SHORELINES

8 Shor e l i n e S | 2015 Vol :3 been overwhelmed with support that so many people from across the country have wanted to help," Hodgin said. Heath Patton, a Birmingham resident, was one of the visitors at the 2010 event in North Carolina. After seeing the event posted online, Patton traveled to North Carolina simply to volunteer, but left inspired to bring the event to Alabama. "Once I saw the impact on the kids at Wake the World, I jumped at the chance to get on board. I grew up on the water and have always loved wakeboarding. Greg encouraged us to get the kids and to get a place and from there everything would fall into place. And he was right," Patton said. Patton, his wife, Lauren, and their 11-year-old son have a lake home on Smith Lake. They hosted the first Alabama Wake the World event in 2010 with children from Big Oak Ranch, a ministry for children who have been neglected, abused or abandoned that provides them with a home and house-family. Since the first event with 23 kids and 10 boats, the Alabama Wake the World event has grown to include more than 100 children and 24 houseparents. Volunteer boat drivers from the Smith Lake community dedicate a full day on the water, taking children and their houseparents out for tubing, wakeboarding, skiing and kneeboarding. "We thought with the increase of kids, it would be hard to find volunteers. But each year we have more than enough people volunteering to help us out. We even have four to six boat drivers come from Mississippi," said Patton. The event is just as rewarding for volunteers as it is for children. Andrea Greene, an attorney in Birmingham, spends many weekends at Smith Lake and jumped at the chance to volunteer as a boat driver this year. Above: Photo by nik layman — Brothers from Big Oak Ranch enjoy a boat ride during Wake the World.

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