A.F. Green of Harrison holds the local record for his 300,000-plus miles of driving area children in need of medical care to Shriner hospitals.
“I wasn’t in it for the mileage or the glory,” said Green. “I was in it to help the children. I took a lot of children to the hospital in the ’70s and the ’80s. They would walk up to me later when I was selling candy and say, ‘I remember you … you helped me.'”
Alhambra Shriner Roy Browning of East Brainerd drives children in need of medical care to Shriner hospitals in Lexington, Ky., and Cincinnati, Ohio, for free.He said moments like that make getting up at 3 a.m. to prep for a trip worth it. The trips typically depart from the Alhambra Shrine Temple in East Brainerd at 5 a.m. He said the patients receive free meals, travel and medical care courtesy of the shrine.
Green said being a Shriner is a family tradition that his father passed on to him.
“My daddy was a Shriner in the ’40s and ’50s when they went on trains, in buses and Shriners took personal cars,” said Green. “My dad was A.F. Red Green. I went on a trip one time with him on a bus to take children when I was a boy. I began driving in the spring of 1977 until now. I’ve made 350 trips. Shriners are here to help the children.”