Troup County Sheriff’s Office Car Show draws record crowd
Published 12:00 am Monday, May 9, 2016
LaGRANGE — The seventh annual Troup County Sheriff’s Office Car Show on Saturday brought the fundraiser’s largest crowd yet, sheriff’s officials said.
Almost 200 classic cars and vendors participated in the event, which raised more than $13,000 for the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Home at Pineland.
“We topped last year as far as entries,” said sheriff’s Maj. Charles Nixon, who heads the annual event. “Last year we had 163.”
The money raised each year benefits the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes, which serve abused and neglected children. Pineland is the local facility located in rural Troup County.
“This week is actually the 25th anniversary of Pineland, which opened in May 1991,” said Shayne Goddard, director of development and properties for the youth homes in the state. Before becoming a state director, Goddard was director of the Pineland campus.
The program partners with the foster care system to take children who have issues due to their mistreatment.
“We try to work through their issues and get them on track to help them,” Goddard said.
The facilities provide a homelike environment for the abused children, Goddard said. Children participate in exercises and activities to help make them “self-sufficient individuals in society.”
“The Sheriff’s Office is the backbone of everything we do,” Goddard added. “An event like this helps give these children an opportunity to become productive citizens, which benefits everyone in our community.”