"Big Event" to help community

The 11th annual Big Event will take place Saturday, April 10 in Commerce.

The concept for the Big Event came to Hunt County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Latham after he visited his son at Texas A&M University College Station.

The original event was created to provide A&M students with a chance to give back to the residents of College Station by bringing the university and the community closer together.

Latham said he thought he could bring the same concept to Commerce to help strengthen the university and community's relationship.

"I thought that this event would be perfect for Commerce," Latham said. "It is a great opportunity to bring the community and the university closer, and opens doors for students and citizens to work hand in hand."

The Big Event gives students and residents a chance to work on community service projects such as yard work, house painting and street cleaning.

"People from the university or community submit projects that they want done on that day," Latham said. "We try to pair the people that would do those projects with the people that want them done."

A&M-Commerce Coordinator of Annual Programs Alicia Wittkopf is working alongside UIL Coordinator Sara White to identify and contact student volunteers for the event.

"This is my first year to be a part of the Big Event, and I believe Commissioner Latham has done a fantastic job at making sure that the citizens of Commerce – those who enjoy it most – take an active role in maintaining it," Wittkopf said. "I am looking forward to being a small part of that effort for years to come."

Latham's daughter, Sara White, takes great pride in the event her father put together.

"I love that it brings the people together to help around Commerce," she said. "Often the community and the university are separate, and this is a chance for groups to work together toward a common goal."

Other projects this year include hazardous waste clean up, and staining the benches and gazebo at the City Park.

"At the first [Big Event] we tore down an old broken down building downtown at the end of the square," Latham said. "We worked through the city, and we had that thing torn down, and we put up a park next to the library with a gazebo. Now, when you drive down Main Street there is a nice looking park where there have been weddings and many other events."

The central meeting place for the Big Event will be at the Commerce City Park beginning at 8:30 a.m. Groups will be assigned various projects.

"After working in the community for a few hours, we meet back at City Park around noon to eat some of my famous stew," Latham said.

Normally 250-300 students participate in the event, including members from almost every recognized organization on campus Latham said.

According to a March 24 KETR press release, the Author's Park Brick Ceromony will be held on Sunday, April 11 at 1:30 p.m. in cooperation with the Big Event and the Friends of the Commerce Library. An open House Party will follow at the Library.

"The bricks are engraved with names of creative persons in the community such as authors, playrights and musicians," Latham said. "They have to have a body of work and have been recognized for that work."

Latham hopes the The Big Event will keep growing.

"It's a real popular event," he said. "It's something that I think is vital to our community in pulling it together. Sometimes it gets very exhausting, but it's a worthwhile experience."