Barn Goes Up And A Symbolic Tool Belt Goes Out

The massive shell of the new barn at the Build An Ark Animal Rescue site is now complete. Lester Buildings of Ellijay will now finish the work volunteers from the New York Says Thank You Foundation started over a weekend of special events dedicated to the memory of Ellijay’s fallen son, Army 1st Lt. Noah Harris

The foundation met and exceeded its goal to have the roof of the barn finished by Saturday night, despite a torrential downpour that brought work to a complete standstill mid-afternoon. No amount of rain, though, could dampen one of the foundation’s favorite rituals, the annual tool belt passing ceremony. The ceremony is done at each site the New York Says Thank You Foundation visits. The tool belt is passed on to the exemplary worker by the person who received it at the last project. This year’s honoree was Jeremy Larson.What began in 2006 when a hammer was accidentally left behind in Baker Chapel, has developed into a perfect example of the pay it forward message championed by New York Says Thank You. The hammer was brought to volunteers from Baker Chapel to Groesbeck, Texas, followed by a trip from Groesbeck to Greensburg, Kansas, from Greensburg to Mena, Arkansas, and now to Ellijay.

The ceremony marks the end of the project in Ellijay and honors their mantra to ‘pay it forward’ to the next destination. The tool belt passing was not the only tradition kept. Amy Winger, who was one of three families whose homes were rebuilt by the New York Says Thank You Foundation following tornadoes that ravaged Mena, was presented a rocking chair built from wood that had been a part of her destroyed home. Susan Littlejohn, founder of Build An Ark Animal Rescue, was presented with a table and a hard hat designed using “the old oak” that made the stables that were demolished by the tornadoes.

NY Says Thank You Tool Belt Ceremony from Fetch on Vimeo.