Wilkerson family to give out turkeys, hams in honor of their late father
Published 10:51 am Monday, November 13, 2023
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
LaGrange native Tim Wilkerson, a senior vice president with Home Depot, and his siblings are giving away turkeys and hams before Thanksgiving to honor their late father.
On Nov. 18 from 9 a.m. until noon, the Wilkerson family is giving away a total of 300 turkeys and hams at the Walmart on New Franklin Road. Wilkerson said Walmart is donating 125 hams and the Wilkerson family is donating 175 turkeys.
The giveaway is in honor of their dad, Clyde Lovelance Sr. Wilkerson’s siblings assisting with the giveaway are Clyde Lovelace, Jr, Chauncia Johnson, Harriett Hayes, Lamar Lovelace, Sabrina Allen and Antonio Lovelace.
“In my family, Thanksgiving is one of those really large days of family gatherings and food. More food than you can imagine,” Wilkerson said with a laugh. “It’s a major family tradition. Everyone eats to their heart’s content. Growing up, one of the most festive holidays was Thanksgiving.”
The family will actually also be giving away turkeys in Franklin, Georgia, a tradition that started three days ago in honor of his mother.
Through the giveaways, Wilkerson said they’ve heard a lot of “heart-wrenching” stories. The first giveaway in Franklin started in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When people are struggling to figure out how they are going to eat, being able to do this for them goes a long way,” he said.
Wilkerson said it means the world to him to bring the giveaway to LaGrange, where he has many fond memories of Thanksgiving weekends. Wilkerson said he remembers playing football at LaGrange High, where the teams were usually good enough to be deep in the playoffs by Thanksgiving weekend.
“That Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, and football that Friday night — that was the life,” he said with a laugh.
The food will be available as supplies last.
“To do this in LaGrange means an awful lot to me. It really truly does,” Wilkerson said. “The LaGrange community has been so pivotal in my life, so to come back to LaGrange and do this for the citizens of LaGrange means the world to me.”
