Article from NWI Times
April 24, 2011
Candy, not baseball, the name of the game at South Holland egg drop
By Gregory Tejeda Times Correspondent | Posted: Sunday, April 24, 2011 8:00 pm | No Comments Posted
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SOUTH HOLLAND | For 6-year-old Malik Reese, Sunday was a very good day.
After visiting his grandmother in South Holland and going to church with his family, Malik went to Thornwood High School where he participated in the south suburb’s first Easter egg drop.
A helicopter showered the high school’s athletic fields with some 2,000 plastic eggs stuffed with candy or coupons to go along with about 5,000 plastic eggs that volunteers had scattered across the fields.
Malik was among approximately 500 kids who rushed onto the field to seize some candy.
But the people from River Oaks Community Church in South Holland who helped coordinate the egg drop made things a bit interesting by mixing in with the various eggs a few big bags of candy.
Which is how Malik happened upon a 56-ounce bag of M&Ms.
After looking to his left and right to see if anyone else was going to claim the bag and seeing no one, he quickly snatched it up to add it to his other loot — two plastic eggs and a small bag of jelly beans.
Holding up his top prize, Malik said, “I’m going to share this with my friends.”
The Rev. Troy O’Quin, pastor at River Oaks Community, said he was inspired to organize the event after seeing similar helicopter egg drops in other towns in Illinois and Indiana. He said he thinks he learned from mistakes he saw other towns make.
“There are a few things we know not to do,” O’Quin said.
About the closest to a glitch that occurred Sunday involved the helicopter. While the athletic field was roped off into sections meant for differing age groups so that older kids didn’t get all the candy, the helicopter blew all of those ropes and markers away.
When Village President Don De Graff and state Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, gave the order to the children to hunt for eggs, the field where three major leaguers played their high school baseball became a near free-for-all. Kids attempted to pick up anything that looked remotely edible.
Most children appeared satisfied — and one mother, after seeing the Aurelio’s pizza coupon in her child’s egg, was especially pleased.
“This is tomorrow’s dinner,” she said.
Even Malik seemed pleased, saying as he and his mother left the field, “This is good.”
Dancing with the Pastors Competition Benefit
April 20, 2011
Purchase your tickets today from the church for a savings from the normal ticket price. Come out and bring your friends to support your pastor!
What a Weekend!
April 17, 2011
The title says it all! Friday night kicked things off with a fund raiser for Endure Productions. Endure is an awesome organization that works with kids to teach them the arts. I am excited about working with this group for that Dancing with the Pastors event. Camille and I had the opportunity to meet Kafi the Chicago Luvabull that will be my instructor!
Saturday, we had an awesome practice for our Easter production. After the practice I had the privilege of performing a wedding ceremony for Keith and Erica. The wedding was beautiful and of course Erica was a stunning bride. After the wedding Camille and I darted out and made our way to the Museum of Science and Industry for Childrens Champions Awards celebration hosted by Childrens Hunger Fund (CHF). CHF is another tremendous organization that assist churches in supplying them for outreach to children. This celebration was top notch and a great evening for networking and fellowship. The most exciting thing was seeing a couple of young people from a troubled area that we work with being able to be there and experience the culture and eloquence of the night!
Sunday, was AWESOME with over 210 people joining us for worship! We had 2 respond to the call of salvation which is always exciting to see! When service ended we packed the house at Wing Stop in South Holland for our after service party! It was great being able to hang out and fellowship with everyone. The best part about all this is that ROCC was able to make a great impact in a local business!
Alright so I’m off to bed now as I think I’ve done all I can for one weekend! Goodnight!
Pray for the School Board of District 205
April 6, 2011
Another blow to the future success of our students was delivered last night. Three School Board members with strong Christian attributes and beliefs have been removed from our board. Our newly elected school board officials have effectively misguided our community and will now attempt to misguide our schools. I am determined to stand and pray for the success of our students and I truly pray that we will once again fill this board with men and women that love the Lord with all their heart! Rev. Dr. Carl King, Dr. Sallie Penman, and Ms. Vanessa Bradley, I would like to personally thank you for your great leadership and sacrifice for our students. You will be missed!
School Board Election Tomorrow
April 4, 2011
In a few short hours I will be rising before the sun in order to open the building for yet another election. All elections are tremendous opportunities for us to exercise our freedoms and this is incredibly important since it directly effects our children! Please vote and let’s keep Rev. Dr. Carl King, Dr. Sallie Penman, and Vanessa Bradley in office serving our high schools!
