Folks looking for a one-of-a-kind ornament for their Christmas trees this year need look no further than an upcoming event to benefit Court Appointed Special Advocates of Garland County, which serves abused and neglected children in the 18th Eastern Judicial District of Arkansas.
Garland County CASA will sponsor An Ornamental Affair: Celebrating CASA from 5-9 p.m. Friday at The Regency, 714 Central Ave. in Hot Springs. There is no admission charge for the event, which will feature a silent auction of one-of-a-kind ornaments crafted and donated by area artists.
“This is our signature event,” said Suzanne Herron, executive director of Garland County CASA, which also now serves as the umbrella organization of CASA in both Hot Spring and Grant counties,
provding for children in the 7th Judicial District of Arkansas.
“This is our 11th annual event, which is a fundraiser,” she said. “It will be held Friday during the December Hot Springs Gallery Walk. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served, and we typically have wine donated.
“All of the money we raise will go back into our local programs,” she said, adding that Garland County CASA received a grant from the national CASA organization last year to help set up CASA offices in Hot Spring and Grant counties.
“Hot Spring and Grant counties were the only two in the state that did not have a CASA program,” Herron said. “It’s a two-year grant, and we are helping them to get up and going.
“I believe they now have 11 advocates volunteering in that area. There is also a full-time staff person, Tonya Lee.”
According to information on the organization’s website, garlandcountycasa.org, “CASA serves children who, for their own protection, have been removed from their homes and placed in foster care. Judges refer the most serious cases of child abuse and neglect to CASA so that one volunteer can consistently spend time with one child, building a relationship and ensuring that each child is receiving the support and attention he or she needs and deserves while going through the foster-care process.”
Sculptor Wayne Summerhill, who moved to Hot Springs 10 years ago from Memphis, is one of the artists who supports CASA’s ornament fair.
“This is my sixth year to be involved. I believe in CASA. I think it’s a great organization,” Summerhill said.
“People fight for his pieces every year,” Herron said of Summerhill’s creations. “His work always brings top dollars.”
Summerhill describes himself as a “self-taught” sculptor.
“I’ve been doing metal work since the mid-1970s,” he said. He is a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War.
This year Summerhill has donated a piece of art he titled What Are You Looking At?. In addition to being artwork, the piece is an earring holder.
“I like to make things that are functional, that aren’t strictly just for Christmas,” he said.
“A lady could remove these large ornaments and replace them with other earrings,” he said as he showed the piece of sculpture to visitors.
He said he crafted the piece using cypress wood for the base, and patinated and painted steel for the figure. He also painted the ornaments, which are provided by CASA.
Summerhill’s works can be found at Gallery Central, which is one of several art galleries that will be open during the art walk and which support CASA by providing information on the ornament fair to the artists they represent.
Herron said “celebrity” artists also donate ornaments for the event. She hopes Susan Hutchinson, the wife of Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson, will donate something as her predecessors as first ladies of Arkansas have done in the past.
“Our mayor, Ruth Carney, has donated in the past, too,” Herron said. “And we have confirmation from TV personalities Tom Brannon and Craig O’Neill.”
Herron said Garland County CASA has about 45 active volunteers and served approximately 120 families last year.
“We only serve about 60 percent of the cases that need to be served,” she said. “That’s a large gap. We have a big need for advocates. Not everyone can do the role of an advocate. The stories you hear, … they really break your heart.
“We are always looking for volunteers, especially those who want to become advocates,” she said. “We train advocates quarterly. But there are other opportunities for volunteers. We ask people to just call and talk to us.”
For more information on Garland County CASA or its upcoming fundraiser, call (501) 321-9269.