The second annual Jimmy Furlow Celebrity Host Thanksgiving DayFeast will be held 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day at Polly’sSoul Food Restaurant.

Despite a fire that damaged the restaurant several weeks ago,Polly Byrd, the restaurant’s namesake, said it will be ready tohost the free dinner.

“We won’t have the kitchen finished, but we’ll have the diningroom done,” she said.

The food will be prepared by restaurant cooks off site andbrought to the restaurant, she said.

The lunch will be served by city aldermen and volunteers fromthe mayor’s office, Fire Department, Police Department andSheriff’s Department as well as area ministers, businessmen andother community leaders.

People who are disabled or without transportation can call (601)833-5335 to have an event celebrity either deliver the meal orprovide transportation.

This year’s menu includes baked turkey, chicken and dumplings,dressing, string beans, rolls and dessert.

“All homemade,” Byrd said.

The event has been renamed after longtime city employee andcommunity leader Jimmy Furlow, who died in an accident earlier thisyear.

Byrd said she only knew Furlow for a year but in that brief timehe managed to touch her with his dedication to others and selflessvolunteerism.

“He never told me something that wasn’t true. No matter how busyhe was, he would always have time to listen. And he kneweverybody,” Byrd said. “I know his death was a sad thing, and soare the deaths of those who die in Iraq. They are sent home asheroes, and that’s what Furlow was to me – a hero. I still misshim.”

The free dinner is Byrd’s way of thanking the community for itssupport of the restaurant and bringing people closer together, shesaid.

“It’s kind of like community fellowshiping,” Byrd said. “Furlowhelped to get it started. He told the mayor, Terry Reed and DocHarris, and it grew from there. I wanted to name it after Furlowthis year because it only seemed fitting. He taught me aboutsacrifice.”