Pike County residents will have a chance to visit with a legendary coach for a good cause next Thursday.

Gene Stallings, former head coach at the University of Alabama, will be the guest speaker at an annual fund-raiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Pike and Surrounding Counties.

“Coach Stallings is a tremendous speaker and everybody who comes will be glad they are there,” said Gary Fox with the club’s board.

The fund-raiser is a steak and hamburger dinner where children who are members of the club dine on steak and adults eat burgers donated by Santa Fe Cattle Co. The idea behind the event is that the children are the guests of honor and are made to feel special with a meal they might not normally receive on a regular basis.

“The evening is really about the children and the programs we offer and we want them to feel special,” Fox shared.

Tickets to the event are $60 for dinner and the program and a VIP ticket is also available for those who want to meet Stallings for photos and autographs prior to the dinner.

“We also have some really great silent auction items that could make really unique Christmas presents,” Fox said.

Those items include an autographed Michael Jackson album, autographed Taylor Swift photo, a Star Wars movie poster signed by the original cast, a Star Trek movie poster signed by the original cast, a James Bond poster with signatures from all six Bond actors, a Sylvester Stallone boxing glove, an autographed photo of One Direction and more.

“People don’t have to come to the dinner to bid on the items,” Fox encouraged. “The items will be outside the dinner area.”

Tickets to the event held at Troy Parks and Recreation are available at the main branch of Troy Bank & Trust, any branch of First National Bank, at the Parks and Recreation Department, or by calling the club after 1 p.m. at 770-2582.

The VIP session of the event will be from 6 to 7 p.m. and dinner will be from 7 to 9:15 p.m.