By Glenn Rolfe

GEORGETOWN — The humanitarian efforts spurred by the Good Ole Boy Foundation have not slipped past Sussex County Council’s radar.

On Tuesday, council unanimously awarded a $25,000 grant to the foundation, in recognition of its years of service, headlined most recently by its assistance for more than 50 people displaced in the Jan. 27 Rigbie apartment fire in Laurel.

“I had discussion with members of the Good Ole Boy Foundation,” said Council President Michael Vincent. “This is a group of local people, pretty much in southern Sussex County, that I think do a tremendous amount of work for the public and to benefit their community — for free.”

Following that discourse, Councilman Vincent asked that the grant item be placed on Tuesday’s agenda.

“All of their work, all of their efforts are done by volunteers. They help people who’ve had a catastrophic medical event. … If you need a ramp for your home, they do that. If you have a house fire, they help with that,” he said.

Councilman Mark Schaeffer agreed.

“I want to reiterate something President Vincent said, and I said this on the radio again this morning: We have a lot of wonderful things going on in Sussex County, Delaware, that people have no idea that are going on,” he said. “I’m proud to live here, and this is a perfect example, a group that exemplifies all that is good about Sussex County.”

Councilman John Rieley also praised the volunteerism of the Good Ole Boys members.

“They have been doing this on a volunteer basis — burning their own gas, using their own vehicles — for years. I think in this case, with the hotel fire in Laurel, they were actually probably of more assistance than even the Red Cross was and continue to be. So I am very pleased to vote yes.”

The Good Ole Boy Foundation was established to mobilize the community and unite resources to assist families in times of unforeseen difficulties.

Councilman Vincent recalled the call to action by the GOBF and its network in response to the Rigbie fire.

“The Good Ole Boys showed up that night, got the people on a Laurel school bus, took them to the Laurel firehouse. They got them hotel rooms that night for everybody.”

He added that GOBF footed the bill for hotels for the displaced families. As of late February, all of them are out of those accommodations.

“Now, they are in transitional housing, some of them,” Councilman Vincent said. “Some are in permanent properties. Their goal is to get them in permanent properties.”

Funding for council’s grant will come from contingencies, said Gina Jennings, the county’s finance director.