2004 - 05 - ESSO Caving group sponsors Carter Caves New Year's event

By EMILY B. MOSES - The Independent

Posted: 12/02/04 - 11:52:37 pm EST

OLIVE HILL A non-profit organization that promotes safety, adventure and cave conservation is sponsoring a unique, Kentucky-themed New Year's Eve celebration in conjunction with Carter Caves State Resort Park.

"It's a multi-faceted, family, fun-filled event that everyone age 3 to 100 can enjoy," said Lisa Pruitt-Thorner, president of Eastern States Speleological Organization Inc. (ESSO).

ESSO is a local chapter of the National Speleological Society.

Included in the ticket price is a four-course, Derby-inspired dinner, beverages, entertainment, party favors, faux champagne-toast and dessert. Alcohol will not be served.

Guests will use fake money to purchase tickets for betting on thoroughbred races that will be shown on wide-screen televisions.

Tickets can be cashed in after a race and winners will be eligible for prize drawings. After the races, guests will use accumulated play money to bid on auction prizes, Pruitt-Thorner said.

After the races, families can practice their singing skills at karaoke. The evening will conclude with a champagne toast at midnight as the ball drops on the big screen in New York City's Times Square.

Proceeds will benefit the group, which participates in myriad Carter Caves events like the annual cave crawl, as well as search and rescue missions, cave education, preservation and conservation projects.

"The money we make in profit will go to help us with those causes," she said.

"Without some type of organization like this, one of Kentucky's most natural resources could begin to suffer, and it has," Pruitt-Thorner said, adding that many of the state's bats are on the endangered species list.

"We have approximately 100 members from all over the country, but primarily from the Tri-State area," she said.

Members often travel long distances to broaden their knowledge of caves and to help with bat studies and putting gates on caves.

Pruitt-Thorner, a Catlettsburg attorney, said she has been a cave enthusiast for quite some time.

"When I was only about 10 years old, my parents realized the beauty and exercise benefits of nature," she said.

She said her family spent almost an entire month camping at Carter Caves when she was about 16, an experience she credits with giving her a love of nature exploration - especially caves.

"One of the best parks in the Tri-State area is Carter Caves," Pruitt-Thorner said. "It offers something for everyone."

Carter Caves Park Manager Lisa Davis said the park asked ESSO to organize the New Year's Eve celebration for several reasons.

"It is one of our primary goals to be a partner with our community," Davis said.

She said the park wanted a non-profit organization to benefit from a fund-raiser there.

Because ESSO members give their time and energy to the park on a regular basis, they were the perfect choice.

"It was time for us to do something for them," said Davis.

Carter Caves has had a New Year's Eve event for the last few years but nothing like what ESSO has planned.

"The uniqueness of it is so exciting to me," Davis said.

Pruitt-Thorner said ESSO members were thrilled to have the opportunity to host the fund-raiser at Carter Caves.

"We have a great symbiotic relationship with the park," she said.

For more information or to make reservations for ESSO's New Year's Eve at the Races, call Carter Caves at (800) 325-0059 or (606) 286-4411.

A limited number of packages that include overnight accommodations are available.