Al Haynes checks in with local philanthropic work

What happened to the summer of 2017? I’m writing this article the second week of August while wondering, when did time start moving so fast? A lot has happened this July and August. There was the Ronald McDonald House 5K and 1Mile Run Walk And Roll For Families. Saturday July 29th at Woodruff Park, even Ronald was there and he walked it in his big fat red shoes! Good job Renee Sturkie, Melody Moran, Tiffany Bamberger and a host of others who helped raised money for the “House.”

I have to tell you I believe Scott, Terry, Katie and the rest of the folks at United Way of Columbus must eat their Wheaties twice a day! They have a tremendous amount of energy, and they really get things done. They started their Stuff The Bus Campaign with the goal to exceed the amount acquired last year. Well, Wednesday August 2nd at 8:15a.m. at Char-Broil on Belfast Avenue, Terry announced they had not only exceeded last year’s book bag count but this year’s projected goal as well. The United Way Of The Chattahoochee Valley that morning delivered five thousand two hundred twenty six bags filled with school supplies to local children in need! Amazing!

Hats off to our Law Enforcement and First Responder Folks! August 1st my cousin James “Short Dog” Culmer and I had a chance to caravan with them on “National Night Out”! Columbus Police, Sheriff Office, Probation Folks, Prison Folks (minus prisoners) and I am sure there were Fire Fighters In the mix I just wasn’t around any. When my group made our way to Dimon Elementary I saw Pop Barnes, who was with the citizens waiting for us (no surprise there). Pop is a true asset to this community. He walks the walk. Hats off to Sgt. Donald Bush! Great job my friend! Hey Chief! Where did you get the helicopter! First time I’ve seen one without “US ARMY” on the side in a long time.

We are blessed to have Bobbie Yeo in our area. This lady is a tremendous gem in our community. Bobbi is the CEO of PAWS Humane and they are doing the work at a level that only the truly inspired are capable of achieving. Bobbi, Casey Smith and the rest of the staff are amazing. The results of their efforts bear that out. They consistently display to others the type of compassion that’s normally reserved for members of the American Medical Association. So when they had an event to recognize their Columbus Media Partners & Public Officials well Skip Henderson, Judy Thomas, Mike Baker from our council, Elaine Gillespie from Representative Sanford Bishop’s office, Jay & Patsy Stelzenmuller, Tom Bryant, Helen Neal, Kate McGrory, Lisa and Warner Neal all came out and that’s just to name a few, and I mean a very few because there were a ton of people there. Why? Because of Bobbi and her crew! Way to go Ms. Yeo. What you’ve been able to do with PAWS defies description.

There were other events that happened that I attended that are noteworthy. The Dedication/Honorarium of Morton Harris at Columbus High School, thanks Ken Crumpler and the rest of our board members. Scott’s ride to the Arctic Cycle (he was still out there when this was being written); my prayers are with him. I hope when this is published he will be back safe and sound with stories to tell.

See you in the streets,

Al Haynes