Walker Furniture donated six mattresses and box springs to Firehouse Station 12 at 3050 Industrial Road, Las Vegas. It was part of Walker’s initiative to deliver mattresses to all 30 Clark County firehouses.
Sultan Bouras-Souissi, 6, received an outdoor playhouse through Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. Sultan has spina bifida, a birth defect that makes playtime difficult. The playhouse was built with the help of Martin-Harris Construction; Wade Simpson, principal architect at Simpson Coulter; and Wright Engineering.
The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Nevada Recycles Program partnered with the Venetian to sponsor a statewide recycled art contest to raise awareness of Earth Day’s 2018 campaign to end plastic pollution. More than 190 artists from eight counties statewide, including students, adults and professional artists submitted photos of their artwork composed of recyclable plastic materials. In the sixth- to eighth-grade category, Las Vegas students Anthony F., Shellie Z. and Peyton C. took first, second and third place. In the adult category, Bretta Leach of Carson City won first place and Las Vegans Ailene Pasco and Marian Rasfeld took second and third place. In the class/club category, first place went to DreAuna V., Jayda M., Laeloni J., Angria A., Taniyah M. and Edgar Mendez of Ms. Scott’s fifth-grade class at 100 Academy of Excellence in Las Vegas.
March of Dimes Nevada received $8,230 from Caesars Entertainment Corp., donated on behalf of Jeff Eichelberger, director of wine for Bally’s, Paris and Planet Hollywood, as a reward for his outstanding community service. Eichelberger, wife Melissa, and daughter Lulu served as 2016 ambassadors for March of Dimes Nevada and continue to support the mission. The couple’s son Robert was born prematurely and endured multiple surgeries, including open heart surgery, and held on for more than seven months in the neonatal intensive care unit at Sunrise Children’s Hospital. Robert died August 14. During the family’s time in the NICU, they found strength and support from March of Dimes’ NICU Family Support Program and the team at Sunrise Children’s Hospital. After Robert’s death, Jeff turned his grief into action and began volunteering every week at the hospital. Additionally, the Eichelbergers created a support group for families in the NICU with the hope of helping others going through the emotional and stressful experience. Eichelberger is a recipient of the National Caesars Award of Excellence.
The Nevada Department of Agriculture and Three Square Food Bank provided more than 12,000 pounds of fresh, Nevada-grown produce to 545 low-income seniors in Las Vegas in October. Nevada received $151,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, which provides coupons to food-insecure seniors throughout the state. The program improves access to fresh, local produce while reimbursing participating farmers who accepted the coupons at farmers markets throughout the state. “At the end of the summer, we had $16,200 in leftover funds for a bulk purchase of produce from Nevada farmers,” said Devin Wilcox-McCombs, social services specialist for the NDA’s Food and Nutrition division. “With that money, we were able to purchase an additional 12,150 pounds of produce and 540 pounds of honey from seven farmers throughout Nevada.”
Paul Padda, owner and managing partner of Paul Padda Law, donated $33,000 to Cheyenne High School. Padda’s partners in the donation are David Moradi, founder and CEO of Sero Capital and founder of the David Moradi Foundation; and Dr. Jaswinder Grover of the Allegiant Institute. The donation will pay for the school’s new scorer’s table; preparation resources for the ACT test for students; helmets and pads for the football team; a contribution to the school band; and sponsorship of the school’s semi-annual staff meeting.
Smith’s grocery stores donated 2,500 pumpkin pies to several hunger-driven Southern Nevada charities, including Project 150, Las Vegas Rescue Mission, Shade Tree, Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, Three Square Food Bank and the Salvation Army.
Three 100-year-old farms and ranches were awarded centennial status at the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association annual convention awards banquet. The Nevada Department of Agriculture, Nevada Farm Bureau, Nevada Agriculture Foundation and NCA partnered to celebrate the families reaching this milestone. Miller Ranch, located in Paradise Valley, was purchased by Gerhard Miller Sr. in 1914. The 450-acre ranch was passed down through the family and today, Stacy Dean Miller owns and operates Miller Ranch, where alfalfa and grain still grow. Moura Ranch was founded in 1916 in Lovelock with the purchase of the original 80 acres of land by Manuel and Maria Moura. Passed down through generations, Anthony Moura and his wife, Lisa, now handle the daily care of ranch, along with their children, Daralyn and Devin, raising calves and farming alfalfa and grains. In 1918, Henry Melvin Pursel purchased 160 acres in Yerington. The land was covered with native grasses and brush and two cottonwood trees, and would become Pursel Farms. Three generations later, the original milking barn still stands on the property where Henry’s great-grandson, Darrell, and his wife, Suzanne, continue to farm alfalfa and raise cattle.