By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Over 250 turkeys were given away Saturday when Spillway Safe Driving Academy in LaPlace held its inaugural Turkey Give-a-way.

“From my heart, I knew we just had to give back,” Gemyra Rockett, owner of the driving school, said. “I told my husband we had to figure out a way to give back.”

Rockett, who opened Spillway Safe Driving Academy in February, said turkeys were given to 293 families Saturday, adding all that was needed to get a turkey was to show an I.D.

She said she wanted to show St. John Parish residents in need “we still do have people in the community that cared.”

Event sponsors included Walmart, Home Depot, State Farm, Dr. Alyce Jackson and Sgt. Jamal Williams.

Rockett said she and her husband Darrin plan to hold the event every year around Thanksgiving, and several companies who hope to sponsor next year have already contacted her.