On August 11, the husband and father of three was pulling into his mother's driveway on his motorcycle when it was struck by another vehicle, severely injuring his leg, and breaking a shoulder blade. As a result of the injury to his leg, it was amputated just above the knee Monday night. Now he has lost his job, too, but his friends have rallied together to help this weekend.
A benefit event is scheduled for Saturday, beginning at 4:00 pm at Talon Falls Screampark. Todd Farren, the owner of Talon Falls, has allowed use of the property, and will also open the Ice Scream Factory 3-D Maze to help raise money for Michial and his family.
Ben Huff, who owns Slabtown Food and Fuel in Symsonia, will be cooking ribs and chicken at the fundraiser. He says that he met Michial while he was being trained by Eric, his store's regular delivery man for Earthgrain Foods/Colonial Bread. Michial was going to cover Eric's route during a vacation. Now, because of time missed at his new job, Courtney is no longer employed by the company.
"My understanding was you couldn't miss a certain amount of days in 90 days of first being hired on, and all this and that. He's in the hospital and they called him and told him that, you know, he no longer had a job," Huff said.
Emily Mack, one of Michial's friends, says $5 tickets will be sold for admission to the Talon Falls attraction. In addition, there is a Cornhole tournament ($10 entry fee), and numerous donated items will be auctioned or raffled, including several new cornhole boards, some Harley gear from Four Rivers Harley-Davidson, and two electric guitars donated by Music Zone and Allen Music. She has spent most of this week collecting "several tables full" of items that can be bought or won, and more items are accumulating daily.
Lots of food will be available, with Slabtown's ribs and chicken, BBQ, hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, side items, and more. A lot of vendors have donated the food, and all of the proceeds will go to Courtney's family.
If you are unable to attend, a special bank account has been set up at Paducah Bank. You can donate to the "Michial Courtney Benefit Fund" at any location.
Talon Falls is located at 2932 State Route 849 West in Melber. From Paducah, turn left on KY Highway 849 and drive about 3 miles.
Anyone with questions about the event can call Emily Mack at 270-564-0270.
A Facebook page has also been set up for the event, click the link below to view it.
On the Net:
Michial Courtney Benefit Facebook Page
