TPN

The honorable Governor Bob Riley and Mrs. Patsy Riley have declared the month of February to be “Healthy Marriage” month in the state of Alabama. Whereas marriage is the foundation for healthy families and the cornerstone of society, the Governor wants to encourage and applaud all the efforts by the citizens of Alabama to strengthen relationships and marriages and recognize the special place of family in our community.
To celebrate this initiative, Tuscaloosa’s One Place, in conjunction with local businesses and churches sponsored the second annual Healthy Marriages Banquet on February 2nd at First Methodist Church. This banquet was quite an exciting event. The keynote speaker was Dr. Rosario Slack, author of Ten Great Dates for Black Couples. Dr. Slack is a nationally recognized author and speaker from Chattanooga, Tennessee. He challenged us to be more supportive and encouraging of marriages and families in our sphere of influence, as well as to have more fun in our own marriages.
The Lamb Family violin ensemble provided outstanding music for the evening. The four children of Bill and DuRhonda Lamb are not only gifted musicians, but they also represent the kind of healthy family that we were celebrating.
The purpose of the banquet was to celebrate marriage and to honor some local couples whose marriages are leaving a legacy of love for generations to come. We asked people in the community to write one page essays about a local married couple who is having a positive influence on their own family as well as others in the community. We received over sixty essays. Each essay was a tribute to a great marriage. We selected seven of these couples to honor at the banquet.
The couples selected were: Serena & Steven Crew, TeQuell & John Dantata, DuRhonda & Bill Lamb, Sarah & David Patterson, Overia & Johnny Pelt, Caroline & Glenn Powell, and Fran & Glen Wheeling.
Because a healthy marriage requires life long attention, a number of couples at the banquet were recognized for their participation in marriage courses designed to develop skills for a healthy marriage. Those couples who had completed the “Basic Training” course and the “Dynamic Marriage” course were applauded for their investment of time and effort to strengthen their marriages.
Special recognition was also given to the Davis family. The Davis family consists of six brothers with a combined total of 366 years of marriage. These six brothers are also veterans of World War II. They say one of the secrets of their marital success is that they pray and worship together as families.
The goal is to see our community become renowned for its extraordinary “Legacy of Love” through the gift of happy and healthy marriages.
For personal counseling to build, strengthen, and restore your own marriage and family or to develop a marriage ministry in your church please contact William Scroggins at 462-9916 or wfscroggins@gmail.com .