Being the bright spot for a family that really needed it wasn’t the intention of Northern Ag Network and the Montana Chamber of Commerce when they joined together to give one listener a free trip to China. However, that is exactly what we were able to provide.
With nearly 500 people signing up online this summer to win that trip, the grand prize actually went to the first person to register! However, drawing Steve Graff’s name turned out to be a bit easier than catching up with him. Most of his hometown of Broadus knew he had won before he did and, as he made his way in from the hay fields to visit his wife Cindy in the nursing home, it was she that actually told him of the big news. That big news brought a momentary spurt of excitement to a family filled with sorrow. Cindy was taken from this world just two days later,.
When chatting about the opportunity with Cindy before her passing and pondering if he should bring his two daughters along, Steve tells us that Cindy paid no worry to the school that the girls, a seventh grader and high school junior, would miss. With her approval and help from the community, Steve bought those two extra tickets for his daughters Linda and Mary. The trio left Billings October 17th and returned on the 26th.
Taylor Brown interviewed them shortly after their return and featured their story in a recent News and Voices in Agriculture. Be patient as the audio files open. Depending on your internet speed, it may take 10 seconds to 2 minutes!
Listen to Part 1 of the interview.
Listen to Part 2 of the interview.
The following pictures, given to us by the Graffs, show Steve, Linda and Mary during their time in China.
© Northern Ag Network 2011
Haylie Shipp
