Following a nearly three-year hiatus, the Mrs. Carrie Kendrix Buggs and Rance Olison (Sr.) Holiday Meat Giveaway will make its return to El Dorado this year.
The event is set for 9 a.m. Dec. 3 at the American Legion Post 10, 105 Christian Drive.
The late Olison and Buggs, his mother, launched the event in 2011 to help low-income families put meat on the table for the holiday season.
Olison explained at the time that the giveaway was an extension of the legacy of giving and community service that was passed down by his mother.
Olison, an El Dorado native and 1970 graduate of El Dorado High School, settled in San Antonio after stints as a professional football player.
He played cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers in 1976, the Kansas City Chiefs in 1979 and other professional football leagues in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Olison never forsake his hometown and for years, he remained engaged in local, charitable activities to give back to a community that he said had given so much to him.
Buggs passed away at the age of 88 in March 2012, three months after the inaugural meat giveaway, during which 150 turkeys were distributed to local families.
Following his mother's death, Olison vowed to honor her by continuing the meat giveaway in El Dorado and San Antonio.
His family and friends pledged the same after his passing in March 2018 of heart complications. He was 65.
In 2019, his wife, Mary Olison, sisters Josie Wyrick and Ann Ross and other organizers and volunteers made sure the meat giveaway carried on as it had the previous eight years in El Dorado.
It was the last meat giveaway to be held before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Due to the global health crisis, organizers made the regrettable decision to call off the giveaway, as well as several fundraisers, in 2020 and 2021.
Organizers are facing another challenge with the return of the meat giveaway this year, Mary said.
She explained that the Rance Olison Foundation -- a 501c3, nonprofit organization, which hosts the giveaway -- is feeling the pinch of inflation, including rising food costs.
For the first time since the inception of the event, the amount and variety of meat and number of recipients will be limited, she said.
"Only the first 150 people will get in and if we have some left over, we'll give it away," Mary said.
Organizers typically distribute turkeys, hams, hens, leg quarters and game meat to large crowds during the giveaway.
"This year, we'll have 75 turkeys, 75 hams and maybe a few hens," Mary said.
"Inflation is hitting us this year and, hopefully, we'll able to adjust later and get the numbers back up," she continued. "We still want to be there and do something because we don't want it to stop."
She thanked the Union County Community Foundation for a grant that was awarded earlier this year to the ROF.
In April, the UCCF "presented grant awards totaling $331,565.85 to several designated fund grantees and to 28 Union County, nonprofit organizations."
Jean Hadley, UCCF executive director, previously explained that the grants are intended "to help relieve some of the burden of fundraising for the agencies, so they can concentrate on providing services."
The grants are covered by the Union County Public Trust Fund and the maximum amount of each grant is $2,000.
"We definitely want to thank them for that. We are open to contributions. If anyone wants to be a sponsor, let us know," said Mary.
She said this year's giveaway will include free health screenings and possibly, a raffle for gym bags that bear Rance's name.
In July, the city renamed East Avenue in his honor.
The avenue, which is just west of McKinney Park and off East Beech Street, lies in the heart of the Fairview Addition neighborhood where Rance grew up.
For more information about the meat giveaway or to make a donation, call Mary Olison at 210-601-7512 or LaChelle Jackson at 816-785-2931. Also, visit the ROF website at www.ranceolisonfoundation.org.
Donations may be mailed to P.O. Box 761972, San Antonio, Texas, 78245.