The Taney County 100 Club officially began last November, but this nonprofit has been on the mind of Cory Roebuck over the last eight years.

In 2013, Roebuck was a local firefighter. He said he nearly lost his life when there was severe flooding in Hollister.

“So when I was clinging to a tree in the middle of the night thinking my life was over, all I could think about was my family,” said Roebuck. “Who was going to tell my wife? Who’s going to raise my kids.”

That’s the moment Roebuck knew he had to do something to help the families of first responders who won’t make it back home. Now he is the Board Chair for the Taney County 100 Club.

“People donate $100 a year to be a member of the club and then those funds are used to help the family of a firefighter, police officer, or paramedic killed in the line of duty here in Taney County.”

CORY ROEBUCK, BOARD CHAIR

Local police officers, firefighters, and paramedics welcomed the Taney County 100 Club today at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and CVB. Justin McCullough, a captain for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said the local support meant a lot to him.

To find out more about the Taney County 100 Club, you can visit their website here.

The complete feature from KOLR-10 News can be seen on the Ozarks First Website.

(Story by Jacob Blount and Beth Finello, Ozarks First)