Local council members of the Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council- Phyllis Dantzler, Judy Manning, Rosemary Smith, and Commissioner Allin Whittle- met with 2017 grant recipients to hear about the progress and improvements made due to the allocations.

The Mid-South RC&D issues “grants… to fund projects taking place” in eight counties, drawing grant money from legislative appropriations for community grants.

Representatives from the Preservation of Searcy Schoolhouse group, Conserve Alabama, City of Georgiana Police Department, Old Time Farm Day/Dig Deeper, Sammy Soil costume, Midway-Damascus VFD, Healthy Living Families, and the Industry Community Center all detailed the community projects they were able to undertake thanks to grants by the RC&D. 

State House member Chris Sells also attended, and was credited with helping secure and distribute the grants that each project received.

“This is an important part of what I do,” Sells told the group.

Sells credited Shaurice Carr- a government liason with The Cosby Company- as “the one that makes it happen,” helping to secure the grants for groups that come to Sells seeking funding.

The Cosby Company’s stated goal is to “fulfill unmet needs in Alabama by promoting project development and social and economic growth to create a better quality of life.”

The projects that received funding range in purpose widely, from relatively small community projects to larger public services such as Butler County’s Old Time Farm Day.

The Preservation of Searcy Schoolhouse, helmed by the Searcy Homemaker’s Club, maintains the 96-year-old schoolhouse on Airport Road.

The city of Georgiana’s police department received $5,000 from RC&D towards new cars for the department.

Georgiana police chief Carlton Cook spoke to thank Sells, RC&D, and the community at large in helping to procure the vehicles.

Altogether, Mid-South RC&D secured “$43,939.89 in investments for Butler County “in the last two years,” according to a press release from the organization.