By Edward DuBois

The Granton High School fieldhouse hosted a benefit for Cheryl Steinbach Sept. 21, where the community poured in to support the former Granton teacher. Guests from across Wisconsin attended the event, but also came from outside the state. The farthest traveled guest was one of Steinbach’s cousins, who traveled from Colorado.

Steinbach spoke on her initial impression at seeing those who had come to support her.

“I was just in awe when I saw all the people and all the generosity,” Steinbach said. “‘Overwhelmed’ is the word.”

The event was indoors, protecting it from the thunderstorms rolling across Clark County. Raffles, games, a bounce house, concessions and cotton candy were available to attendees who bought tickets, with proceeds going to help Steinbach’s treatment of her glioblastoma, having received her diagnosis early this summer.

Game for kids lined two walls of the fieldhouse, staffed by Granton’s FFA students. Games included pick a duck, pumpkin toss, and Plinko.

Aside from the benefit at the fieldhouse, a kickball tournament was also help in Steinbach’s honor.

The event was organized by a committee of Granton FFA Alumni officers and their families. The kickball tournament and concessions stand was organized by Jeff and Jamie Elmhorst. Annette Woller and Tammy Eron oversaw soliciting donations for the raffle and silent auction. Katie Reider and her FFA members planned the carnival.

To the organizers, Steinbach could not express enough gratitude. In turn, as she went about the event, people walked up to her and talk about the many lives she had touched.

“My heart is just touched,” Steinbach said. “[Woller and Reider] mentioned that they wanted to do it and I wasn’t really sure I was up to it, but the fact that they’ve had so many wonderful memories made today—I’ve seen so many people travel from such a long distance, former students and past state officers, and then to be able to see the families here having fun and playing the games and things like that, former students and their families that are now growing up. It’s been wonderful.”

Russ Weiler from Owen-Withee, a former Granton School District sixth-grade teacher, was one attendee who traveled out to see the woman who had been so influential in his life. He knew her from his time teaching in the Granton School District.

Weiler said he was not surprised by the turnout, saying Steinbach was “well-loved beyond Granton.” “[Steinbach] just taught me that,” Weiler said, “as a teacher and a person, to care about students; that not all students are the same. Get to know them. Give all the students and people a chance.

“[Steinbach’s] influence with the FFA in Granton and beyond that, and just caring about students, really affected me as a young teacher.

“[Steinbach] really had a calmness about her that was very loving, kind of like a second mom. There’s so many students at Granton’s school—and even when I moved on to Owen-Withee—all I heard about was a great FFA program in Granton and how many people just love [Steinbach] in the community and in school. She was one of the biggest FFA directors in the area and it attributes to all the other growing FFA chapters in the area now.”

Tiffanee and Chris Tesmer had come out to support the event, as Tiffanee Tesmer had known Steinbach for nearly 30 years. Both Tiffanee Tesmer and her daughter had been taught by Steinbach. The Tesmers felt, after all the years Steinbach had given them, the least they could do was “give an afternoon back to her.”

“She would give the shirt off her back to help somebody,” Chris Tesmer said.

Steinbach mentioned that, while Woller and Reider organized the benefit, so many people came forward that the pair did not need to ask for the help.

FFA and FFA Alumni members also staffed the event, as well as some community members and past students and friends of Steinbach.

“The willingness to help from others is a testament to the impact that [Steinbach] had on the lives of so many people during her life,” Woller and Reider said. “She was a teacher for 30 years and then served as the executive director of Wisconsin FFA Alumni for eight years. She has met thousands of people and had an impact on so many. The willingness to volunteer, donate, or even attend the event was seen as a reflection of the influence she has had on so many.”

The organizers created an online sign-up for people to volunteer for a duty. This ranged from donating bars for the concessions stand, helping with the kickball tournament, or working at a carnival game. This link was shared on the FFA, Alumni and Granton School Facebook pages. From there, Woller and Reider said the link to sign-up to volunteer, as well as the event flyer, were shared over 100 times just from the Granton School’s Facebook post.

Woller and Reider said the greatest complication was watching how quickly the anticipated attendance for the benefit grew.

“We overcame it by having the committee meet the week before the event,” Woller and Reider said, “and adjust our anticipated supplies for concessions and carnival prizes, because we could see that this event was going to be bigger than we initially thought.”

“We are very proud of the number of people who donated and attended the event,” Woller and Reider said. “We consider it to be a huge success.”

A goal was set for proceeds where two event staff, Tim and Kadyn, would shave their heads off at a certain threshold and shave their beards at another. The event raised enough for the pair to shave their heads, but not beards.

Woller and Reider estimated around 1,200 people attended the benefit.

“Although it was an emotional day,” Woller and Reider said. “[Steinbach] was either grinning from ear to ear or crying happy tears the entire day. It was wonderful seeing so many people there to support the Steinbach’s. [Steinbach] came across former officer teams, past co-workers and many friends who have moved out of the Granton area. Overall, the event was a day of love and showing support for the Steinbach family.”