Voice Editor

EditorThe Van Meter Gymnasium on the Lees Campus was filled with people last Saturday. Rows of tables, filled with young and old alike eating a big Christmas meal, extended from one end of the basketball floor to the other. On two ends of the floor, volunteers gladly served up turkey with all the trimmings, while an announcer told the crowd to “please help yourself to seconds. There’s plenty for everybody.” The stage floor was piled with hundreds of Christmas gifts for those who registered. And in the center of all that glitter on the stage was a giant Christmas tree - a symbol of what’s good with the holiday season.

The scene pleased Tom Little very much. “We registered 725 people for this today. We have 300 chairs set out, and almost all of them are filled right now,” said Little, who heads up Gospelvision Ministries and helped to put on the event last Weekend. The Breathitt County native, who now calls the Cincinnati suburb of Batavia, Ohio home then spoke again. “I’ve been doing this for years at the Lions’ Club, but not on this scale.”

It was called “A Kentucky Christmas” and featured the turkey dinner, a special program by Jeremy and Amy Tye, toys for the children, gifts for the adults and food boxes given out from a large truck in the back of the gym. “We qualified most of the people who came here by their income, and we went from there,” Little noted, saying that many of the people who were there may not otherwise have a Christmas if not for his group and volunteers. “While the gift baskets and toys are given to those who qualify with low incomes, anyone can come to the dinner. Some people came today who had to work, or were by themselves. And we’ve had 50 workers volunteering, and they all said everybody’s appreciative of what we’ve done.”

Bobbi Campbell of Jackson was one of those who volunteered on the food line last Saturday. “I’d say we’ve served over 200 people so far today,” said Campbell as she served up another plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing and gravy to one of the people who showed up. “We had a lot of them who liked that Strawberry Cake, and the Butterfinger Dessert.” She felt good about serving those who showed up. “It’s great to know we’re helping Breathitt Countians, and that they’re having a good dinner.”

Another person helping out in the chow line at the Lees gym on that sunny Saturday was Mary Begley of Jackson. While serving desserts to the crowd, she stopped and looked up. “I get a wonderful feeling helping people here, and there’s a lot of people that need help. That’s a good feeling, isn’t it.”

Looking at the stage up close, one could see the gifts were actually part of two kinds of gift packets that were passed out to needy families. One group of packets were for the children, which included toys, while another group of packets were for the adults. That way, Little said, those who signed up would not go away without some form of Christmas gift.

The program included the telling of the “Story of Jesus’ Birth”, and the singing of traditional Christmas carols. A free will offering at a Gospel Music Showcase the group held back on December 2nd at the Lees gym helped to pay the expenses for this big day. Organizers and volunteers, like Vernon Bowling of Fire Trail, near Lick Branch, were pleased with the large group of people showing up. “I look at the faces of people here and I see happiness. They were polite, they were appreciative, and we’ve had a nice turnout. This is great.” So great, said Little, that his group plans to do it again next year. “I stood here when they were coming in, and I recognized some of them. Some of them looked up at me and said, ‘Tom, this is a good thing’.”