EAST DUBLIN, Ga. — Randy Tidwell, known to his friends as "L Bow" has a story of redemption.
He was the former mascot of the East Dublin Summer Redneck Games, a play on the 1996 Summer Olympics being held in Atlanta.
The games went on until 2012, and Tidwell said at the end they turned into a mix of excessive drinking and trouble.
"I used to redneck for drunks, and now I'm rednecking for Jesus," Tidwell said.
He said he spent years during that time addicted to drugs.
"I started drugging I'd say 20 years ago. I started drugging. and I went through about uh, I don't know, 10, 15 years of hard drug use," he said.
Today his life looks like a different story, one that brought him to East Dublin's Faith Christian Assembly where Tidwell said he found God.
"The Holy Ghost feeling, if you've ever experienced it, there's nothing like it. I mean it's better than any drug you can put in your body," he said.
He said last year his pastor who gave him the idea of bringing back the games with a new, faith focus- and that's how Redneckin' 4 Jesus was born. They decided to make it an annual tradition, but still keep some of the old traditions like a mud pit belly flop, bobbing for pigs' feet and the redneck horseshoes.
Tidwell worked with his church members, including George Chamberlain III to transform the lot across their church into the location for their event. It is a free event to attend, but proceeds raised from things like sponsorships will go towards the church's youth fund.
"We're trying to really reach out to the kids in the community and show them that you know, that they're loved," Chamberlain said.
The event starts at noon on Saturday and goes until 8 p.m. across from Faith Christian Assembly. Other activities include:
- Car show
- Bike show
- Live music
- Cook-off competition
- Cornhole competition
- Watermelon seed spitting
- Free hotdogs and hamburgers
A side-by-side show will also take place later in the evening, in honor of Colten Fosky, a 12-year-old who died during a weekend boat ride over Father's Day Weekend.
If you need more information, you can contact George Chamberlain at 478-278-8792.