"Nailed It" bake-off to benefit crash victims

Jason Jones, Palestine Herald-Press, Texas
·2 min read

Jun. 11—Three local real estate brokerages will face off Thursday, June 23 in a "Nailed It!" bake-off battle to raise money to help Palestine Independent School District students Ruben Vasquez and Rebecca Campa.

Landmark Realty, Integrity Real Estate Brokerage and Combined Associates Real Estate will go toe-to-toe in the baking battleground at LuLu & Kakes, Cupcakery and Sweet Shoppe in downtown Palestine.

Vasquez, 14, and Campa, 15, are recovering after surviving a wrong-way crash that killed four, including Palestine ISD coach Michael Coyne on May 22. Campa and Vasquez received serious injuries and face a long road to recovery.

Lulu & Kakes owner Judith Cantrell said the bakery is no stranger to events like "Nailed It!"

"We've done several of these in the past including a fundraiser for LukeStrong," Cantrell said. "But I don't know if we've done one of this magnitude. This has affected the entire community and we want to help as much as we can."

While the bake-off is for a great cause, the bitter rivalry between the teams has been hard to stir up.

"I'm not a great baker," said Jeanie Belcher of Integrity Real Estate. "Wait, don't put that in the paper! They'll find out soon enough!"

Molly Hester with Landmark Realty echoed the sentiment, although slightly more confident.

"I don't always bake, but when I do, it's for a good cause."

Jodi Davis of Combined Associates took a different route.

"All Real Estate agents must be domestic goddesses." Davis said. "My goal is to surround myself with competent people whose coattails I can ride to victory!"

Sage advice to be sure.

All the teams are excited about the common goal, however.

"I'm just so excited that we can come together and do something to help these young people," Belcher said.

The public is encouraged to attend what promises to be an entertaining evening of baking challenges. The event kicks off at 4:30 p.m. There will be a $20 cover and lots of raffle prizes with all proceeds going to benefit the Vasquez and Campa families.

"We have seen a lot of tragedy in this area," Cantrell said. "We are all in desperate need for some joy."

Perhaps a really ugly cake or two can be the catalyst for a little of that joy.

Lulu & Kakes is located at 115 W Main St. in Palestine.

For more information call 903-392-7917