MARQUETTE — On June 27, Mariucci Family Beacon House hosted their third annual ‘Grill & Chill’ fundraiser, raising $557,550 to continue their mission of serving patients and their families facing a medical crisis.

Generous donors like Beacon House Chairman of the Board, Steve Mariucci, his long-time best friend, Tom Izzo, retired NFL kicker Jay Feely and nearly 200 Upper Peninsula community members helped the organization to more than double their fundraising goal for this annual event.

“The way this event came together was right out of a storybook about kindness, food and friendship,” said Mary Tavernini Dowling, CEO, Mariucci Family Beacon House. “We have the most incredible team, the most generous friends and the most wonderful ‘Head Coach’ in the world. What we were able to accomplish from this is remarkable and a testament to how much people believe in and support our cause.”

“We want the Beacon House to be here forever, and this has put us in a great financial position with our construction debt on the new Beacon House,” said Steve Mariucci. “We intend to pay off our debt, and continue to focus on caring for our guests in all the great ways we do.”

“There are so many people and businesses who came together to make this event so successful, including the amazing Beacon House staff who worked so hard to make this a magical experience,” said Tavernini Dowling. “A huge thank you goes out to our many sponsors, our generous donors who came to celebrate and support us, Chef Tom Wahlstrom and the Elizabeth’s Chop House team for grilling outstanding meals for everyone to enjoy, Double Trouble Entertainment for the professional sound and stage setup, and of course our musical guests; Stephen Ray, JT Harding and Tim Nichols for providing this unique and entertaining experience!”

The event’s major sponsor, UP Health System, was well represented at the event and hospital CEO Tonya Darner took home the 2024 Grill Master Trophy Award for her grilled tenderloin and lobster in the competition between her, Steve Mariucci, Tom Izzo and Jay and Rebecca Feely.