By mid-afternoon Friday, Charles Stone - organizer of a fundraiser for Wardsville teen Bradley Gilbert - wasn't sure if his team should prepare enough chicken to feed 600 people or 1,600 people.
"We're preparing for the worst," Stone wryly told Gilbert's father in a phone call.
The "worst" being a sell-out crowd of Eagles Club visitors hoping to both help the teen's family with medical bills and partake of a satisfying meal on Friday night.
Gilbert, 15-year-old son of Jason and Anne Gilbert, was diagnosed in mid-July with Stage 4 Ewing's sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of adolescent bone cancer. The youth's treatment will include almost 12 months of chemotherapy, combined with surgery and radiation.
Stone - who is both an Eagles Club member and president of the swing dance group where Gilbert's parents are instructors - was speaking ironically; clearly he hoped a large crowd would attend the fundraiser.
"We wanted to help support our community," Stone said.
Because Gilbert's chemotherapy regime means he must remain in the hospital between Thursday and Sunday, he wasn't able to attend Friday's fundraiser. But his father Jason said he's handling his illness "rather well."
"He's joking around, and he still has his sense of humor," Jason Gilbert said. "He's got a good support system both at school and in the community. I've told him, "You can't back down. There's nothing you can do but fight it head on. There's no other option.'"
The family is hopeful about their son's recovery. Jason Gilbert noted the medications are working, although the chemotherapy sessions do "knock (Bradley) down."
At Friday's event, two of Gilbert's aunts - Sheila Niekamp and Ellen Golden - said the community has been supportive, both financially and emotionally, throughout their nephew's illness.
Niekamp noted the junior Falcon football team donated the gate proceeds of its games to Gilbert. Other groups have organized volleyball and golf tournaments and 5K races. The Blair Oaks School community has been particularly encouraging, she noted.
"It's been amazing," Niekamp said, adding her nephew hasn't allowed the illness to change him. "He's so laid back, happy and easygoing."
"Nothing bothers him," Golden added.
The two women were seated behind a wall of folded bright orange t-shirts they hope to sell. They thought they might sell 1,700 shirts in all. The money will be used to offset the family's medical co-pays, deductibles and other expenses not covered by the family's health insurance plan, Niekamp said.
Both women described Gilbert as a typical small-town teenager.
"He's just into the normal stuff," Golden said. "He loves hunting with his bow and gun. And he loves going to Falcon football games."