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Dec. 6 Christmas party set for deployed National Guardsmen’s families
Operation Patriot’s Call, the community mission encouraging and coordinating local support for the families of deployed Georgia Army National Guardsmen of the 1/121 Infantry serving in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, is making final preparation for the Dec. 6 Christmas Party for Echo Company, Alpha Company and Headquarters Company.
Area churches, clubs and individuals are being asked to assist with preparation of side dishes such as potato recipes, vegetables, salads and desserts and the pans for the dishes will be provided to assist with warming of the food.
First Baptist Church of Winder, Carter Hill Christian Church, Sunrise Baptist Church and Hebron Baptist Church are participating. The Winder Woman’s Club is also assisting with decorating for the party.
Jason Baxley of Golden Corral is graciously providing chicken tenders and corn for the occasion, and other support is also being rounded up for the party.
Donations of door prizes, holiday decorations and toys for the children are also being requested. Items for teens – and 16 girls and 16 boys ages 11-18 have RSVP’d for the party – are especially needed.
Volunteers are being utilized to assist with setup and decorating for the event. Servers and other helpers are also being enlisted. Those delivering food or volunteering to assist in serving should arrive at Barrow County Leisure Services (Park & Rec building at 175 Second St., in Winder) by 1 p.m. on Sunday
Volunteers were also at the armory on Saturday to assist with gift wrapping.
AMVETS Chapter 12 is assisting with table setup and cleanup efforts as well as assisting with preparation of the ham being secured for the meal. Donations of fried chicken and chicken tenders from area businesses are also being sought.
Donations including in-kind offerings, marked for Operation Patriots’ Call, have been collected at the Richard B. Russell National Guard Armory located at 95 Maynard St., in Winder, at the corner of Lee Street.
To offer your support for the Christmas party or to find out more about the plans, e-mail patriot.call@yahoo.com or srbetzhold@bellsouth.net. Monetary donations toward the Christmas party can be made payable to AMVETS Chapter 12 with Operation Patriot’s Call (OPC) on the FOR line, and directed to Ron Dillon, AMVETS Post 12, 1100 Garnet Trail, Bogart, GA 30622. AMVETS is a non-profit organization (Federal ID Number 26-0886850). All donated funds or products will be used to support the Christmas program.
Visit http://www.patriotscall.com to sign up your business or organization to be an Operation Patriot’s Call supporter.
Employees of The Peoples Bank have been in the news related to their community outreach called H.E.R.O.E.S.
At the Auburn branch of The Peoples Bank, H.E.R.O.E.S. stands for: Help Encourage & Relieve Our Exceptional Soldiers.
"The Auburn Branch has got together to support our troops for the benefit of the Patriot’s Call," said branch manager Connie Ross.
The Patriot’s Call is an organization of people from the community helping assist with needs of soldiers’ families, while the soldiers are away protecting our country. Operation Patriot’s Call assists families of our troops from the 1/121 Infantry, based in Barrow County.
"We are asking for everyone’s help by purchasing a wristband which says ‘Support Our Troops’. By purchasing a wristband you are helping us to extend our reach to help families in need," said Ross.
The Patriot’s Call website reads, "These brave soldiers are Georgia’s daughters, sons, moms, dads, neighbors, co-workers, business partners, friends and loved ones. They have demonstrated their willingness time and again to put their lives on hold as our nation continues to work toward freedom and democracy in the Middle East. Will you answer the call to support them while they serve?"
The wristband sales for the duration of the H.E.R.O.E.S. program allowed Ross to make a recent presentation of a $775 check to Bob Heiss, commander of AMVETS which is actively involved in support of Operation Patriot’s Call.
The remaining wristbands were presented to Operation Patriot’s Call for further sale. Patriot’s Call coins are also still available for sale.
