For years, the Powell Ministerial Association sponsored a community Thanksgiving dinner in Powell, regularly serving more than 600 meals each year to all those who wanted it. 

For the last few years Trinity Bible Church had led the way, but wasn’t able to take the lead this year. 

So, for a bit there the rumor was there wasn’t going to be a community Thanksgiving dinner at all. But once again, new people have stepped up to take the reins. 

Organizer Larry Akin (and his wife Maurine) said last week that plans and preparations for the dinner were proceeding well.

“Community members, businesses and churches have been extremely generous,” he told the Tribune. “The response from all has been extremely positive. The combined efforts of all are making this happen. This is a tremendous tribute to our community.”

So, Powell Community Thanksgiving Dinner 2023 is 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday at Heart Mountain Hall at the Park County Fairgrounds. The event — which started decades ago as a way to feed NWC students — is free and open to all.

Larry Akin couldn’t stop gushing about how the community has stepped up incredibly well to support this community event, wanting to make sure it wasn’t just him and his wife highlighted for keeping the event going, but rather the huge amount of community support that has made it possible. 

Personally, knowing that this event — and the Cody community Thanksgiving at West Park Hospital — is going strong is an acclamation point on why Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. 

When I was growing up, with my family living in Colorado and most of my relatives living in the Midwest or Northeast, Thanksgiving was the holiday where the extended family would all come together, while Christmas was just my parents and siblings. I still love both holidays, but that spirit of Thanksgiving, of welcoming in a broader group of people, has always been special. 

When my family first moved to Cody in 2017, we didn’t know anyone in town and, before I even heard about the Cody Thanksgiving event — which also nearly stopped years ago before new organizers stepped in — we were invited to a Friends-giving of sorts, basically a Cody family inviting all they knew who didn’t have prior plans to join them at their table. 

What a cool experience that was. I met people who I have not seen since and others I still pass by in very different settings. It was a melding of people mostly new to the area, bringing their different cultures with them. As an aside, it’s how I got my first taste of chocolate gravy (which is fantastic) and of a Thanksgiving based not around family, but on community. 

While my family will be having a relatively cozy Thanksgiving this year, I appreciate how our Park County citizens have kept these community Thanksgivings going. It’s an incredible blessing.