Cars filled the parking lot, the driveway and the service road leading up to American Legion Post 10 in El Dorado.
Hundreds of residents gathered, some to receive free hams, turkeys, ducks and raccoons, others to distribute that meat. The volunteers were clad in red Olison-Buggs meat giveaway T-shirts as they carried on the legacy of Carrie Kendrix Buggs and her son Rance Olison.
Olison’s wife Mary, who also goes by Mae, was on hand for the first time to participate in the giveaway.
“I just know every year this is going to happen, God is going to make sure the money is there,” she said, noting the event costs about $7,500 and is funded by an annual gala in San Antonio every year and former NFL players. “NFL players really support it, and they’re going to continue it because of Rance. They want to support it in any way they can. This is big, and it’s getting bigger.”
Rance graduated El Dorado High School in 1970 and went on to play football on a scholarship at San Diego State University, later attending the University of Arkansas at Monticello and Washburn University. He played in a variety of professional football leagues in the late 1970s and ‘80s, including for the San Francisco 49ers in 1976 and the Kansas City Chiefs in 1979. He also participated in the NFL Intern Program, coaching with the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots of the NFL and San Antonio Texans of the CFL.
He then worked as an educator in Arkansas, Kansas and Texas before retiring in San Antonio. He became an active member of the NFLPA Former Players San Antonio/Austin chapter and created the Mrs. Carrie Kendrix Buggs Gala in San Antonio every year to fund meat and bicycle giveaways in San Antonio and El Dorado. He died in March of 2018.
The meat was available to individuals who were at least 50 years old and on a government assistance program with annual income at or below the federal poverty line of $24,600 a year for a family of four. Once applicants signed in, they were given a ticket, which they then redeemed for a free turkey, duck, ham or raccoon.
“This is the seventh year, and this is my first time,” she said. “I felt like they needed to see me and who was behind it. This year, the gala will be in San Antonio the third Saturday in October, and if people can, they should come out, because it is awesome. We’re starting paperwork for the Rance Olison foundation so we can receive corporate donations, because we need the community to support this also. This is not just an east side of an African American event. This is for everybody.”
Members of the Buggs-Olison family and the American Legion, as well as El Dorado Fire Chief Chad Mosby and El Dorado Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer volunteered to help distribute the meat. Usually a member of the NFLPA is on hand to assist as well — in the past, former Kansas City Chiefs great Priest Holmes has visited, but the high school team he coaches was competing in the playoffs. Texarkana-native Byron Williams, who played 12 seasons in the NFL, CFL and World League, visited on behalf of the NFLPA.
Olison said if anyone has questions about donating to call her at 201-601-7152.