Larry Davidson (right) was the winner of a bicycle given away at the 22nd Annual Youth Outreach Day hosted by the Franklin County Civic Social Club. Photo by Matt Wilson.

By Matt Wilson

For the FCT

Larry Davidson walked up coyly to the table where Harold Vaughn and Allen Rorer were drawing names. On the outside Davidson may have looked cautious and calm, but on the inside he must have been shouting with joy.

Davidson was one of the local kids that had just been chosen to receive one of 10 bikes that were being given away June 21 at the 22^nd Annual Youth Outreach Day hosted by the Franklin County Civic Social Club.

Rorer, the President of the Civic Social Club, said for 22 years he and this club have just been trying to give back.

“We’re just a group of men trying to help out and give back to the community,” Rorer said.

“All the volunteers that come out and help, all of the guys in the club, we just want to be something positive to the community.”

The event, hosted at the Chucky Mullins Center, included a balloon toss, a visit from a couple of Russellville Fire Department trucks, a basketball shoot-around and the prize drawings.

“The kids are really going to be excited when we start giving away those bikes,” Rorer said. “But the older kids, they are in for a surprise because they don’t know what they’re in a drawing for.”

Rorer was referring to five, $50 bills that were being drawn for as well.

After lunch the group was split into adults and children and two speakers talked about family and the importance of being involved with your kids.

Rev. Johnny Smith spoke to the children and told them a story based off of Bible scripture. Before Smith began, David Humbers pulled out his guitar and sang a song to the children.

On the other side of the Chucky Mullins Center, Byron Graham, the athletic director for Florence High School, talked to the parents about the importance of being involved in the lives of their children.

“You need to set standards for your children to meet and you need to keep them,” Graham said.

“And you need to reward the good things that they do as much as possible.”

Graham said that he was talking from experience and what he sees from students and athletes at the high school level.

“The most important thing that I try and stress, the thing that we see in high school athletics the most, is just how important parent involvement really is,” Graham said.

Harold Vaughn, vice-president of the Civic Social Club, said what he sees with the club and what they try and do in the community is to be positive.

“It’s all about camaraderie,” Vaughn said. “We are just willing to do work and help out and that brings all of us together as a community.”

Russellville Mayor David Grissom echoed Vaughn’s sentiments.

“What these guys do every year for this community is great,” Grissom said.

“They are just a positive force that continues not just once a year but they constantly to do good things for this community.”

Vaughn said that he has memories from events like the Fun Day that have stuck with him for a long time.

“We are just trying to put something out there for the kids and the community, something that they can do and something that brings us all together,” Vaughn said.

“I still remember things like this from when I was younger—and that was a while back.”

Vaughn said he hopes the club can continue to grow and be able to help more people.

“We’re wanting to grow and get more involvement so we can do more to give back,” Vaughn said.

“We’re hoping to be able to give some scholarships to kids who have the ability to go on in school but might not have the means.”

“We in the club are blessed to have good jobs and be able to give back like we do, but we want to be able to do more in the future as well,” Rorer said.

Vaughn said he hopes events like this also make people in the community, such as the firemen and the policemen, “more approachable.”

“I want people to be able to see that these policemen and firemen have children too,” Vaughn said. “I want us to all be pulled together.”

Vaughn stressed that the city council members and the mayor are vital in keeping things like the Fun Day going.

“They are all very important and I can’t even name everyone who is involved, but they all make it possible,” Vaughn said.