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ZEBULON -  Former President Donald Trump, Lt. Governor Burt Jones, and U.S. Representative District 3 Candidate Brian Jack traveled to Zebulon, Georgia on Wednesday, October 23, for the "Believers and Ballots Faith Town Hall" held at Christ Chapel. Thousands showed up for the event as local, state, and federal agencies worked together to keep participants safe.

Pike County Times began coverage of the event with a Facebook Live from in front of the Primary School that showed cars lined up as far as the eye could see in both directions shortly before 8:30 a.m. which is when participants had been advised by email that the parking lots would open up.

A Festive Atmosphere

A massive American flag held up by equipment from KC Drilling and Middle Georgia Water along with a banner that read, “Welcome to Pike County. Trump 2024. Take America Back!” held by equipment from McLeRoy Inc. welcomed participants to the event.

There was a festive atmosphere on the grounds with red, white, and blue being a common theme for the day. People of all ages were standing in line and talking as they waited for the event to open the doors.

Temperatures warmed up into the high 70’s as the hopeful participants lined up from in the back entrance of the church at the metal detectors through a line of fencing that quickly filled with people of all ages continuing the line back and forth through the very back parking lot by the road.

While the gates opened up for parking at 8:30 a.m., participants were advised that they would not be allowed to go inside for several hours. Pallets of water were passed out to the crowd with more brought in through county fire and even a neighboring county’s fire departments as the day progressed.

Trump Travels to Zebulon

This event became public knowledge a quick five days before Trump arrived. Local, state, and federal departments and agencies met many times to discuss logistics prior to the event. Nothing this big has occurred in Pike County in recent times.

The Georgia State Patrol (GSP) patrolled the route prior to Trump’s arrival and ensured a safe journey between the Thomaston airport and Christ Chapel in Zebulon. The caravan was long and was met by many people along the way as they waved, help up campaign signs, and waved flags to welcome former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump to town.

Prior to Trump’s arrival in the area, participants passed through metal detectors and entered the church until it was full to capacity and then quickly filled up the fenced in area that held an outdoor stage surrounded by semi-trailers and other high spots with visible security who protected Trump from any possible threats while he was at the church.

Pike County Times posted Facebook Live videos showing the crowd as it grew in the hours prior to the event. By around noon when the press was ushered inside, there were 4,000 to 6,000 people outside. Those numbers continued to grow because the line of cars to get into the event continued throughout the afternoon.

Pike County Times was advised by phone that the line stretched from the church all of the way back up Hwy 19 almost to the Square in Zebulon and all of the way down Hwy 19 into Thomaston almost to the McDonald’s.

GSP brought the caravan safely into Zebulon and back out again to go to an event in Duluth at 7 p.m. on the same night.

Trump Speaks

The "Believers and Ballots Faith Town Hall" emphasized the importance of believers getting out and casting their votes in this election. There was a little bit of small talk prior to the questions that were asked but not much as the event started almost an hour late and was prior to a second event on the same day.

There was a discussion between Trump and Lt. Governor Jones about teaming up with Macon’s Country Music Star Jason Aldean to raise over $17 million for Hurricane Helene victims, praise for Governor Kemp for his help for victims, and praise for Starlink CEO Elon Musk for helping to make communication possible in areas that had no way to communicate.

Questions began with a gentleman named Mathew asked Trump what he would say to the 32 million Christians who are not going to the polls to vote in this election. Trump said that the last four years have been bad. He encouraged those who have not voted to get out and vote. When he asked how many in the audience had already voted, a large number of people raised their hands.

[Note from the Editor: According to Pike County Elections Supervisor David Neyhart, as of 5 p.m. on Friday October 25th, Pike County has had 6,635 voters cast their ballots. 6,340 voters cast their ballots in person, and 285 voters cast their ballots by mail. This is a 41% turn out, and a record for Pike County!!]

Jake then asked Trump how he planned to protect Israel. Trump told his record with getting out of the Iran Nuclear Deal and work on the Abraham Accords. He said that he would take care of Israel and wants to have peace in the Middle East.

Stephanie’s Mom owns El Mariachi in Zebulon, and Stephanie said that they have been hit so hard with the economy over the past four years. She asked how can you help small businesses be successful again? Trump said that drilling will bring energy back up within twelve months and that will help to get the prices and interest back down. He said that everything follows the energy.

State Senate District 16 Representative Marty Harbin asked how quickly can you shut down the border to keep the drugs from coming in. Trump said that his first order of business will be to shut down the border and deport the criminals who are in the country.

Lt. Governor Burt Jones asked Trump how he leaned into his faith and family when he was being vilified in the media and there have been attempts on his life. Trump said that when you have faith and believe in God, it’s a big advantage over those who don’t. He said that he has a great family and thanked the public for their support.

And the last question was asked from outside by Ben who will be voting for the first time on November 5. Ben asked, “What should I know before I go vote?” At this, Trump headed outside to answer Ben’s question and greet those who had been standing in the hot sun since early that morning. He said that the votes are at record levels, and we need to fix our country.

Trump closed out the "Believers and Ballots Faith Town Hall" on the stage outside by encouraging voters to cast their votes so “we can turn our country around and make our country great again.”

Those Working in the Background

It took a huge number of people working together in their specific capacities to make the “Believers and Ballots Faith Town Hall" at Christ Chapel a safe and successful event. There were some hiccups along the way, but five days of intense planning on the ground in Zebulon showed by the time the event had ended.

Here are those that Pike County Times has been advised were in action on the ground before and throughout the event in Zebulon: Pike County Sheriff’s Office, 911 Dispatch, Zebulon Police Department, Pike County Fire Department, Pike and Coweta County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) representatives, Ameripro, Upson County Sheriff’s Office, Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Fire, and EMS, Monroe County EMS, Meriwether Fire and EMS, Butts County EMS, MedPro EMS, Spalding Wellstar, Georgia State Patrol, State Fire Marshal, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Georgia Department of Investigations (GBI) including their bomb truck, Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Secret Service.

[Note from the Editor: The outpouring of help for this event was so much that I may have missed your organization. If I did, please drop me a note to let me know to add it because I want to showcase those who helped Pike County shine on the national stage for this event!]

Several organizations were on call or brought into Pike County during the event. Many are already listed above. The Henry County Hazmat Team was on call, and both the City of Griffin and Spalding County Fire Departments covered the north side of the county for any fire calls as well as all available EMS personnel from Pike and surrounding counties being called to the scene as the heat began to affect some of the participants.

By the end of the event, the county handled over 50 calls for medical emergencies with the help of mutual aid from surrounding counties. Some were transported to local hospitals for help with heat related injuries.

Also by the end of the event, a tractor trailer full of pallets of water plus additional pallets of water from Pike County Fire Department as well as Meriwether Fire Department had been given out to the crowd.

Closing

Pike County Times talked to several of the locals who were involved in this event and asked for a statement. Thank you to all who worked quickly to send a quote for this article!

Major David Neal from the Pike County Sheriff’s Office said, “Pike County Sheriff's deputies worked extremely hard to ensure a safe event for all of those that attended. We are extremely grateful to all of our law enforcement partners from other counties that assisted.”

Interim Chief Michael Johnson from the Zebulon Police Department said that it was a great honor for the Zebulon Police Department to partner with with the United States Secret Service, the Georgia State Patrol and the Pike County Sheriff’s Office on this Town Hall meeting. Law enforcement was tasked with ensuring the safety of not only President Trump but our citizens. “With great pride and honor we performed with less than 5 days’ notice of the event, we all came together as a law enforcement community and showed all of America our small town pride and ability to perform when we are called upon.” He also commended the Pike County Fire Department and AmeriPro for “their tremendous effort and performing under extreme circumstances. Job well done.”

Larry Richardson, Chief Business Officer of Ameripro EMS said, “Our commitment and service to the citizens of Pike County has and always will be second to none. We are very proud to serve the citizens of Pike County and are prepared to grow with the county in every capacity."

Assistant Chief of Operations Doug Neath from the Pike County Fire Department said, “We as a fire department in this small community were tasked with a mission equal to that of much larger communities. With the 'can do' attitude of our combined (volunteer/paid) department and the assistance of surrounding communities we had a successful outcome. One of the individuals, from a federal agency, stated that we had done the best job of the venues he had been to! This was a group effort, no one individual made it happen!”

Thank you to all who were a part of making this a safe and fun event for those who attended. Pike County was on the national stage with this event, and your hard work made our county shine!

Click here to see an album of photos from the event on Pike County Times' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/nZCyZiw7htpzViyw/

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