Steer auction becomes fundraiser for family of teen killed in crash
LAKELAND — A steer auction is gaining bids as high as $30 per pound as it has evolved into a fundraiser for a teen who died Jan. 6 in a Haines City vehicle crash.
The 75th annual Polk County Youth Fair in Bartow started Friday. Normally, bids start at $1.50 to $2.50 per pound for the steers.
According to volunteer Cary Lightsey, an owner of a Lake Wales cattle ranch where the boy’s family has acquired steers over the years, the add-on bids could raise $35,000 or more for Todd Donley's family.
The steer is expected to weigh in at 1,150 pounds, he said.
Donley, 17, of Poinciana was driving to his job at Arby’s restaurant in Haines City when, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, his car crossed into oncoming traffic along Hinson Avenue East for unknown reasons and crashed into other vehicles, The Ledger reported. He died of his injuries at the scene, the FHP said.
Donley, a senior at Haines City High School, was expecting to show his fifth steer at the Youth Fair, his mother, Heather Smith, said. Instead, his brother, Landon, will take the reins.
Donley was a good student and popular with his fellow classmates, said Smith, a home healthcare nurse.
“Everybody loved him,” Smith said. “He made anybody feel welcome. He formed a bond with everyone. He would not let a person leave him without a smile.”
More than 300 people attended his Jan. 15 funeral, including family, students, agricultural teachers, his baseball team and adults, coming from as far away as Tennessee. Donley was born and raised in Haines City and moved to Poinciana in May.
His obituary mentioned he played for the Hornets' football and baseball teams as well as serving as a team manager for the girls’ soccer team.
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In addition to his mother, Donley is survived by his father, Kevin Donley; brother Jordon Donley and wife Frances; brother Cameron Donley, brother Austin Duncan and wife Megan; and Landon Donley, along with his nephew, William Donley, his obituary said. He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Haines City.
Smith said Donley's friends on Facebook have been posting an outpouring of love, grief and memories.
Donley had been accepted to the University of Mississippi and had hoped to try out for the baseball team there, Smith said.
Using the auction as a fundraiser says something about the rural community, Lightsey said.
“Small communities come together to help people like them,” he said.
He said Smith runs a single-parent household where Donley grew up, and the fundraiser is the community's way of helping her family.
“The fact that she raised two good boys and kind of did it on her own, and they had the chance to go the other way and they didn’t, you know,” Lightsey said of the motivation behind the large bids.
Money raised by the auction will be turned over to Smith at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Lightsey said the bids as of Monday were headed toward $35,000 and could reach as high as $40,000.
In the past, Kelley Buick GMC dealership or Publix Super Markets has been the highest bidder on the prize winning steer, Smith said. Sometimes the business keeps the steer for beef, sometimes the family gets it, or local non-profits or churches might get the beef.
The Youth Fair attracts hundreds of students each year who compete for prizes and scholarships. More than 200 volunteers support the event.
Information to become a steer or hog buyer at the Youth Fair auctions is available at http://www.pcyf.net/buyerssupporters.html.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Steer at Polk Youth Fair could raise tens of thousands for family
