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Real estate office barbecues for charity
BBQ3
EXIT Realty agent Clarissa Azevedo (left) greets Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Shepherd at Thursday evenings Third Annual Fighting Cancer with Fire Drive-Thru BBQ held at River Oaks. The Shepherds took their meal home. - photo by JEFF BENZIGER/Courier photo

The Bill and Elsie Ahlem Cancer Endowment will benefit from close to $1,000 raised from Thursday evening's drive-thru barbecue put on by the EXIT Realty office of Ceres and Ceres Fire Department.

The company pre-sold close to 100 tickets for both family and individual meal packages.

The third Annual Fighting Cancer with Fire Drive-thru BBQ was held at River Oaks Golf Course on Hatch Road as an alternative to preventing traffic backups in the strip shopping center where EXIT Realty is located on Mitchell Road.

"The location worked better because we had more room to stack up the cars," said Renee Ledbetter of EXIT Realty.
Ten to 12 EXIT agents helped out with the event and another six to eight volunteers from the community helped deliver food to people waiting behind the wheel. Three firefighters assisted in barbecuing, as did Ceres businessman Steve Ledbetter, Renee's husband.

The event was not without its hitches. Ledbetter said the tri-tip cooked well on the outside but took longer to cook in the middle because it came frozen. The group ran out of beans but compensated customers with extra salad, she said.

Tickets were $35 for family meals and $10 for individual meals.

People began showing up for their meals at 5:30 p.m. with the steady stream of cars ending at 7:30 p.m. and the crew completing their clean-up by 8 p.m.

"We really appreciate the community's support to help us raise money for cancer patients," said Renee.

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The event was underwritten by Ceres builder Harinder Toor, River Oaks, EXIT Realty, and Modern Urgent Care.