Cubs greats assemble to aid family of slain deputy
Ben Zobrist and other Cubs greats helped raise money Thursday evening for the family of fallen McHenry County Deputy Jacob Keltner at an event in Lake in The Hills.
About 300 Cubs fans paid $250 to get pictures with Zobrist, the 2016 World Series MVP, and meet former players Fergie Jenkins, Gary Matthews, Bobby Dernier and Ray Burris.
Becki Keltner, Jacob's wife, was there with their two young boys and several members of their extended family.
"The help from the community for Becki and the boys was beyond amazing," Becki Keltner's sister Holly Castro said. "I would never think that this many people would be care so much for people they didn't even know."
The event was put on by Club 400, a nonprofit founded by Stewart McVicar, who has run charity events out of his home the last three years. The charity is named after McVicar's basement man cave, which is decked out with such an impressive collection of Cubs memorabilia that it was featured last year on a Netflix show called "Amazing Interiors."
On Thursday night, the basement was packed with guests waiting to get a picture with Zobrist. Outside the cave, ticket holders ate food from Beaner's Mexican BBQ in Hebron, and many imbibed in drinks from Crystal Lake Brewery. Local band Jim & Justin of Modern Day Romeos played the hits in a massive tent in McVicar's backyard. Once the pictures with Zobrist were done, the tent became the place to be for the charity auction. One hot item was a golf weekend with Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber, who has done events with Club 400 in the past.
Castro said Jacob Keltner was a big Cubs fan, something that helped him get in good with his in-laws. Castro said the first time the family met Jacob was to watch a Cubs playoff game in 2003.
"We had a rally monkey, and my mom forced Jake to shake the rally monkey in front of the TV," Castro said. "Jake looked like, 'Uh, OK,' but he was a die-hard Cubs fan so my mom approved of him immediately."
Keltner, 35, of Crystal Lake, was shot March 7 while trying to serve an arrest warrant at a hotel in Rockford as part of a U.S. Marshals team. Shooting suspect Floyd E. Brown, 39, of Springfield later was apprehended after a six-hour standoff downstate along Interstate 55.
More information about the charity can be found at www.club400cubs.com.