Dear Editor:

Please share with the community of LaGrange.

On Saturday, Nov. 22, Troup Bell (Building Early Learners for Life) and United Way Success by 6 in conjunction with the Troup County School System and the United Way of West Georgia hosted a Family Fun Day at the Griggs Recreation Center. The event was attended by 800 people or more.

Fun Day was an appropriate name because fun was certainly had by all! The day was such a success because of the collaboration of so many in our community. The tireless efforts of the Troup County School System Pre-K team of Jacqueline Jones, Broderick Stargell, Gail Woodward, and JJ Brown, are greatly appreciated. The Pre-K team hosted a parent workshop in addition to cooking almost 1,000 hotdogs and performing various other tasks.

A great big thank you to King’s Jumpers and Magic Makeup Airbrush Creations. Squeals of excitement could be heard as children slid down the giant slides and bounced the day away. Ivy Ramirez, delighted children with her face painting makeup creations.

Many thanks to Dee Cook, Renae Willis with CB&T, Charlie Joseph’s, and Community Bank &Trust for donating many necessary items for the day.

The day would not have been possible without the help of many wonderful volunteers. LaGrange College students from Vicki Pheil’s education class and numerous other students enthusiastically gave of their time. Tania Brooke from Family and Children Services assisted in distributing over 200 books. Our hometown celebrity, Mama Jama, from CLCP captivated children with her charm. Countless other volunteers worked throughout the day to make the day a success.

On Saturday, Nov. 22, William J. Griggs passed away. The Griggs recreation center was named in his honor because of his dedication to children in our community. We know that Mr. Griggs was smiling from above as he watched the family fun and education taking place at his namesake. Similar to the way William Griggs supported his community, this day was possible because of the people who willingly gave of their talents, time, and resources. What a great little city we have!

With appreciation to the community of LaGrange,

Teresa Moore,

United Way Success by 6

Alfreda Hyman,

Troup Bell Program

LaGrange