Bucyrus man honors friend by helping young musicians

BUCYRUS―Tim Dye was heartbroken when he lost his long-time friend, Shannon Byrum, in a tragic motorcycle crash a year ago. He is now turning his grief into a positive situation for young musicians.

Dye held a benefit in honor of Byrum in September, which included the Shannon Byrum Memorial Poker Run and event at Suburban Lanes, and wanted to do something with the money raised that would give back to the community for years to come.

“Because of the love of music that Shannon had, I wanted to do something that involved music. My good friend, Jason, gave me the idea to do something to benefit young musicians. I was still searching for whom or what organization I would donate the money to but knew I wanted something that would keep giving back for years to come,” said Dye.

His friend shared the idea that Dye should donate the money to the Bucyrus Middle School Band. Dye loved the idea immediately and set out to help local kids that want to be involved in music.

“Some kids can’t afford band instruments or after a short time, they want to change instruments. What better way to let these kids explore and find the love of music at an early age than by helping them to purchase instruments,” Dye said.

He presented a $1,000 check to the middle school band during halftime at the Bucyrus football game on Friday.

“My hope is one day someone will make it big in the music industry from Bucyrus and remember that they started in the middle school band and they will pay it forward by giving back,” Dye said. “I plan on making this a yearly event and donate all proceeds to the Bucyrus Band Parents in memory of my friend Shannon Byrum so maybe we can make a difference in the middle school band in some way that is needed.”

Dye said next year he is hoping the donation will be even larger and already has the date set for next year’s benefit: September 14, 2019.

“Mark your calendars. We already have one huge band confirmed to donate their time and play for us and one other that said that can make it happen again to play. This makes me extremely happy,” Dye said. “The love of music that Shannon had is like many other musicians. They know where the proceeds are going already which will only make this event grow larger each year.”