Sept. 26, 2017
Tifton, Georgia
478-227-7126
tiftongrapevine.com
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ALMOST $370 MILLION
ABAC's SOUTH GEORGIA IMPACT GROWS 12 PERCENT, STUDY SAYS
Tifton's Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College had an economic impact of $369,874,664 on South Georgia during the 2016 fiscal year,
according
to a state study.
The University System of Georgia sanctioned the study, conducted by the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. The entire university system had an overall economic impact of $16.8 billion on the state's economy.
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ABAC students walking along campus recently.
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ABAC President David Bridges
points to several factors for the 12.1 per cent or $40,029,938 in growth over the 2014 fiscal year report, which had shown ABAC with an economic impact of $329,844,725.
"The enrollment at ABAC has increased in three of the past five fall semesters at ABAC. That kind of growth is not happening at other colleges and universities in South Georgia," Bridges says.
"The number of students pursuing bachelor's degrees on our campus has jumped from 41 in 2008 to about 2,000 today. That's a significant increase."
The ABAC Place and ABAC Lakeside housing complexes on campus have also been at capacity with about 1,400 students living on campus. Many ABAC students also rent houses and apartments in the community.
"All of our students are eating in the restaurants, buying from the stores and contributing to the local economy," Bridges says. "Not to be dramatic but can you imagine what Tifton would be like without the 3,400 ABAC students plus all the ABAC employees and their families?"
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DR. RENATA ELAD
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Dr. Renata Elad, dean of ABAC's Stafford School of Business, analyzed the data from the USG report. She says it's no surprisethat the ABAC economic footprint continues to grow.
"With 250 employees, ABAC stimulates the region's labor income in an amount over $50 million," Elad says. "The multiplier effect of the employees at ABAC results in 886 other employees in the area. This helps in no small way to keep the unemployment rate in South Georgia very low."
Elad says ABAC student spending reached a record $41,096,923 during the 2016 fiscal year.
"These students are paying for food, gas, rent and entertainment," Elad says. "Some of these students later become employees and eventually employers who further enhance the region's economic growth and development."
Bridges agrees. One of his favorite themes in recent years has been that "life is better at ABAC." He applies that same mantra to Tifton and South Georgia.
"After they have lived in this community for four years going to ABAC, a lot of ABAC graduates are going to find jobs here, get married, have children and contribute even more to the economy long term," Bridges says. "Life is better at ABAC, but life is also better in South Georgia. ABAC graduates realize that and settle down in the community."
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TIFTON GAZETTE, WALB-TV PARENT COMPANIES TO MERGE; NEWSPAPER FUTURE UNCERTAIN
A
merger was announced
Monday between two large
media companies -- the
parent company of several
South Georgia newspapers, including
The Tifton Gazette, and the
parent company of
WALB-TV in Albany and
WTXL-TV in Tallahassee.
The merger of
Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI) and
Raycom Media Inc., both based in
Montgomery, Ala., would
form one of the nation's largest privately owned media groups and leaves the future uncertain for the affected South Georgia newspapers.
"In seven cases where markets for Raycom Media broadcast stations and CNHI newspapers overlap, the newspaper properties will be sold to a third party," according to a press release announcing the merger.
WALB-TV serves the
Southwest
Georgia
market where CNHI owns The Tifton Gazette, The Valdosta Daily Times, The Moultrie Observer and The Thomasville Times-Enterprise. WTXL-TV serves North
Florida
, where
CNHI
newspapers
CNHI owns more than 110 newspapers, websites and niche publications in 22 states. Raycom Media owns or operates 65 television and two radio stations covering 44 markets in 20 states.
Under the merger agreement, CNHI will operate as a Raycom Media subsidiary.
CNHI has owned
The Tifton Gazette
since
2000
, when it purchased the paper from
Thomson Newspapers
.
Thomson
bought the
Gazette
from
Homer Rankin
in
1981
.
Rankin
of
Tifton
owned the
Gazette
for
29
years, beginning in
1952
. Under
Rankin
, the Gazette
expanded
its coverage. Under
CNHI
, the Gazette's
publication
schedule was
reduced
from a six-day-a-week daily newspaper to a
three-day-a-week
triweekly paper.
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UGA OPENS TURFGRASS FACILITIES
Three new
turfgrass research and education facilities on the
Tifton, Athens and Griffin campuses were formally opened at the
University of Georgia with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Thursday.
The largest of the facilities is on the UGA Griffin campus, where the ceremony took place.
During the 2014 legislative session, Gov. Nathan Deal and the General Assembly appropriated funds for the statewide turfgrass facilities enhancement project.
"The construction of new turfgrass
research and education facilities will produce tremendous benefits not only for the university community but also for the
agriculture industry, which is central to the state's economy,"
said UGA President Jere W. Morehead.
On the
UGA campus in
Tifton, old facilities have been
replaced with
new greenhouses and a
headhouse facility to support the expanding
warm-season turf-breeding program. On the
main UGA
campus in
Athens, scientists now have
new greenhouses and a combination
classroom and office complex to use for undergraduate teaching and research programs.
The new Turfgrass Research Building in Griffin sits close to the campus's turfgrass research plots. The building houses seven turfgrass scientists, their staff, postdoctoral research associates, visiting scientists and graduate students. The facility includes modern laboratories, offices, conference and classroom space and attached greenhouses.
UGA has
22 scientists whose primary responsibilities are related to
turfgrass, and another
eight faculty members who have some involvement in turf-related projects. They support the
turfgrass industry by conducting research, educating industry professionals and training students who will become future industry leaders.
UGA-bred turfgrasses covers lawns, championship golf courses, urban green spaces, and Major League and Little League playing fields in Georgia, across the nation and around the world. Since 1990, the UGA Turf Team has generated close to $12 million in royalty income.
Turfgrass is a $7.8 billion industry in Georgia, accounting for 87,000 jobs.
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Collins will be hosting our first annual
South Georgia Wine Festival
on September 30, 2017, 1 p.m.-
6 p.m.
We invite everyone from wine connoisseurs to
those with curious palates to attend this event.
Our festival includes wine tastings from two local vineyards, Farmer's Daughter Vineyards of Pelham and Frogtown South Winery of Hahira, and
samples from the Collins bar. Additionally, appetizers will be available for purchase from
The Local of Tifton.
Also, because it's Saturday, we will play your
favorite music as we watch college football.
$10 or you can purchase them at the door for $15.
Your ticket includes:
*Entry to the Collins South Georgia Wine Festival
*Entry for door prizes throughout the duration of the festival
*Wine Tastings from Farmer's Daughter Vineyards and Frogtown South Winery
*Two Wine Samples from the Collins' bar
*Fruit and Cheese Pairings
*Souvenir Tasting Glass
*Most importantly, a good 'ole time with your South Georgia friends
You must be 21 or older to attend.
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BEAUTY SPOTS OF THE MONTH
For the month of October, Keep Tift Beautiful
is recognizing Harold and
Linda Abbott
at 101 28th St. W., Tifton,
seen at left, as the residential
"Beauty Spot of the Month."
For its commercial award, Keep Tift Beautiful is recognizing Captain D's at 1307 Highway 82 W., Tifton, as the "Beauty Spot of the Month" for October.
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TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
Griffin Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
505 West Seventh St.
Tifton
Sept. 21
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PEANUT TOUR
VISITS PLAINS ... AND
A PRESIDENT
The 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, spoke to visitors on the annual Georgia Peanut Tour last week during a stop at his boyhood home in Plains.
Carter, a former peanut farmer, turns 93 years old this Sunday. He served as president from 1977-81, and previously served as Georgia's governor.
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TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
Pediatric Dental Center of Georgia
820 Love Ave.
Tifton
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Colquitt EMC presents check to Jeanne Love and students.
COLQUITT EMC GIVES GRANTS TO
TIFTAREA ACADEMY PROJECTS
Two
Tiftarea Academy teachers were recently surprised when
Colquitt EMC brought two jumbo
$1,000 checks to surprise
Jacqueline Beals and
Jeanne Love. Teacher
Carolyn Brown is a co-recipient with
Love but was not present on the morning of the presentation.
Beals, Love and Brown had all submitted
proposals for the
Colquitt EMC Bright Ideas Education Grant, which
provides funding for teachers to put their creative plans in action. Funding for the grants is made possible through state legislation that allows unclaimed capital credits to be used for education in communities served by EMC's.
Beals was awarded a
$1,000 grant to help fund her efforts to create a
literary magazine to showcase students' work, primarily from English, Spanish, art and history classes. Her' goal is to
showcase the
talents of students and exhibit the diversity in thought and creativity.
Love's and Brown's grant proposal focused on
history lessons for the
fifth grade. The grant will allow all three fifth-grade classes to enhance their
learning about the
Civil War and
WWII through the use of historical fiction
books,
music from the time periods,
videos and
artifacts.
Colquitt EMC is a member-owned cooperative that provides electricity to more than 43,900 members with 66,000 meters in Berrien, Brooks, Colquitt, Cook, Lowndes, Tift and Worth counties.
Colquitt EMC presents check to Jacqueline Beals and some of the Tiftarea Academy students.
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10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Fulwood Park in Tifton
Free Admission
Traditional foods, nonstop performances from The Howard Center Stage, Street Dance
with Quique Fuentes from Atlanta Radio Rumba & non-stop singers from BB&T stage (south side of park);
Children's Area with rides and face painting;
Arts, Educational and Health Exhibits
Sponsors
Platinum
The Howard Center for Women's Health
BB&T
Gold
Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association
Tift Regional Medical Center
Tenneson Nissan
Bronze
Quality Produce, LLC
First Community Bank
South Georgia Banking Co.
Ameris Bank
Coca-Cola
City of Tifton,
Tifton Police Department
Tift County Recreation Department
Special Thanks To:
Tifton-Tift County Public Library
Angel's Touch
Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC
Murray's Flower Gallery
Tifton Gazette
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TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
Fig Leaves Christian Books and Treasures
214 Magnolia Drive, Tifton
Sept. 25
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SERVING
YOU WITH PROFESSIONALISM
BEFORE, DURING & AFTER THE SALE
119 Martin Luther King Drive, Tifton, GA
MLS #
127896
A walk-in closet is among the features in this 3 bedroom, 2-bathroom home with 1,792 square feet.
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Dwana Coleman
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Visit Us Online:
Call us TODAY!
229-386-4222
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Sunshine
Through
Each & Every
Real Estate
Transaction!
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