A local family that’s active in the community, and who stepped up to help a stranger in his time of need—has been named the 2013 Family of the Year by the Twentynine Palms Kiwanis Club. Kiwanis spokesman Ron Bryant said the Bowers family—Thomas and Lashanda, and children Jahzara, 9; Simone, 6; and Matthew, 4—were selected for their service to the community over the past year. Thomas serves as a deacon at Palms Baptist Church and oversees the benevolence ministry. Lashanda focuses numerous activities in their church, Girl Scouts, and the Food for Life program. Jahzara and Simone are Girl Scouts and are also active in their church. When Pastor David Squyres nominated the Bowers family for Family of the Year, he wrote about how they helped a man after the loss of his wife and the amputation of his toes. Over a period of several months, the entire family cleaned his house, brought him meals, and ran several yard sales to raise money for him so he could move out of his home in Twentynine Palms and go live with his daughter. Squyers wrote “This was a whole family effort, even their children got involved. To watch this family gather around a man they did not know—except they knew that he needed help—really blessed me. This wasn’t just a Saturday they gave up; this was months of work and a huge effort on their part.” Congratulations to the Bowers family, the 2013 Family of the Year.
