By Leslie Pease
Photo by Leslie Pease.
Where do top hats, lariats and high heels meet? How do you end up with rock and roll wigs, a cowboy hat and Miner Mike, mascot for the West Virginia Miners baseball team, all in the same place? What do a professional boxer, a lawyer, coal miners and news reporters have in common? They all came together at the fifth annual Hunks in Heels fundraiser, which was held in Beckley on Friday, March 9, 2018, at the Lewis Automotive Event Hall. More than 475 people gathered to watch local men “walk a mile in the shoes” of women struggling against substance abuse.
Each year, Hunks in Heels raises funds for Sparrow’s Nest, a faith-based women’s residential addiction program in Raleigh County, and Newspapers in Education, which provides newspapers to children in classrooms across Southern West Virginia. The evening was the culmination of months of preparation by Carla Nelson, director of Newspapers in Education, along with The Register-Herald and a host of volunteers, businesses and of course the men who participated as the resident hunks, all to bring into focus the needs of women battling addiction.
An Evening of Laughter
The evening began with hors d’oeuvres created by James Williams and Jeremiah Johnson, owners of The Corner Gas ’n Grill of Pax, WV, and desserts by Erica Fox, owner of Tiers of Joy Bakery in Beckley. Williams and Johnson decorated the linen-clad tables with tall, clear vases of forsythia and curly willow branches with birds’ nests nestled in, alluding to Sparrow’s Nest and the women who live there fighting to overcome their addictions. Black curtains and pink draping around the stage along with white lights placed by John Fanary of Stagecoach Salon in Sophia created an elegant and exciting setting for Hunks in Heels.
Emcees Joshua McFarland and Cindy Worley guided attendees through an entertaining evening of 20 men walking the runway in women’s shoes to music provided by Kevin Williams of Williams Entertainment. The men came from all walks of life, including Brian Williams, a West Virginia real estate agent; Andrew Wheeler, professor of forensics at the West Virginia University Institute of Technology; and pastors James Boyd and Adam Justice. Jerry Godfrey and Jeremiah Allen made up a grandfather-grandson team, with Allen being the event’s first junior hunk.
Photo by Leslie Pease.
The outfits the men wore were almost as entertaining as the lip sync contest. Some of the men were dashing in suits in lovely gray, formal black and even purple with silver knee-high boots. Rickie Cox’s suit coat featured newspaper articles for its print, representative of the fact that he works for Beckley newspapers. The CrossFit Coal lip sync team wore rock and roll wigs to go along with their sleeveless t-shirts and stressed jeans—until they switched to boy-band music, that is.
A Serious Cause
Watching men walk runways and dance to karaoke music all while wearing women’s heels provided a night to remember and raised awareness of the personal side of addiction. Some of the men who participated shared their own stories of addiction and loss. For Tucker Lambert, this loss from addiction is profound: his wife died of an overdose after relapsing following a car accident. He passionately told his story to countless doctors and business owners across the area, raising over $3,700 in donations.
Two of the 20 men who participated, Mark Edwards and Kyle Viars, were graduates of Brian’s Safehouse, the men’s residential addiction program that led to the creation of Sparrow’s Nest. Viars won the title of Mr. Hunks in Heels for raising the most funds, an incredible $8,724. He was a star athlete in high school and college, but his life fell apart due to addiction. He went into the military, where he had a stellar career, but his addiction prevailed. Discharged from the army, he became homeless. His wife and sons moved to another state to live with family. Homeless and alone, friend and former addict Edwards brought him to Brian’s Safehouse. There he fought hard to overcome addiction and met Jesus Christ. He and his wife reunited and are now expecting their third child in mid-April. Their lives are completely changed, and he is passionate about sharing that there is hope in addiction.
“We are thrilled with this event. It was everything we had hoped for and more,” says Leon Brush, co-founder and executive director of Brian’s Safehouse. “Awareness was raised on the terrible struggles of women in addiction, men got to tell their stories of its devastating effects and how they overcame it, and it was done in such a fun way—it was wonderful.”
This year’s fundraiser raised more than $40,000 for Sparrow’s Nest and Newspapers in Education. Next year’s event, to be held March 8, 2019, is already being planned with men already volunteering to become hunks in heels.
About the Author
Leslie Pease is the communications director at Brian’s Safehouse. Pease and her husband became involved with the organization after their son graduated from the program. She is an avid cook and baker and especially enjoys teaching her three grandchildren about life and the Lord while working them in the kitchen.
