May of 2010.  His care was transferred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in June, 2010.  He received 10 rounds of chemotherapy before having a second tumor resection on September 3, 2010.  He then received 30 more rounds of radiation.  He has to have MRI’s every 3 months to make sure the tumor does not return.  Kristie is an elementary school librarian and Chris in an Electrical Engineer who teaches at a local technical school.  Chris is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys all types of hunting and fishing. Kristie enjoys reading and carrying Aaron to golf and trap events.  Aaron is a member of both the High School Golf team and Trap team.  We are committed to raising money and awareness for childhood cancer. 

How did this annual event (Hunting for a Cure) begin?  

Mike and Barney Davison started the event in 2005 on their personal property.  They had fewer than 20 hunters and raised a little over $1000.  Today we host approximately 60 kids and have access to over 75,000 acres.

What are some of the highlights of the event? 

The guide landowner luncheon is the official kick-off.  It usually includes testimonies from St. Jude families. It’s one of our favorite parts of the event.  Another highlight is the hunting itself as well as watching successful hunters return to the fairground with their birds.  There is also an auction that is held Saturday night which raised over $16,000 last year.

How much money was raised at last year’s event? What is the money raised used for? 

$56,480 was raised last year.  100% of the money raised goes directly to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  HFAC is a 501c3 charitable organization.  To date, HFAC has raised almost $400,000.

How does a family who has a child who wants to participate sign up for Hunt for a Cure? 

If a child is interested in participating, all they have to do is go to www.huntingforacure.net and register.  We just ask that each hunter raise a minimum of $200.  Again, all money goes to St. Jude.  Any child that is old enough to safely handle a shotgun and does not turn 17 before the actual event may participate.

What separates HFAC from other charity events? 

We are a volunteer operation which allows all money raised to go directly to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  We also use our passion for turkey hunting to drive the event.  Raising money for a worthy cause and chasing wild turkeys in the beautiful Tennesse woods is just a win-win situation.

Who are some of the more popular guides that have been involved in HFAC in years past? 

Ronnie Smith, Darryl Singletary, Troy Gentry, Jim Zumbo, Eddie Salter just to name a few. Unfortunately we suffered some growing pains in 2007 and decided to scale back.  Since that event only Ronnie Smith has returned.  We still have pro-staffers from outfits such as Primos, Knight and Hale, Drury Outdoors, Rich-n-Tone, Ol’ Tom, etc.  We have not had any video celebraties since 2008.

How would someone who wants to participate as a guide get involved with HFAC? 

Contact us at savannahbells@charter.net.

Is it okay for guides to bring a cameraman to video the hunt? If so, typically how many of the hunts are captured on video and have any of the hunts been aired on television or web-based hunting shows? 

We love for guides to bring cameramen.  To date the only show we’re aware of that used any footage is Ronnie Smith Outdoors.  Darryl Singletary brought a camera crew but we are not aware of whether or not he used any footage.  Other guides have brought cameramen and gave a copy of the footage to the child.

If someone would like to be a sponsor or a vendor for HFAC, who would he/she contact?

Please provide this contact information.  They can contact Kristie or Chris Bell.  Our email address is savannahbells@charter.net.  Hunting for a Cure also has a facebook page: Hunt for a Cure on Facebook www.Huntingforacure.net is another avenue for contacting anyone on the committee.

Is there anything else you would like RDP fans to know about Hunt for a Cure? 

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is one of the premier research institutions in the world.  St. Jude shares all their research findings.  St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance.  No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay.  They will also help with travel, housing and meals.

As parents of a St. Jude child who has recently battled brain cancer, we have also learned that childhood cancer is the number one disease killer of kids.  Had our child not been diagnosed with this horrible disease we would have never learned this.  Our personal mission is to make more people aware so that more money can be raised for research.  HFAC is just one way to help raise funds and awareness.

We would like to thank Chris and Kristie for their time and we look forward to hanging out with them in March. If you would like to learn more about this annual event, please click the picture above and it will direct you to the HFAC website. If you would like to learn more about St. Jude Research Hospital, click this link: St. Jude Hospital