Contributed by The Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – What a fantastic turnout for Pete the Cat Day in downtown Fort Payne this past Saturday! Fort Payne Main Street really put together a wonderful day for everyone. Tim Harris and his Board did a wonderful job with Pete’s Alley, the breezeway connecting parking and downtown businesses. By the way, there is a business directory in the alley making it much easier to find downtown businesses, so go check it out!

Also, the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce helped kick off a fundraiser for Wills Valley and Williams Avenue Elementary Schools art and library programs. The schools will be selling Pete the Cat tee shirts with proceeds going straight back to the schools. James Dean, author and creator of Pete the Cat, helped design the shirts. Giving back to the school he graduated from is very important to Mr. Dean. He hopes that monies raised through this tee shirt sale will make a difference in the lives of school children who will benefit from an even better art and library program.

Lindy Vizzinia (Mrs. Art), art teacher at Wills Valley, expressed great gratitude for Mr. Dean’s generosity. She said what has already been raised will make such a difference in supplies for her program, giving the children an opportunity to learn and experience even more art techniques.

From the Chamber’s perspective – wow! Thank you to all who have already purchased a shirt. We have more shirts and more sizes (XXS Youth - XXXXL Adult) ordered and will update our Facebook page as the shirts arrive. It looks like most shirts will arrive next week, so check out our Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce Facebook page then. If you aren’t in Fort Payne and want to bulk order, please email jennifer@fortpaynechamber.com. The Alabama shirts are perfect for schools all over Alabama, you may even make a little money for your school too. So, tell all your teacher friends about our Pete the Cat shirts and they may email jennifer@fortpaynechamber.com for more information.