Robertson Avenue Baptist Church holds Fourth of July picnic

By DAVID J. HARDIN

Cove Leader-Press

Smiles were aplenty as members of the Robertson Baptist Church opened their doors to the Copperas Cove community with their third annual July Fourth picnic and barbecue cook-off. 

More than 100 came to celebrate America’s birthday and socialize with old friends and make some new friends.

Cecil Burrows is the organizer for the event and said he came up with the idea for the picnic three years ago as a way to bring the church and the local community together

“It is reminiscent of the old days where the church would hold a Fourth of July celebration for it members and others,” Burrows said. “We have lots of great food, barbecued hot dogs, hamburgers and many other types of food. (We have) music, we have a bouncy house for the children, and for the first time we have a barbecue cook-off where we award a trophy to the first, second, and third place finishers. It is an event for people to get together and have a good time.”

Norm Melton has been the pastor for almost three years. 

“We do this event each year to reach out to our community to let them know that we are here. Anyone is welcome to join us with anything that we do today,” he said. “My favorite part is eating the food, and for great fellowship with others. People will come and go over the next few hours, and hopefully our turnout is pretty good despite the hot weather and the day of the week.”

Enjoying the food and the celebration was the Laver family, Tad Laver, his wife Brittany, and their four children, Katie (8), Michael (4), Lauriel (3), and nine-month-old Elana. 

“We have a big family with lots of cousins,” said Katie Laver. “I’m looking forward to playing in the bouncy house.” 

Brittany Laver said the family attends the church and has lived in Copperas Cove for seven years, and that her husband is a math teacher at Copperas Cove High School.

Bryce Davis attended the event with his three siblings and his mom, and said that his mom made him come, but he was glad that he came because, “The food is great.”

There were three entries for the church’s first barbecue cook-off. Martin Traylor made pulled-pork, David Titus made brisket and a barbecue sauce to go along with it, and Rocky Scott made ribs. All three of them barbecued their meats at home prior to coming to the picnic. 

Scott’s ribs took the first-place trophy, Titus received the second-place trophy for his brisket, and Traylor took home the third-place trophy with his pulled-pork. 

Titus said he entered the cook-off as a way to provide more food for the picnic. He said he’s been attending the church since 2003. Scott said he has been barbecuing for about 30 years and is happy to have won the church’s first barbecue cook-off.