Touch-A-Truck event held in Waynesburg

Video courtesy of WCTV, Rebekah Vaughan

On Saturday, Sept. 25, the First Baptist Church of Waynesburg hosted the annual Touch-A-Truck in the church’s parking lot. With COVID-19 putting a damper on the festivities of last year’s event, the Church opted to dub this as the “9.5” anniversary. 

Local organizations such as fire departments, police departments, and others came out and brought their equipment for the children of Waynesburg and surrounding communities to see. 

Dawn Mankey, one of the main coordinators for this event from First Baptist Church, said the event has been a hit since the beginning.

The event started in 2010 with 92 children registered and in attendance. As the years went on, that number has only gone up.

“The last year that we had it, it was almost 1,000,” Mankey said. “So this year we plan on far more.” 

Many community organizations were in attendance as well, such as the local community center.

Deputy Sheriff Dale Campbell said that it is important for these types of events to be held to have interactions with the young people of the community

“This is great,” Campbell said. “That way they can see what we do everyday, what gear we use, meet and greet the kids, that way they’re not scared. [So] they understand what we do and why we do it.”

The church’s praise and worship band also put on a concert after the event wrapped up. 

“They sing every Sunday,” Mankey said. “And they had the inspiration and the calling to give a concert today after the festivities.”