Men, women and children gather for the annual 500 Men Breakfast

JERSEYVILLE - It was more than just men at the annual 500 Men Breakfast Saturday morning at the Jersey County Fairgrounds with men, women and children coming together to enjoy breakfast and fellowship.

This year’s event featured two guest speakers who led the crowd in prayer, Jay LaPlant and Tim Ezell as well as a special donation from Womack Heating and Cooling which was presented to event organizer Steve Pegram to help with his pursuits in the community.

After LaPlant led everyone in prayer, Ezell told his story of battling with alcohol abuse, recovery and finding his calling as a pastor.

Pegram said decided to start the 500 Men Breakfast after suffering some difficult times in his life and found his pantry completely empty.

"I looked out our window, and we've got a driveway that's like a quarter-mile long, and I'm going great here's another bill collector," Pegram said. "But it was a guy from Dow Baptist Church, and he said I got something you. And he just started carrying food. Boxes of food."

From that moment on Pegram decided he was meant to help others like others had helped him and began organizing events such as the 500 Men Breakfast.

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THIS YEAR'S 500 MEN BREAKFAST

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