Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

LANETT — The City of Lanett lost a very valuable city employee this past August with the passing of Fire & EMS Chief Johnny Allen. On Monday evening, city officials underscored what he had meant to the city for many years by having its annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in his memory. Chief Allen’s three-year-old grandson Grayson Allen had the honor of pulling the handle to light three tree.

Granddad would have been most proud of the way he handled that chore like a pro. He was in the arms of dad Casey Allen at the time.

Other family members present included son Cody Allen, sisters Cindy Brooks and Nancy Hamilton, brothers-in-law Steve Brooks and Mitchell Hamilton, niece Hannah Culpepper, Eli Culpepper and Leighton Culpepper. A third son, Corey Allen, is currently serving with the U.S. Air Force in Abilene, Texas.

Speaking from a lighted stage that had been set up on the ballfield across from W.O. Lance Elementary School, Mayor Jamie Heard praised Johnny Allen on having been a faithful and dedicated Lanett man. “If a bad storm was coming through the city he would be up all night riding the streets to see if they were passable and checking on elderly people to see if they were okay,” he said. “He was the kind of guy who went way beyond what was expected of him to get the job done. We appreciated him so much, and he will be missed for a long time.”

With nighttime temperatures falling below freezing, it was a cool evening on the old playground, but everyone appeared to be having a great time and full of the Christmas spirit. A couple of food trucks were there to provide hot food for a lot of hungry people. Hot Daggity Dog was there with their delicious hot dogs, sausage dogs, nachos, fresh-cut fries and funnel cakes. Carl Harper was there with his unbelievably good chicken wraps made the way Mama Mary taught him.

The songs performed live on stage by the Gala for Christ Choir was well worth getting out on a cold night to hear. The choir is made up of talented singers from several area churches. They were under the direction of Cheryl Stiggers. Myron Fears did a great job of accompanying them on keyboards. They did traditional Christmas classics such as “Joy to the World” along with newer songs such as “Celebrate.”

Program emcee Gator Kincaid recognized Mayor Heard and Council Members Tony Malone, Tamalita Autry, Ronnie Tucker, Tifton Dobbs and Angelia Thomas, thanking them for what they do for the people of Lanett. “This is a wonderful city that’s full of love,” he said.

A raffle was held to award six new bikes to children in the four to eight, nine to twelve and 13 to 16 age groups. Winners included Dakota Hart, Zoey Tolbert, Heiner Perez, Amaya Key, Ximena Castro and Ashley Galicia.