ATHENS-A football coach will exchange his sweats for an apron, and a police officer will swap his uniform for a Falcon superhero outfit.
They will be among seven local celebrities who will wait tables Thursday, July 1, at Applebee’s for the City of Athens Relay for Life Celebrity Waiters Night. The Celebrity Waiters will work for tips to support the American Cancer Society.
“The waiters usually compete individually to see who can raise the most in tips, but this year, we are pitting the men vs. the women,” said Athens Relay Team Captain Holly Hollman.
This year’s Celebrity Waiters are:
- Women’s Team – East Limestone Band Director Jennifer “Miss Sam” Janzen, breast cancer survivor and community volunteer Kathy Cothren and litter fighter Laverne Gilbert.
- Men’s Team – Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks, Athens High Football Coach Cody Gross, Athens Firefighter Jordan Pugh and Athens Police Officer Michael Stainbrook.
“This is a popular fundraiser because the waiters joke with each other and poke fun at each other when they compete for tips,” Hollman said. “Miss Sam has won the past few years, so the other waiters up their game. The firefighters come out to support Jordan Pugh, and Officer Stainbrook always portrays a superhero. This year he plans to be Falcon. The kids really enjoy that.”
The event will be from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Councilman Frank Travis will be “the host with the most” and greet diners at the door and share with them information about the fundraiser. Applebee’s will assign a waiter or waitress to help each Celebrity Waiter.
“I don’t think it is the least bit unfair that we have four men on our team and the women have three because Miss Sam gets the support of the entire band and East Limestone community,” Mayor Marks said. “She’s like two or three waiters in one, so I feel like this year, the odds are actually more even to give us a shot at raising the most money.”
Janzen quipped that she’s glad Mayor Marks remains optimistic each year despite his second-place finishes.
“This is for a good cause, so when we raise money, we all win,” she said but added, “It’s still nice to have bragging rights for a year.”
Hollman said Celebrity Waiters is a special event for the Athens Team because it was Councilman Jimmy Gill’s favorite fundraiser. Gill died in 2016 from cancer.
“The year he was in the hospital fighting cancer, he asked me about Celebrity Waiters and said he was going to make the nurses donate to him every time they drew blood,” Hollman said. “He planned to be at Celebrity Waiters that year and raise $1,000. Cancer took him from us and kept him from being there physically, but he’s with us in our hearts.”
