Larry Hobbs was one of those guys whose smile would light up the room every time he walked through the door. Hobbs was an Atlantic Beach native turned Neptune Beach transplant, thanks in large part to best friend Chris Wooten. Larry became somewhat of a legend around the Jacksonville Beaches for a variety of reasons, foremost among them was becoming the first African American lifeguard for the City Of Neptune Beach. Unfortunately though, Hobbs lost a battle with cancer on June 8, 2019, leaving us Larryless way too soon.
June marked the fifth year since Hobbs passed, but in his memory, Cathy Marcum created the Live Like Larry Foundation, a 501 ( c ) 3, that she works from to provide assistance to other cancer patients on the First Coast, and next month on August 3, Marcum is holding her Annual Live Like Larry Benefit at Lynch’s Irish Pub. Lynch’s General Manager, Keith Doherty told us, “We are definitely looking forward to the Live Like Larry benefit next month. Cathy Marcum has done a great job organizing this and has, I think four bands, one of them being The Mosquitos!”
Marcum does indeed have four bands, and four really popular bands at that! 4Play, fronted by Vicki Hollingsworth, Sada Davidson, The Barking Spiders and The Mosquitos fronted by John Tipton, another local legend. Tipton told First Coast Life that this is not the first Larry Hobbs benefit The Mosquitos have played and it probably won’t be the last. “ We played a show to raise money for Larry before he passed away,” John recalled. “It was out at Safe Harbor in Mayport, but what Cathy is doing now is raising money to help the families of cancer patients who are children. That’s why The Mosquitos are honored to be asked to play because it is for such a good cause.”
Even though Cathy works all year round to prepare for the event, she does have help in the form of a group of volunteers. Her planning committee consists of Laura Goldey, Vicki Hollingsworth, Carmen Myers, Patty Betoni, Brooke Wooten and Betsy Waltrip. But on the day of the event it takes a larger staff to carry it out and Marcum has just that. “Oh gosh, I could never pull off an event this size without almost an army of volunteers,” Marcum noted. “Larry Hobbs touched so many lives that when the call goes out for volunteers my phone rings off the hook from people wanting to be involved.” And sponsors play a big part in the success of something like this too. The Home Ability Store has stepped up to take the role of title sponsor and other local businesses include (but there is room for more!) Fraternal Order of Police Jacksonville, FL Lodge 5-30, James Russell Fund, Crafting by the Sea, Herzig Cabinets and Remodeling, Donnie Leeper – Leave it to Leeper, Russell Tree Care, JOAT – Jax of All Trades Podcast, IQ Fiber, Bylund Law, PLLC and Selling the South.
While there is a ticket price to attend the event, Marcum wants people to know that 100% of the ticket proceeds go to the charity and that for the price of admission, there is food and drink included. Ed Malin, known more widely for being the owner of Angie’s Subs, also runs a charity foundation, and has developed his own line of vodka called Two Titmice, that he promotes to fund The Two Titmice Foundation. Malin has provided some of his vodka for people with a ticket to receive two free drinks. In addition to food and drink though, Marcum has collected a variety of items and coupons to give each person a swag bag to go home with. This is more like a charity gala than event so ticket sales are very important! Marcum pointed out, “I know how hard it is to sell tickets to small events at local bars and restaurants, and people without a ticket certainly won’t be turned away. We just have so much more to offer the ticket holders and it goes to such an important cause that we really do encourage people to support all we are doing by getting a ticket.”
This year’s beneficiary is Seth Rowe. Marcum told us, “Seth is now 13 years old, and was diagnosed with Pineoblastoma, a rare brain cancer, when he was 8 years old, and he is now fighting for a 2nd time! They used to be Jax Beach locals, but they now live in Port Orange, Florida, about 2 hours from Jacksonville, so they make the trip for each chemo treatment and doctor appointment up I-95 to Nemours Children Hospital. Seth finished his 6th and final chemo treatment at the beginning of April. Seth’s Dad, Seth, Sr. has taken a break from his career to be there 24/7 for Seth, Jr. Seth’s Mom, Stacey, works for Children’s Home Society of Florida and has also had to take time off for every treatment and doctor visit. Seth has 3 doggie siblings as well that keep close when he isn’t feeling well. We are committed to helping this family through this difficult time in any way that we can, especially while they are getting by on one income with mounting medical bills.”
The Live Like Larry Foundation, Inc. was founded based on the wish of Larry Hobbs to help children with cancer. Knowing how difficult it was for a grown man to understand this wretched disease, he could not fathom how a child could understand what was happening. He wanted to help as many kids as possible… and his wish is honored every year with many fundraising events, the main one being their Annual Birthday Bash for Child Cancer that is held the first Saturday in August honoring Larry’s Birthday, which was August 4th. The Foundation gives the child a small “wish” as well as helps the family with everyday expenses such as food and gas money via gift cards, and even pay bills such as mortgage payments, car payments or utilities directly to the lender or company owed.
Contributions to the Live Like Larry Foundation, Inc. are tax deductible. Any amount is appreciated, and every dollar helps! Acceptable forms of donations include Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, cash or local personal checks. For information on sponsoring the event, purchasing tickets or donations, please contact Cathy Marcum by email: livelikelarryhobbsstrong@hotmail.com or by text/phone: 9042337048.
Thank you for your support in memory of Larry Hobbs… may we all strive to be #HobbsStrong!
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Mike is a native First Coaster and was a leading figure in surfing and skateboarding for most of his life. After promoting music for many years on the local music scene, Mike now brings a unique perspective to FirstCoast.Life as a contributing writer.
