Mike Evans Family Foundation provides meals in Galveston

GALVESTON

The weather outside Saturday was rainy and cold, but inside there were warm meals and even warmer smiles as the Mike Evans Family Foundation presented its inaugural Heather Kilgore Thanksgiving Luncheon at the Wilbrydge Reception Hall, 2702 Ave. L, in Galveston.

“It means a lot,” Evans, the perennial All-Pro for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Galveston native, said about the event, which was named for his mother, Heather Kilgore. “She’s the reason I am who I am, and she has always been a very giving person.”

Once Evans arrived, he got right to signing autographs, posing for pictures and sharing pleasantries with the patrons of the luncheon.

“It’s a family feeling,” Evans said.

A total of roughly 400 free meals featuring the traditional fare — turkey, ham, stuffing, yams and green beans — were served at the Wilbrydge with some of those also delivered to Galveston’s Ronald McDonald House for the event.

While Evans was the star of the show, he said the true masterminds of the luncheon were his youth sports coach and mentor Terry Petteway, as well as his mother and his Ball High School basketball coach Jerald Temple.

“This was the best opportunity to do something here in Galveston,” said Petteway, who, along with Kilgore and Temple, also serves on the board of the Mike Evans Family Foundation. “Everything worked out well. Even with the weather, people were able to show up and take part in what’s going on.”

The luncheon took about two weeks to prepare for, Petteway said. While the nasty weather limited the scope of the event this year, the hope is that it can grow and expand as a yearly happening, Petteway said.

“We can build on this for years to come,” Petteway said. “This is another opportunity for (Evans) to give back to the city of Galveston.”