Donate Life Tennessee Celebrates Tennessee County Clerk Appreciation Week

July 21, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

July 22-26, 2019 is Tennessee County Clerk Appreciation Week and Donate Life Tennessee, is recognizing each of the 95 county clerks and their employees for their support of the Tennessee County Clerk Organ Donor Awareness Foundation (TCCODAF), educating Tennesseans on the importance of organ and tissue donation; and asking individuals to register as organ and tissue donors. Donate Life Tennessee staff and ambassadors will visit county clerk offices across the state to present them with a special gift.

“I am proud of the county clerk’s support of the TCCODAF and continued efforts promoting the Donate A Dollar campaign when residents receive or renew vehicle tags. The funds raised are key to Donate Life Tennessee’s efforts to educate on the importance of registering to be an organ and tissue donor.” Lawrence County Clerk Chuck Kizer, Foundation Chairman. “Becoming an organ donor gives hope to those who are desperately waiting to receive a lifesaving transplant.

Sometimes an unfortunate situation provides the fortune of life for another.”

Of the Tennesseans who have registered as organ and tissue donors, 98% have done so when receiving or renewing their driver licenses or state IDs at Driver Services Centers or at the 41 county clerk offices providing the service. Currently, more than 2.3 million Tennesseans are registered on the state registry.

In 2018, Tennesseans saved 1,026 lives through organ transplantation, one in Dekalb County, and thousands more received life improving tissue transplants. Today, more than 2,900 Tennesseans are listed on the national organ transplant list waiting, two in Dekalb County.

Donate Life Tennessee Registry is maintained by the state’s two organ procurement organizations, Tennessee Donor Services and the Mid-South Transplant Foundation. A critical part of their mission is to ensure Tennessee residents understand the importance of organ and tissue donation and provide them the information to register.

“We cannot overstate the impact our county clerks and their employees have on saving the lives of people in Tennessee and across our nation,” said Jill Grandas, Executive Director of Tennessee Donor Services. “We are extremely grateful to each them and the Tennessee County Clerk Organ Donor Awareness Foundation.”

For more information about organ and tissue donation, or to register as a donor, visit www.DonateLifeTN.org.

July 21, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Ten people took home $500 each Saturday night as the DeKalb County Fair closed out its weeklong run for the year.

(View Photo Gallery of the DeKalb County Fair by clicking link below)

2019 Photo Gallery

Mevolyn Farless and Joseph Pack each won $500 Monday night but there were no winners on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday nights. All the money scheduled to be given away on those nights plus the Saturday night winnings were given away last night.

The Saturday night winners were Johnnie Patrick, Rhonda Bass, and Doris Smelcer of Alexandria, Jeff Carter, Debra Robinson, and Jarred Dawson of Smithville, Stephanie Driver of DeKalb County, Jerry Wayne Johnson of Liberty, Wanda Barrett of Murfreesboro, and Lee McKinney of Gordonsville

(Video Below of Mid State Cloggers at the Fair)

IMG_8569 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

July 21, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) invites the citizens of DeKalb County to attend a community gathering on July 25^th where they can meet the TN Department of Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher and the TN Department of Tourism Commissioner Mark Ezell.  Local leaders and engaged citizens are invited to participate and learn about opportunities and programs for their county administered by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Tourism. Also in attendance will be Representative Teri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster) and Representative Clark Boyd (R-Lebanon).

“The Department of Agriculture is the number one revenue generator out of all state agencies, and the Department of Tourism is number two,” said Senator Pody. “I think it is very important for rural counties to build relationships with these two departments, so I invited the commissioners to Dekalb County to initiate those relationships and ensure the county is taking advantage of all the state has to offer from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Tourism.”

Both Commissioner Hatcher and Commissioner Ezell are newly appointed to their positions by Governor Bill Lee.

The event will take place from 2:00p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the DeKalb County Complex (712 South Congress Blvd., Smithville).

“This will be a great opportunity for Dekalb County residents to get to know these commissioners as well as interact with local leaders and elected officials,” added Pody.