Friends, family to play for Adam

The Wills Point community was shaken to its core in November 2014 with the tragic passing of five area residents in a single-vehicle accident on a family trip to Disney World in Florida.

Occurring just west of West Monroe, Louisiana shortly before 11 p.m. Nov. 19, took the lives of Wills Point Primary School teacher Trudi Hardman, her husband Michael, a former teacher in Wills Point who was employed at John F. Kennedy Elementary in Terrell at the time of the accident, and three children from their blended family (Adam and Kaci Hardman and Dakota Watson) while injuring two others.

Friends of the family, which was deeply involved in the local baseball scene, rallied together quickly to put together a candlelight vigil at the north ball fields that was attended by hundreds affected by the tragedy.

Subsequent fundraisers were also launched as a result of the accident, including an effort to build a Hardman Memorial Playground to honor the memory of those lost. Over the years, nearly $10,000 has been raised towards those efforts with organizers looking to make another strong push this weekend with their ultimate goal of turning the playground into a reality.

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