VALDOSTA – City and county leaders are going head-to-head in a cornhole tournament, which will benefit the City of Valdosta First Responder Fund.

The tournament is 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at Georgia Beer Company, 109 S. Briggs St. 

All proceeds, including a portion of food and beverage sales, will go toward assisting three firefighters and one police officer who were struck by a falling power pole July 12.  

Police and firefighters had responded to a call about a power line down on Madison Highway near the intersection with Dampier Street. The accident took place after a heavy thunderstorm had passed through the city, according to an Aug. 9 report in The Valdosta Daily Times. 

Sgt. Jimmy Bacon of the Valdosta Fire Department had a leg amputated below the knee, according to the report.

Valdosta City Councilman Andy Gibbs is spearheading the event alongside Council member Eric Howard, who said the idea for the event came to him while he was watching television. 

“I just thought that would be a good way for us to show our community the city and county can work together, as well as raise money for our first responders that got hurt a couple of months back,” Howard said.

Since the accident, the first responders have received community support through fundraisers, he said. 

Gibbs said he hopes funding raised Saturday will provide adequate equipment for the first responders to return to a “normal life” while also assisting with medical bills or a possible vacation.

“When this tragedy happened, a lot of their lives got turned upside down, and it’s put them in a situation that they’ve probably never really thought about being in,” he said.

The amount of support the city received after the accident conveyed the notion that people in the community care for one another, Gibbs said. 

There will be food trucks, live music and games at the tournament.