By PHOEBE DONALD ROBINSON / Community Columnist

The Lay Lake HOBO Annual Meeting and Picnic will be Saturday, Aug. 22 at Heritage Trail Pioneer Village from noon to 4 p.m.

There will be a free boat shuttle from the Paradise Point Marina starting at 11 a.m.

Directions to Pioneer Village, which is on the Talladega side of Lay Lake, are: By boat, between Beeswax Creek, 4-H State Center, and Paradise Point Marina; by land, drive U.S. 280 East; right to Childersburg-Fayette Highway; right Russell Chapel Road; right at fork Camp Brownie Road; left at Preserve Subdivision and follow signs.

The family friendly event will have plenty to do: Barbecue Picnic, catch and release fishing (bring your own tackle), face painting and explore Pioneer Village.

Activities and representatives who will be on hand: Officer Steven R. MacLeroy, Alabama Marine Police and State Trooper; Joshua Yerby, Alabama Power Environmental Affairs Specialist; Childersburg Fire and Rescue Department; Alabama Water Watch; and raptor live bird demonstration by Scottie Jackson, Oak Mountain Wildlife Rescue Center.

Lay Lake HOBO (Home Owners and Boat Owners Association) was formed in 1997 and serves the five counties that border Lay Lake: Shelby; Talladega; Chilton; Coosa; and St. Clair counties. The grassroots all volunteer organization was formed to keep Lay Lake a “clean, safe and beautiful environment for all living things.” Marvin Pipkin is the HOBO president. Representatives are: Shelby area, Art Giddens; Talladega County, David Gustin; Shelby Shores, Chuck Jensen; and Waxahatchee Creek, Jerry Dozer.

HOBO has three yearly events: Spring, annual cleanup; summer, annual picnic meeting; and winter, Christmas Parade.

HOBO member Judy Jones is chair of the annual lake cleanup, held last April 12-18, which HOBO and Alabama Power sponsor.

This year over 29 tons of trash and debris were removed from the lake and concluded with a volunteer picnic. HOBO has 16 trained water monitors that take lake samples every month to test the water’s purity.

Volunteers have built osprey nest on the lakes for the big birds.

The annual Christmas Parade will be held on Saturday, Dec. 12.

Membership, over 400 families storing, costs $25 per year and $40 for two years.

For more information or membership application, see Lakelakehobo.org.