Just around a year ago, Staff Sgt. Sterling Shelton, a 26-year-old married man with children, had his life ahead of him.
He had been serving with the Texas Highway Patrol Division a few years, and then he was promoted up to the Special Response Team (SRT), which is basically a regional SWAT team affiliated with the Texas Department of Public Safety that falls into the Texas Rangers Division, according to Casey Dawson with the Coors Cowboy Club.
That’s when Shelton received some bad news about his health.
In spring 2025, he got a diagnosis of having Grade 4 Astrocytoma, an agressive form of brain cancer that was pretty invasive and has permeated most of his brain.
“He’s had several surgeries,” Dawson said. “He’s had treatments, but the other day he heard that he had two more tumors come up on the brain stem.”
Shelton is still receiving treatments in Amarillo including chemotherapy, which seemed to have curbed the cancer’s growth a little, but the situation is still pretty grim, according to his reports. So his peers rallied around him.
“This is the best way we could help him and give his family a little bit of financial support,” said Dawson at a fundraising lunch cookout, being held July 31 at the Tri-State Fairgrounds across from the Coors Cowboy Club.
“For $10 a ticket, we serve you a hamburger, hot dog, chips and a drink, and you also get tickets for some auction items for a raffle later. If you’re shopping here, you can drop your ticket in the bucket of whatever you want and possibly win later,” he said of the lunchtime event.
Dawson said they would continue the fundraising event Friday evening, starting at 6:30 p.m.
“Throughout the evening, we will charge $25 for a wristband to get in the gate, and that affords the opportunity to eat from various food trailers,” he said. “And we’re going to have tons of food out here — and still drop some tickets into the buckets to win.”
Additionally, they are going to host a live auction Friday evening with some big ticket items, such as an autographed George Strait guitar, an aerial shooting of targets in a helicopter ride, along with other hunting trips and other speciality items, according to Dawson.
Those helping out include the Potter County Sheriff’s Office, Amarillo Police Department, Department of Public Safety, Randall County Sheriff’s Office and Coors Cowboy Club. Several other businesses have helped out with cooking as well as the Shriners and Coors Cowboy Club.
At around 11:30 a.m. Friday, the lines were growing and the grills were smoking as Amarillo citizens poured in to help the young man and his family through a tough time.
Nell Williams is a staff writer covering trends and other news for the Amarillo Globe-News. Have a story idea? Email her at nwilliams@usatodayco.com .
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Cookout held to help young Texas Ranger’s family with cancer diagnosis
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News | USA TODAY Network
