By Eason Franklin
The Lowndes Signal

Christmas is just a few weeks away and many families are gathering together to pick out, put up and decorate their Christmas trees.

However, members of one Lowndes County community are gathering to decorate their town hall for their own upcoming celebration.

The Mosses Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) is gathering the last of the door prizes, food and decorations in preparation for its upcoming Christmas banquet Saturday.

Now in its third year, the annual event is aims to show appreciation for firefighters from the local and surrounding communities and counties, said Mosses Firefighter Jerome Hardy.

“We would like to have the public come out to fellowship over dinner and conversations,” Hardy said.

Each December, the event draws upwards of 70 people, including special guests and key note speakers, said Mosses Fire Chief Eric Hall.

“We usually have everyone from Lowndes County participate, including public officials, other fire departments and state fire marshals,” Hall said. “It gets bigger and better every year.”

This year’s banquet will feature Supervising Pilot Ed Oliver with AirEvac in Elmore County who will be speaking on the importance of residents volunteering with their local VFDs.

The banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m., Dec. 11 at the Mosses Municipal Complex.

Tickets for the event are being sold my members of the Mosses VFD up to Saturday for $7 to help cover the cost of hosting the event.

Additional funds collected from the banquet will be directed back toward the Mosses VFD for equipment, added Hall.

“We work tirelessly in our efforts to provide for this community,” said Hall. “We ask all who can attend come and show gratitude toward our fellow firefighters and fellowship. What better way to sit down and enjoy a dinner than with friends and family.”