MADISON COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — More than a week after Brian Switzer and Breanna Edwards were killed in a shooting at a US Bank in Berea, the community is coming together to support their families as well as two other employees impacted.
Local business owners have organized "Berea Strong Benefit Night," scheduled for May 15 at 6 p.m. at the Madison County Fairgrounds.
Ricky Clontz, a longtime US Bank customer, said the loss hit close to home.
"I banked here for 30 years, 27 years, I could have been at that bank at that time. Any one of us could — my wife, my son, we all banked there. Any one of us could have been there, but we wasn't. Lord knows that impact is personal with us," Clontz said.
Clontz said his relationship with the bank's employees went well beyond routine transactions.
"They went above and beyond," Clontz said. "We had different last names, but we're still family."
Camron Franklin, owner of One Eye Jack's and other businesses in town, helped spearhead the event alongside fellow business owners. He said the goal was about more than fundraising.
"Not just a benefit to raise money, but to be a celebration of life. We want to put something together that people remember Brianna and Brian and who they were," Franklin said.
Organizers say they wanted to make sure the timing was right before moving forward.
"We had traction before we even announced it, and that's really what led us to do it. But we didn't want to proceed without letting the families know that we wanted to do this," Franklin said.
They waited until both Breanna and Brian had been laid to rest before announcing the event. Franklin said pulling it off would require broad community participation.
"It takes a village to do something like this and be successful as well," Franklin said.
Food donated by local restaurants will be available at the Madison County Fairgrounds. Call To Post, a Christian band, is volunteering their performance. A silent auction will feature gifted items. Pastors from both victims' churches have been invited to offer prayer and speak at the event.
"We've had outreach to both of the churches of the victims. The pastors have been invited to come say prayer and speak," Franklin said.
Clontz said the community's commitment to the families must extend beyond a single event.
"What little bit we're doing for them is very minimal. Six months from now, they're still impacted. Our hearts got to be there. We got to be there for the long haul," Clontz said.
Clontz said organizers are also planning a golf scramble in the area, with 100% of the proceeds going to the victims' families.
