Preds Foundation, Metro Nashville Police Deliver Thanksgiving Meals

On Friday the Nashville Predators Foundation empowered by SmileDirectClub - in partnership with the Metro Nashville Police Department - continued its yearly tradition of delivering turkeys and other Thanksgiving fixings to local families in need.
Dozens of members of the Preds front-office staff purchased spreads consisting of everything a family could need for a plentiful Thanksgiving dinner, including mashed potatoes, stuffing, fruits, veggies and even a can opener and cutting board.
The finishing touch - the turkeys - were provided by Preds partner Delaware North Company.
But what made this year's deliveries even more special was the presence of several Preds players for the first time since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tanner Jeannot, Alexandre Carrier, Michael McCarron and Jeremy Lauzon donned their Gold sweaters and went door to door - and even kitchen to kitchen - hand-delivering the meals to the families.
"It's always good to get out in the community and show our presence," Jeannot said. "It makes you feel like you're doing a good thing and hopefully it brings joy to lots of people throughout the community."

One hundred of the Thanksgiving bundles went to families with the Nashville Angels, Solo Parent Society, Manna Cafe Ministries, Whitsitt Elementary and Stronger Than My Father organizations, while an additional 50 were taken to MNPD precincts and distributed by officers and players.
Metro Police Chief John Drake, who joined Jeannot and Carrier in their deliveries, said teaming up with the Preds Foundation allows them to continue making a difference in the community.
"Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year because it's all about food, family and enjoying each other's company," Drake said. "Being able to provide this meal takes away one of those problems and now they can just focus on enjoying each other and have a great family time."

The Preds organization - which has been long committed to serving the Nashville community - knows the holidays are as great a time as ever to show it, and the presence of the players always makes it that much more meaningful.
During one of the deliveries, a school bus dropped off a batch of elementary-schoolers, who all ran up to the guys in Gold jerseys to see what was going on.
The kids let out cheers when the players asked if they wanted autographs, and quickly accepted when the players then asked if they also wanted candy.
"It's good to put smiles on their faces," Carrier said. "We're lucky that we get to do it."
To Community Relations Coordinator Anna Myers, seeing all those smiles was the best part of the day.
"It's really moving for us," she said. "And it reminds us why we do what we do."
Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Hungerford