Editor, St. Francis of Assisi said, “For it is in giving that we receive.”  
On behalf of Bryan County Children’s Fund, I would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who helped to support the program this year. We were able to provide Christmas gifts to more than 450 disadvantaged children in our county.  This would not have been possible without the collaboration and assistance from local churches, businesses, schools, social service agencies, and many others. The communitywide response was overwhelming.
We are exceptionally thankful to The Good ‘Ol Boys, who raised funds through the annual Santa Scramble Golf Tournament. Special thanks also go to those who volunteered their time to help collect, organize, and distribute the gifts to more than 200 families across the county.
We would also like to thank the following:
Bryan County Board of Education staff; Bryan County DFCS; Bryan County Elementary School; Bryan County High—SADD Group; Bryan County Middle School; Bryan County News; Bryan County Sheriff’s Department; Corinth Baptist Church; Consumed Church; Daniel Baptist Church; Dollar General—Pembroke; Dollar General—Richmond Hill; Ellabell United Methodist Church; and Express Packaging Inc.
Also, Faith Harvest Sanctuary Youth; First Baptist Church of Pembroke; First Baptist Church of Richmond Hill; First Century 21; Galbreath and Sons; Henderson Law Firm; Keller Williams Realty; Life Changer’s Christian Center; Olive Branch Baptist Church JOY Group; Pembroke Advanced Communications; Pembroke Police Department; ReMax Accent; Richmond Hill Cubscout Pack 400; Richmond Hill Elementary School; and Richmond Hill Girl Scout Troop 30370.
Also, Richmond Hill Middle School; Richmond Hill Montessori Preschool; Richmond Hill Primary School; Richmond Hill United Methodist Church; Richmond Hill Vineyard Church; Robin Lance Realty; SouthCoast Pediatrics; St. Andrew’s School; St. Anne Catholic Church; Urgent Care Center of Richmond Hill; Valli’s Precision Collision; Mark and Cheri Alderman and family; Pat Auth and family; and Karen Becker.
Also, Jeffrey Beckworth; Dick Brockoff; Christine Bulloch; Cindy Burbage; Corey Cook; Jennifer Collins; William Collins; Darlene Conley; Ben Covington; Josh Covington; Noah Covington; Katie Deplacito; Bryan and Amber Fordham; Lauren Francis and family; Leslie Francis PR; Mindy Galbreath; Valli and Melanie Gapac and family; Larry and Brenda Garrett; Shari Giddens; Paige Glazer and family; and Michelle Henderson.
Also, Julie Hernandez; Karen Hewitt and family; Trey Hewitt and family; Alison Holcombe; Denise Houston and family; Katlyn Jackson; Tara Jennings and family; Kelly Johnson; Patrick Lane; Betty Lee; Terri Liles; Cheryl Medina; Forrest Miller; Patti Newman; Shaun and Angel Page; Sy Raulerson; Ashley Roberts and family; Sally Shuman; Iris Sims; Audrey Singleton and family; Sheriff Clyde Smith; Donna Starling; Tim and Lindsay Stillwell; Mandy Toole; Tracie Turcotte and family; John Usher; Heather Walker and family; and Cindy Wakefield and friends.
One of Bryan County’s greatest assets is its citizens.  Never was this more apparent than during the 2013 holiday season.  The great citizens of our county really gave so much to help make the lives of our children happier.  How blessed we are to live and work in Bryan County!
— Wendy Sims, Bryan County
Family Connection