Last Saturday, town officials in Garland, with the help of two organizations, put together a day of community fellowship ahead of the upcoming school year.
The Gathering at Cain Park was held with members of the Garland Christian Ministries and Helping Hands Change Makers Inc., assisting residents with school supplies, while food and activities such as a bounce house and face painting were also available.
“Last month, when we did the dedication to Cain Park, the mayor (Ralph Smith Jr.) and the other commissioners expressed to me that they thought it was a great idea,” Commissioner Shavonia West explained of the event’s planning. “So, he said let’s do something next month, and I agreed, so this is how this came about. That day, we decided to do this. Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Willie Parker was supposed to come, but he’s a coach, and he had a game today, so he informed me that he couldn’t be here. A lot of people were looking forward to seeing him, but the event wasn’t about that. We wanted to get the community together again so we could just fellowship.”
And fellowship they did at the park, with residents enjoying hot dogs and mingling with friends and neighbors.
The town commissioners wore shirts with their names on them so residents could recognize them and have conversations with them.
“I wanted to get the commissioners together so that the community can meet us,” West explained. “The shirts help people easily identify us, so they can talk to us. That’s really what this event is for. For me, it’s more than just going to a board meeting once a month and sitting down and making decisions for the town. If we’re going to be elected officials, then we need to serve. That’s what people voted for me, voted for us, to come out here and put on events for the town. It was important for me to let people know who I am. I’ve run a business in Garland for 20 years, but people may not know exactly who I am, the mayor, Sean (Melvin), or Barbara (Peterson) are, so I felt like it was good for us to get together again.”
The feedback the town has received from previous community events has been positive, according to West.
“Everybody said they enjoyed coming out, enjoyed the music, free giveaway of hot dogs, etc.,” she said. “I haven’t heard anything but good feedback, and I’m hoping the same from this one. The town has a budget that can handle the simple things that we’re doing, like purchasing hot dogs and water. Those things cost less than $1,000 to put together, including the DJ. So we can do things like this anytime because we have the money to do it, and, if we do, why not spend the money and put it back where we get it from (the community). Basically, the residents pay taxes, so we’re taking some of the money, and we’re trying to give back as a small gesture that we hope to get a big reward from.”
Supporting local students was a point of emphasis for West.
“A long time ago, the town of Garland used to do things, and lately I hadn’t seen us do anything,” she explained. “It was important to do something with our community and our children, because I look at the other towns and they’re doing things for their community kids, and we have just as many that are as important. I figured that we could do something small like this, and, hopefully, that it’ll grow to something bigger. It looks like we have a good turnout today, and as we plan more, I’m sure the crowd will get bigger.”
Mayor Smith also discussed other events he hopes to bring to the community.
“The music in the park is going to be a big thing in the future,” Smith stressed. “We’re having a parade coming up in October, and we’re going to have live bands, vendors and all kinds of stuff going on, and we’re looking for that to be a big success. It’s been many years now since we had a parade in Garland. We look forward to having another one.”
Smith also emphasized supporting residents and local children.
“We’re a community that’s a family,” he emphasized. “You’ll see us out here talking; we all know each other, and we try to support our school and our kids. We have a lot of things for the smaller kids to do here today, and that’s what it’s about; they’re the future of the county. The town loves putting on these kinds of events, and it’s been a great atmosphere.”
The Gathering at Cain Park was held as local students prepared for the start of the new school year.