FOLEY - After serving on the Foley town council, severing as mayor for several terms, and serving as the judge of probate in Baldwin County, Tim Russell is now working on a new project: the Alabama 200 Bicentennial.

“The main part of the bicentennial that I’ll be covering is the military part of our great state,” said Russell. “Several people have asked me why in the world did you just retire as the judge of probate, after working for 49 years, and are now getting so involved in military history? Here’s the reason for that: I’ve been asked to oversee that portion of the celebration because we have a great ship over in Mobile Bay, the USS Alabama.”

The Battleship has been designated as the official bicentennial celebration site for the veterans in Alabama. While no exact date or itinerary has been released, Russell has high hopes to make the celebration an excellent and well-attended one.

“This is a huge responsibility, because we have 385,000 veterans in Alabama that we honor, and every day the Battleship is open, and it’s open every single day except for Christmas, it honors the men and women who have served this country or who are severing now,” Russell said.

Russell hopes on the day of the celebration to have a turnout amounting to the most veterans ever gathered in Alabama at one location. He stated that previous research shows the most veterans organized in one location as being 10,000 during a Veteran’s Day Parade in Birmingham.

“We would like to see 25,000 veterans on our 155-acre canvas,” Russell said. “We would set up bus transport to bring them in from several different areas, but we want to honor all those veterans. We know that all Alabama veterans can’t come obviously, but we hope to get representation throughout the state from veterans in all five branches and have as many of our men and women that we can attend.”

Three of the top ten military displays are located along the Gulf Coast, with the Battleship being the 9th best in America, Russell said. Throughout the rest of 2019 and 2020, more events will be taking place across the state to honor the 200 bicentennial, with many being held at the Battleship.

“I invite everyone to get excited about the bicentennial and all the celebrations,” said Russell. “There are a lot of pieces coming together; that’s what’s nice about 200 years of history. It’s a great opportunity to serve our country, to serve our state, and to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this great country.”

To keep up with Alabama Bicentennial upcoming events, check out their website at alabama200.org.

The Foley Optimist Club meets every Wednesday at noon at the Gift Horse Restaurant in Foley. Any interested parties are welcome to attend.