to host Louisiana Swamp Night

By JAINE TREADWELL

Staff Writer

The Women’s Life Center/Sav-A-Life of Troy will host its second annual Louisiana Swamp Night at 6 p.m. Tuesday Feb. 13 at the Troy State University Adams Center – Grand Ballroom.

Swamp Night is the center’s primary fund raiser and it features "Cajun food and good times."

Pat Ezell, executive director of the Women’s Life Center, said the food alone is worth the $10 price of the admission ticket.

The recipes for the buffet Cajun supper are from the "secret" files of Troy State University Head Basketball Coach Don Maestri.

"Coach Maestri is well-known for his Cajun cooking and he provides Marriot-Sodexho with the recipes and they do the cooking for us and it’s absolutely wonderful," Ezell said.

Entertainment will be provided by Susan Fife, a very talented gospel singer from Crestview.

At 6:30, the fund raising efforts will kickoff with the highly anticipated auction.

"Last year was our first auction to benefit the center and we were encouraged by the results," Ezell said. "We had outstanding items up for bid and everyone seemed to have a good time. This year, we will have even more items and a greater variety and we hope to raise a lot of money which is needed to keep

the Women’s Life Center/Sav-A-Life in operation."

The list of items for auction is a long and impressive one.

"The business community has been very supportive of the auction and more than 100 donations from merchants and individuals," Ezell said. "The items include jewelry, framed pictures, gift certificates at restaurants and services such as car details and oil changes."

Some of the most popular items on the block last year were weekend get-a-ways and this year there will be several.

"We have a weekend in the Smoky Mountains, a weekend at Blue Water Bay, a weekend at a lake house at Lake Martin, and for the fishermen in the family, a weekend at a cabin right on the banks of a fishing pond," Ezell said.

Other unusual opportunities to bid, include a catered dinner for eight.

"The fillet mignon dinner will be served in the home of the host and hostess and the guests will be waited on hand and foot," Ezell said. "That should be a lot of fun. National Rental is giving a $100 certificate on the rental of equipment and that should come in handy because its time to spruce up around the house with spring just around the corner."

One very unusual bid items will be braces from a Montgomery orthodontist.

"Bidding on the braces will probably be restricted because it’s worth about $5,000," Ezell said. "We’ll probably start the bidding at $1,500."

So, whether your kids need braces, you need a mini-vacation or you just want a good deal and a good deal more, the Louisiana Swamp Night is the place to be.

Door prizes and a silent auction will bring added interest to the night’s activities and every penny spent is tax deductible.

"The Women’s Life Center is a non-profit organization, so all contributions are tax deductible and that’s a plus," Ezell said.

The center is a non-denominational Christian ministry committed to meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the woman and family members facing an unexpected pregnancy and to finding positive alternatives to abortion.

The center provides free pregnancy tests, confidential counseling, medical care referrals, access to existing public and private assistance programs, clothes closet for maternity and baby clothes and items and adoption service through Lifeline Children’s Services.

"Loving counsel is also provided for those who have already undergone an abortion and are having difficulty dealing with their emotional turmoil," Ezell said.

The Women’s Life Center is funded through donations from local churches and individuals and the center’s fund raising efforts.

In 2000, the center served 526 young women. Of that number there were 120 confirmed births, 12 young women who were committed to abortion but changed their minds and 15 young women made professions of faith. There were six confirmed abortions.

"We know that the Women’s Life Center is making a difference in the lives of many young women and we are providing a much needed service in our community," Ezell said. "Pike County is one of the highest ranked counties in the state in sexually transmitted diseases and also has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the state.

Those numbers confirm the need for the center. We need the support of the community if we are to keep providing these much needed services."