Cooper  i s a member of ACS -CAN (Cancer Action Network ) and has been a tireless volunteer for  the American Cancer Society and has held leadership positions with the Tift County Relay for Life Committee. She has  volunteered as a Pink Lady at Tift  Regional  Medical Center for the past six years and is an active member of  New River Baptist Church.

Cooper was  awarded the Georgia  Commendation Medal  -- the highest civilian award -- for service to military  families  during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Older Americans Month activities continue in the coming week with a "Blaze A Trail Luncheon" at noon Thursday, May 12, in the Leroy Rogers Senior Center  with an inspirational talk by  Bonnie Sayles of Sayles Unlimited Health Promotions and music by the Singing Samaritans.

SHENANDOAH PERFORMS TO LARGE CROWD AT THE TIFT

SGBC AWARDS SCHOLARSHIP TO TIFTAREA ACADEMY STUDENT

Elizah Huff of Tifton is the 2016 top winner of the $500 Julian & Jan Hester Memorial Scholarship from South Georgia Banking Co.

Huff was chosen by a regional panel of judges for her academic performance at Tiftarea Academy as

From left are Zachery Willis, SGBC's Ashburn City President Chris McCard and Elizah Huff

well as her long list of extracurricular and civic activities. Huff started her own business when she was 14 -- making and selling handmade soaps and scrubs -- and also bought and restored (along with her father) a vintage VW.

As STAR student of her senior class, Huff is dual-enrolled at ABAC and Brewton Parker College, and will attend Young Harris College in the fall.

She now competes for one of four Hester Memorial $1,000 scholarships chosen by the Community Bankers Association (CBA).

 

The Julian & Jan Hester Memorial Scholarship programs awards $1,000 annually to four deserving high school seniors planning to attend a Georgia college/university/technical school beginning the fall semester after graduation from high school, along with with local scholarship recipients.  

Zachery Willis of Tifton, the local runner up, is also a candidate for the CBA scholarship award. Willis, who also attends Tiftarea Academy, has maintained top grade point average while dual-enrolled at ABAC and Brewton-Parker College. Willis' academic record and extracurricular activities, some of which include wrestling team, Beta Club and cross country, contributed to him being chosen to compete for the scholarship. He will continue his education at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in the fall.

CAITLIN SINGS ADELE

Xiomara "Cici" Arriaga of Macon and Jacob Vagott from Centerville were selected for the top awards presented by the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Alumni Association during the spring commencement ceremony at ABAC on Thursday.

Arriaga, a rural studies-writing and communication major, was named winner of the ABAC Alumni Association Award for the top bachelor's degree graduate, and Vagott, an engineering major, received

ABAC Alumni Association President Chuck Scarborough, left, and College President David Bridges, far right, with Cici Arriaga and Jacob Vagott during commencement Thursday.

the George P. Donaldson Award for the top associate degree graduate.

Arriaga has been involved with the ABAC Ambassadors, where she held roles as both vice president and secretary.

Active in a number of campus clubs, Arriaga has a grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and became a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society in 2016.

As a dual-enrolled student in both high school and college, Vagott received his college degree before getting his Northside High School diploma in Warner Robins later this month. He was living on the ABAC campus at 16 years old and quickly adapted to college life. 

"My experience at ABAC has been a unique one," Vagott said. "When I got accepted to ABAC, I had to convince my family that it was best for me to go ahead and go to college, even though I would be the only dual-enrolled student living on campus. Getting accepted into the Honors Program helped tremendously in convincing my family."

In his two years at ABAC, Vagott has been a member of the Honors Program, was named senator for the School of Science and Mathematics for the Student Government Association, and was a member of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Club.  Academically, Vagott is an Honors Program graduate who made the Dean's List three times. He graduated with a GPA of 3.80.

A total of 289 graduates received their diplomas in the Gressette Gymnasium ceremony.

The Tifton Twentieth Century Library Club is hosting the "Fashion with a Passion" fashion show at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, at Leroy Rogers. It will feature models representing the club's areas of work, for instance, Mayor Julie Smith and County Commissioner Melissa Hughes, public issues; and Angela Stewart, teacher of the year, education. The event includes a catered dinner, and proceeds benefit ABAC scholarships and Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County. Tickets may be purchased at Leroy Rogers Senior Center, Aero Boutique, Julie's Closet, Alphabet Soup or by calling 229-382-7525.