American Legion announces raffle winners

FUND-RAISING SUCCESS

  • Chris Taylor (left) of Cordele was the winner of the lever action Henry Golden Boy rifle, which was donated to American Legion Post 142 by Scott Walston of Gray Memorial Chapel. DEBBIE LURIE-SMITH/Staff
    Chris Taylor (left) of Cordele was the winner of the lever action Henry Golden Boy rifle, which was donated to American Legion Post 142 by Scott Walston of Gray Memorial Chapel. DEBBIE LURIE-SMITH/Staff
  • Joy Carr is presented a $100 Ingles gift card, the second prize in the rifle raffle, by Post Commander Russell Curry. DEBBIE LURIE-SMITH/Staff
    Joy Carr is presented a $100 Ingles gift card, the second prize in the rifle raffle, by Post Commander Russell Curry. DEBBIE LURIE-SMITH/Staff

    Fundraisers for Gray’s American Legion Post were successful once again thanks to the hard work of its members and the support of people in the communities of Gray and Jones County.

    The post’s two largest fundraisers take place in coordination with Jones County’s Veterans Appreciation Day that took place Nov. 11.

    American Legion Post 142 is located at 314 Old Clinton Road and holds meetings every first Tuesday of the month. There are currently more than 60 members, and anyone who has served in the Armed Forces is welcome to join.

    Russell Curry serves as Post Commander, and Post Adjutant Ted Stone handles the money.

    The fundraisers are chicken dinner sales and a rifle raffle. The rifle was a lever action Henry Golden Boy 22L donated to the legion by Scott Walston and Gray Memorial Chapel.

    Tickets for the fundraisers were sold by members of the American Legion who could be found most weekends in front of local stores and at community events. The dinners are picked up at the Veterans Appreciation Day event, and the drawing for the winner of the raffle takes place at the conclusion of the Veterans program.

    This year’s winner of the rifle was Chris Taylor of Cordele. He is employed by Preferred Pump, and Jones County is on his route. He said Heather Dye and Jennifer Nunn with Greene’s Water Wells sold him the ticket.

    The second-place winner, Joy Carr, won a $100 gift card from Ingles Market.

    Stone said this year’s raffle raised $6,750, and the tickets for the dinner brought in $3,030. After paying for the cost of the meal, the total of the fundraiser is $7,893.

    He said every penny of the remaining money would go back to help those in the community. The Legion uses the funds to support organizations like Wreaths Across America to provide wreaths for the Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Milledgeville, the Georgia War Veterans Home and the Velma McFadden Food Bank at Jordan Chapel.

    Stone said all the funds go to local agencies and families in need.

    “We only keep enough to keep up the maintenance on our building. We give the rest away,” he said.