Lt. Tammy Prescott had been battling cancer for a year when she stayed up until 3 a.m. on a summer night in June, painting pillowcases for Camp Rising Sun’s incoming campers.
By then, she had been volunteering at the camp for more than 15 summers, Tammy’s friend and fellow board member Paula Sudduth told The Dispatch in 2019.
On Saturday, motorcyclists and community members gathered for the third “Tammy’s Ride for Camp Rising Sun,” a fundraiser held in Prescott’s memory for the camp she loved.
“Tammy meant a lot to (Camp Rising Sun) and her last year with us in 2019 she told us she wanted to leave a legacy,” said Lane Myers, fundraising coordinator, overnight counselor and previous patient camper. “She wanted the camp to be set forever. She wanted camp to never end. … We want to tell people about Tammy and all the good she did, and still raise some money for camp and make her wish of having camp go on forever come true.”
Prescott was a Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office deputy and worked for the department for nearly 20 years. Well known throughout the community, she was a longtime volunteer for organizations all over the Columbus area, including the YMCA and Boy Scouts. She especially loved working with Camp Rising Sun, a weeklong nonprofit summer camp serving children in all stages of cancer treatment.
Myers said the group’s fundraising goal was simply to beat its numbers from last year, when the event raised around $1,500 from the entry fee, T-shirt sales and in-kind donations. And from the turnout Saturday, Myers said it looked like this year’s ride might exceed that goal.
Dozens of motorcycles lined the parking lot behind First Methodist Church at about 9:45 a.m., 15 minutes before “kickstands up.” Lane said riders from the Christian Motorcyclist Association, American Legion and other organizations had come to show their support.
“We had seven riders two years ago,” Myers said. “We had 38 last year, and … I haven’t counted the bikes yet, but it’s looking like we’re going to have about 50 this year.”
Myers said for a $20 donation, riders got to participate in the 1-hour, 40-minute charity ride through Alabama. On the way out of town, the group stopped at the Disabled American Veterans building on Jess Lyons Road for refreshments and to thank the group for its fundraising efforts for Camp Rising Sun the previous week.
One of the riders was Jamie Hutchinson, a student at MSU and the sister of a former camper.
Hutchinson said she met Prescott at Camp Rising Sun when she attended as her sibling’s plus-one. Even as a sibling camper, she could see how integral Prescott was to camp operations.
“Tammy did so much for camp, and she wanted to be remembered,” Hutchinson said. “She deserves that. … It’s crazy how much this has grown in just three years. And it’s really cool to combine my two favorite things, motorcycles and camp.”
Hutchinson’s entire family rides motorcycles, and it was her mother, Audrey, who told Myers they should have Tammy’s Ride. Of course, Camp Rising Sun’s Board of Directors was on board. Joining her that day on his own bike was her dad, Pat.
Myers said even though Tammy herself didn’t ride bikes, this is exactly the kind of thing she would have loved.
“Tammy was responsible for designing our annual camp T-shirts,” Myers said. “She even designed the dog mascot that’s become a symbol of Camp Rising Sun. Anything that helped the camp, she supported it.”
‘Go-to girl’
According to Camp Rising Sun staff, Prescott began volunteering through her role with the LCSO in 2004, and she joined the board of directors the next year. It didn’t take long for her to earn a reputation as a “go-to girl” who would roll up her sleeves to assist with any task, from “mowing grass, to clearing riverbanks, and even removing pests from cabins.”
Despite being diagnosed with gastric cancer in 2018, Prescott showed up before the summer 2019 session ready to do what she could. And after a full day’s work at the LCSO, Sudduth said she still made sure every camper walked into the arts and crafts building that morning and found a pillowcase painted just for them.
“Most people after working all day long wouldn’t stay up till 3 o’clock in the morning to paint a dog or a tree or to write some child’s name with bubble letters on a pillowcase,” Sudduth said.
Prescott died at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle on Sept. 20, 2019. She was 57.
She is still featured on Camp Rising Sun’s Board of Directors page, in memoriam. A sentence in her biography states: “Her love for Camp Rising Sun and the children we serve was evident in everything she did.”
Myers and Hutchinson agree.
As nearly 50 riders pulled away from First Methodist Church in Columbus and headed up Main Street to Highway 45, it was Hutchinson who was leading the way, her dad close behind.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
