By Staff
We’ve been reporting on the electronic bingo controversy for several weeks now, but we can assure you that neither Gov. Bob Riley nor gambling task force leader John Tyson Jr. will show up Saturday night when The Brewton Standard hosts a bingo night at the East Brewton Civic Center — although they, and you, are welcome to help us raise money for Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society.
For just $10 per card — or $5 for children — you can take part in our first bingo night, which we hope will help our Relay for Life team make its goal as we head toward the May 1 finish line for fundraising.
This is the first year that I’ve been in Brewton that The Brewton Standard has had its own Relay team. While we have always supported and covered the event, we had not yet taken the time to field our own team and hold our own fundraisers.
This year, we wanted a team to help raise funds and to honor one of our own. Like nearly every other family in our community, our newspaper family was affected by cancer last year when our news editor Lisa Tindell was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Lisa tackled that challenge the way she does her job every day — with incredible strength and good humor, and we were all thrilled when we learned she was on the road to recovery. She set an example for all of us at our office, and she is now focusing the energy she used to fight cancer toward leading and inspiring our team.
There must be something about Relay for Life that inspires all of us in our community. As we prepared for our bingo night, our request for prizes from local businesses has been welcomed with open arms.
We are pleased to have received help from the following businesses in our community: Badcock Home Furnishings and More; Hog Heaven, Bonehead Boots, Southern Pine Electric Cooperative, Walgreen’s, George’s Barbecue; Georgia-Pacific, McDonald’s, Bracken’s Herrington’s the Florist, Merle Norman, The Oaks, Peach Chevrolet, Auto Zone, W.O.W. Wingery and Café, Danny Joyner, Premier Jewelry, Mary Kay (Sharon Peacock), Weaver’s, The Brewton Standard, Annette Crenshaw’s Southern Living at Home, South Alabama Gas, Hainje’s, Crutchfield Pest Control, Regions Bank, Sherwin Williams, Huddle House, Advance Auto Parts, Pizza Pro, Magnolia Super-foods, Jennifer Lambeth at Verobella Salon, B&W Auto Parts, The Changing Seasons, Pepsi-Cola Bottling and Nalty’s seasonings.
We hope all of you will come out to join us for bingo on Saturday night. Doors open at 6, and games begin at 6:30. We will be at the East Brewton Civic Center, and you can come hungry, because we will have hot dogs and nachos and other refreshments for sale.
And if the governor wants to come, he’s welcome to play, too.
Kerry Whipple Bean is publisher of The Brewton Standard. She can be reached at 867-4876 or by e-mail at kerry.bean@ brewtonstandard.com.