The Tattnall Shrine Club is a record-setting club in their fundraising for the Shriners' children's hospitals; their heart for children is evident in the zeal they have to provide for children's medical needs and surgeries. Richie Waters has served as president of the club during 2023, and he was joined by other club members and many of their spouses at the Alee Shrine Ceremonial in Savannah on November 18, 2023, to present the financial donations.
This year's total Shriners' hospital donation by the Tattnall club was $200,000, and the Tattnall club is the first club or unit in Alee (out of 17 clubs/14 units) to donate this amount of $200,000 in one year. Of this $200,000, $50,000 was donated to the Morris Slotin Fund, which is the transportation fund for the hospitals, and $150,000 was donated to the Greenville Shriners Hospitals motion analysis lab.
Even more outstanding and commendable is that the Tattnall Shrine Club surpassed the one-million-dollar mark with total donations since 2009 to present in the amount of $1,073,000....and the Tattnall club is the first club or unit in Alee to reach the one million dollar mark to Shriners' Hospitals. At the beginning of this year, the Tattnall Shrine Club adopted the slogan "March to a Million for the 2023 Year," and that commitment to the goal was met.
Waters stated that the fundraisers have included the Crappie Tournament, Bass Tournament, Annual Mud Bog, and the club's Annual Second Amendment Banquet. A new fundraiser added this year was the Tattnall Shrine Birdies at the Beach Invitational Golf Tournament, which attracted commendable participation.
"Also, Greg Strickland, one of our members, accomplished the Four Corners Motorcycle Ride, which is traveling 10,000 miles in 21 days. He raised $10,000 for the Shriners' Hospitals on the ride. We are also grateful for a $7200 donation from the Long County Protective Services Auxiliary," said Waters.
"Of course, we could not make these donations possible to the Shriners' hospitals without the support from the citizens of Tattnall and surrounding counties. Your generosity and concern for children with medical needs has made all the difference in so many lives," added Waters, and the club members attest to the fact that they have fun and fellowship together while financially supporting the Shriners' hospitals.
The Tattnall Shrine Club membership list is as follows: Jerry Balderson, Jasper Blanton, John Blocker, Jesse Bradley, Nick Branson, Charles Brown, Michael Burke, Randall Butler Sr., Randall Butler Jr., Rodney Butler, James Cheney, Morgan Collins, Norman Davisworth, David DeLoach, Jason Dubberly, Tommy Dubberly, Shot Durrence, Mark Durrence, Klynt Farmer, Justin Foster, Ray Futch, Jamey Gates, Brian Green, Landyn Guy, Ben Hilliard, James Hennessy, Stacy Howard, Walter Hussey, Sam Iddins, Stacy Johnson, Danny Kicklighter, Hunter Kicklighter, Stephen Lanier, Steve Lingle, Dustin Lively, Hunter McCrary, Wesley Meeks, Lance Miller, Wesley Miller, James Mistler, John Mock, Charles Moody, Robbie Moore, Dustin Nail, Stephen Odum, Billy O'Neal, Jay Owens, Scott Parker, John Paul, Caleb Poppell, Shane Poppell, Ashley Richardson, Robbie Sikes, Beau Smith, Trevor Smith, Frank Stephens, Greg Strickland, Ty Swindell, Scott Terrell, Dennis Tippins, Rodney Todd, Shawn Tootle, Richie Waters, Terry Waters, and Jason Willett.