Pam Fox, left, helps Jennifer Regruth and her son, Casey Regruth, with picking out boxes of gifts to deliver Saturday morning for Sertoma Christmas Miracle.
Spirited giving
Thumbs up to everyone who contributed their time and/or money to the Sertoma Club of Jackson County’s annual Christmas Miracle. On Christmas Eve, volunteers from around the county delivered gifts to 614 kids from 240 households.
A similar thumbs to those who donated their time and/or money to preparing and distributing 2,000 or so Christmas Day meals to those in need in Jackson and Jennings counties as well as those people who had to work on Christmas Day. The tradition, established in 2011 by Brian and Jennifer D’Arco, who own Bubba’s Place in Seymour, and Shawn and Jennifer Malone, who own The Brooklyn Pizza Co. in Seymour, continues to get bigger with each passing year.
Also another thumbs up to the students of Cortland Elementary School who embraced the giving spirit for Christmastime. Each classroom at the school west of Seymour chose individual giving projects instead of having gift exchanges. From babies to senior citizens to animals, the projects will benefit many people and things this holiday season.
Thumbs up to the Medora Timberjacks of The Basketball League which organized a Christmastime toy drive that wound up receiving enough support in terms of donations of toys and/or cash from the community that every one of the 101 Medora STEM Academy students received a gift.
Hospitable
Thumbs up to Debra “Debi” Wayman of Medora who received a Hoosier Hospitality Award from Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch on Dec. 8 during the Indiana Destination Development Corp. awards ceremony in Indianapolis. Wayman was recognized for organizing and promoting the annual HOPE Medora Goes Pink breast cancer awareness event. Wayman and her daughter, Deven Wayman-Shirley, started the event in 2009 to remember Debra’s mother, Helen Sipes, who had recently died after the breast cancer she had spread to other areas. Held on the second Saturday of October each year, the event has raised $218,000 with the funds being given to people affected by all types of cancer in all 50 states in the form of gift cards for fuel and food.