VALDOSTA – It was a good old fashioned field day at the historic Lowndes County Courthouse Friday afternoon. 

The Valdosta Rotary Club gathered 20 teams on the square for the 2019 Corporate Charity Challenge.

Businesses, city and county officials and nonprofits battled it out in the interest of promoting literacy.

Baby gators Leonardo and Spike from Wild Adventures Theme Park made appearances.

Games included corn hole, sack race, mini golf, egg toss and speed reading. Awards were given to winners.

Lowndes County Fire Rescue defeated the competition and won the gold prize.

Southeastern Credit Union took silver while The Investment Centre at CBC Bank took bronze.

Proceeds from the challenge benefitted Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that provides free books to more than 1,400 children in Lowndes County.

Families register their children up to 5 years old to have the books mailed directly to them, said Deanna Smith, chairman of the literacy fund for the Valdosta Rotary Club.

Entry fees from the challenge assisted with program costs.

“We are so excited and so very appreciative of everybody that has come out today. Our sponsors, our teams, we are so excited that they’re here,” Smith said. “It really helps us know that this community considers literacy an important part of the community, as well.”

Teams were KFC; Moody Air Force Base; The Investment Centre at CBC Bank; BNI Valdosta II; the City of Valdosta; WB&T Wealth Management; Valdosta State University Department of Masters of Social Work; Red Cross of South Georgia; Bennett Watson Trust, Estate and Elder Law; and Plants, Plants, Plants.

Gold sponsors Wild Adventures, Coleman Talley and South Georgia Medical Center had teams participate, as well.

Other gold sponsors were Southeastern Credit Union and Country Financial Ford Bowen.

Azalea Health had four teams. One consisted of Crystal Tompkins, Kimberly Neal, Amber Harnage and Kaitlyn Ashley.

Neal said the ladies participated to become more involved in the area.

The Corporate Charity Challenge helped to unify the community, Tompkins said.

“I think it brings the community together so that we can all get to know one another,” she said.

Dennis Marks is the team coordinator for the Lowndes County affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

He said he is grateful for the Valdosta Rotary Club being able to raise money to support the library.

Smith said it is the club’s hope to make the event an annual one.