On Thursday, Kyle Pillar, an English teacher at Richmond County Ninth Grade Academy and sports editor for the Richmond Observer, thought he was going to Richmond Senior to cover their new softball facility. 

What he didn’t know was that there was a group of local student-athlete parents and their children waiting to surprise Pillar with a $2250 check to help pay for his hearing aids.

“I’m a man of many words behind a keyboard, but I can’t put into words what this means to me,” Pillar said to the group.

When Pillar moved to Richmond County in 2015, he failed his hearing test on the physical required by Richmond County Schools. 

An audiologist found that Pillar had about 70 percent hearing loss in his right ear and 20 percent hearing loss in his left. He was 22 at the time.

“It’s profound severe hearing loss,” said Pillar. “It’s progressive.”

Pillar said hearing aids weren't in the picture at the time, but after a couple of years, he noticed his hearing got worse. He said it impacted him at school, working with students in the classroom and at the Richmond Observer. He and his wife Jordyn decided it was time for him to look into purchasing hearing aids.

In July, Pillar worked with Dr. Wendy Kelly Jordan, Richmond County Schools’ Director of Student Services, and Dr. Joy Houston, a contracted audiologist through Richmond County Schools, to price his hearing aids. On Monday, Pillar said Dr. Houston visited him at school to fit the hearing aids and help him learn how to work them.

Pillar was shocked at the gift but blessed and thankful to everyone who helped. He and his wife consider Richmond County their home and the people who live in the community his family.

“I have a lot of gratitude towards these people because RCS - whether they’re teachers, parents or student-athlete parents -  they’re our family,” he said.