Tallassee Now! - Tailgate Thank Yous | Community Spirit

                The Tallassee Tailgate Partners season has ended.  Tailgate partners sold barbecue brisket, ribs, Boston butts, and camp stew every week for 14 weeks!  What a beautiful season Tallassee High School had!  Alabama will be playing for the National Championship!  Auburn has a lot to look forward to! 

                The tailgate season was saddened by the death of one of its founders, Jerry Beasley.  I will never forget Jerry reporting to me one Friday afternoon that he had had chest pains earlier that day.  A little later, I got a call from Jerry reporting that his pain had increased.  I got him to the emergency room as fast as possible.  Tallassee’s emergency room did a fine job, and Jerry visited at the cook site the following day.  He had a follow-up visit with a cardiologist, and surgery was recommended.  Jerry visited at the site during the event the following Saturday.  Then, the surgery…and the unthinkable.  The procession passed the cook site the following Saturday.

                Tallassee responded.  Every sponsor brought its own volunteers.  Other people made themselves available more often than not:  Jeff & Tina Webster; Randy & Ramona Norris; Rob & Laurie Rygiel; Marilyn Durham; Liz Burgess; Cindy Townley; Ben Little---and the list could be expanded.  THANKS to everyone who came forward to support this project!  All of these volunteers—like Jerry Beasley—are looking for a brighter tomorrow for Tallassee. 

                During the course of the fall, the following sponsors enjoyed very successful fund-raisers:  Tallassee Fire Department, Tallassee Athletic Club, Talisi Historical Preservation Society, Reeltown Fire Department, His Eyes Ministry, Mt. Vernon Theater, Inc.; House of Love & Mercy, Tallassee Chamber of Commerce, The Learning Tree, Tallassee Boy Scouts, Post 3035 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, The Prom Committee, ACTS, and the Community Development Corporation.  Every event was a fun event for the sponsors, although each event involved a great deal of hard work. 

                During the course of the Fall, total sales were $48,142.75.  Charitable organizations, including the CDC, raised a total of $25,207.50.  The sponsoring organizations received $19,382.00.  That’s a lot of money for very worthwhile projects in Tallassee!  The events brought meaningful activity into Tallassee’s downtown area.  What a fitting memorial for Jerry Beasley!

                A special thanks to Bill Patterson, the owner of the lot where all the events occurred!  Bill was very generous to allow the CDC to use that location.  We appreciate the generosity of Bill & Sandra Patterson!

                Thanks to The Tallassee Tribune for allowing us to report these activities from time to time in this column.  Thanks to Michael Butler and WTLS for uploading the column each week to Tallasseetimes.com!  Thanks, too, to Fred Randall Hughey, Pete Cottle, and WACQ for allowing me to talk about barbecue and the work of the CDC in order to promote the events.

                Last, but certainly not least, thanks to everyone who came out and purchased BBQ items during the Fall.  The Community Development Corporation and the sponsoring organizations are grateful for your support!

                In January, the Community Development Corporation will be carefully evaluating and looking at the prospects for 2013!