Editor,

Liberty County, we did it! Thanks to the support from many entities around the county, we successfully hosted a reality show here in our community. It seems crazy to plan for over a year for just two days, but this was an enormous undertaking that could not have happened without help from all areas of the county.

We at the Liberty County Convention and Visitors Bureau would like to acknowledge and thank the following organizations and individuals who participated and contributed to the filming of our episode of “Fireball Run” Season 9, “Space Race.”

“Fireball Run” centers around travel, tourism and unique destinations and because we have amazing historical and cultural sites, our county was selected as a host destination for the show. The Midway Museum, Geechee Kunda Cultural Center, Fort Morris, Dorchester Academy, the Independent Telecommunications Pioneer Association Museum and Brewer’s Christmas Tree Farm each played a role in the episode, and we can’t wait to see the teams complete the challenges at each location when it premieres in 2016. The show could not have taken place without their cooperation, coordination and enthusiasm. We’re proud to have them in Liberty County and pleased that they will be internationally showcased.

So many other organizations contributed to this production as well, and we’d like to thank them all.

• The Hinesville Police Department for providing traffic control and safety backup. Chief Stagmeier and Capt. Reid and their officers worked with us to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors while accommodating the Fireball Run teams and production crew.
• The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office for providing traffic control and leading the “Fireball Run” team out of Liberty County to its next destination.
• Mike Davis and the crew from CH2M for helping block the roads, putting up our banners, letting us use the man lift, providing manpower and just being awesome in general.
• Laura Troutman of the Liberty County Board of Commissioners, who made sure everything was set up for the “Fireball Run” crew to tally the scores in the historic courthouse. We didn’t have to worry about anything because she handled it all.
• Jimmy Shanken, who loaned us his moving truck so that we wouldn’t have to make a million trips back and forth, hauling stuff for the “Fireball Run” dinner and the events downtown.
• Larry Logan of the Liberty County Emergency Management Agency, for volunteering to go out to Brewer’s Christmas Tree Farm to hand out mission packets for the “Fireball Run” teams.
• Keep Liberty Beautiful for arranging for the World’s Largest Crayon (which normally resides at its office) to be transported to La Quinta Inn and Suites to add to the memorable atmosphere of the “Fireball Run” stay in Liberty County. The men from the Liberty County Road Department — Brad, Adam, Anderson, Curtis and James — who lifted that 600-plus-pound crayon are seriously Herculean! We also appreciate Sara Swida for letting us borrow the KLB generators and Brenda Hearn for delivering them. That was a major help!
• Hasit Patel, Wendy Kirkby and the entire staff at La Quinta Inn and Suites for working tirelessly to ensure the “Fireball Run” teams and production crew had an enjoyable, comfortable stay and a hearty breakfast on Friday.
• The Liberty County School System, which made sure we had fantastic representation from the Bradwell Institute Marching Band, the Liberty County High School cheerleaders and many other schools who came out just to cheer on the teams as they finished the race Thursday afternoon. Our rival schools showed true community spirit and really worked together to give a great performance in Bradwell Park!
• The First Presbyterian Christian Academy cheerleaders and students for coming out and cheering the “Fireball Run” teams on Friday morning. It helped make the event even more festive!
• Michelle Ricketson, Hollie Barnidge and Lisa Waye of the Hinesville Downtown Development Authority for coordinating with us in spreading the word about “Fireball Run” and then helping us get the cars parked and directing the contestants at Bradwell Park.
• Krystal Hart with the city of Hinesville for helping raise awareness and get the word out through social media and word of mouth.
• Terri Willett and Joey Prince for lending extra helping hands, running around in the rain and just making sure that we got things done quickly and efficiently.
• Mr. Herbert Stacy of Stacy’s Florist, who loaned us beautiful ferns to place on the stage for the Bradwell Park event.
• The Liberty County Information Technology Department and the city of Hinesville IT Department for working to get the Internet running and helping with various technical issues for the show.
• Karen Bell and the Red Cross Fort Stewart Red Club for bringing their enthusiasm to the “Fireball Run” event and bringing the youth to participate.
• Sterling Martin of Martin Audio Production, Capital A Productions and DJ L. Boogie for providing the music and sound assistance for Thursday and Friday.
• Jennifer Darsey and everyone at United Way of the Coastal Empire for facilitating the Backpack Buddies experience for the “Fireball Run” teams and for keeping this valuable program running in our community.
• The staff of the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce for answering all kinds of phone calls about “Fireball Run” throughout this whole process and working late on Thursday, running errands and making us look like superstars. The Chamber board members, who also helped spread the word about “Fireball Run” through social media and word of mouth.
• Our CVB board members, Mayor Sandra Martin, Mayor James Thomas, Chairman Donald Lovette and Allen Brown for all their support and assistance.

Finally, we’d like to thank the residents of Liberty County. Those of you who came out to greet the teams despite the rain-soaked conditions on Thursday and the early morning on Friday. We realize that closing the streets in downtown Hinesville those days did make it more difficult for people to get around, but we didn’t hear one complaint. And that just means you rock! You showed amazing hospitality and support, and we feel lucky to call Liberty County home and all of you neighbors. Thanks for making us “Liberty County Proud!”

Sincerely,
The Liberty County Convention and Visitors Bureau