Local library hosts blood drive in honor of Tyler Spann

LEXINGTON, Tenn. — A West Tennessee teen who drowned while swimming is being remembered on his birthday.

“I remember I was on a school trip during the summer with about 70 high school kids when we got the news he had passed away,” said Crystal Ozier, Director of Lexington-Henderson County Everett Horn Public Library.

Tyler Spann was a Lexington High School student and drowned while swimming in Panama City Beach, Florida in 2018. He is remembered by his family and friends as someone who was loved by everyone he met.

Friday would have been Spann’s 18th birthday, and the Everett Horn Library in Lexington is helping to carry on his legacy by hosting a blood drive.

“To honor his memory and the life that he gave and those that he saved through the gift of love or through the gift of blood,” Ozier said.

Spann’s family chose to donate his organs, and they agreed that a blood drive was the perfect way to keep his memory alive and make an impact.

“I talked to his mom several times, and I think this is something we want to do annually to honor his memory,” Ozier said.

Ozier also says Spann visited the Lexington library regularly.

The Tyler Spann Scholarship Foundation plans to do other events in his memory in the future.