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hplandmark.com news<br />
the highland park landmark | August 31, 2017 | 11<br />
Bringing in the forces<br />
to fight cancer<br />
Community raises<br />
money to support<br />
10-year-old boy<br />
with cancer<br />
Daniel I. Dorfman<br />
Freelance Reporter<br />
As Highland Park police<br />
officer Travis Dragicevich<br />
sized up the crowd that<br />
came to support his son,<br />
who has a rare form of<br />
brain cancer, at Lake Forest<br />
Sportscars Thursday,<br />
Aug. 24, he found himself<br />
practically speechless.<br />
“You know you have a<br />
lot of extended family but<br />
it is amazing to see this<br />
many people that I don’t<br />
frankly know,” Travis<br />
said. “It’s extremely overwhelming.”<br />
What drew an estimated<br />
1,100 people to Lake Forest<br />
Sportscars, was a fundraiser<br />
to support Glenview<br />
Public Safety Dispatcher,<br />
Melinda Dragicevich, and<br />
Travis’ son, Landon, a<br />
10-year-old who was diagnosed<br />
with Anaplastic<br />
Astrocytoma in late June.<br />
Anaplastic Astrocytoma is<br />
a rare type of brain cancer<br />
and not only is the family<br />
facing the difficult medical<br />
situation, but also the<br />
medical costs that come<br />
with treatment.<br />
With Landon’s dad being<br />
a Highland Park Police<br />
Officer, his mother a<br />
Glenview Public Safety<br />
Dispatcher and his stepgrandfather<br />
a Lake Bluff<br />
Fire Deputy Chief, law<br />
enforcement personnel<br />
from all over the area<br />
joined forces to support<br />
the family.<br />
“Public safety is a<br />
unique situation where<br />
you are working with<br />
these people at all times,<br />
and sometimes you spend<br />
more waking hours with<br />
them (than your family),<br />
so they become your family,”<br />
said Kasey Dunn<br />
Morgan, the chairwoman<br />
of the Lake Forest Police<br />
Foundation and one<br />
of the event’s organizers.<br />
“We all decided to get<br />
together to raise funds<br />
to alleviate some medical<br />
costs and help them<br />
create some incredible<br />
memories.”<br />
What had been originally<br />
envisioned as a pancake<br />
breakfast drew so much<br />
interest that a larger event<br />
was planned. With social<br />
media serving as the catalyst,<br />
Morgan said in just<br />
three weeks 1,300 tickets<br />
sold which would help<br />
meet the $150,000 target.<br />
“[The fundraiser] was<br />
so overwhelming,” Melinda<br />
said. “It was humbling<br />
to see so many people<br />
come together to support<br />
Landon and our family.<br />
People we didn’t even<br />
know were showing up.<br />
This event was planned<br />
in such a short amount of<br />
time yet it exceeded all of<br />
my expectations. Overall<br />
I am just so thankful and<br />
grateful for everything.”<br />
During the event Fool<br />
House, a chicago-based<br />
band, played live music<br />
while attendees ate food<br />
and participated in a raffle<br />
where 143 items were given<br />
away. The highest valued<br />
prizes were awarded<br />
at the end of the evening<br />
in the form of a series of<br />
high priced firearms then<br />
followed by a Harley Davidson<br />
motorcycle.<br />
Amid the celebratory<br />
atmosphere, there were<br />
many thoughts about<br />
Landon, who made an<br />
Please see Landon, 12<br />
Landon Dragicevich, 10, reacts a motorcycle’s powerful horn. photos by Claire Esker/22nd century media<br />
Landon (second from right) and his family: step-mother Becky Marsh (far left), step-brother Chase (center), and<br />
father Travis (far right).
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