By LEANNE KAVANAGH Cut Bank Pioneer Press
The power of the press.

The power of people.

The power of prayer.

Together they make for a very, merry Christmas for Tami and Darrol Berkram and their two sons, Kylan and Jace. Tami was scheduled to return home last night from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester where she underwent her first round of an experimental chemotherapy treatment. Tami has Stage IV breast cancer and proceeds from last Saturday's fund raiser will help pay for her travel expenses.

As of press time, approximately $15,000 had been raised from donations, raffles, food sales and the signing of a homemade, "greeting card" quilt.

Jetta Johnson, one of the organizers, said she'll never again doubt the power of the press. Johnson praised the local news media for promoting Saturday's fund raiser in and around the Cut Bank community and on the Internet.

Julius Pfeifer, Tami's father, attributed the overwhelming support for the fund raiser to the wonderful people who live in Cut Bank and the surrounding communities. "This was the best therapy you could have come up with for Tami," shared Julius. "It made her feel so good."

And for Tami, the strength she has gained from the prayers and outpouring of love from friends, family, neighbors and complete strangers has left her speechless. Really. For the past two weeks, Tami has been stricken with laryngitis, making it difficult for her to talk and thank the many people involved in making Saturday's fund raiser such a huge success.

"I don't know how I can ever thank all the people who have been so kind and generous. This is a wonderful community to live in. Everywhere I go I feel the love of people around me. It's been a very emotional time for me," she said. Smiling, she confessed, "I had to put my makeup on three times before coming over to the gym. But I was crying tears of joy and thankfulness. I can't begin to put into words how much all of this means to me and my family."

Connie Olson, who was the driving force behind the quilt project, reached her goal of $5,000 for Tami. "I want to thank everyone for the unwavering support they have shown Tami. Every person I watched sign the quilt did so with a loving and caring heart and hand. This was something they wanted to do and I could tell each one of them was thinking of Tami and her family as they signed the quilt. It was so inspirational for me to be involved with this project. It really renewed my faith in this small community of ours," she added.

Olson will be the first to admit she is glad the fund raiser was so successful, not just for Tami's sake but for her own. "I'd like to thank Tami for giving me the opportunity to do this for her. This is the best gift I've ever been given. Being involved in this project was so rewarding for me...and for everyone who contributed. "

Olson hopes all those people who stopped her on the street or called her on the phone to thank her for helping Tami will go one step more and "pay it forward. Like in the movie," explained Olson. "Someone does something nice for you and then it's your turn to pay them back and do something nice for someone else. Tami told me she hopes to be able to help someone in the same way she has been helped," said Olson. "I think if we all take Tami's attitude and strive to help someone in their daily struggles, we can make Cut Bank an even better place to live."

The first thing on Tami's "to do" list when she arrived at Mayo for tests on Monday, Dec. 20, was to ask her doctors if she could keep her autographed quilt with her throughout the day. Olson believes "each time Tami looks down at that quilt she'll be inspired and strengthened by the number of people who are thinking of her and praying for her each day. I hope it gives her the strength she needs to get through this treatment."

Olson didn't have to wait long for her wish for others to "pay it forward." The Cut Bank Middle School collected $201.70 in loose change to donate to the Tami Berkram fund. The winner of the 50/50 raffle at Saturday's fund raiser was Julie McCafferty, a cousin of Tami's, who generously donated her share of the $540 pot back to Tami. The Bank of Glacier County received a $600 check from a former resident for Tami on Monday. Thrivent, the Lutheran organization which provides matching funds to local organizations, agreed to donate approximately $1,400 to the Tami Berkram fund.

Julius told the crowd at Saturday night's ballgame that he's had a change in attitude. "I didn't used to like paying my taxes, but I've changed my attitude. My tax money goes to this community and I don't know where you'd go to find a better community than Cut Bank. What the people here did for Tammy was a spiritual gift to her that came from their hearts," shared Julius.