Lukas Walker, Jerilyn Haglund named poster child, adult for HCSCA's 53rd annual Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon
Pictured (l-r) are Jeffrey Cloud, Heather Burba and Tim Priest of Southern Hills Community Bank; Andrew Haglund (husband of poster adult) and poster adult Jerilyn Haglund; Laura Musselman of Southern Hills Community Bank; Dorothy Walker (mother of poster child); and Charlene Huffer, Lindsay Cloud and Monica Smith of Southern Hills Community Bank. (Photos courtesy of Judge Rocky Coss and Karen Miller)
A poster child and poster adult have been selected to serve as the faces of the 53rd annual Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon, as announced by representatives of the Highland County Society for Children and Adults this week at Hillsboro’s Southern Hills Community Bank branch.
Lukas Walker of Hillsboro has been chosen as the 2025 poster child, and Jerilyn Haglund of Hillsboro is the 2025 poster adult. Southern Hills Community Bank is serving as this year’s hosts and sponsors.
The annual telethon is conducted by the Hillsboro and Greenfield Rotary Clubs for the benefit of the Highland County Society for Children and Adults. This year’s event is set for Wednesday, March 26 from 7-9 p.m., with the Hillsboro Rotary Club broadcast taking place at the Hillsboro Orpheum and the Greenfield Rotary Club event being broadcast from the McClain High School studio.
The telethon is the major fundraiser for the HCSCA, which helps qualifying adults and children in Highland County — including the Haglund and Walker families — with a number of medical needs, including treatment, transportation, equipment, medication and other health care devices.
According to information provided by HCSCA secretary Karen Miller and event organizer Judge Rocky Coss:
Lukas Walker is the son of Lee and Dorothy Walker. He was born with multiple diagnoses, including a bowel perforation, a stage four brain bleed and cerebral palsy, while he was also born 31 weeks premature, weighing three pounds. Lukas remained in the hospital for nearly a year (11 months) after he was born.
Now 7 years old, Lukas is “the happiest baby ever,” his mom said, but he requires 24-hour care.
“He is fed through a G-tube [feeding tube] and takes medication only through G-tube,” Dorothy Walker said. “He does not take anything through mouth. He has severe respiratory issues and autoimmune issues. His biggest challenge is keeping him healthy.”
Walker added that Lukas also wears AFOs, or braces on his ankles and feet, due to having a foot drop plus several fractures in the past. He does not walk or crawl.
Lukas is currently being homeschooled due to his medical needs.
“He is very capable of learning,” Walker said. “He is not able to speak in full sentences. He makes his needs known by yelling, using simple words or partial sign language.
“He is the happiest baby ever. If he is upset, then he is not feeling well or is in pain.”
Walker said their family is grateful for the support of the Society in helping cover some of their needs.
“We struggle with help because I was on leave for two years due to being diagnosed with breast cancer,” she said. “It is a blessing to receive this much-needed help.”
Jerilyn Haglund said that the Society has helped both her and her husband, Andrew, with unexpected medical expenses since they connected with Miller in March 2024.
Haglund has diabetes and has been prescribed various daily medications, including insulin and a blood thinner, which she said became unaffordable for her family. A local pharmacy technician alerted Haglund to the Society, which quickly agreed to help cover the costs of Haglund’s prescriptions.
In addition, Andrew Haglund underwent surgery in the fall of 2024, later suffering complications. Mrs. Haglund said that the Society helped cover the costs of blood thinner injections before and after Mr. Haglund’s surgery. Later, after Mr. Haglund was hospitalized for six days due to bleeding externally, the Society also covered the cost of wound care supplies.
The Haglunds have also used the Society’s gas voucher program several times for trips to medical appointments.
Mrs. Haglund praised the Highland County Society for Adults and Children’s “lifesaving” work and thanked Miller in particular. She said that Miller has always shown kindness to their family and “explained how the program works and helped” wherever possible.
“She was so kind and made me feel that I was going to be OK,” Haglund said of Miller. “I explained to her that we were new to this area and didn’t know where to turn.
“I can truly say this program has been a lifesaver. Without this assistance, I would have had to stop all diabetic medications and my blood thinner that I take twice a day to keep me from another stroke, and my husband Andrew would have been at a higher risk of infection without the correct bandages to care for his wounds.
“Mrs. Miller has always been kind and gentle to us,” Haglund continued. “We cannot thank everyone involved enough. You truly are saving lives.”
For local residents, businesses and organizations wishing to support this important work and help families like the Walkers and Haglunds, donations will be accepted during this year’s telethon. The event will also include a silent auction, with items to be announced.
The March 26 telethon will be broadcast live on the local community access channel 13 of the Spectrum Cable System and the Spectrum community access channel in the Greenfield area; on WSRW 101.5 FM, WSRW AM 1590, iHeart Radio; on WVNU Radio 97.5; and will be livestreamed via the Society’s website, hicoso.org and on tech-t.com. Terry Mikkelsen, owner of Tech-t.com, will again provide the equipment for the broadcast and livestream.
Rotarians at both locations will take pledges during the telethon by telephone or in person. Pledges can be made during the radio-telethon by calling (937) 402-5557 in Hillsboro or (937) 981-7731 in Greenfield.
You can also support the telethon by participating in the 2025 Chili Challenge Cookoff fundraiser, a collaboration between the Hillsboro Rotary Club and the Highland County YMCA, and subsequent Chili Supper.
The cookout competition will take place Tuesday, March 11 at 11:30 a.m. at the YMCA, 201 Diamond Drive in Hillsboro. To enter the contest, contact the Highland County YMCA by telephone at (937) 840-9622 or by email at dvance@cincinnatiymca.org or jwaterman@myy.org.
The recipes of the first-place winners in each category will be used for the annual Chili Supper held by the Hillsboro Rotary Club, which will be held March 18 at the Hillsboro VFW on East Main Street in Hillsboro from 5-7 p.m. The event will include a dessert auction, conducted by Rotarian Rick Williams, with proceeds going toward this year’s telethon.
You can make a donation to the Society at any time online at hicoso.org or the Society’s Facebook, or checks payable to HCSCA can be dropped off at any local bank or mailed to the Society at P.O. Box 972, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133.
(Editor’s note: Thank you to Judge Rocky Coss and Karen Miller for their contributions to this article.)
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