Local social club continues tradition of holiday giving

By Staff
Jason Houston FCT Managing Editor
Every year around Christmas, a group of Russellville residents get a visit from a special holiday guest and receive gifts.
No, it's not Santa Claus in this case, but for this group of folks, it may be the next best thing.
Last Saturday, 85 Russellville families got visits from members of the Franklin Civic Social Club, a group that organizes a charitable effort each Christmas to help people in need.
The group, consisting of president Robert Hillman, Allen Rorer, Chauncey Malone and Archie Hubbard, has been making Christmas brighter for local families for 12 years.
This year, the group gave out 45 turkeys and 40 gift baskets. The baskets, donated annually by Sheriff Larry Plott, were the "prettiest baskets" the group has ever had, according to Malone.
The group raises money from private donations to buy the food and gift basket supplies, and donates to families in need. Last year, the group helped more than 100 families.
This year, the group carried three families to Wal-Mart to purchase gift cards for them, Malone said.
Hillman said he wanted to thank each person for their contributions to the effort. Without the contributions, the Christmas baskets wouldn't be possible, he said.
The Christmas giving effort is the group's biggest project of the year, but it's not the only one.
Malone said each summer, the Civic Social Club also arranges an event to help local children. Plus, the group holds fund-raisers throughout the year to gear up for the annual Christmas project.
Next year, Malone said they wanted to make the Christmas project the biggest and best ever.