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MAY 12, 2017
Tifton, Georgia


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SCHOOL PROJECTS
RECEIVE $20,351
IN GRANTS


TIFT COUNTY FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE 
AWARDS 19 INCENTIVE GRANTS

The  Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence (TCFEE) has awarded a total of $20,351 in Incentive Grants for projects in Tift County schools.

One of TCFEE's primary missions is to underwrite highly motivated teachers in putting their  best ideas into practice. 

Incentive grants have been a mainstay effort since the foundation's formation in  1990.

This year's 19 grants bring the  foundation's   number of incentive grants, during 27 years, to 710, with a monetary total of $500,225.

Eleven of this year's grants are made possible by the TCFEE's 16 academic chairs.

Among the grants awarded  is $1,525 for teacher Kelsey Rice at the Tift County Pre-K Center to attend a University of North Carolina TEACCH Autism Summer Training Program (a five-day course in North Carolina) made possible  by the Foundation's Bob Wight Challenge Chair.

In the photo,  Wanda Veazey, principal of the Tift County Pre-K Center, from left, with grant recipient Kelsey Rice and Anna Atwater, Foundation liaison to the Tift County Pre-K Center.

Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence's Incentive Grants Awards  -  May 2017
 
School
Applicant(s)
Description of Grant awarded
 
Award
 
Tift Co. Pre-K
Kelsey Rice
TEACCH Training Program
Bob Wight Challenge Chair award
$1,525
GO Bailey Primary
Sara Askew
Moving Minds Fidget Busters
McCarty School Counseling Chair award
$1,034
GO Bailey Primary
Sara Askew
High Touch - High Tech "Sounds Like Fun" Workshop
$805
GO Bailey Primary
Emy Aultman
MakerSpace in the Media Center
 
$650
G.O. Bailey Primary
Kymberly Buchanan
Macon Museum of Arts &Sciences
$1,113
GO Bailey Primary
Kimberly Jacobs
Chehaw Education Migration
$325
Northside Primary
Jodi Roberts
Malcolm Mitchell Visit and Books
$500
Omega
Angel Martin
VSU Planetarium Trip
$300
Omega
Lacy Cargle
STEM Exploration - Media Center
$1,000
Charles Spencer  Elementary
Dawn Hand
Historical Traveling Trunks
Cannon Reading & Writing Skills Chair award
$400
Charles Spencer
K. Lindsey, S. Hester
Hands-on STEM Learning Lab
Glenn Burton Science Chair award
$3,040
JT Reddick 6th
Lisa Dykes
Flexible Classroom Seating
Special Hearts Chair award
$493
JT Reddick 6th Grade
Amanda Lee
Teacher Resources for Movement
Fred Tucker Physical Fitness Chair award
$983
JT Reddick 6th Grade
Julie Walker
Independent Reading Motivation
$650
ESMS
Beth Hobby
Science Olympiad Team
$466
ESMS
Karole Stroud
Battle of the Books Program
Cathy Kvien Reading Chair award
$767
6th St. Academy
E. Williams, T. Toombs
Trip to Plains, GA, and reading materials
Homer Rankin Journalism Chair award
$1,300
Tift County High School
Kimberly Keen
Debate Camp Scholarships 
Mikie Wolff Humanities Chair award
$2,000
Tift County High School
Lauraleigh Shealey
National Players Performance of "The Great Gatsby" and " Calculus: The Musical"
Syd Blackmarr Arts Chair award and the
Virginia Tift Brumby Music Chair award
$3,000


ABAC GRADUATES
263 IN CEREMONY
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZES TOP STUDENTS

Amanda Stitt of Sharpsburg and Alexia Watson from Covington were selected for the top awards presented by the ABAC Alumni Association during the spring commencement ceremony at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Thursday.

Stitt, an agriculture major, received the Alumni Association Award for the top bachelor's degree graduate participating in the ceremony, and Watson, a biology major, received the George P. Donaldson Award for the top associate degree graduate.
Alumni Association President Niki Knox Vanderslice, left, and ABAC President David Bridges, right, congratulate Alumni Association Award winner Amanda Stitt and Donaldson Award recipient Alexia Watson at the spring commencement ceremony.

Nell Roquemore, founder of Milltown Murals in Lakeland, was guest speaker at the ceremony. Another Lakeland native, Jay Shaw, was honored with a posthumous honorary bachelor's degree for his civic and community involvement on local and statewide levels.

Stitt has been a member of the ABAC Honors Program since 2013. She held the office of Honors Program mentor for the 2014-2015 academic year. She has also been an active member of the ABAC Ag Business Club and participating on the National Agri-Marketing Association Team as captain. Stitt has also been involved with the ABAC Horsemen's Association, serving as its treasurer, president, and vice president.

Watson has served on the Student Alumni Council and is a member of ABAC's honor society, Phi Theta Kappa. While serving on the Student Alumni Council, she was secretary of the organization. She played intramural volleyball, donated her time to various campus blood drives and volunteered to help flood victims in Louisiana. She is a recipient of a Gertrude and Charles Kemp Jr. scholarship and has been named to the ABAC President's List.

A total of 263 graduates received their diplomas in the Gressette Gymnasium ceremony. Summer term classes begin at ABAC on May 30; fall semester classes begin Aug. 16

NANCI BOWEN CHARITY GOLF TOURNEY
TEES OFF ON MONDAY

The annual Nanci Bowen Charity Event will be held at the Spring Hill Country Club in Tifton on Monday, May 15. This golf
Nanci Bowen, left, with Louise Woodham
 tournament, benefiting the special needs of Tift Regional Health System (TRHS) hospice and cancer patients, is a four-man scramble.

Shotgun start is at 1 p.m. Interested participants can form a team or sign-up as a corporate sponsor. There are multiple sponsorship opportunities and the team fee is $400.
 
A Tifton native, Bowen is a retired Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour player. She attended the University of Georgia on a full golf scholarship and joined the LPGA immediately after graduating in 1989 with an undergraduate degree inpublic relations.

Bowen's professional golf career was highlighted in 1995 with a win at the Nabisco Dinah Shore, one of the LPGA's four major championships. Other notable achievements included two runner-up finishes in 1997 at the Rochester International and the Susan G. Komen International, plus numerous top ten finishes at LPGA tournaments between 1994 and 2005. 

She started this annual golf tournament in Tifton 18 years ago.
 
"We are grateful to Nanci for launching this annual event and lending her name to the tournament for so many years," said Louise Woodham, tournament chairperson. "It's a fun, competitive day benefiting a great cause."
 
Dinner will be served and prizes awarded immediately following the tournament. Each player on the winning team will receive a two nights' stay and one round of golf at the King and Prince resort hotel. 

There will also be great second- and third-place prizes, a hole-in-one contest for a new car as well as a closest-to-the-pin and pink ball competitions. 
 
For more information or to register, visit www.tiftregional.com or call 229-353-6330.


COACH DOOLEY BRINGING NEW BOOK TO TIFTON

Former UGA head football coach Vince Dooley will be in Tifton from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, to share his love of history and discuss his newest book on the Civil War

Dooley will be at Tifton Elks Lodge, 422 Victory Drive, for a short lecture and book signing. The public is invited.

His new book,  "The Legion's Fighting Bulldog," details the Civil War correspondence of Lt. Col. William
 Gaston Deloney, part of Cobb's Georgia Legion Cavalry, and his wife Rosa Deloney. It is a glimpse of the struggles of life on the  battlefield and at home .

Greatly loved by those who served under him, Delony possessed three main attributes: " commanding presence, bulldog courage and superb generalship."

A graduate of the University of Georgia, Delony was well educated for the period. A lawyer prior to the war, his inherent tenacity and fighting ability made him the "first Georgia Bulldog."

Dooley, who edited the correspondence, will also have copies for sale of other books he has written.

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Mother's Day Buffet
Sunday, May 14

A fabulous menu will include roasted turkey, cornbread dressing, baked ham, 
sweet potato soufflé, baby butter beans, squash casserole, roast beef, mashed potatoes, 
rice pilaf, macaroni and cheese, cream corn, Italian green beans, glazed carrots, asparagus, Southern fried chicken, rolls,  celebration salad, broccoli salad, pasta salad, 
24-hour fruit salad, Watergate salad, pimento cheese, chicken salad, grape salad, 
marinated vegetable salad,  chocolate pie, lemon meringue pie, pecan pie, 
carrot cake, chocolate cake, coconut cake, cheesecake, strawberry cake, chocolate Mousse -- and much more!
 
$12 per person; children age 4 & under are free

Special extended hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
 
           Reservations are Suggested:   
392-2913 or 382-6745

 BJ's at Springhill
  5 Springhill Drive E. (off U.S. Highway 82)
inside Springhill Country Club
                                        Tifton, Ga.

CA$H MOB VISITS DAIRY QUEEN

Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce ambassadors and staff recently surprised Kaval Momin and the team at the Dairy Queen on Tift Avenue with the Chamber's monthly "Cash Mob." The Cash Mob, which surprises a Chamber member each month, bought some tasty treats and thanked the staff for being Chamber members.


LOCAL STUDENTS HELP RECOGNIZE
NATIONAL NURSES WEEK

Tift Regional Health System celebrated National Nurses Week ( May 6-12) with various activities, including celebration breakfasts for the nursing staff at Tift Regional Medical Center and Cook Medical Center, school tours and mayoral proclamations. 

Both Tifton Mayor Julie Smith and Adel Mayor Buddy Duke issued proclamations in honor of Nurses Week. 

Also in honor of National Nurses Week, fifth-grade students with Tift County Schools held an art contest to salute nurses at Tift Regional Health System and the Tifton medical community. Students from Matt Wilson Elementary and Charles Spencer Elementary participated. 

Today, May 12, is nurse Florence Nightingale's birthday, the conclusion of National Nurses Week. As of 1998, May 8 was designated as National Student Nurses Day, to be celebrated annually. 

"National Nurses Week is a time to recognize those who spend their lives and careers giving to others. It is an honor to watch our nursing alumni continue to share their passion for nursing and patient care as their careers continue to evolve. All nursing alums exemplify the true characteristics of the Nightingale Pledge, and I look forward to seeing them continue their personal and professional development," said Tammy Bryant of  Southern Regional Technical College.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of registered nurses is expected to grow by 16 percent through 2024, which is more than double the standard job growth rate. While a current nurse shortage presents an issue for medical facilities, it also provides opportunities for those seeking entry into the field.

From left is Scott Purvis of Georgia Power, Jared Ross, Milton "MJ" Hall Jr., James Nixon, Tiffanie Root and Jenny Robbins of Georgia EMC. 

LOCAL LEADERS GRADUATE FROM
 GA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY

Several Tift County residents are among this year's graduates of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development's Region 11 multi-day training program.

Tift County graduates at the ceremony May 9 include Milton "MJ" Hall Jr., Becky Moore, James Nixon, Tiffanie Root and Jared Ross. Class participants represented a number of professional and non-professional economic development fields from 18 counties.

The Academy provided  an opportunity to acquire an understanding of economic and community development on the local, regional and state levels.
 
Georgia EMC and Georgia Power provide facilitators for the program, and the Ga. Department of Community Affairs provides staff support.
 
"One of the goals for the multi-day regional academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation," says Corinne Thornton, director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development.  "Many times, the participants discover the issues facing their community are the same as those facing other communities in their region and can then combine limited resources to address the issue."


'STAMP OUT HUNGER' IN TIFT COUNTY

The 25th annual national letter carriers "Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive" is this Saturday, May 13.

On Saturday, residents are asked to leave a bag or bags of non-perishable food by their mailbox before their letter carrier's normal pickup time. In Tift County, letter carriers will deliver the food to the  U.S. Post Office's loading docks behind the Post Office building.

The United Way of South Central Georgia is seeing volunteers to help unload the mail trucks and reload the food on trucks for local agencies. Help is needed anytime between 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Local  agencies to receive the food contributions include the Salvation Army, the Tiftarea Soup Kitchen, the Food Bank and Coastal Plains of Tifton, the United Way said. It asks that contributors be sure to check donated food items to ensure they are not expired.

WOMEN'S CLUB RAISES SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS
THROUGH 'FASHION WITH A PASSION' SHOW

Twenty-five models representing a variety of community service opportunities in Tifton showcased spring styles from six stores in the GFWC Tifton 20th Century Library Club's Second Annual "Fashion with a Passion" fashion show on Tuesday, May 9.

About 80 people attended the dinner and show, donating toward drawings for prizes and receiving door prizes for their attendance. The event is a fundraiser for the club's Bergeron-Whiddon Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Scholarship, named in memory of "Tunkey" Bergeron and Margaret Whiddon, two active club members who were also beloved teachers in Tift County.

The club's parliamentarian Debbie Thompson introduced the recipient of this year's scholarship, Tift County High School
Models for the 'Fashion with a Passion' fashion show sponsored by the  Tifton 20th Century Library Club.  The  fashion show is a fundraiser for the club's ABAC scholarship.
student Chastity Dillard.

"Chastity is graduating from Tift County High School with honors," Thompson said. "She is involved in activities such as the 4H air pistol team, Future Farmers of America and is currently employed part time with Quailwood Animal Hospital. Her future plans include attending ABAC this summer and obtaining an associate's degree in animal sciences. Then she plans to transfer to UGA for a degree in food animal science and continue in the College of Veterinary Medicine."
Roxie Price, left, and Akeria Lockett, show off their spring styles from Belk and Julie's Closet, respectively.
Bonnie Sayles, president of the club, which is a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), presented acheck to Fran Kinchen, director of Leroy Rogers Center, in appreciation for the center's help as a meeting location for the club.

The stores featured at the Fashion Show were Aero Boutique, Belk at Tifton Mall, Bird's Nest Thrift Shop, Julie's Closet, Plantation 59, and Suit Yourself.

Models included: Melissa Hughes, Tift County commissioner serving District 2 and Alternative Dispute Resolution program director for the Tift County Judicial Circuit; Roxie Price, UGA Extension Family and Consumer Sciences agent and chair of the Tift County Commission on Children & Youth/Family Connections; Contessa Crawford with Easter Seals Adult Day Solutions and her client Katie Crowley; Yolunda Lewis, a nurse at Tift County Health Department; Fran Kinchen, director of Leroy Rogers Senior Center (LRSC); Shirene Daniell, Tifton 20th Century Library Club treasurer and former state president of GFWC Georgia.

Also, Cindy Marzen, 2016-2017 Tift County Teacher of the Year and teacher at Northeast Campus; Dawn Pridgen, who started the local Bunco fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House, and her daughter Kayleigh Pridgen, a competition cheerleader and student at J.T. Reddick; Ashton Lovett; Aeriel Lewis, a member of Ladies Choice Show Choir and student at Northeast Campus TCHS; Becky Langenfeld and Rosemary Hightower, both volunteers at Birds Nest Thrift Store, a fundraiser for the House of Hope shelter for women. Rosemary is also board chairman of House of Hope, and her daughter Laura Roberts participated along with granddaughters Claire Roberts, an honor student at Tift Academy, and Madison Roberts.

Also, Akeria Lockett, secretary for Dayspring Inspirational Church, chair of the Tift County Child Abuse Council and vice president of Family Promise of Tift Area; Natasha Patrick, site manager for LRSC; member of Older Americans Month Committee and member of Advisory Board for Diversified Enterprises; Susie Chitwood, director of Tifton Service for Salvation Army, and her daughters Megan Scarbor and Mallory Waddell; Michele Walker, therapist with AR Psychiatric & Counseling Center and her daughter Hannah Walker, a seventh-grade honor student at Eighth Street Middle School where she is in the concert band, girl's track team and competition cheerleading; Madalyn Noland; and Taylor Horton.

From left are Tifton Rotarian and past District Gov. Leon Benefield; Rotarian Lynn Lovett, who led the Tifton's club 'Paul Harris' initiative; current club President Jeremy Campbell; and current Rotary District Gov. Pamela Lightsey.

 TIFTON ROTARY CLUB REACHES DISTINCTION OF BEING
100 PERCENT 'PAUL HARRIS FELLOW' CLUB

The Rotary Club of Tifton on Wednesday became the latest Rotary Club to be a 100 percent Paul Harris Fellow Club.

Paul Harris Fellow recognition is an honor acknowledging individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary in 1905 in Chicago. He  organized the first Rotary Club "in fellowship and friendship" with the initial goal to create a club of professional and businessmen for friendship and fellowship. Soon, Harris realized that Rotary needed a greater purpose.

When Harris was elected as third president of the Chicago Rotary Club in 1907, the club initiated its first public service project, the construction of public toilets in Chicago. This step transformed Rotary into the world's first service club

The Paul Harris Fellow initiative  was established in 1957 to show appreciation for and encourage contributions to the Rotary Foundation, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year at the Rotary International global convention next month in Atlanta, where more than 40,000 Rotarians from around the world will gather.

The Rotary Foundation, during the past century, has spent $3 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects around the world, most notably helping wipe out 99.9 percent of all polio cases.

Terri Nalls at the TCFEE board meeting with, left, Foundation Director Mike Brumby, Nalls' husband Craig, and, seated, TCFEE President Joe West. 

EDUCATION FOUNDATION HONORS TERRI NALLS

Terri Nalls, Charles Spencer Elementary School's media specialist  who is retiring this school year, was recognized Tuesday at the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence (TCFEE) board meeting.

Nalls has been dubbed Tifton's "Reading Angel" for her role in helping to get Tifton on its path as Reading Capital of the World based on Accelerated Reader points for books read.

 
YOUR WEEKEND  fresh_berries.jpg
. ..at a Glance

FRIDAY, MAY 12
  • Senior Fish Fry by Tifton Fire Dept., Noon, Leroy Rogers Senior Center, Tifton
  • Dave Prater Music Fest street festival, 6-10 p.m, North Cherry Street, Downtown Ocilla
  • Tiftarea Academy Graduation, 7 p.m., First Baptist Church, Tifton
SATURDAY, MAY 13
  • Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
  • Test Drive for Alzheimer's, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Griffin Ford, Tifton
  • Sylvester Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon, downtown train depot, Sylvester
  • National Train Day, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Tifton Terminal Railway Museum, Tifton

 

SUNDAY, MAY 14 ~ HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY


  • Mother's Day Buffet, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., BJ's at Springhill, Tifton

In Memoriam
BowenDonaldson

MAY 4
Nita   Whiddon,  Doles community

MAY 5
Mary Frances Duckworth Webb, 83, Worth County
Roscoe Raburn Register, 65, Adel

MAY 6
Marcus Avner Hayes, 85, Nashville
Mattye Ree Floyd, Sylvester
Wayne Boyd, 64, Nashville

MAY 7
George Owens Jones Jr., 93, Fitzgerald
Annette Webb, 86, Boston

MAY 8
Minnie Bryant, 91, Tifton
Scott Stone, 52, Fitzgerald

MAY 9
Lewis Stanley Davis, 62, Tifton
Emory Fowler, 82, Ben Hill County
Patricia Ann Walker, 78, Columbus

MAY 10
Kathy Whaley, 61, Tifton
Van Lee Rowan, 81, Adel

MAY 11
Ronnie Lee White, 53, Nashville
Kenota Wanard Snow, Sylvester

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4616 Field Creek Drive, Tifton, GA
MLS # 127005

GREAT HOME FOR FIRST-TIME BUYER:  3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,551 square feet on west side of town. Closed-in garage makes great bonus room. Patio & screened porch.
                    
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