Laurel Neighorn
It was December 3, 2007, and Laurel Neighorn had one thing on her mind: electricity. Neighorn, owner of The Red Cock Craftsmen’s Outlet in Lincoln City, was in charge of the annual North Lincoln Hospital Foundation Snowflake Fashion Show scheduled that evening, and a huge wind storm had wiped out power for the entire city.
As Neighorn strategized how to stage the show using flashlights, candles and generators, the power miraculously turned back on, and the Snowflake show proceeded beautifully — without even a dress rehearsal.
“It was a great evening,” Neighorn said. “I actually think it was more fun because of the chaos.”
Neighorn was so determined to pull the evening off because Snowflake is no ordinary fashion show. In addition to featuring local volunteers as models and donated wardrobes from businesses like the Red Cock, Snowflake is a fundraiser for the hospital foundation that provides mammograms for low-income women in north Lincoln County. Since the first show in 1993, Snowflake has helped raise more than $100,000 in vouchers for mammograms at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital.
“I can’t tell you how many phone calls I get about mammograms,” Neighorn said. “Women calling to find out how to get a voucher and also calling to say thank you for their vouchers. This service really means a lot to them.”
The 2008 show raised a record-breaking $12,000 — enough to provide 50 mammograms for local women who couldn’t otherwise afford this important diagnostic service. Foundation staff and volunteers worked hard to make the show the most successful in history.
“The women we help are our friends and neighbors,” Neighorn said. “Every year it’s wonderful to see the community band together to take care of them.”