COUNTY LIFE
‘One big family:’ Nocona Thanksgiving feast a true community project
By DEBRA DUNLAP
About 13 years ago, Belinda Hendrix had an idea. That idea became a vision. She shared that vision with members of her church and they embraced it and made it a passion.
Once implemented, that passion became a Nocona tradition.
Belinda and her husband, Don, founded and became pastors of Christ Community Church in Nocona 14 years ago. Like many churches, when the holiday season came around, the congregation donated food and made up baskets to deliver to the least fortunate of the community. After having done that for two years, Belinda came up with a different plan.
“It always kind of bothered me that we were taking all the ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal to the families, instead of taking the meal itself,” recalled Belinda. “I had worked with the poor before, and I know that there are sometimes circumstances where there are not facilities to prepare the food that we take to them.”
She pondered many of these people may not have propane to heat their homes or bake a turkey, water to wash potatoes or even have anything to cook with. Hendrix said the food they deliver is worthless if that is the situation.
Her idea was to actually prepare a Thanksgiving feast and invite the community to join in, along with delivering meals to anyone who requested it. Read in your mid-week News. how this idea has evolved into a major community event with hundreds being fed.
Pictured: Folks enjoyed last year’s Thanksgiving Community Dinner. (Courtesy photo)
Don Hendrix and his wife Belinda gave life to the idea of a community Thanksgiving feast in Nocona. (Courtesy photo)
Make plans to come out and honor Bowie High School state tennis champions Heidi and Willow Siebert on Wednesday afternoon.
Members of the Nocona City Council will meet for a regular meeting at 5 p.m. on May 12 in council chambers.
A public hearing on an ordinance annexing adjacent and contiguous territory to the city will be offered. This relates to two small tracts of land at the front and back of the Tales ‘N’ Trails Museum property. It does not involve providing any services, but clarifies the property in the museum’s tract. Any action would follow in the regular agenda.
Mayor and council reports on items of community interest follow along with public comments.
Items slated for the agenda include the following: Discuss bid to mow and weed-eat the Nocona Cemetery; discuss bids to furnish a 180,000-200,000 gallon capacity tank for potable water; three requests from the Nocona Economic Development Corporation – Type A and B boards funding a grant for signage at the American Legion at $2,300, both boards fund a grant for Tales ‘N’ Trails to enclose the east win of the barn for $18,000 and both boards to grant the Chisholm Trail Art Association $2,000 to support the Art of the Song Music Festival Art Show.
Other council topics will be consider repair of the water found at Enid Justin City Park; discuss public nuisance code violations; hear request from David Yowell to purchase water for the Nocona Hills Golf Course; discuss appraised value, setting price and conditions for sealed bids on 19.5 acres of city-owned land adjacent to the Nocona Hills Golf Course; discuss slide on upstream water side of dam and discuss changes to rental agreement for H.J. Justin Community Room.
The majority of these items will be considered for action during the regular agenda following the workshop agenda.
Present for the Bowie Community Development proclamation for National Travel and Tourism Week May 3-9 made by Mayor Gaylynn Burris were volunteers and staff: Matthew Hunt, Cindy Roller, Brittany Barnes, Sylvia Henning, Mildred McCraw, and Joe Barnhill. Community Development focus is on beautification and tourism for the City of Bowie. The group focuses on tourism through its many festival and events, welcoming people to the community. (News photo by Barbara Green)
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