Shag club raising money to honor well known dj
By Steve Herring
Published in News on February 15, 2017 9:55 AM
Mike "Shag Daddy" Overman was a well-known DJ across North Carolina. But he was known as well as an embodiment of community service.
This Saturday the Sugarfoot Shag Club will pay tribute to Overman by holding a fundraiser that will benefit five local organizations -- the Community Soup Kitchen, Relay for Life, Meals on Wheels, Kitty Askins Hospice Center and Cures for the Colors.
The club's second annual Mike "Shag Daddy" Overman Charity Event will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at Lane Tree Conference Center.
Tickets are $15 per person and include dinner and dancing.
The first event last year raised $7,500 that was split between the five agencies.
"Mike was a DJ and also worked at Wayne Memorial Hospital," event organizer and club member Debbie Grady said. "For the Sugarfoot Shag Club here in Goldsboro, he played for us constantly. He was always doing fundraisers. Anyone who had cancer, he'd do a fundraiser or a dance as a DJ.
"He DJed Relay for Life for years. He really always embodied community service. He was really just such a good friend to all of the shag people. He was always there to help people."
Sugarfoot Shag Club, a nonprofit that has been around since 1989, has held smaller fundraisers for years, Mrs. Grady said.
The club currently has 166 active members.
"It was a much smaller scale than what we are doing now," she said. "They dedicated one dance to raise money for various charities in the local community. That was important that the money stay local. Our money is about our local charities.
"When Mike passed away he was such a big factor in all the shag members' lives that we decided to do a bigger charity event once a year in his memory because he was so involved. Everybody who called him, he DJed for Relay for Life every year for free. Anybody who wanted him to do stuff like that, he did. He would spend his own time and money. He provided food for many fundraisers. He was just a good person. I loved Mike."
Overman's death was such a loss to the club because everyone loved him, she said.
"That is why we decided to honor him last year after he died and let it be our annual fundraiser," Mrs. Grady said.
The event has 24 sponsors who have made donations.
Along with dinner and dancing, Justin Rouse will be the DJ, there will be a silent auction featuring more than 60 items -- all of which were donated.
A Yeti cooler donated by Gary and Dewayne Bevell of EZ Bait & Tackle will be raffled off. Tickets are $5.
"That raises a lot of money," she said. "People love those Yeti coolers."
There also will be door prizes and a 50/50 raffle.
A video tribute to Overman and his community work will be shown.
People are asked to purchase tickets in advance so that plans can be made for food, but tickets will still be available at the door, Mrs. Grady said.
For tickets, contact Mrs. Grady at 919-222-8320 or send email to debbiegrady@att.net.