From left, Carly Blevins and Crothersville-Vernon Township Volunteer Fire Department personnel Braden Kidd and Mikey Blair deliver food and toys Dec. 18 as part of the 33rd annual Crothersville FFA Toy and Food Drive.
Plenty of volunteers were on hand Dec. 18 to help with the 33rd annual Crothersville FFA Toy and Food Drive delivery day.
Good deed doers
Thumbs up to the Jones family of Seymour for coming up with a unique way of brightening the lives of others. Chris Jones and his wife, Lindsey, and their children, Lainey, 9, and Lathen, 11, spent New Year’s Eve morning handing out 150 gift cards, which could be used to buy small coffees, to people in the parking lot outside Walmart Supercenter in Seymour.
Thriving
Thumbs up to Adviser Robin Perry and members of the Brownstown Central High School DECA chapter, which recently was awarded Thrive Level recognition in the 2021-22 DECA chapter campaign. Each year, DECA recognizes chapters that have built strong local programs focused on serving an exceptional number of members, advisers, alumni and business partners. BCHS DECA sold DECA doughnuts to students, held a fun fair for students and held a promotion to increase positivity and kindness in the school and local community. The chapter in conjunction with the business management class also held a dodgeball tournament between the students to raise funds for a local food pantry. Of the 3,000 DECA chapters in the country, only 450 earned recognition in DECA’s chapter campaigns this year. BCHS DECA has earned the recognition nine times in the history of the 15-year-old chapter.
Feeding a need
Thumbs up to everyone who contributed in any way to the effort to provide 2,000 Christmas Day meals to those in need in Jackson and Jennings counties. The annual effort was started 10 years ago by Shawn Malone and his wife, Jennifer, who own The Brooklyn Pizza Co., and Bubba’s Place owners Brian “Bubba” and Jessica D’Arco.
A related thumbs up to everyone who helped make the Crothersville FFA chapter’s 33rd annual Toy and Food Drive a success. Numerous boxes and bags of toys and food were delivered to 96 families in Vernon Township through the community effort.
A miracle
Thumbs up to everyone who contributed to the Jackson County Sertoma Club Christmas Miracle program. That includes those who donated to the program and the volunteers who delivered the gifts on Christmas Eve. The club was able to help 254 families with 608 children throughout every part of Jackson County.
Driven
Thumbs up to 67-year-old Gary Colglazier, who spent 36 years driving a bus for Seymour Community School Corp. He drove kids from kindergarten up through high school, but the last six years, he drove special needs students. “He truly cared for the students he transported and would go the extra mile to meet their needs,” said Tim Fosbrink, director of transportation for the corporation.
Turn around, don’t drown
It wouldn’t be early January without a thumbs down to motorists who drive through floodwaters. It’s an event that already has happened several times within the first week of the new year. Motorists who enter floodwaters not only put themselves and their passengers at risk but the lives of the police, firefighters and other emergency personnel who respond to help them.