Shave it for later
By Melinda Harrell and Ethan Smith
Published in News on April 8, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Members of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team pose for a photo at the ENC Firing Range Thursday. Several of the men are members of The 'Stache Team, who will be shaving their heads and upper lips to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer during St. Baldrick's at The Flying Shamrock Saturday. The team is made up of 13 members from local law enforcement agencies.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
The 'Stache Team captain and shavee Jerimee Hooker talks about how the 13-person team to raise money for St. Baldrick's began.
Jerimee Hooker's mustache was born in February, and on Saturday, its short but magnificent life will end, but not in vain.
At the behest of Hooker's wife, Amy, the mustache was to be banished from his face, but Hooker could not reconcile that such a wonderful creation simply be shaved.
He decided to keep the 'stache, but for a good cause.
"I stopped putting a razor to my face," Hooker said.
"I woke up one day and just didn't shave. I decided if I had to keep it, it was going to be for a good cause."
This Saturday, his face will be made bare during the St. Baldrick's Foundation fundraising event at The Flying Shamrock.
The foundation is a volunteer-driven charity that funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any other entity aside from the United States government.
Hooker and his family have a special connection with St. Baldrick's. The organization helped them last year with their five-year-old son, Chase, who was diagnosed with leukemia.
"My little boy has leukemia," Hooker said.
"St. Baldrick's invited us out there last year and gave us $600. Our family liked the event so much, we decided to get involved with it ourselves."
Of course, Hooker and his mustache could have stopped there, single-handedly raising money for the cause, but they did not.
They enlisted the help of their colleagues and brothers.
Hooker and his mustache are members of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office SWAT team, and it was only natural for them to ask their fellow law enforcement brethren to bring their own mustaches into the world.
Brandon Foss said he had no reservations about participating.
"We are brothers, and he is family," Foss said.
"I know what his little boy has been through. We have been friends for a while and served on the SWAT team together for a while."
Matt Clark said it was the only appropriate thing to do when Hooker and his mustache approached him about the St. Baldrick's proposition.
"I have known Hooker for a long time," he said.
"And I am doing this to help him and his family, and it's for a good cause."
Hooker grew a strong team, The 'Stache Team, complete with 13 other participants from the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
The members of The 'Stache Team will not just be losing their most precious mustaches, but also they will have their heads shaved as well on Saturday.
As of today, the team has raised $1,170, and though the event is near it is not too late to donate to the team -- especially if you feel that Hooker's mustache is too majestic to lose.
Hooker said that he will not shave his mustache at St. Baldrick's if an additional $1,000 is donated to his team in his name.
The team is also auctioning off a piece of patriotic wonder -- a wooden, handcrafted American flag with bidding starting at $100.
To make a donation to The 'Stache Team, visit www.stbaldricks.org and type in The Flying Shamrock in the search bar.
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This year will mark the seventh year that The Flying Shamrock has hosted the St. Baldrick's shaving event to benefit the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
Capt. Chad Cobb with the Goldsboro Fire Department approached The Flying Shamrock's owner, Wayne Turner, and asked to partner with the Irish pub for the annual St. Baldrick's event.
Turner had no hesitations about getting the event off the ground.
"We're just providing the location," Turner said. "It's really the people that participate and volunteer who make it so successful. I couldn't think of a better organization to donate to, either."
People participating -- shavees, as they're called -- will have their heads and faces sheared from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the parking lot of The Flying Shamrock.
Each shavee is raising their own funds to donate toward the foundation. Money is raised by each participant setting up a page on the St. Baldrick's Foundation website and soliciting their own donations to the cause.
To date, during the past six years of holding the shaving event, a total of more than $136,000 has been raised for the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
There are currently 47 shavees signed up for the event, who have collectively raised $9,867 as of press time to donate toward childhood cancer research.
The top individual fundraiser for the event is Kevin Grundmeier, who has individually raised $2,115 to shave his head.
While there are currently 47 people signed up to shave, Turner said an additional 25 to 50 percent of the pre-registered number of people will show up and sign up to shave the day of the event.
This year, there will be a stage set up in the parking lot beside The Flying Shamrock where people will have their heads and beards shaved.
All the people shaving the participants are local volunteers who work as professional barbers and hair stylists that are donating their time and skills to the cause.