Pilgrim’s Rest M.B. Church pastor Melvin “Bo” Ellis embraces Tiki Yates of Chattanooga who surprised him at his birthday celebration Saturday at Sardis Lake. Yates is the mother of Kevin Yates, who died in an automobile accident on August 1, 2011 and became the donor of the heart that Ellis received in a transplant in Nashville the next day. The two have kept in touch since Yates came to meet Ellis last year.

The Panolian photo by Emily D. Williams