MACON – When Macon resident William Mitchell was looking for something to do with his daughter, Rachel, this weekend, he wasn’t sure what would shake out.
After hearing that Tennessee Titan Defensive End and former Noxubee County High School football player Jeffery Simmons was hosting a community fun day, he knew just what to do.
“I watched (Simmons) play all four years of high school football,” Mitchell said. “We were just at home and I really wanted to bring her out to this, and because she loves water games.”
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Mitchell was one of around 3,000 people who signed up to attend the Jeffery Simmons Fun Day event at the Noxubee County Sportsplex, featuring local food vendors, music and games for children, as well as a firework show that evening, Simmons said.
Simmons told The Dispatch he wanted to come home and host an event to pay homage to his hometown of Macon and bring people out for the Fourth of July holiday.
“(Events like this) motivate me,” Simmons said. “This is where I started from. I am going to help people from all over, but right here in Noxubee County is what made me. I wanted to bring something back to where I came from.”
Mayor of Macon, Buz McGuire, said the city provided fireworks for the event, and also presented Simmons a key to the city for his philanthropic efforts in Noxubee County.
“For me, the most important thing is he’s willing to give back to his community,” McGuire said. “I know he’s done some work at (Noxubee County High School), and now he’s putting on this day. I’m sure there’ll be other things in the future too.”
In 2021, Simmons provided free meals to Macon Electric workers and 4-County Electric Power Association linemen for their work following a severe winter storm, and funded a $50,000 renovation project for NCHS to revitalize its field house and weight room in 2022.
Simmons also donated $75,000 to the Starkville Parks and Recreation Department that same year to build a turf field at the Starkville Sportsplex.
Simmons said he plans to continue making trips back home to work with local high school students and put on more events, but could not comment on the nature of those future endeavors.
“Everything is not set in stone,” he said. “I don’t want to speak on anything just yet right now. But we want to grow this city. We don’t have a lot here. So, I think that’s where it starts.”
Another attendee, Johnathan Morris, said he brought his whole family out to the event to support Simmons, but also to see the firework show and enjoy the holiday as a family.
“I’m a big fan of Tennessee Titan Jeffery Simmons, and we came out to support (him),” Morris said. “But it’s also pretty nice because it has a lot of stuff for the kids.”
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