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photo by Angie Long
Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon, right, presents Huntsville businessman Fred Burnett with a plaque on Wednesday.
GHS grad gives back for X-Mas
Published Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Dozens of local youngsters had their Christmas dream come true on Wednesday at Beeland Park, and it all started with a phone call.
A few weeks ago, Huntsville businessman Fred Burnett, a 1985 Greenville High School graduate, contacted mayor pro-tem Jeddo Bell about a project. And Bell in turn called mayor Dexter McLendon.
“Jeddo called me at home and said Fred grew up here and wanted to give something back to the city and county . . . I don’t get many calls like that at home. It’s usually complaints,” McLendon said. “There are people like Fred Burnett who do want to give something back to the community, especially in these tough times. He told me he remembered some difficult times when he was growing up . . . and he wanted to give children a bike who otherwise might not get one this Christmas.”
And so began the joint project between Burnett, who donated 61 bikes, trikes and helmets, and city and county agencies, including the offices of the mayor, police and fire chiefs, Lt. Anthony Barganier of the GPD, the Butler County Department of Human Resources and the City of Greenville Parks and Recreation Department.
“We couldn’t have done this without the help of a number of folks,” McLendon said.
Many of those “Santa’s helpers” along with Santa himself, were present on Wednesday morning as the children and their parents enjoyed Christmas cookies and punch and listened to holiday music provided by April Lowery and Pat Lewis.
Members of the Greenville High School basketball team helped the children and their family members carry the individually tagged bikes and trikes and their safety helmets (which Burnett urged the children to be sure and wear) to their vehicles.
“I wanted to do something to help the kids and bless the kids in Greenville. Today, I feel joy. Happiness,” Burnett said.
“It’s so important to give, especially in tough times like now. And I don’t just mean material things. Give your time, your heart. Don’t hold back but give. We all need to do that.”
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Comments
Posted by satsoomer (anonymous) on December 24, 2009 at 12:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nice story about a great guy, but could we get the X out of Christmas?
Posted by along (anonymous) on December 24, 2009 at 8:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
FYI: Contrary to popular belief, the term Xmas is not some modern attempt to remove Christ from Christmas . . . x IS a modern form of the ancient Greek Chi-Ro symbol, written as an x with a p in the center - standing for Christ. "Mas" comes from the Anglo-Saxon for a festival or religious event . So Xmas actually means a celebration of Christ - just as Christmas does. And the term has been around much longer than any retailers out there have been in business - about 1,000 years. As a practical matter, the abbreviation does fit on signs (and in headlines) a little better, too.
That being said, many, many thanks to Mr. Burnett and his lovely exemplication of the true spirit of the holy season. His generosity certainly touched my heart and many others. That's what should be focused on rather than arguing over headlines, don't you agree?
Peace on earth, goodwill toward men and a Merry Christmas (and Merry Xmas!) to you all!
Posted by mysticriver (anonymous) on December 24, 2009 at 10:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, that is good to know for those those of us who read the comments, but it is not a good message to send to the many people that will read "X-mas" and assume the Advocate is trying to remove Christ from Christmas.
Posted by crz75 (anonymous) on December 25, 2009 at 8:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There is just no way you can replace Christ with an X. Period!
Posted by INI (Rob Mello) on December 26, 2009 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
lmfao WHAT!?
Posted by tigerfann (anonymous) on December 26, 2009 at 5:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
GHS Class of 1985!!! Way to go Fred!!
Posted by INI (Rob Mello) on December 28, 2009 at 12:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't know what's funnier here. Complaining that Chirho doesn't mean exactly what it does, or AD means after death...
sincerely I mean what I write here.
One- As a friend had observed if you don't expose your beliefs as though they were the latest pair of Nikes' it would help with the credibility.
Two- If you're going to try and convert or "teach" another, learn about your own beliefs first...
please? There juuust might be folks out there that know a tad more than the average bear, and with whom the same tired lines of "it's a mystery of God, or It's God's will" just won't suffice. kthanks
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