The Fayette Youth Protection Homes celebrated its 20th anniversary by saluting founder Jim Friday at its recent banquet.

Friday is a longtime Fayette County resident and was serving jury duty in 1986. The case involved a young girl who was forced to reside in an out-of-county juvenile detention home because there was no foster care facility in the county.

He spoke with the sheriff's office, the board of commissioners and all realized a foster home in the county was possible. In 1988 ground was broken in northern Fayette County and the first foster home was built, appropriately named the Jim Friday Home.

Just ten years later, another home was built in the southern end of the county, named the Asden Johnson Home.

This organization is now known as the Fayette Youth Protection Homes and is overseen by Executive Director, Becky Davenport.

"Jim sewed the seeds 20 years ago," she said, "that allowed our organization to grow into what it is today. He has done so much good for the children in our county."

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