Friday, June 13, 2003
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Friday, June 13, 2003 |
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Youth group gets funds for show at council meeting By J. FRANK LYNCH
Shelby Barker had to wait until the very end of a tense Peachtree City Council meeting last Thursday before his turn came to take the podium. Slightly nervous, with proverbial hat in hand, he asked the council for $800 to top off the funds needed to stage a Battle of the Bands night at the Fred Brown Amphitheater next month. Barker, the stepson of city Councilman Dan Tennant and a rising senior at McIntosh High, was representing the Peachtree City Youth Council, which hopes to build a better sense of community among the city's teens through such events. But gee, they needed another $800 on top of the $1,000 in donations already received if they hoped to "put on a show." Barker was Oliver Twist, and the council held the gruel. Though sympathetic, the panel towering before him was hesitant to fork over the dough to just a ... well, a bunch of kids. Weren't there other sources? In-kind donations? Civic groups with fat bank accounts? "I applaud this youth council's efforts, but I'd like more information," said Annie McMenamin. Storm clouds grew darker on the horizon. Shelby's mother, Robin Tennant, jumped up and ran to the defense of the teens. "Please, the kids have worked so hard," she pleaded with the city's elected brass, her husband among them. "We've got a lot of hoops to jump through to make money like this available," Mayor Steve Brown tried to explain in his most fatherly manner. "Check with the Rotary, other civic groups," suggested a kind but firm Murray Weed. "Yes, there are other sources of these kinds of funds," added McMenamin. "But we've tried other sources," Barker told them. His eyes grew downcast. Hope was fading fast. And then, just as quickly as one might utter the phrase, "There's no place like home," a voice spoke up from the back of the room. "Hold on! We've got $400 in pledges right here," announced Bob Lenox, former mayor, jumping to his feet and waving a check in the air. Not missing a beat, a grinning Barker turned back to the council and said, "I guess I just need $400 then." The story wrote itself from there: Weed whipped out his checkbook. McMenamin, too. And then Tennant. Even city attorney Ted Meeker a lawyer! donated to the cause. In the end, a jubilant Shelby Barker and his youth council walked off into the sunset with the $800and a lesson in community spirit that felt like something out of a Frank Capra movie. The show will go on, July 12 at the amphitheater. It is a wonderful life. Roll credits.
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