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Azle’s Community Caring Center will feed a record 14,000 people this year. Arthur Lang said that only by the “grace of God” – and a small band of volunteer “angels” – is this possible.
Lang and his wife Charlene, co-directors for Azle’s largest food pantry, paid tribute to those volunteers at the CCC’s 9th Annual Angel Banquet held Nov. 17 at A&M Gardens.
Guest speaker was Jody Dean, a man with 35 years experience in broadcast journalism and a familiar voice – and face – to many the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Dean began his broadcast career in 1973 with WBAP-TV. He is currently the stadium announcer for the Dallas Cowboys and hosts the morning show on KLUV-FM 98.6. Dean is also a devout Christian – a character trait that allowed him to fit right in with the Christian-based audience attending the banquet.
Dean, always outspoken, has not been afraid to speak his mind on the subject. He’s even written a book, Finding God in the Evening News, which largely concerns the application of Christian viewpoints to the endless stream of unfortunate events that appear on the news. Dean said he has a special appreciation for service organization volunteers like those serving at the CCC. He said Christians are called to serve. “We’re all in the service business – some of us just don’t answer the bell when it rings,” he said. Dean said he understands the difficulties from serving an often ungrateful constituency at area food banks. “Sometimes they bite the hand that feeds them,” he said. And thus, oftentimes, volunteers might feel unappreciated, he said. But that’s the way it goes when following a service oriented life dictated by Christian principles, he said. After all, Jesus hung on a cross for those who openly hurt and ridiculed him. Dean said he’s found out late in life that its important put one’s life in perspective. He said performing on radio and TV isn’t his life – it’s his job. Serving others is a Christian’s true “living.” That’s why he respects the volunteers at the CCC. Dean said you can’t measure yourself in victories on this earth. “Ninety percent of the seeds you sow won’t come to fruition in your lifetime,” he said. And the key is to not give up – no matter how many ungrateful people come may through the door every day. “The key is to just keep plodding along,” he said. “I’m convinced that he’s (God) closest to you when you’re just barely moving along. He (Jesus) knows what it’s like. After all, he walked from Jerusalem to Golgotha.” Dean said he learned the hard way that even the seemingly smallest acts of kindness can make a huge difference in one’s life. He said while speaking at a church in Fort Worth recently he met a lady he hadn’t seen for 20-plus years. Turns out she was the mother of an old friend of his who was killed when his gocart was run over by a car when the boys were teenagers. Come to find out, Dean’s mother – who had lost five children of her own – had written a the women a letter of encouragement. “She told me that letter had helped her get through that difficult time,” Dean said. Dean said he had always wondered about – and often criticized – his mother’s incessant note-writing in church. He said he even joked that his mother was keeping score. Now the woman’s message humbled him. “I owe my mother an apology,” he said. He said he has three kids now – each offering a different challenge for their dad. “I think God gives us children to show us what we put him through,” he joked. He said he wants to help keep his children grounded in Christian faith – no small challenge considering the amount of money folks spend on their children nowadays. “I don’t want my daughter to have a limo in this world,” he said. “I want her to have one in the next.” he said. And he challenged the Caring Center’s volunteers to keep their faith strong and continue serving, no matter what. “Sometimes we have to go on more than faith,” he said. “When it comes down to it, it’s not what you trust – not what you believe.” he said. Lang said the center couldn’t survive without its “angels.” The CCC has a total of 56 volunteers ranging from food stockers and sorters to preachers who lead daily devotionals at the center, located at 317 Commerce Street. Only three or four volunteers come to work every day. Most volunteers devote their time one day a week. “We love you,” he said. “We’re glad you’re here.” And the center is always looking for the right “angels” to help get the job done. “People ask me if I need volunteers,” he said. “The answer is ‘no.’ Volunteers do it from the head. Angels do it from the heart.” |
