Indian River County residents who may have benefitted from the efforts of retired civic and community leader J. Ralph Lundy will have an opportunity to pay tribute to him this weekend. "An Evening of Caring and Sharing: Honoring J. Ralph Lundy" will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Gifford Youth Activity Center.

Our Fathers Table Soup Kitchen participants and volunteers, former Gifford youth baseball, softball and football players, former Indian River County Float Committee participants, Gifford Progressive Civic League past and present members, 'Give Them Their Flowers' program participants, Lundy's former Vero Beach Press Journal co-workers, church pastors, community leaders, local government and elected officials, and the general public is invited to the event.

Lundy retired as director of the Soup Kitchen on June 14, 2008, after having served as director for 20 years. His retirement closed out the final chapter of his 50 years of community service to Gifford and Indian River County. His longest individual service was 30 years as the president of the Progressive Civic League of Gifford from the 1960s to 1990s.

Lundy's record of community service includes organizing and coaching Gifford youth sports teams that competed in tournaments as far away as Key West in the 1960s and 1970s, establishing the annual 'Give Them Their Flowers' program which paid tribute to senior citizens, starting the Float Committee and teen pageant through which winners participated in an annual major parade in Miami, and starting two community radio programs, including Gospel Caravan in 1963 - currently one of the longest-running gospel music programs in Florida.

In addition, Lundy served on several committees and boards in Indian River County and was a Vero Beach Recreation Department youth sports team coach. All of his community services will be highlighted at the Saturday event, which will include a social hour with light refreshments starting at 6 p.m. followed by the program which will begin promptly at 7 p.m. Church and community leaders and local officials, or their representatives, are asked to register at the door to be properly acknowledged during the program.

NOTE: The events calendar in this week and last week's Luminariesmentioned that "An Evening of Caring and Sharing: Honoring J. Ralph Lundy" will benefit the Gifford Youth Activity Center. This is incorrect. The event is not a fundraiser, although event organizers will have a retirement gift table set aside for Lundy. An attempt to correct the Luminariescalendar was made but after the publication's deadline. For more information contact Jay Lundy at 772-332-4509, Carol Heisler at 772-589-3275 or Lydia Forbes at 772-228-9845.