FALLON - Friends, family and supporters are expected to flock to Fallon this weekend for the Jennie Steele Fundraiser on Saturday, which includes a roping competition, dinner, auction and dance.
The roping competition will be at the Larry Miller Arena at 3455 Cress Place at 9:30 a.m. Two saddle awards will be given for the high-point male and female. Cattle are being donated for the event.
"My husband and I both grew up roping and in high school rodeo," Steele said. "Rodeo is a pretty tight-knit family."
The dinner, auction and dance are at the Eagles Hall, 7977 Reno Highway, at 6 p.m. There will be a silent and live auction, and dance with music by The Carson River Band. Cost is $15 for adults and $5 for children. The food has been donated as well as the band's performance.
Steele is a pre-op and recovery room nurse at Banner Churchill Community Hospital. She has a husband and two young sons.
Fifteen years ago, Steele was diagnosed with Sclerosing Choleangitis, a disease that causes strictures and thickening of the liver's bile duct. The only treatment is a liver transplant, but Steele was told she wouldn't be given a new liver until the condition made her sick.
For over a decade she took pills to help the condition, received regular testing and waited. She waited for the illness to make her sick or for the illness to have one of its most dangerous side effects, bile duct cancer.
For tickets or information, call Fern Lee at 423-5104 or Jamie Lee at 426-8299. To donate go to www.
caringbridge.org and search "jennsteele."