Nationally touring comedian Jaron Myers will be in Republic on November 12 for a comedy show to benefit Tristens Hope Foundation, a suicide prevention group. The event, A Night of Hope & Laughter, has been organized by Republic football player Hayden Hradek.
Tristens Hope Foundation is named for Republic student Tristen Shaw, a Republic High School student who committed suicide in May 2021. His family, including parents Jason and Lynnea Shaw, started the foundation to “provide hope, encouragement, and resources for people of any age struggling with suicidal thoughts,” according to the group’s website.
Hradek is a friend of the Shaw family, and that’s how the idea for the show came about.
“I had been talking to Jason on a regular basis, and for some reason, it just clicked in my head that I’m going to do an event to benefit Tristens Hope,” he said. “I didn’t want it to be like the traditional mental health events with dress clothes and stuff like that. I figured a nice contrast would be comedy,” he said. “I had gone to a Jaron Myers show a couple years back, and at the very end of the show, he had talked about his own struggles with suicidal thoughts. So that was the perfect situation.”
Hradek admits he was surprised to get such a positive response when he emailed Myers’s manager.
“He’s my favorite comedian personally, and being able to see that email come through and say ‘We would love to be there. We would love to help out,’ I never expected in my wildest dreams. It picked up from there and we haven’t looked back since.”
As the event has come together, Hradek said he’s been amazed to see how many people have stepped up to help. “It’s been gratifying to see just how much the community of Republic comes together to support their charities and their community,” he said.
The event will be held at the Republic Community Center at 6:30 pm on Saturday, November 12. You can pre-buy tickets at the link above.