ABAC Alumnus Budding Country Music Star

Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

COUNTRY MUSIC'S 'NEXT BIG THING' IS FROM WILLACOOCHEE 'RVSHVD' IS AN ABAC ALUMNUS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

A 26-year-old Willacoochee native and ABAC alumnus is creating a buzz and is being called country music's "next big thing" with his South Georgia cadence and genre-busting mix of country with hip hop influences.

In June, he was invited to play at Nashville's Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest, then on Sept. 23, he made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, and he is Billboard magazine's December Country Rookie of the Month, getting a profile in the music industry publication.

The singer-songwriter goes by the name RVSHVD (pronounced Ra-shad) who began as a rapper, later releasing country covers of popular hip hop songs to social media. His music went viral – a recent single racked up 15 million plays and more than 450,000 shares. He now has a record deal and is recording his first album.

RVSHVD, whose real name is Clint Rashad Johnson, is a product of WIllacoochee schools and then went to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, enrolling in the music program. He has said that he initially focused on hip hop and R&B until he heard “Sweet Thing” by country singer Keith Urban.

RVSHVD told Billboard that he started tuning in to CMT (Country Music TV) and began identifying with the music and lyrics. He began recording covers of songs at home and releasing them to social media. He soon found an audience.

His first public performance was at Poole’s Pub, a bar in Pearson.

"I remember being super nervous," he told Billboard. "I remember there weren’t many people there, but one guy was like, ‘You sound real good. You should try doing some Conway Twitty.' I did a cover of 'Tennessee Whiskey' and 'Drinking ‘Bout You.'"

RVSHVD's latest song is “Small Town Talk,” and the accompanying video was filmed in WIllacoochee. "When we went back, what’s crazy is, it didn’t feel different. It just felt like I was back home, and I got to go see all my old teachers and got to see the new band students," he told Billboard.

He dedicated the song "to my small town – and all the ones just like it."

See the video for "Small Town Talk" below:

CITY APPLYING FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING GRANT

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Following extensive discussion, Tifton City Council on Monday voted to seek a state grant for workforce housing and chose a local developer's plan in hopes of creating 150 affordable single-family homes in the city.

The state Department of Community Affairs' Rural Workforce Housing Initiative allows communities to apply for up to $2.5 million for infrastructure supporting development of workforce housing – not "low-income" housing but housing affordable to middle-class workers.

City Planning Director Crystal Gaillard said that if the city receives a grant, it would be used for such infrastructure as water, sewer, and roads within a subdivision to be built by a developer, who, in turn, would offer houses for sale at a lower price because the infrastructure would already be in place.

The city had asked all local developers to submit plans for developing workforce housing, and a stakeholders panel vetted the plans and recommended that Bill Cooper Construction of Tifton be chosen to partner with the city,

Cooper Construction is proposing to build 150 single-family, detached houses on 40 acres off Whiddon Mill Road. The houses would be between 1,100 and 1,500 square feet each and are expected to sell between $165,000 and $245,000 each.

Council voted to partner with Cooper Construction if the state grant is received.

An alternate plan was submitted by Magnolia Design & Build to construct 72 attached townhome-style units on 5.61 acres between Central and Love avenues and 26th and 28th streets. The townhomes would be 900 square feet each and sell for $179,000.

Gaillard told council that the Cooper plan computes to 3.53 units per acre, and the Magnolia company plan would be 12.83 units per acre. Vice Mayor Jack Folk said he favored the Cooper plan. There was discussion that single-family homes would be easier to sell than duplex-style, attached townhomes.

But Councilman Josh Reynolds said he preferred the plan creating townhomes. Folk, however, argued that current homeowners across the street from the suggested townhome project would not be in favor of such development.

The city must submit its plan and grant application to the state by Jan. 12.

The community is invited to join Santa and Mrs. Claus for Santa's Workshop Saturday, December 9th in the Tifton First United Methodist Church Activity Center from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Enjoy games, arts and crafts,

and have your picture taken with Santa.

TIFTON ARTS DIRECTOR ACCEPTS MOULTRIE JOB

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Joy Yost, executive director of the Tifton Council for the Arts (TCA), will become the executive director of Moultrie's Arts Center on Jan. 8.

"My time at TCA has been wonderful," Yost told the Tifton Grapevine on Tuesday. "I cannot thank our board and volunteers enough for taking me in when I was new in Tifton and making me feel at home.

"I have learned so much from everyone, and I have truly seen how the arts build relationships and community. I will take that with me always."

Yost has been Tifton's arts director for the past eight years and oversaw the transition of Tifton's Museum of Arts and Heritage to the Syd Blackmarr Arts Center.

During her tenure, arts programs were expanded, additional arts classes were offered to children and adults, an annual arts festival was revived, and she was successful in obtaining several grants for local arts projects.

"It is definitely bittersweet to leave the Tifton Council for the Arts. I have had the honor to work with some amazing people over the past eight years," Yost said. "I will always cherish my time at TCA and the relationships that were built, the great work we got done, and the impact we made together in our community."

A Lubbock, Texas, native, Yost has a bachelor’s in business management from Texas Tech University. She is a graduate of the Leadership Tift class of 2022 and is participating in South GeorgiaLEADS.

Her last day with their Tifton Arts Council is Dec. 31.

From left are Georgia Cotton Commission Executive Director Taylor Sills, Allen B. Fulford Award winner Benjamin Reeves of Berrien County, Senior King Cotton Award winner Scott Carlson of Worth County, and UGA Extension Cotton Agronomist Dr. Camp Hand.

COTTON COMMISSION HONORS AREA AGENTS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Georgia Cotton Commission presented "King Cotton Awards" to outstanding county agents at the recent Georgia Association of County Agricultural Agents annual meeting.

Scott Carlson, agriculture and natural resources agent in Worth County, received the Senior Award, which honors agents with 10 or more years of experience.

Carlson began his UGA Extension career in 1996 and has served in Irwin, Ben Hill, Tift, and Worth counties. He has worked with cotton producers and the UGA Cotton Team through on-farm cotton variety trials for more than 20 years. He has assisted growers in management decisions including plant growth regulators, fungicide applications and insect management.

Benjamin Reeves, agriculture and natural resources agent for Berrien County, was presented the Junior Award, named the Allen B. Fulford Award, honoring an agent with less than 10 years of service.

Reeves began his career with UGA Extension in 2018, where he first served in the same role in Candler County. He holds annual cotton production meetings for local farmers on topics such as agronomy, economics, and pest management. He has conducted and collaborated on multiple cotton research trials, including the Statewide On-Farm Variety trials, the evaluation of cotton seed mixing on net returns, and evaluating insecticides for cotton aphid control.

The Georgia Cotton Commission, begun in 1965, is a producer-funded organization located in Perry.

ABAC RECEIVES GOV'S OFFICE HIGHWAY SAFETY GRANT

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College was recently awarded an $11,760 grant to fund several safety programs throughout the year.

The grant was awarded by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety with federal funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to be used between Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2024.

M.Sgt. Todd Daunhauer, ABAC police security specialist, said the grant will be used to bring several safety events to students, such as a DUI simulator and ThinkFast Interactive program. The ThinkFast program is an interactive educational program using a game-show setting to tackle such topics as underage drinking, drug use, bullying, traffic safety, and distracted driving.

“These are programs that educate young adults on the effects of alcohol and how it impairs their driving ability,” Daunhauer said, adding that the grant will also pay for safety information to be distributed at alcohol awareness-related events such as Safety Awareness Day.

Rotarians Laura Cutts (at right in photo above) and Bennett Harrison (right), co-chairs of the Tifton Rotary Club dictionary distribution project, give 2023-2024 dictionaries to third graders at J.T. Reddick Elementary.

ROTARY CLUB GIVES DICTIONARIES TO EVERY THIRD GRADER IN COUNTY

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Members of the Rotary Club of Tifton are distributing dictionaries to every third-grade student in Tift County to invite them to expand their vocabularies and enhance their reading skills.

The dictionary goes beyond words and also includes the periodic table, information on every country in the world and every state in the United States, the words of the "Star Spangled Banner," Roman numerals, Braille, American Sign Language, and more.

A biography of every U.S. president is also included.

Students are encouraged to use their dictionaries to share new words with their siblings and classmates.

The Rotary Club purchased 624 dictionaries from The Dictionary Project with the help of a Rotary District 6920 grant. This is the fourth year that the Tifton Rotary Club has distributed dictionaries to third graders throughout Tift County public and private schools.

RUNNERS BRAVE DAMP WEATHER

TO 'PINCH THE GRINCH'

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Tifton Kiwanis Club's 19th "Pinch the Grinch" 5K and 1-mile run went off without a hitch Saturday despite the damp weather. The run is usually held in conjunction with Tifton's Hometown Holidays Celebration, which was canceled because of heavy rain forecast later Saturday.

The city will hold its Christmas Parade and tree-lighting ceremony this Saturday beginning at 5 p.m.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Charlotte" has been at the animal shelter for more than 120 days and does not enjoy her small kennel. She loves attention and would love a home of her own. Come visit her at the Tift County Animal Shelter and see other pets available for adoption between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the shelter on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

FULWOOD ELECTED TIFTON MAYOR

~ DEC. 5, 1899

During a Tifton city election on Dec. 5, 1899, C.W. Fulwood was elected mayor, succeeding F.G. Boatwright. City councilmen elected were H.H. Tift, E.P. Bowen, and L.G. Manard.