See You at the Pole had a great turnout at several surrounding schools and Pastor Bud Shackelford and other local clergy couldn’t have been happier with these students showing up to stand for their beliefs.

“We were so excited for the opportunity to minister and serve at four different campuses for See You at the Pole this year,” Shackelford said. “I’m so proud of the teams that worked together at Checotah High School, Checotah Middle School, Midway and Oktaha to make it a huge success.

“I thank the Lord regularly for the opportunity to pastor in Checotah. Events like See You At The Pole, the Fifth Quarter Friday Night Fellowships and the upcoming youth worship So We May with Joe McKeen on Wednesday, October 4 at 6 p.m. at Veterans Park are just some of the examples of our local churches working together for the benefit of our youth in our community.

“It was exciting to see such a strong turnout at the various school locations. See You at the Pole is successful because of a cooperative, supportive attitude of all involved, from the schools to the churches to the students who voluntarily participate. Like Harry S. Truman said, ‘It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.’ I believe events like this make us appreciate each other better.

“Recently several of our local churches and members also had the honor of joining together for a prayer walk around all our Checotah school buildings which we believe strengthens our community and our children’s faith.”

The following churches and volunteers who helped were: Checotah First Assembly Bud Shackelford April Roberts Cary Utley Amy Watson Lacy Garvin

Checotah Church of Christ: Chaise Noah

Checotah First Baptist Church: Dylan Clay See You at the Pole in an annual gathering of thousands of Christian students at school flag poles, churches and schools for the purpose of prayer. The movement dates back to 1990 in Burleson, TX, when a small group of students gathered to pray for several schools. Now over two million students gather across the United States and other countries every year.