Grizzard bike ride returning to Moreland

By JEFF BISHOP
jbishop@newnan.com

Published 3/7/2008 in The Times-Herald

The Lewis Grizzard memorial bicycle ride is being revived in the south Coweta town of Moreland.

The Moreland Town Council this week approved a proposal from the Ferst Foundation to hold the bicycling event.

This year’s ride will be held Oct. 5, a Sunday, and proceeds will benefit the Ferst Foundation, which works to ensure that young children in Coweta County receive a steady stream of books.

Coweta educators Anne Josey and Nancy Royal asked the council to approve the bike ride event and to waive the fee for the use of the Moreland Mill building.

They both stressed the importance of childhood literacy.

“Dolly Parton started this program in Tennessee,” said Josey. The program targets children from birth to age 5. The children receive one book every month.

She said the fact that more than 60 percent of homes “don’t have a single book in them” is a “staggering statistic.”

If a child doesn’t know how to read by the time he or she has reached the third grade, the odds that the child will be successful in school “aren’t good,” she said.

One in every 100 Americans is now incarcerated, she said, and childhood illiteracy contributes to the problem.

The Ferst Foundation strives to put books in the home of every child, she said.

“Right now, frankly, that’s lacking in many households,” she told the council.

But to accomplish that mission, it takes money, she said.

“That’s why we’re re-instating the Lewis Grizzard Memorial Bike Ride,” she said.

It will be a “Ride for Literacy,” Josey explained.

Even though the bike ride won’t be held until October, it’s important to get it approved early so that advertising can be done in bicycling-related magazines, she said.

“Those who take their bike riding seriously are already planning for the fall,” she said.

The bike ride “will be an all-day event,” she said.

Avid Moreland bicyclist and retired educator Allyn Bell will help spearhead the event, she said.

“He’s already met with our group,” she said. Brenda Washington will serve as co-chair.

“We will use the mill as the starting and finishing point,” said Josey. “We expect this to be very organized — a well-oiled machine.”

Councilman Jeff Burgess stressed that those in charge of the event should make sure that the bicyclists don’t leave any litter behind.

“We’re a small town. One of us in here is usually picking up something,” he said.

Royal and Josey said they expect as many as 500 participants.

Mayor Kendall Hurst said that Cardinal Sanitation should be approached about helping with the event.

“They’ve said in the past that they would help us for free,” he said. “That would be great.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he said.

Royal said that “1,800 of our toddlers to age 4 or 5 are receiving books.” The Ferst Foundation wants to make sure it retains its firm footing “so that they can continue to receive books,” she said.

Grizzard grew up in Moreland and went on to a career in newspapers, writing sports and eventually becoming a nationally-known columnist. His success with his columns led to stints on talk shows and even a one-man stage show before he died of a heart ailment. He often wrote about the hometown he loved, and his writings have been collected in a series of books.