By Marc Pruitt

For the Clemmons Courier

CLEMMONS – Anyone in need of a hair trim should mark Saturday, Sept. 8 on their calendar.

Not only can you get your hair cut – or shaved bald – but you can support a worthwhile cause while doing so to help rid the world of childhood cancer.

Davie Construction Co. will be hosting a St. Baldrick’s event at the Village Square Tap House at 6000 Meadowbrook Mall Court 16 at beginning at 4 p.m.

St. Baldrick’s has raised more than $2.5 million since 2000 to grant research funding for childhood cancer since hosting its first head-shaving event.

The event will include a raffle, a DJ (DJ Bald-E), face-painting for children, and a barbecue dinner.

And of course, it will also include several hair stylists ready to use their scissors and clippers in support of the real purpose of the event—shave the heads of the willing (and maybe a little unwilling) souls whose locks will be sacrificed in the name of raising funds for a worthwhile cause.

The event is the brainchild of Ashley Welsh Tuck, whose husband, Ben, is the executive vice president of facilities services for Davie Construction.

This will be the fourth event Tuck has organized and the first in Clemmons. It will mark the fifth time she has had her head shaved.

Tuck’s why is the reason she got involved.

Tuck’s 6-year-old niece, Leah, died after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain stem tumor in 2012.

“We had never heard of St. Baldrick’s and didn’t know too much about pediatric cancer before that happened,” Tuck said. “We discovered how limited the treatment options were and that there wasn’t a lot of money being directed towards research at the time. St. Baldrick’s was an obvious choice to throw our efforts behind because they raise more money than any other organization that is specifically designated for pediatric cancer research.”

Davie Construction is celebrating its 25th year of business and wants to participate in events throughout the community that support good causes.

“They have always been a big supporter for us in raising money and bringing participants,” Tuck said. “My husband always gets his head shaved, many of his co-workers do, and this year, they have promised us that there will be an even bigger presence. It’s always a fun-filled, family event for a good cause and it’s even more meaningful to my family and me.”

Brian Wheelock and Bernie Bennett, co-owners of the Village Square Tap House, had no hesitation when asked to host the event.

“This is the kind of thing that should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind,” Wheelock said. “We’ve been throwing ideas out there on how to make this a larger than life event and hopefully the largest they have ever done. We see this a great chance to support the community. I know how important it is for Ashley and for Davie Construction, and we want to do our part to bring the community together. I lost my mom to cancer. My brother had throat cancer, and both my grandparents had cancer.”

Bennett also connects with the cause personally.

“My wife was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer recently, which ended up spreading to her bones, liver, and stomach. Fortunately, she is in 100 percent remission now and she will be here to help with the event. Cancer touches everyone at some point along the way, but every kid deserves to live a happy, healthy life. And the great think about St. Baldrick’s is that most of the money goes right to the kids. There isn’t a lot of overhead for administrative costs. We are honored to be a part of things this year. It was easy to say yes.”

Village Square Tap House is providing the barbecue dinners for purchase; each box will be $10 and include smoked pulled pork, baked beans, potato salad, and banana pudding.

“We’ll have 225 boxes and all that money will go directly to St. Baldrick’s,” Wheelock said, adding that the Tap House also has a goal of raising $2,000 in donations before the event and has a wall plastered with the names of patrons who have already donated. “We’ll hit that goal, too.”

Jason Skinner, owner of the Paparazzi Hair Salon in Meadowbrook Mall, will play a key role by providing the stylists who get to do the noble work.

“I was approached by Ashley and Brian about helping and we jumped right on board,” Skinner said. “We try to participate in a few events like this during the year and this is such a worthwhile cause. We’ve had kids come through our salon before who are in the initial stages of chemo, and we have shaved their heads before or ordered wigs for them and it’s an emotional process. You have to brace yourself whenever that happens.”

Skinner said that he will send a team of five stylists to the event with instructions to make things fun and light.

“They might start shaving someone’s head and stop halfway and say ‘well, if you want the rest done, you need to donate more money’”, and things like that,” he said. “We also plan to have a beard contest and just keep things fun. To have so many different groups within our building be involved with this is so huge. It makes you feel like you are serving the greater good, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Tuck said Leah’s mother, Shannon, will be flying in from Chicago to attend the event, as well as many other family and friends, with the ultimate goal to raise $15,000.

“That’s been our goal every year, and we always are right there at it and sometimes have even more,” Tuck said. “Village Square Tap House has been amazing to work with and they have done a super job of getting the word out. It’s a somber subject, but we want to make it fun.”

Want to help?

Visit: www.stbaldricks.org/events/DavieConstruction to donate or sign up to get shaved. Participants can show up the day of to get shaved as well.