Aug 07, 2025
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“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ― Albert Einstein
Danish author Hans Christian Andersen once observed how the whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things. Such is the case with the non-profit foundation Captain Annie’s Survivor Chest, which was created ten years ago by Kevin Hoerauf, Margaret LeClere, and noted Midland-based businessman, musician, and arts-supporter Timothy Boychuck.
Born from a symbiotic goal dedicated towards helping and supporting cancer patients and their families struggling throughout the Mid-Michigan area as they go through cancer treatment; while also honoring the memories of two special people - Kirk ‘The Captain’ LeClere and Annie Hoerauf - who both lost their own battles with cancer in 2015.
By forming this foundation, the spouses and close friends of these two amazing individuals decided to make something positive out of their dual losses by helping others fight cancer by easing the burden others have to face while fighting their own difficult battles against cancer. “Dealing with a loved one facing the challenges of cancer is difficult enough,” explains Boychuck, “so our goals are to assist patients and families dealing with that burden by defraying a portion of their related expenses.”
For those unfamiliar them, Kirk LeClere was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, became valedictorian of his high school class in 1978, and moved to Midland in the mid-80s, where he worked for CM Systems as their controller. He stayed with them until 1999 when he met Fritz Horak on an airplane and ended up as CFO & Vice President of The F.P. Horak Company in Bay City. He married Margaret and became a father to two daughters, Katie & Annie; and throughout this time music was a very important part of Kirk’s life.
Kirk partnered up with Boycuck in 1993 and formed the musical & creative core of many local bands, most notably with The Timothy Hyde Project, where he was instrumental with assisting Boychuck develop his landmark original rock-opera HEAL, which was performed live at The Midland Center for the Arts. Kirk fought a hard battle of radiation-induced osteosarcoma and according to his wife, never gave up during his 7-month fight and always stayed positive when others were afraid.
Annie Hoerauf was born in 1947 and grew up in Midland, graduating from Midland High School in 1975. She was a hard worker and valued employee at Midland Country Club and later at Plymouth Elementary, where she worked for the Midland Public Schools for well over a decade. She married Kevin in 1987 and, together, they raised two daughters, Jennifer and Sara. She was also a loving and doting grandmother to two granddaughters, Hannah and Chloe. Ann loved working with children, mentoring them and helping them achieve their personal best.
“I’ve known Tim for nearly 40 years now and he suggested this idea as a way of honoring two very special people in order to keep their memory alive,” explains Kevin. “I thought this was a great idea and we engaged Margaret and our children to help develop a vision of where we wanted to go with this project. After our inception in January 2016, we created a mission statement to provide financial assistance to cancer patients and their families while going through cancer treatment, with the one stipulation that we did not want any of the funding to go towards cancer research . We wanted to provide an opportunity and a platform to help people on a case-by-case basis cover all the ancillary expenses involved while going through cancer treatment.”
“One of the most significant things we’ve accomplished is to help patients and families with things they don’t usually think about when they are diagnosed and undergo treatment for cancer,” he continues. “Things like hotel lodging, groceries, new tires, assistance with making mortgage payments if needed. That’s the most important component of what we’ve accomplished - providing an opportunity and platform to help others.”
As a point of reference and testament to the successful commitment of their endeavors, since its inception Captain Annie’s Survivor’s Chest has managed to raise and distribute $194,000 to cancer survivors over the past 10 years; and from August 2024 to May 2025 alone have been able to distribute $55,000.
“One of the great things we’ve been able to accomplish is to build a strong relationship with Cancer Services here in Midland,” continues Kevin. “Julie Nunn is the Executive Director and it’s truly a partnership, as we are not a 501C3 ourselves, but through our affiliation with Cancer Services have been able to realize our dreams and goals with Captain Annie’s. They are really our front end by handling our intake services and reviewing all the applications to vet all our recipients. Each applicant fills out a packet where they list their financial obligations or responsibilities, and then we partner with them to determine their needs.”
“Based upon that we also do the record keeping, because recipients have to provide receipts for every contribution we’ve paid to them,” explains Tim. “You have to have accountability and Julie has really been instrumental in helping us grow this. She’s a very warm and caring person and perfect for this, actually.”
“In the beginning we hosted and supported two fundraising events each calendar year, so would have a Mardi Gras, Irish Day, or different themed events,” notes Tim, “but now our only major fundraiser is our annual golf outing, because we were gaining the most financial return and bang for the buck given the resources involved with staging these events.”
This year the date for Captain Annie’s Survivor Chest 10th Annual Golf Outing will be on Saturday, September 6th at Sandy Ridge Golf Course, 2750 Laurie Rd. in Midland. This 4-person scramble outing is only $75.00 per player and $300 per foursome, which includes 18-holes of golf with a cart, dinner, and award ceremony; or supporters can skip the golf and attend the dinner for only $25.00. Check-in for the Golf Tournament will be 8 am with a 9 am shotgun start, 2:30 pm dinner, and 3:00 pm Awards Ceremony.
Additionally, on Friday, September 5th there will be a 10th Anniversary Bonus Party at Sandy’ Ridge’s restaurant from 6:30 - 9:30 pm featuring live music by Stone Street Revival, a Taco Bar, Dancing, and is free of charge to thank those who have supported Captain’s Annie’s over the last decade (drinks not included!).
Up to 144 golfers can be accommodated in the field to fill up the course for this annual Golf Outing, and with volunteers and sponsors Tim says they expect probably 200 people. “It’s always a fun time full of camaraderie and gathering together to give testimonials and extend recognition to those who contribute to our endeavors and make these miracles happen. We’ve had the same price for the last ten years at $75 per golfer and $300 for a foursome because we want to keep it affordable. We play a four-man scramble with all skill-levels and since it’s a fundraiser there’s donations going on all the time.”
The levels of appreciation for these accomplishments are best gauged by the range and sincerity of the testimonials received from the recipients of this team’s endeavors. “That’s what makes it even more worthwhile,” reflects Kevin. “When we just were getting this started we might only be able to help patients with groceries, or maybe a set of new tires, or some would only request a gift card, but over the past decade as our resources have grown, we’ve been able to help people in more substantial ways. Because assistance is gauged on a case-by-case basis, each person’s needs are different and we attempt to do the best that we can with the resources at our disposal.”
Tim points out that over the past 10 year period Captain Annie’s has been able to assist about 163 different cancer patients and family members, with assistance ranging anywhere from $25.00 gift cards to $12,000 assistance with a patient’s mortgage payments and property taxes while he was disabled undergoing treatment.
“One of the things that has helped tremendously is that Midland Cancer Services has moved into a new building at 4201 Campus Ridge Drive, so for the first time in their history they have all cancer services from infusion to breast cancer treatments all under one roof, which has been great when it comes to alignment with our own objectives,” notes Kevin.
“On the second floor, there's what's known as an infusion center, which is where people go for chemo and blood draws. On a monthly basis we’re currently supporting what's called Captain Annie's Survivor Chest Snack Shack. We provide snacks, bottled water, soda, and protein drinks for the people that have to go there, and that's been very well received. I think that's one of the things that I found to be most rewarding, is how it gives you a sense of gratitude”.
When asked about the sense of accomplishment they feel through their commitment to this dream and the lives they have improved through their endeavors, Kevin says the team always looks forward to getting together at this annual golf outing to share knowledge and experiences. “For me personally, I lost Annie ten years ago to cancer in June and helping others provides a mechanism for me to deal with the grief,” he reflects.
“I'm not going to lie to you that this tournament weekend is a little emotional for us and a few tears have been shed during the testimonials, but I can always feel Annie and Kirk smiling down on us. We have a great volunteer leadership team, everyone achieves more working together, and helping others definitely does help deal with the grief.”
“Everything we’re doing is about Annie and Kirk because of the inspiration they gave to us to inspire, help, and mentor others,” states Tim. “Giving and mentoring were embedded in their personalities and it rubbed off onto us. There’s a line in my rock opera HEAL that Kirk was an integral part of that goes, ‘The less we reach out, the less that we share.’ The gratitude and feedback from the grant recipients makes it all worthwhile. New friendships have been created, and we truly appreciate the public contributions that have made this dream into a reality.”
“Both Kirk and Annie were very near and dear to us and are connected to us still,” reflects Tim. “Our logo for Captain Annie’s Survivor Chest tells the story because the guitar is a symbol for the Fender Telecaster that Kirk owned and loved to play and that his wife bought for him. The purple is Annie’s favorite color and the sunflower radiates their personalities very well and how extremely courageous and bright and strong they were throughout this whole ordeal. I never heard anything negative from either of them. Annie was always as bright as that flower in the logo and Kirk played and sang until the day he left us.”
People interested in volunteering or making donations to Captain Annie’s Survivor Chest can go to their website at www.captainanniesurvivorchest.com and can send a tax deductible check payable to Midland Cancer Services (with remarks CASC on the lower left of the check) to CASC and send to 4201 Campus Ridge Drive, Midland, MI 48670.
If you would like to apply for services, please go to info@cancerservicesmidland.org.
If you wish to learn more about Captain Annie's Survivor Chest and the upcoming Golf Outing please visit https://www.captanniesurvivorchest.com/
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