Well the Fall Jamboree for 2011 is over and done! We could not have asked for a better Fall day and we had plenty of folks that came to help. Let me just start out by thanking those who made this day possible. Chasing The Light from First Baptist Gurley were the first group to sing and they sounded great. I overheard several say how much they enjoyed their group. These are a great bunch of folks we got to know during our time spent at Gurley. Norman is very talented and has put together a great sounding praise team there.
Next I would like to give a shout-out to one of the new church starts in our association Ignite City Church. This group, led by Pastor Robert Ekis, is very excited about reaching our younger generation and they have such a serving heart. We were so thankful to have them out to help with events and then serve the food.
Chris Crutcher brought a group from Lighthouse Baptist Church out to help us with the games and events as well, and they did such a fine job. Chris is really committed to growing the youth program out there in Toney and is making some great progress. Their pastor, Randy Watts, also came out to support the camp. He is a dear friend and we go way back.
Pastor Charles Miller from Owens Crossroads Baptist also came out and brought his wife and grandkids to enjoy the festivities and even do a little fishing. Brother Charles is a regular to the camp and has been one of our biggest supporters.
As always, my buddies from the Fire Department were a tremendous help. Derrick Stuckey let me borrow his Gator for the day and let me tell you it was such a help. I would love to have one of those up here all the time. Retired fireman Malcolm Davis brought his two Gators and trailer to help with the parking and I don't really know what we would have done without his help. John McNeal, and his lovely wife Annette, made themselves available to do whatever, whenever. John brought his trailer up and we used it for the hay rides. John and Annette and dear friends, and their assistance -- both on the day of the Jamboree and in the days leading up to it -- was invaluable.
Pat Merchant, a great friend of mine, and the Flint River Praise Team did a outstanding job. They were our second group to sing out here, and I knew they would be fabulous. You can always expect to get quality from whatever Pat is involved in.
I want to thank my whole family including my wife Denise, daughter Jocelyn, son James, daughter-in-law Kim, and son-in-law Jason for giving up part of their Saturday to help out with the Jamboree. Jason agreed to take pictures and video for the day and he got some great shots; he is multi-talented and always ready to help out.
New Market BBQ gave us a great rate on the food and it tasted very good too -- lots of folks wanted to know where the food came from. I hope to continue this partnership in the future.
The door prizes were great this year as well. Two Friends, Lowes, Dicks Sporting Goods, Wilsons Lumber, Kaleido Scoops and some individuals donated some wonderful gifts.
In the Lawnmower Race this year the four churches represented were New Market Baptist, Ignite City Church, Flint River and First Baptist Gurley. Last year Brother Don Shultz, after getting off to a slow start, managed to pull away from everyone the last 100 yards or so to win going away. This year was a different story. Julia from Ignite drove with reckless abandon as she took a commanding lead coming down the first hill. There was some jockeying back and forth between the rest until Brother Don begin to make his move coming up the hill in the last 50 yards. Julia had the race won but a couple of rookie mistakes cost her dearly. As Don pulled out to pass her in the last 20 yards if she would have blocked him it would have been all over but she didn't. Still they were side by side and as they were within 5 feet of the finish line Julia stood up on the mower and reached for the finish line tape not knowing the mower would cut off and Brother Don won by an eyelash!
We appreciate Camp MACOBA board members Chris Wilson for coming out to support us and Sam Kelly who is responsible for the great new signs we have. As busy as Wells Johnson is he was able to come out for a little while and we are so thankful for his donation to the camp and everyone else who contributed as well.
Whew. Good thing there's a whole year to go before the next Jamboree!
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