This Friday the Natchez Firefighters Association will be having its 14th annual fireman’s ball.

It does not seem like our group has been going on that long. The ball was started by the Leadership Natchez class to purchase much-needed equipment for the Natchez Fire Department.

The Natchez Firefighters Association continued this and then expanded it to help various local charities.

This year’s charities are the Adams County Red Cross and the Natchez Humane Society. The Red Cross has a single-family relief fund that helps families that are victims of house fires. And the humane society is in the process of trying to build a new buildiing.

These two charities are worth our support.

The ball will be from 8 p.m. to midnight, and the band this year is local favorite Black Bayou.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. There will be hors d’oeuvres, beer and soft drinks provided. If you prefer something else, bring it with you.

The ball could not happen without help from our 20 sponsors, and on behalf of the Natchez Firefighters Association, I would like to thank them all.

If anyone would like to be a sponsor, it is not too late.

Sponsorships are $200 and anyone who is interested in being a sponsor can contact me at 601-431-7744 or the president of the Natchez Firefighters Association, Robert Arrington, at 601-392-9253.

Please come out and support our association in our effort to help these community charities. Have a good time also! The dress code is come as you are — dress up or dress down, just come have a ball with us.

Black Bayou is sure to entertain you. To all those who will be going to the pageant, we will only be a short walk away from the City Auditorium, and we will really be rocking by then.

Joe Garrity

secretary/treasurer, Natchez Firefighters Association