Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019
Tifton, Georgia
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Nakia McCoggle, left, of K&K Custom Creations accepts the awards for Most Original, Greatest Variety, Best Presentation and Best in Show at the "Choc-it-Up for Literacy" event Tuesday night at Spring Hill Country Club. Presenting the awards is Bonnie Sayles, executive director of Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County.
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TIFTON'S TOP CHOCOLATES
K&K CUSTOM CREATIONS SWEEPS MOST CATEGORIES; FRESCO ITALIANO WINS 'BEST TASTE'
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A chance to
sample
and
choose Tifton's top chocolate desserts
Tuesday night
brought approximately
125
people to
Spring Hill Country Club
for the
7th Annual Choc-it-Up for Literacy
fundraiser for
Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County
.
K&K Custom Creations
received the
most votes
in
several categories
–
"Most Original," "Greatest Variety"
and
"Best Presentation"
– capturing
"Best in Show."
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Fresco Italiano
received the
most votes
for
"Best Taste"
for its
chocolate desserts
.
The
crowd
also got the opportunity to
bid
on various items, such as vacations, quail hunts, art work and jewelry, with the proceeds going toward
adult literacy
programs in Tift County, such as
tutoring
and
GED
preparation in Tift County.
The
Howard Center
in
Tifton
added a fun twist to the night by having
"Oompa Loompas"
offering everyone a
"Wonka Bar"
with one of the
chocolate bars
containing a
"golden ticket"
for a
$100
bill.
Gail Barnard
of
Tifton
had the "golden ticket," and she immediately
donated
the
$100
to the
literacy
program.
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An "Oompa Loompa" (Melisa Carter of the Howard Center), left, offers Gail Barnard a $100 bill for having the "golden ticket" in her "Wonka Bar."
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ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC STUDY
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Because of a higher number of students, more employees and more expensive off-campus housing, the
economic impact
of
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
on
South Georgia
soared to a record
$529,838,507
in
fiscal year 2017
, according to a
statewide study
.
The
University System of Georgia
(USG) sanctioned the
statewide economic impact study
, conducted by the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the
University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.
Tifton's
and
South Georgia's benefits
, according to the report, include 444 jobs at ABAC resulting in 1,382 jobs off campus for a
total impact
of
1,826 jobs
in the area. The previous fiscal year report in 2016 showed ABAC with 230 on-campus jobs resulting in 886 off-campus jobs for a total impact of 1,116 jobs in the area.
“More jobs at ABAC means
more jobs
in
South Georgia
,” said Dr.
Renata Elad
, dean of ABAC's
Stafford School of Business.
“ABAC had a much bigger
employment impact
plus the
cost of housing
went up, and the
average rent
in Tifton went up that year.
Personal expenses
for entertainment, apparel and services were
also up
.”
Elad analyzed the USG numbers for ABAC and found its
economic impact
is
31 percent higher
than the $369,874,664 impact in the 2016 fiscal year.
“ABAC needs
South Georgia
, and South Georgia needs ABAC,” Elad said. “With total employment of over 1,800 jobs directly from student spending activities and an overall
labor impact
of almost
$66 million
, ABAC is definitely a strong partner in
regional growth
.”
ABAC’s
enrollment
increased to
3,475
students for the 2016 fall from 3,393 students in the 2015 fall term. The enrollment also increased in the 2017 spring and summer terms.
With
instructional sites
in
Tifton, Moultrie, Bainbridge, Blakely and Donalsonville
during the 2018 fall term and a record enrollment of
4,291
students, ABAC President
David Bridges
believes the school's economic impact of ABAC will soar again next year.
“It’s inevitable that the impact will be even higher because we teach classes in so many more locations, and we have quite a few more students,”
Bridges
said. “We are also in our
11th year
of offering
bachelor’s degree
programs, and you can’t discount the value of
students
staying here for
four or five years
instead of
two or three years
.”
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SHERIFF GETS REPORT
OF 'SCAM PAVERS'
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Tift County Sheriff
Gene Scarbrough
is warning area residents about
renegade paving companies
operating in
Tift County
with more than
10 complaints
received in the past week.
The
scam pavers
often claim to have extra material from an earlier job and offer to
patch
or
repave
your driveway or parking lot for a bargain price and ask you to
pay half
the price upfront.
“Don’t do it,”
Scarbrough
says. “Be safe and aware; if they don’t have a business license call
911
.”
Most of these individuals are from
out of state
and have not received a
business license
through the local Code Enforcement Office, the sheriff says. The licenses can be issued in a day with the appropriate documentation for a $45 fee.
These
rogue
companies often look for driveways in need of repair, pull up to the home and blow the horn of their work trucks to get the owners to come outside and are especially looking to
prey
on
elderly homeowners
.
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MAGAZINE INDUCTS TIFTON'S VEAZEY INTO TOP LOBBYISTS HALL OF FAME
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James
magazine has inducted
Monty Veazey
of
Tifton
into its
Top Lobbyists Hall of Fame
during a recent ceremony in
Atlanta
.
“
Monty Veazey
is a
respected veteran lobbyist
who is well known for doing his homework and articulating his clients’ needs before legislators and the public,” said
Phil Kent
, the magazine's publisher.
“
James
is pleased to
salute
the hard-working professional by placing him in its elite Lobbyist Hall of Fame.”
Veazey
has served as the
president and CEO
of the
Georgia Association of Community Hospitals
for
34
years, and he
lobbies
for numerous other clients as well.
Veazey
won
election
to the
state House
in
1976
, becoming the
youngest
member ever elected in the
House of Representatives
, serving
Tift, Berrien and Cook counties
; he left office in
1983
.
“I greatly appreciate this recognition from
James
magazine, and it’s an honor to join so many friends and colleagues who have received this award in the past,” said
Veazey
.
“I’m incredibly lucky that I’ve worked throughout my career on issues that improve the
quality of life
for
Georgians
in communities like
Tifton
. Community hospitals provide high-quality healthcare that’s crucial to our families, and beyond that they are crucial to local economies.
“I get the best of two worlds. I work at the
state Capitol
where there’s so much going on for our state – but then I get to leave it all behind and
come home
to
Tifton
.”
Veazey
serves on the
Synovus Bank board
as well as the
Georgia Chamber of Commerce
. He and his family are members of
First Baptist Church
in
Tifton
.
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COLONY BANK AIDS RUTH'S COTTAGE
Colony Bank
market presidents recently presented a
$5,000
check to the
Ruth’s Cottage Capital Campaign
for a new domestic violence shelter and administrative offices.
From left are
Bill Marsh
(Colony Bank of Tifton),
Johnny Bryan
(Colony Bank of Sylvester),
Andy Johnson
(Colony Bank of Ashburn), and
Jim Laycock
and Nancy Bryan from Ruth’s Cottage.
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Builders Club
members (
sixth- through eighth-grade
students) at
Tiftarea Academy
have
collected
more than
50 teddy bears
for a service project this month coordinated with the
Kiwanis Club of Tifton
. The
Kiwanis Club
is giving the
teddy bears
to
children
in the hospital's
pediatric ward
for
Valentine’s Day
.
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AKA SORORITY SETS FOUNDER'S DAY
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Sigma Alpha Omega Chapter
of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
will
celebrate
a
Founders’ Day
program at
2 p.m. Feb. 16
, at
Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church
in
Ty Ty.
Alpha Kappa Alpha
’s program reflects the communal consciousness steeped in the AKA tradition and embodied in its credo: “To be supreme in
service
to all
mankind
.”
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
's current program theme is
"Exemplifying Excellence Through Sustainable Services."
The international program includes
five
targets designed to advance the mission of AKA with excellence and underscore a commitment to sustainable services.
The
five targets
are:
HBCU for Life: A Call to Action, Women’s Healthcare and Wellness, Building Your Economic Legacy, The Arts
, and
Global Impact
.
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ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE OPENING
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The
Tiftarea Board of Realtors
is looking for a motivated individual to work closely with membership to maintain compliance with the state and national association; keep membership informed of board-related activities; assist in planning meetings, classes and events; multiple listing service administrator; record keeping and light bookkeeping.
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PROGRAM TO CELEBRATE
AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY
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Singer, songwriter and actor
Jonathan Blanchard
will offer a musical journey celebrating
African-American history
on
Feb. 19
in
Howard Auditorium
at
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.
The
noon
performance is
free
and
open
to the
public
.
A two-part
information session
titled
“Then and Now”
will be held in
Bowen 100
at
5 p.m. Feb. 19
, highlighting
contributions
and
inventions
of
African-Americans
.
To close the program, a
panel discussion
will look at student experiences in the present setting. A reception will follow.
Blanchard
has been called a
preserver
of the
negro spiritual
and has released his first
studio album
,
“Freedom’s Soul … the REVOLUTION.”
He has been among the artists on stage when the
Southern Christian Leadership Foundation
honored Civil Rights icon and trailblazing entertainer
Harry Belafonte
.
Blanchard
also performed at the
Memphis Music Hall of Fame induction
of gospel great
Lucy E. Campbell
, where he opened for
ZZ Top
, saxophonist
George Coleman
and the late
Bobby “Blue” Bland
.
His
stage credits
include roles as diverse as The Priest in
“Your Arms Too Short to Box with God,”
Bernardo in
“West Side Story,”
Simeon and Potifer in
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,”
and the lion in
“The Wiz.” Blanchard
has also done
voice-over work
for local and national programs.
He has a b
achelor of science in commercial music and a master of science in music education degrees from
Tennessee State University.
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Tifton Grapevine
e-published every Tuesday and Friday
Frank Sayles Jr.
Editor & Publisher
Bonnie Sayles
Managing Editor
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A Service of
Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
, Tifton, Georgia
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