Vina shows support for local family
Candy Brewer (left) and Leigh Burks (far right) helped organize the event to build up and benefit the Payne family: Jamie Payne, Bryant Payne, Braxton Payne and Billy Payne (not pictured).
By Bart Moss for the FCT
Saturday night the Vina community rallied in support of Billy Payne and his family. Payne, who works at Tiffin Motor Homes in Red Bay, was diagnosed with breast cancer in March.
Breast cancer in men is very rare. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is 100 times less common among men than women. For men, the lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is 1 in 1000, and there are just over 2,300 cases diagnosed each year.
Payne’s wife, Jamie, is a fifth grade teacher at Vina. She said when they got the news it turned their world upside down in the blink of an eye.
“It is so hard to describe,” she said. “It was like being run over by a truck. We just weren’t expecting that kind of news.
“Billy has been great. He has a great attitude. He has been very positive, and he’s a fighter.”
Teachers and members of the Vina community sold and served more than 500 fish/chicken plates at the school Saturday night, held a cake walk and an auction to raise money in support of Billy and Jamie Payne and their two sons, Braxton, 6, ] and Bryant, 3.
“We are so blessed to live in such a wonderful community,” said Jamie. “The teachers working here tonight are like my own family. I love them so much and can never thank them enough for what they have done for us. We have a great church family at Altar Baptist Church; (they) and pastor J.C. Blackburn have been so supportive. There just aren’t enough words to express what Billy and I feel toward our community.”
Leigh Burks, a third grade teacher at Vina, and Candy Brewer, an aide at Vina, helped organized the event.
“We have been so humbled by the outpouring of support for the Payne family,” said Burks. “We had a great response from businesses all over Franklin County, Marion County and in the Tremont, Miss., area, where Billy is from.”
“They are a great young family and we are going to support them every way possible,” said Burks. “It’s going to be a long journey for them, and they will need everyone’s prayers in the coming months.”
Learn more about male breast cancer and other forms of cancer at www.cancer.org.
