Bill Coon designed this bench to be placed on the trails in honor of GNO, Girls Night Out, a social group involved with many area causes such as Teen Parents Succeeding. From left are Megan McClellan, executive director of Syracuse-Wawasee Trails, Connie Harris, Patsy Lees, Becky Fox, Susan Todd, Bill Coon, Sally Springer, Sara Stearley, Betsy Roby, Barb Coon, Jan Kendall

NORTH WEBSTER — Susan Todd, organizer of Saturday night’s fundraising event for Syracuse-Wawasee Trails at North Webster Community Center gym, took the old saying, “The show must go on”, to heart when she was informed the headliners’, The Gatlins, cancellation.

Darryl Gatlin, the country half of the country/opera duo originally scheduled to perform, had been taken into hospital with pneumonia, Todd informed the crowd of around 125.

Indy Duo, Bill McCully, left and Chris Parton, performed at the benefit for Syracuse -Wawasee Trails at North Webster Community Center Saturday night after original headliners, The Gatlins, were forced to cancel due to Darryl Gatlin’s hospitalization for pneumonia.

Indy Duo, regular performers at Sleepy Owl Restaurant, would be filling in.

Megan McClellan, executive director of Syracuse-Wawasee Trails, was impressed. “It’s fantastic to have someone as organized, interested and involved as Susan,” she said. By the time McClellan knew about the cancellation, Todd had it covered. “She said, ‘I already have someone else. Everything is under control.'”

“This is the most supportive community I’ve ever worked with,” McClellan informed the audience, who, in spite of the cancellation, enjoyed dinner and cocktails provided by  Sleepy Owl Restaurant, followed by Indy Duo’s performance.

The duo, led by Chris Parton on vocals, guitar and harmonica, with Bill McCully supporting on guitar, percussion and vocals, played an acoustic set composed of covers by Bread, Bob Seger, Jimmy Buffett, Johnny Cash, Lyle Lovett, The Allman Brothers and others, along with a few originals.

Proceeds will benefit the Syracuse-Wawasee Trail System, which currently runs around Syracuse Lake and downtown Syracuse. The most recent addition extends the trail along Harkless Drive from Palm Drive to S.R. 13. According to McClellan, the next section, the Conklin Bay boardwalk and trail, is in the design and permitting phase, and she hopes to start construction as early as next spring.

Of course, that depends on how much money the trails committee can raise by then. Other benefits for the trails have included Tails and Trails, a community dog walk, and, the biggest fundraiser of the year, Tour Des Lakes, which drew participants from all over the country and covered up to 100 kilometers, reaching as far as Winona Lake.

Another highlight of the evening came with the presentation of a bench built by Bill Coon to be placed on the trails in honor of the GNOs, which stands for ‘Girls Night Out’. Todd called the GNOs a “a crazy group of girls” she formed when she moved to the area. Once a week, the group meets to play cards, socialize and help the community. They’ve worked with Teen Parents Succeeding, Lakeland Daycare, Lakeland Pantry and local nursing homes, to name a few.

Todd was also presented with a bouquet of flowers as thanks for organizing the event. Regardless of this year’s problems, she said, “I hope to do it again next year.”