Published: September 05, 2008 10:32 am         

Special day planned at Towne Centre

DANVILLE — Dr. Gary Bowlin hopes the Community Appreciation Day set for Saturday at Towne Center will be the first of many.

Bowlin and his staff have been planning the event for the past two months, and the event has grown larger than they initially intended.

"We wanted it to be big," Bowlin said, "but it has grown even more that we thought it would."

The event kicks off at 10 a.m. in the parking lot, in a roped off section near Bowlin’s chiropractic office and Cellular One. Lunch will be served at 11 a.m., with hot dogs and snack foods like popcorn. Bottled water also will be on hand.

A bounce house, child ID station and health screening also will be available.

Everything is free and there also will be door prizes, ranging from $180 gift certificate for chiropractic work, to orthopedic pillows, to a basket of hair products from Cost Cutters, to gifts from Cellular One.

Many of the businesses in Towne Center jumped on board with Bowlin’s plans, with most of them donating prizes.

Saturday’s event grew out of Bowlin’s customer appreciation days, where he would set aside mornings for free alignments and drawings for prizes.

"We had been doing these customer appreciation days, but we really wanted to do something for the community as a whole," he explained.

Bowlin added that in the seven years he’s been in the area, the community has done a lot for him, and he wants to give back where he can.

"It’s all about the public. They’re the reason why we’re here,” he said. “The community as a whole has been so good to us, and I plan on staying here for the rest of my life."

In addition, Community Appreciation Day is an opportunity for Bowlin to educate others about alternative forms of medicine.

"We can let people know that there are ways other than just taking a pill to feel better," he said.

While this is the first time they have celebrated the community in this way, Bowlin is hopeful that this will become an annual event.

"This is something we plan on doing in the future, as long as the community embraces it."