Royalty ring through holiday season to help those in need

The clackers inside the metal bells jingled out a familiar sound as the Copperas Cove Five Hills royalty cranked out 10 straight hours of fundraising for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign in front of the Copperas Cove Walmart despite the dreary weather.
But, Mother Nature didn’t seem to have much effect on the tiara wearers as they laughed, danced and sang holiday tunes while ringing bells and thanking passers-by for their donations. The public seemed to appreciate their perseverance as the royalty raised more than six red kettles full of cash for the charity, said Copperas Cove campaign organizer Joan Manning.
“The Five Hills royalty have been faithful to ring the Salvation Army bell during the Christmas season since 2014 and can be counted on to take a full Saturday at Walmart, always smiling and being friendly to everyone,” Manning said.  “This year was extremely challenging because of the cold, rainy weather. They were there all day, just as sweet and happy as ever. They are true troopers.”
The Five Hills royalty also served Christmas dinner to the homeless population in Copperas Cove in conjunction with the Copperas Cove Soup Kitchen for the second consecutive year. The event this year was moved out of the soup kitchen and to a larger location to accommodate the growing need in the community. The titleholders served the meal and drinks to the seated guests and then helped hand out holiday gifts with Santa. 
Sr. Ms. Five Hills Hope Ransom brightened the holidays for some very special athletes who had qualifying for the area tennis competition on their Christmas lists. Ransom served as a scorer and handed out the medals and ribbons at the Heart of Texas Special Olympics Table Tennis Competition in Temple. Ransom said being the score keeper “was heart racing and humbling.”
“I appreciate the hearts of the participants of the Special Olympics,” Ransom said. “Their competitive nature ruled the games as they performed flying leaps to save the ball, mid-air chest bumps to celebrate victories, and at the end of the competition, showed just as much love, enthusiasm and accomplishments for 4th place as they did for 1st place.”
The Copperas Cove Five Hills royalty will enjoy the holidays with their families before beginning the new year ready to continue with their busy schedule of community service work.