HALE COUNTY- Recap, elect new Board, get new members and look ahead.

That is the purpose for the Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization, or H.E.R.O., to meet Thursday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m.

The organization will hold its annual meeting and membership drive at the Hale County Courthouse.

“The purpose of the meeting is to discuss what we’ve done in the last year,” District Court Judge William “Sonny” Ryan, founder of H.E.R.O., said. “We will go over upcoming plans and make necessary changes to the bylaws and programs.”

Ryan said the organization will also elect new members for the Board of Directors.

This past year H.E.R.O. ran the family resource center, did work at the food bank, provided GED courses and pre-k classrooms and education. The group also ran a program for pregnant teens.

“We teach first-time teenage moms about prenatal and postnatal care and care for themselves,” Ryan said. “We encourage them not to get pregnant again and to finish high school.”

According to Ryan the program had great success until funding was cut.

“There were lower infant mortality rates and a lower number of teen pregnancies,” he said. “We are just trying to stay in business and out money keeps drying up.”

The group is also working on building partnerships with area health initiatives.

“We are trying to be a little of everything that needs to be taken care of.” Ryan said,

He hopes to draw at least fifty people to this year’s meeting. “Last year we had our meeting the Friday of Labor Day Weekend,” he said. Thus, the H.E.R.O. currently has only 20 members.

Ryan said if you want to empower and revitalize the Hale County community, you should join H.E.R.O.

“We are a community organization with no political agenda whatsoever,” he said. “We are an organization where your views can be heard.”

New and old members are urged to attend.