• There will be a Centennial Celebration on Monday, November 27 in front of City Hall.  Music will start at 5:15 PM, followed by historical presentations at 5:30 PM.  There will be birthday cake and punch at several locations on Main Street after the presentations.  Plans are for many of the Collins businesses to remain open late to welcome you during the party.  Y’all come!
• Colonial Chapel Billy King Funeral home, under the direction of Chris DaQuila, will have birthday parties on Monday, November 27 at the VA Nursing home at 10:00 AM and at the Covington County Nursing Center at 2:00 PM.
• The Christmas Centennial Parade will be on Thursday, November 30.  Pre-parade music, presented by groups from the three Collins Schools, will start at 5:30 PM in front of the City Hall.  There will be a drawing for Chamber Christmas Money at 6:15 PM.  $800 will be given away!  The parade starts at 6:30 PM.  The grand marshals for the parade at our current mayor and board of aldermen.  They represent ALL the citizens of Collins and our parade seeks to honor ALL the citizens of Collins! Please contact Suzette Davis at asdavis1961@hotmail.com or at 601.765.4491 to enter in the parade.
• Covington County Bank is having commemorative bronze coins minted for the celebration.  The first six of the coins will be presented to our mayor and the board of alderman at the Centennial Celebration on Monday, November 27.  The bank has also included centennial information in several of their ads in The News Commercial.
• The centennials banners are here and some have been installed on Main Street.
• The Shadrack Rogers DAR cookbook, Treasured Recipes II, is in and copies are available at Morgan’s On Main for $10 per copy.  The proceeds from the sale of these recipe books will go to fund the Gertrude McCarty Smith Art Scholarship to JCJC.  There is a brief history of the DAR chapter, 60 years old this year, and a brief history of the City of Collins, 100 years old this year.  The DAR Chapter has also commissioned a sterling silver charm in honor of the centennial.  The one inch charm is being handcrafted by Allison Bennett Tofflemire, niece of Irving Hitt, and will feature a canoe floating on the Okatoma.  The charms will be availed to order in January 2006 for $25.
• A painting, “Mississippi: A Proud Heritage”, designed and executed by Ashlye Shoemake, was presented to Collins Middle School on Friday, November 3.  The 4 ft X 7 ft was executed in acrylic paint on canvas mounted on board, making it possible to relocate, if needed.    The painting has 38 Mississippi related icons; 16 of these are portraits on outstanding Mississippians.  A portion of the funding for this project, $500, was provided by a grant from ExxonMobil Education Alliance.  Ashlye is a Collins native and a professional artist.  Her home base is Hattiesburg, although she recently spend part of the summer studying in England and France. Her parents are Jo and David Shoemake.  Guests are welcome to view the painting in the area by the main office.
• Please take an opportunity to view the fall decorations on the patio at Priority One Bank.  The bank has also ordered a large banner that will be displayed on the wrought iron fence that encloses the patio.  They plan to have historical plaques placed at the two entrances to the bank.  They will also have displays of old loan documents and pictures in the bank lobby and at the Collins Public Library.
• Heather Woosley McRaney is working to have a three-hour radio remote broadcast on Monday, November 27 from 10 AM to 1 PM.  This will be on WFMM 97.3, SuperTalk Mississipppi.  Heather is seeking 20 supporters to fund the remote at $100 per supporter.  If you can assist in this, please contact Heather at 601.264.5185 or 601.297.1291.  One of the DJ’s is JT Williamson.  JT’s roots go very deep in Collins soil as he has Williamson relatives, as well as being the grandson of Bess Hills.
• Heather is also working on the history of Speck’s Restaurant, as her grandparents are Opal Graham and the late Speck Graham.  If you have a Speck’s story the family would love to include it in the book.  You may contact Heather at hmcraney@exceedtech.net.
• The News Commercial is planning the Christmas Edition for December 20, 2006.  The theme for this issue is “Christmas Past – Remembering 100 Years.”  You are encouraged to send in photos and reminisces of the past 100 years for publication.  E-mail is preferred at goff405@yahoo.com, attention James Arrington Goff.
• Regions Bank, represented by Carolee Loftis, reports that they will participate in the Christmas Centennial Parade and will have  Customer Appreciation Day in honor of the Centennial.
• Herman Campbell has organized recognitions for the students and faculty members in the schools for those who have birthdays on November 2.  He has also encouraged the retired educators of Covington County to submit articles about their memories of Collins.  He has also made donations to the historical collection at the library of Collins school yearbooks and the history of Collins United Methodist Church.
• Misty Lott reports that Collins Elementary School will be presenting pre-parade music on November 30, entering a float in the parade, and will participate in the birthday party on November 27.  The school has also printed copies of a painting of the school as posters and as note cards.  These are available for sale at the school, 601.765.4292.
• Marge Beard reported that the Mississippi Authors Festival, Saturday, October 28, was very successful with authors from around the state.  The plan is to repeat this successful event next year.  Marge has also made arrangements, with the help of Annette Hamill, for our Centennial to be “plugged” on WLBT-TV on Monday, November 20, during the noon hour.
• Suzette Davis made arrangements for news of our centennial to be on WDAM-TV on the Morning Show on Friday, November 17.

Gwen Hitt, City of Collins Centennial Celebration C