As the leaves start

to erupt in their annual show of color, many

residents are getting their holiday calendars

set.

With holiday

thoughts in mind, many folks are wondering the

best way to help the less fortunate in our

community.

One of the

community's bigger providers in the charity realm

is the county's Realtors, and plans are already

being made for a big holiday season to help two

special groups in the county.

This Friday is the

deadline for previous contributors of trees and

wreaths to claim their priority reservations for

the Fayette County Board of Realtors' fifth

annual Noel November - A Celebration of Trees and

Wreaths.

Due to the

popularity of the annual event, the sponsoring

organization has been forced to limit donations

of trees and wreaths for the auction to 35 trees

and 75 wreaths. Former tree or wreath

contributors have priority reservation privileges

until the Oct. 15 deadline, then the other slots

will be filled from the community at large on a

first come, first served basis.

Sponsorships for

this year's event also are available. In the

Fayette County area, Noel November is annually

one of the highlights of the Christmas season.

The recipients of

the proceeds from this year's event will be the

Asden Johnson Youth Protection home and the

Fayette Family YMCA. Through Noel November, the

Board of Realtors� has contributed a sum of

approximately $35,000 to local non-profit

charitable organizations in Fayette County over

the last four years.

The board's major

fund-raising event of the year, the 1999 Noel

November is scheduled Saturday, Nov. 6, at the

old fairgrounds on Redwine Road in Fayetteville.

The event features

a public showing of the trees and wreaths during

the day, followed by an auction that night. The

items in the auction are contributed by local

businesses, organizations and individuals.

The program will

include special music of the season, holiday

children's activities, and photographs with

Santa. The schedule of activities, lineup of

entertainers and other details will be announced

later. Cochairmen for this year's festivities are

Terri Kellerman of Coldwell Banker Fulton Realty

and Dave Edmondson of Century 21 Southern

Crescent Realty.

In addition to Noel

November, the Board of Realtors also is a big

backer of education in the county.

Realtors

association executive Helen Garr said the board

is a regular supporter of the county's mentoring

program through the Partners in Education

program.

The Realtors have

conducted bowl-a-thons to help create videos and

new brochures to help the mentoring program.

Additionally, the

Fayette chapter of the Womens' Council of

Realtors helped out Habitat for Humanity this

year.

With help from the

community, the Realtors are hoping this will be a

big holiday season for everyone.