As far as I know, I had never heard of Lumberton, North Carolina, until this past summer when the city served as the host of the 2018 Dixie Youth Baseball Major League World Series. The city welcomed our own Buckingham County Majors All-Stars, which went on to become the first Buckingham team to ever win more than one game in a World Series at any age level.

I figured that would be the last we heard about Lumberton this year, but then Hurricane Florence ravaged it in September, leaving devastation in its wake, and the Town of Farmville sprung into action to help.

As reported last week, Farmville Town Manager Gerry Spates and Councilman Donald Hunter recently initiated a disaster relief drive for victims of Hurricane Florence in Lumberton.

It was noted how Dr. James Taylor III, pastor of Jericho Baptist Church in Farmville, was asked to be the lead pastor in contacting churches and businesses in the Farmville area regarding donations for the drive. Deacon Perry Carrington served as the lead project site coordinator.

Farmville maintenance workers became Lumberton maintenance workers for a window of time as Spates dispatched them to the North Carolina city to assist in cleanup of debris and downed trees.

This was before the week when donations were collected.

Area churches, businesses and citizens of the area donated cleaning supplies, household goods, food, as well as monetary donations. Donations were also received from churches and organizations in the counties of Cumberland, Chesterfield, Powhatan, Buckingham, Amelia, Prince Edward and the city of Richmond.

Officials cited in the report that the box truck, nearly full to capacity, was securely packed by town employees and made ready for the journey. Spates joined Taylor and Carrington for the send-off to Lumberton on Thursday morning, Oct. 18.
As reported, the truckload of supplies and monetary gifts were transported to the Lumberton, North Carolina-based Lumber River Baptist Association (LRBA). The items were distributed on-site by the Rev. Dr. Thurman Everette, moderator of the LRBA, and his staff.

Monetary donations of $3,800 in check and $600 in Walmart/Visa Gift cards were also presented.

It was reported by Taylor and Carrington that most of the conditions that they encountered were deplorable. Most of the homes and buildings had the walls gutted because of the mold. However, there were about 80-plus residents gathered to receive the items delivered, and many more joined the lines.

The report we ran concluded by highlighting that Dr. Everette, staff and residents expressed their gracious thanks to Spates and other town leaders and the citizens of the Town of Farmville, area churches and all those connected in this outreach of love and blessings bestowed upon their area in such a critical time of need.

What a great representation of kindness from the Farmville area. Well done to those involved in this remarkable effort!

Titus Mohler is the sports editor for The Farmville Herald and Farmville Newsmedia, LLC. His email address is Titus.Mohler@FarmvilleHerald.com.