Enjoying the Farm-City show

By Staff
Kim West
Until this month, I had never stepped foot in the A.W. Todd Centre.
I have been to just about every gym, football stadium and ball field in Franklin County, but not the No. 1 local destination for weddings, dinners and get-togethers.
I'm not sure how long the Todd Centre has been downtown, but it is a beautiful and accommodating facility.
I paid my first visit when I covered the reception of the new city council administration Nov. 3, and I had the opportunity to go again when I was asked to attend the Farm-City Awards Banquet Monday night for my civic club.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much because I've been to a lot of sit-down dinners and awards ceremonies.
While I do think it's important to recognize people, these types of events aren't exactly comedy nights and usually feature a verbose keynote speaker.
However, I would like to thank the Farm-City planners and volunteers for doing such a great job because the event not only recognized Franklin County's best resource – the people – it was also very entertaining, at least from where
I was sitting next to my busy-as-a-bee co-worker, Melissa, who was there snapping photos with her brand-new Nikon and somehow found time to ask several people if they had read her most recent column.
Also, the event was packed.
Franklin County Extension
Agent Katernia Cole, the event organizer and budding stand-up comedian, mentioned several times how worried she was that only 100 people would show up, but there were so many people there that that extra tables had to be set up.
Another element that was different was the presence of students and their teachers, who were being recognized for their poster and essay entries or agricultural contributions.
The teachers were asked to accompany their stuents on-stage for the awards photo and round of applause, which was nice because you can't thank teachers enough for what they do each day.
As I was enjoying some well-cooked chicken breast courtesy of the Franklin County Cattlemen, I thought about how lucky were all were to be there at that dinner.
I think another reason everyone seemed to be happy and having a good time was we weren't focusing on ourselves, at least for a couple of hours.
It's a clich/ to say Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks, but I'm going to say it anyway.
I'm especially thankful for an interesting job, funny co-workers and good health insurance, parents who are equally adept at saying "I love you" and "no"; doctors who go the extra mile; and the fact that UNA and Alabama are both two wins away from playing for a national championship.