Donned in a green kilt, Soldotna’s Larry Opperman serenaded members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday with an a cappella rendition of the “Green Acres” theme song. The performance was not without purpose.
Opperman said he was fulfilling a pledge he made during a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital hosted by KSRM radio station. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was founded in 1962 and does not charge patients for care. About $62,500 was raised during the fundraiser held in 2021 and Opperman said he wanted to top that this year.
“I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, if we can beat last year … I will wear a kilt and I will go to the borough assembly meeting and I will sing the ‘Green Acres’ theme song,’” Opperman said.
“Green Acres” is a television show that aired on CBS between 1965 and 1971 about a couple who move from New York City to the countryside.
Opperman told assembly members Tuesday that the son of one of his close friends was diagnosed with cancer in the 1980s and was treated at St. Jude at no cost to the family. The son is now 52 years old, Opperman said, and has a family.
“Even at age 52 to go back for checkups, he pays nothing,” Opperman said.
This year, KSRM’s radio fundraiser brought in almost $70,000, hence Opperman’s Tuesday serenade. While assembly members looked on, Opperman stood in the center of the room and belted out the song, kilt swaying with his movements.
“Goodbye city life, green acres we are there!” Opperman sang. “That’s all, folks.”
Tuesday’s full meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly can be found on the borough’s website at kpb.us.
Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.
