By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Escambia County High School’s lobby took on a more festive look last Friday, December 2, when members of Atmore’s Yellow Hat Society donated a giant, fully decorated Christmas tree to the school.
Lillie Johnson, president of the local group, said members decided to donate the tree after seeing the one the school was planning to put up.
“During the Thanksgiving dinner at Escambia County, I asked the principal, Ms. (Kike) Pettaway about her Christmas tree. She showed me the one she had, and it was a ‘Charlie Brown’ tree. I told her the Yellow Hats would get her a tree.”
And, boy, what a tree.
YHS member Teresa Dees had a 24-foot tree she didn’t plan to use, and society members paid to make it into a festive holiday tree.
“Teresa Dees donated it, and the guys at school put it up,” Johnson said. “Yellow Hats put out the money for the lights.”
Dees and Shelia Johnson-Williams strung the lights and hung the decorations.
“We spent about $2,000 on decorations,” said the Yellow Hat Society president. “It’s really pretty.”
Pettaway thanked the group for the donation, then expressed appreciation to Empowerment Tabernacle and the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots program for donating books to the school’s English Language Arts classrooms.