By LOIS KINDLE
If you enjoy great BBQ and having a fun day with family, friends and like-minded people, you don’t want to miss the 2nd Annual Que for a Cure BBQ Fundraiser and Competition, Sept. 15 and 16, at the International Independent Showmen’s Association, 6915 Riverview Drive, Riverview. Parking is $5, and admission is free.
Que for a Cure is family friendly and includes two packed days of events and activities for folks of all ages.
On Friday, there’ll be the Kids Que Competition for young grillers, ages 11 and under and 12 to 16, a dessert competition, sauce competition, mystery box competition (think the TV show, Choppe), facepainting, a petting zoo, rock climbing wall, live music and entertainment, plus food and craft vendors.
These award-winning ribs, prepared by pitmaster Jim Else, were one of the four professional entries in the 2022 Que for the Cure event, which raised $20,000 for the TGH Foundation and USF Medical Group (a department focused on epilepsy and its neurological affects).
Roni-Kay Elser, founder of the Seize the Moment Foundation, and her husband Jim are seen here at a Tampa Bay Lightning game last January, where she was nominated by the TGH Foundation to drop the first puck.
Saturday’s lineup will include the Professional & Backyard BBQ Competition, all-day live music and entertainment; a People’s Choice Competition from noon to 4 p.m.; the face painting, petting zoo, rock climbing wall; an awards presentation at 5 p.m.; and a comedy show at 7. The professional lineup will include Miron Mixon, Jim Elser and Matt Barber; appearances by former U.S.F. quarterback Matt Grothe and former wrestler Heavy Metal Rick Savage; and 102.5 FM’s disc jockey/comedian Johnny B.
To sample all of the barbecued fare, a ticket to the People’s Choice Competition is $10.
The event will also feature a raffle, silent auction and 50/50 drawing. Donations to the foundation will be accepted on-site, and Que for a Cure and Seize the Moment Foundation merchandise will be sold.
It’s a fundraiser for the Seize the Moment Foundation Inc., a 501(C) 3 nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting awareness about epilepsy and seizures, raising funding for research and development, and providing assistance for families who need treatment and support.
“This is my calling,” said Roni-Kay Elser, of Riverview, who founded Seize the Moment in 2016 with a group of friends who supported the cause. She said eight years prior she had received a lobectomy for epileptic seizures that were diagnosed as an infant. Elser was having eight to 10 seizures a day and taking 5,000 mg. of medication at the time.
“After going through brain surgery and not having any seizures since, I felt it was my opportunity to give back and help others get the care they need in a more timely fashion than I did.”
Roni-Kay Elser, founder of the Seize the Moment Foundation, and her husband Jim are seen here at a Tampa Bay Lightning game last January, where she was nominated by the TGH Foundation to drop the first puck.
Last year’s winners of the Que for the Cure competitions appropriately received grills as their awards.
Elser became a board member of the Florida Epiliepsy Foundation in 2010 and hosted sporting events to raise funding and awareness for that organization. She served four years as its president before deciding to start her own foundation in 2016.
After forming a board and establishing Seize the Moment as a charity, Elser began raising funds by hosting bowling events and events at Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Buccaneers games.
She met her husband, Jim Elser, a professional BBQ pit master and owner of Sweet Smoke Q, in 2020. Just before the COVID pandemic started, she toured with him to several of his BBQ competitions. The experience gave her the idea to host her own such events to raise funding for Seize the Moment.
COURTESY PHOTOS
Professional pitmaster Jim Elser grilled ribs at last year’s Inaugural Que for a Cure BBQ Fundraiser and Competition to support his wife’s, Roni-Kay’s, Seize the Moment Foundation. At the time, he was fighting Stage 4 cancer and is currently in remission.
Last year’s inaugural Que for a Cure raised $20,000 for the TGH Foundation and USF Medical Group (a department focused on epilepsy and its neurological affects).
“We’ve been able to assist 33 patients so far,” said Elser, 45, whose day job is running kitchens at Brandon High and Limona Elementary schools as a certified culinarian. She is also a salesperson, appraiser and marketer for Bogg’s Jewelry in Sun City Center. She and her husband have three adult children, son, Trenton, 21; daughter, Saige, 22; and son, Garrett, 26.
To learn more, visit http://www.queforacureseizethemoment.org/, Seize the Moment Foundation Inc. on Facebook or seizethemomentfoundation on Instagram.