For Marianne Roose, breast cancer and Mother’s Day always will be linked.

“My mother, Louise Burk, died of breast cancer in 1989 and we buried her exactly three months to the day after she was diagnosed,” said Roose. “I was very close to her, and I just hated Mother’s Day each year. I am the youngest of five, and I helped dad take care of her in the end. It was really painful.”

More than three decades later, Roose has changed her mind about the holiday, thanks to the Louise Burk Memorial Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon, which will be Friday, May 10 this year.

Entering its 15th year, the luncheon was not something Roose had planned on at all.

“I was a Lincoln County commissioner at the time and I was at the senior center in 1998 when I noticed a sign on the bulletin board for a breast cancer awareness luncheon,” Roose said. “I decided to go, and it was just a short, quick thing, so people could do it over their lunch hour, but it was very meaningful, and I was really touched. When I walked out of there, it was like a little voice said, ‘This is what you need to do.’”

The idea to hold a luncheon in her mother’s honor was born and Roose contacted friends and family to help her put something together. Friends and family jumped at the chance to volunteer and Roose eventually contacted the speaker she had first heard at the senior center luncheon.

“She was very enthusiastic about it, and she was the one that actually suggested we hold it the Friday before Mother’s Day since I was doing it in honor of my mother,” Roose said.

The first event was held at the senior center in Eureka, and Roose said it was overflowing with people. It was so successful they decided to hold it again the next year, this time in the social hall at the local Baptist church. It wasn’t long before the event outgrew that, too.

“It was a phenomenal success,” Roose said. “We eventually had to move to the Lincoln County Fairgrounds because we had so many people interested, and that’s where we’re at today.”

Roose said each year the luncheon gets between 180 and 225 attendees.

Each year the luncheon features a guest speaker, informational tables sponsored by local hospitals and clinics, raffle, door prizes and Louise Burk’s famous doughnuts for sale. This year’s speaker is Dr. Melissa C. Hulvat from the Bass Breast Center in Kalispell. She will present an educational program as well as an update on what is new in breast cancer treatment. Hulvat is a returning speaker and Roose said she is excited to have her return.

“She’s so full of current information,” Roose said. “She puts some humor into the presentation and it relaxes the crowd, and she encourages them to ask questions, which is great. There’s a lot of interaction, and I’m excited to have her speak again.”

Roose said the luncheon would not be possible without the generous support of volunteers and donors.

“I couldn’t do it without all the corporate sponsors and help that we have,” she said. “From the very beginning everyone has been on board, and many of our sponsors make cash donations to help cover the costs of putting this together. There’s endless hours of work to do and we’ve been amazed at the attendance and support we’ve gotten. People are so generous with their donations.”

Those donations and any other money raised above the cost of the event are donated to Wings, a regional nonprofit organization that offers individuals and their families financial assistance to help defray out-of-pocket expenses associated with treatment of all types of cancer.

The organization serves residents of Lincoln, Flathead and Lake counties and in 2012 more than 70 Lincoln County residents alone received assistance totaling nearly $67,000.

Roose said the luncheon over the past 15 years has raised more than $85,000 for Wings, and last year donated $8,500.

“For our 10th anniversary luncheon, we raised $10,000 for Wings,” she said. “It’s just amazing how much people are willing to give and help other people in need.”

Admission to the luncheon is $7 and raffle tickets are $5 and enter participants for the chance to win two gift baskets. Raffle winners need not be present. Attendees will also receive a gift bag filled with breast cancer information and favors.

Tickets are available at First Interstate Bank of Eureka, Glacier Bank of Eureka and the Whitefish Credit Union Eureka office, or can be purchased at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds the day of the event.

Reporter Melissa Walther may be reached at 758-4474 or by email at mwalther@dailyinterlake.com.