Front row from left: Kennesaw Wrecker Service driver Brett Smith, General Manager David Gilstrap, and owner Jim Richards; second row from left: owner Diane Richards and dispatcher Eric Bell; and standing on truckbed: dispatcher Virginia Vittur and office manager Christen Gilstrap look forward to the First Annual Towing Toys for Cobb event that will take place on Dec. 5. Local towing companies are collecting children’s toys for Christmas and will conduct a tow truck parade leaving Lost Mountain Park at 8:30 a.m. and arriving at Jim R. Miller Park where there will be food and games open to the public.
Photo by Laura Moon
Photo by Laura Moon
Thanksgiving Day has taken on a new meaning for owner Jim Richards, his son and general manager David Gilstrap, driver Brett Smith and dispatcher Eric Bell. When automobile owners see them, it usually means the worst has come around, and some will break down and cry, the men say.
"A lot of people are hurting now," Richards said. "A lot of people are out of work, getting their cars and homes repossessed. And unfortunately, the children are the ones who have to take the brunt of it around Christmastime."
As a result of the hardships witnessed, Kennesaw Wrecker decided to organize a toy drive to give back to less fortunate residents.
On Dec. 5 at 8:30 a.m., there will be a parade of tow trucks, police vehicles and fire trucks traveling from Lost Mountain Park in Powder Springs to Jim R. Miller Park in Marietta. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Jim R. Miller Park, there will be food, games and other family-friendly entertainment.
To attend the Towing Toys for Cobb event, families are asked to give two unopened and unwrapped toys, or monetary donations. The donations will be given to the Fraternal Order of Police's Shop with a Cop program.
So far, about 36 tow companies from around Cobb have signed up to participate, and more are welcomed to join. At Jim R. Miller Park, they plan to perform wrecking demonstrations for children. Other police and fire departments will participate as well.
"We just felt it was time to give back to the community," Smith said. "We're not only about going out there and yanking your car because you did something wrong. We're going to give back to the children of the people that are misfortunate."
Richards said in the nine years that the towing company has been in business, it hasn't been as bad for people having their automobiles repossessed as it is now.
For more information about Towing Toys for Cobb, call Kennesaw Wrecker Service at (770) 794-4372.
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