Toys for Tots meal set Saturday

By Sam Waller

Toys for Tots, in conjunction with the Albany High School National Honor society, will again provide barbecue sandwiches during Small Town Saturday on Nov. 27.

Marine SSgt. Doug Beaty, who coordinates the Toys for Tots campaign in Shackelford County, said service will begin a 4:00 p.m. at Bank Park before the start of the Lighted Christmas Parade.

“We did that last year, although there wasn’t a parade,” Beaty said. “When it got cancelled, we just kind of did a grab-bag deal and we did really well.”

The meals will include a bag of chips and a drink, Beaty said. While there is no set price, donations to Toys for Tots will be accepted.

Beaty is in his 33rd year with Toys for Tots.

“I started after I got off of active duty and went into the Reserves,” he said. “I worked with the program there in ’86 and ’87, then when I moved back home to Breckenridge, I started my own campaign.”

It didn’t take long for Beaty to include Shackelford County in his program.

“I knew people in Albany, and it seemed like they were getting left out,” he said.

Beaty works with ResourceCare to provide gifts for Albany children from infants to 11 years old.