Helping Others Keep Communties Together

by Tony Vindell/LFN

An example of how communities stay together for a good cause was shown recently in Raymondville where a fundraising was held to help out a first responder whose house burned to the ground.

Bryan Parker and his family suffered a setback in a March 7 fire that took place while nobody was at their home east of Lyford.

“We lost everything,” Parker, a 12-year veteran with Willacy County Emergency Medical Services, said, “but we are going to build a new place from scratch.”

On Wednesday, April 11, a fundraiser was held to help the Parker family, drawing people and several organizations from as far as Robstown, Harlingen and from other Rio Grande Valley places.

Among them were Texas Farm Credit, First Community Bank, EMS and dozens of volunteers. They cooked 750 sausages in a BBQ pit installed on a trailer, wrapped them in flour tortillas and served them in a brown bag along with chips and a soda to go.

“This is one of the best things we can do for a good person in the community,” Billy Best, branch manager with TFC Raymondville office, said. “We are glad to help out.”

Parker’s misfortune came just as he was recovering from an injury he sustained on one of his feet in which he wore a cast and then a boot later on for the last three year for healing purposes.

The fundraising lasted for a couple of hours.

People and business representatives from throughout this area of the Rio Grande Valley came to pick up orders. Some of them handed over checks and money collected from company employees.

The event was held on the bank parking lot and grounds under an atmosphere of camaraderie.

“It’s nice to be loved in such a way,” Parker’s wife, Kim, said. “Thanks everybody.”