Letter to the Editor

Thanking a local business for help

Sunday, February 3, 2008

To the Editor:

As a new season begins for the Clay County Relay for Life (American Cancer Society), I find myself having fallen short of a promise. Last year, I was in charge of the food for the Relay event.

The donations by those involved were tremendous, and I am grateful for all the food at the pitch-in dinner. But for the "Midnight Pizza Party" we were way behind. We received donations from Pizza Hut and Papa John's Restaurants, for which we were highly grateful. Unfortunately, the number of pizzas was nowhere near what we needed. The pizzas were brought in and devoured with gusto. However, having been called away for a family emergency, I didn't know of the pizza discrepancy. One of our Relay participants did realize the situation and went to work. Literally! Matt was employed at Papa John's, and with his manager's support and assistance, they worked even after closing to make us 19 more pizzas!

When I returned to a pizza nightmare, Matt and Papa John's had already stepped up and become involved with the solution. I want to say, "Thank you" from the bottom of my heart!!!

The way Papa John's stepped up and got involved reminded me of the storm that went through our community several years ago. Straight-line winds tore through our neighborhood, much the same as a tornado would. Large branches had fallen on our garage, taking out the corner of the roof. Friends and neighbors pitched in and helped us cut the branches off of our garage and out of our driveway. The American Red Cross came around often to offer assistance, which totally amazed and blessed me. Papa John's Restaurant was there also to offer us free pizzas to feed us as we worked. That memory stays with me.

Please join me in offering a well earned "Thank You" to Papa John's for their involvement in our community. My promise to make sure our community knew of Papa John's involvement in Relay's pizza rescue is finally fulfilled. It is my hope that Papa John's receives the recognition they deserve for community commitment and work well done.

Carrol Evans

Brazil