AUG. 31, 2018
Tifton, Georgia
478-227-7126
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Tyron Spearman, left, is surprised as his name is called Wednesday in Atlanta as recipient of the state tourism Lifetime Achievement Award. Tifton Chamber President Brian Marlowe, right, congratulates Spearman as Rep. Penny Houston looks on.
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'MR. TIFTON'
TYRON SPEARMAN GETS STATE TOURISM
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Tifton's
Tyron Spearman received the
Tom Kilgore Lifetime Achievement Award on
Wednesday from the
state tourism industry.
Spearman, longtime executive director of the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association, is well-known throughout Georgia for his
indefatigable promotion of Tifton. He was recognized
during the Georgia Governor's Tourism Conference in Atlanta.
Hosted by the Ga. Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, the annual industry event brings together more than 400 tourism industry professionals from across the state.
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Joining award recipient Tyron Spearman at the state tourism conference Wednesday are, from left, Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce President Brian Marlowe, Chamber Vice President Chris Beckham, Abbey Bowen of the Spearman Agency, Tyron Spearman, Rep. Penny Houston, Angela Elder of the Spearman Agency, Mayor Julie Smith and City Manager Pete Pyrzenski.
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Spearman was
caught off-guard by the award. "It was a
big surprise," he told the
Tifton Grapevine. "I really
appreciate it."
Several local and state
officials were present for the award presentation, including Rep.
Penny Houston, R-Nashville; Tifton Mayor
Julie Smith, City Manager
Pete Pyrzenski, and
Brian Marlowe, president of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to his
tourism duties,
Spearman runs the
Spearman Agency in
Tifton, a marketing business, and
is editor of the Peanut Farm Market News, a peanut market newsletter, marketing editor of The Peanut Grower Magazine and is e
xecutive director of the National Peanut Buying Points Association.
He has held many
leadership positions such as v
ice president of communications for the Southwest Georgia Tourism Association, executive director of the Georgia Agrirama Foundation, district director of
Master 4-H Club and is a two-time president of the
Exchange Club of Tifton.
Spearman also had served 10 years as the executive secretary of the Georgia Peanut Commission based in Tifton, initiated the American Peanut Council's Export Promotion Program -- visiting more than a dozen countries promoting peanuts -- is a former president of the American Peanut Council and is a former public relations and alumni director at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton.
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'MOVING WALL' VISITS
VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL EXHIBIT IN CORDELE THIS WEEKEND
The "Moving Wall," a
traveling half-size rendition of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located  in
Washington, D.C., is at Georgia Veterans State Park in Cordele through this
Sunday.
On Wednesday, approximately 150 motorcyclists escorted the moving wall memorial to the state park. The wall lists more than 58,000 names of those who died in the Vietnam War.
The
wall exhibit opens
today, Friday, Aug. 31, at the state park and
ends with a
closing ceremony at
2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 2. Visitors to the park pay a
$5 entrance fee.
The Moving Wall has been traveling around the country
since 1984. The memorial
visited Tifton in 2008 and was set up outside Eighth Street Middle School. For that visit, 10,000 flags lined Tifton's streets, and an estimated 25,000 people visited the exhibit during its five-day stay here.
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Celebrating the
endowment
of the Terri Nalls Reading Angel Chair are Education Foundation Executive Director Mike Brumby, from left, Margaret Kelley, Terri Nalls and Foundation President Claire Byrnes.
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NALLS CHAIR ENDOWMENT
EDUCATION FOUNDATION MARKS 18th CHAIR
The
Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence (TCFEE) announced
Tuesday that the
Terri Nalls "Reading Angel Chair" has been
funded.
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At Tuesday's Education Foundation meeting, incoming President Claire Byrnes recognized Past President Mike Davis.
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The
Chair honors the longtime, retired
Tifton educator and the
originator of the foundation's
Accelerated Reader (AR) program.
Nalls spent nearly a quarter-century
as Charles Spencer Elementary's media specialist.
Foundation Executive Director
Mike Brumby has long referred to
Nalls as
Tifton's "Reading Angel;" Nalls was awarded her first education foundation
Incentive Grant in
1996 to purchase the
AR program and five computers for Spencer school's media center. Within weeks, the school erupted with
students reading scores of books.
"Terri embodies the
foundation's mission: 'To
foster and
enhance academic
excellence,'" Brumby has said. In
1997, she was the first
media specialist to be "tapped" for the foundation's
Excellence in Teaching Award, which she won again in
2009.
The
TCFEE now has
18 Academic Chairs. A
Chair is
endowed in perpetuity and finances annual grants on a competitive basis in specified academic fields. A minimum of
$25,000 is needed to
fund a Chair. Only
90 percent of a Chair's annual interest earned may be awarded, insuring that the endowment can only grow through the years.
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TIFT COUNTY JOBLESS RATE DROPS IN JULY
Tift County's
jobless rate dropped again in
July along with the average
Southern Georgia region's unemployment rate, Georgia Labor Commissioner
Mark Butler said
Thursday.
At the same time, the 17-county region saw its labor force shrink and the number of employed grow. All major indicators remain positive for the year, Butler said.
"Georgia continues to be in a period of sustained growth. There are no indicators in July that Georgia is going to slow down anytime soon," the labor commissioner said.
Tift's July unemployment rate fell to
4.2 percent, down by
0.2
percent from
June, the state
Department of Labor reported. It was
5.1 percent one year ago.
The Southern Georgia region as a whole also saw a 0.2 percent decline in joblessness during July with a rate of
4.3 percent.
The labor force dropped by 199 in July to reach 182,360 total members. The number has climbed by more than 3,600 during the past 12 months, or about 300 a month.
The region added 191 employed residents in July, pushing its total to 174,557. That number has grown by more than 5,300 in the past year, or about 440 a month, the Labor Department said.
The July unemployment rate among area counties include: Turner, 4.9 percent; Irwin, 6.7 percent; Ben Hill, 6.8 percent; Worth, 4.5 percent; Cook, 4 percent and Berrien County, 4.2 percent.
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Saturday, Sept. 1
8 a.m.-Noon
2801 Rebecca Road, Tifton
Assorted furnishings, bunk beds, dishes, clothes, boy's bicycle, and much, much more!
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THANKING TIFTON'S STATE
LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION
Scores of
c
ommunity
and
businesses
leaders gathered early
Thursday
at the
Georgia Chamber of Commerce Regional Office
on Love Avenue in
Tifton
for the annual
Legislative Appreciation Breakfast
sponsored by the
Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce
.
In the photo above is, from left, state Sen. Greg Kirk, R-Americus; Don Koehler of the Georgia Peanut Commission, with his back to the camera, speaking with state Rep. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, on the other side of Koehler; state Rep. Penny Houston, R-Nashville; and state Rep. Clay Pirkle, R-Ashburn.
The state lawmakers spoke about the recent General Assembly session and how rural Georgia is getting a lot of attention on the state level.
"It's now cool to be rural," Watson noted.
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UGA SYMPHONY PERFORMS SEPT. 9
IN
ABAC ARTS SERIES AT THE TIFT
Music from Ludwig van Beethoven all the way to a movie classic from 1961 will highlight the performance of the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra on Sept. 9 as part of the Abraham  Baldwin Agricultural College ABAC Presents! Performing Arts Series.
At a 3 p.m. performance at the Tift Theatre, the symphony will honor the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein with "Symphonic Dances" from "West Side Story." The orchestra will also spotlight Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony." In between, the "Mother Goose Suite" pulls timeless childhood classics into the present day.
ABAC Arts Connection Director Wayne Jones looks forward to the symphony's return to Tifton.
"I am so happy we are able to bring the UGA Symphony back to the Series this year," Jones said. "This will be the symphony's third appearance in the ABAC Presents! Performing Arts Series since it started. The program this year promises to be one of the most exciting we've heard."
Other performances in the ABAC performing arts series include Chanticleer on Oct. 11, "Broadway's Next H!t Musical" on Nov. 29, "The Crucible" on Feb. 7, the Albany Symphony Orchestra featuring Chris Brubeck's Triple Play on March 3, the Turtle Island String Quartet on March 28, and Byron Stripling with the ABAC Jazz Ensemble on April 18.
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THE TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION PRESENTS THE
Dinner-Dance Fundraiser for the Public Library
Thursday, Sept. 13
UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center
Get Your Tickets Today at the
Tifton-Tift
County
Public Library
Call 478-227-7126 for information
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VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT FAIR GENERATES INTEREST
Darcie Norton with
Coastal Plain CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), seated above, speaks to a
potential volunteer at the
4th Annual Volunteer Recruitment Fair, held
Thursday at the
Tift Regional Community Event Center. Many local
nonprofits displayed their services and signed up volunteers at the event, coordinated by Norton and Julie Mitcham with CASA. One attendee won a
Michael Kors purse donated by
The Howard Center.
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Heather Land has a knack for finding the funny out of the frustrating. Leaving no stone
(or people) left unturned, she hilariously unravels everyday events that causes us to laugh
not only at each other, but more often than not, ourselves. From ex-husbands to failed diets,
her ability to deliver consistent comedy in a self-deprecating style has made her adored by millions of people of all ages.
Join us at Azalea City Church of God in Valdosta, Georgia, for a fun-filled night beginning
at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $20 each and available by Clicking Here! and will be
available at the door for $25 each. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Azalea City Church of God
247 N. St. Augustine Road, Valdosta
We can't wait to see you here!
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YMCA MOTHER-SON DATE NIGHT HAS BEACH THEME
T
he Tiftarea YMCA is hosting its fourth annual Mother and Son Date Night on Friday, Sept. 28, at the Tift Regional Community Events Center adjacent to the YMCA on Carpenter Road.
This year is a beach theme, "Fun With the Son." Dinner, dancing, a 4x6 photo and more is planned.
"Get dressed up and come and join the excitement," says
Sarah Odom, YMCA marketing and communications coordinator.
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MILK, COOKIES ... AND THANK YOU NOTES
A total of 220 students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College spent time at the Alumni House on Tuesday afternoon to write thank-you letters to their scholarship donors during what has come to be called the annual "Milk and Cookies Day."
ABAC awarded more than $600,000 in scholarships through the ABAC Foundation this year. Advancement Coordinator Josie Smith said the students were treated to milk and cookies from the ABAC Alumni Association after penning their letters.
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WANTED
Part-time
NURSERY WORKER
Tifton First United
Methodist Church
107 W 12th St., Tifton
Tifton First United Methodist Church has an opening for a nursery worker. This is a part-time position
 available after September 18.
Regular schedule is 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sundays. Wednesdays from 6-8:30 p.m. is optional.
The hourly rate is $10 per hour.
Applicants must be at least 21, meet background check for working with children, learn and enforce the Safe Sanctuary policy, and must be able to work with a wide range of people in a personable and friendly manner.
Interested persons should send a letter of application stating their experience, qualifications
and relevant information to:
FUMC Church Secretary
Re: Nursery Worker
107 W. 12th St.
Tifton, GA 31794
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Renata Elad shakes hands with Rick Register.
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Joe Sheffield
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TWO MEMBERS SHARE STORIES WITH TIFTON ROTARY CLUB
Dr. Renata Elad, dean of the
Stafford School of Business at
ABAC, and
Joe Sheffield, civil engineer, both members of the
Tifton Rotary Club, shared their stories with the club
Wednesday.
Elad grew up in
Cameroon on the west coast of
Africa "in the under-arm of the
boomerang of the continent of Africa,"
30 miles from the coast, at
1,100 feet altitude. She went to school in
Nigeria and decided to pursue
agricultural economics at
UGA in
Athens.
"
Culturally, it was different, and
nutritionally it was different," she said. Very little on the college menu looked like food she had grown up eating, and she lost
20 pounds.
Elad received her Ph.D. in 1999 and came to Tifton, planning to spend one year.
"I made
friends," she said. "Good friends who make me drink beer with them and bad friends, sitting over there, who make me run
26.2 miles with them."
Joe Sheffield was born in
France into an
Air Force family. He told about how
civil engineers preceded most other engineers because after
military engineers built weapons, "they needed roads, bridges and almost anything big to get the equipment where they needed to go."
He worked for the
Ga. Department of Transportation and moved to
Tifton in
1982. He was the project engineer for
I-75 in
Tifton.
Later in
2004, Sheffield became
district engineer responsible for
32 counties in
South Georgia. He now works for a a firm that allows him to work from home. He and the former
Susan Spradley married in
1990. His son
Joe William graduated
UGA with a finance degree and is interning with
Carr Riggs and Ingram. His son
Samuel is a senior in high school.
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ABAC SCHOLARSHIP GOLF TOURNEY SEPT. 28
The 18th Annual School of Agriculture and Natural Resources Classic Golf Tournament at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will be Sept. 28 at ABAC's Forest Lakes Golf Club.
There will be an 8 a.m. flight and a 1 p.m. flight. A complimentary lunch will be served between flights. 
The tournament is hosted by the ABAC Ag and Natural Resources Alumni Council and the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources to generate scholarship funds for students.
Tournament coordinator Vonda Fenn said the student scholarship funds are raised by tournament sponsorships and player registration fees. There are six sponsorship levels from $100 for a Century Level Sponsor to $5,000 for a Stallion Level Sponsor.
Open to the first 100 golfers who register, the tournament will be a four-person scramble with a shotgun start. There is an entry fee of $125 per person or a $500 entry fee for each four-person team that includes lunch, cart, greens fees, and an embroidered golf shirt with tournament logo.
Prizes will be awarded for both morning and afternoon flights. Prizes will also be awarded for the longest drive and closest shot to the pin on designated holes.
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Tifton's Locally Owned Electronic Newspaper!
It's Free!
e-published every Tuesday & Friday / to Advertise, call
478-227-7126
Occasionally you will be emailed sponsored editions from our sponsors.
This enables you to receive the Grapevine news free of charge.
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YOUR WEEKEND
.
..at a Glance
- Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall, 8 a.m., Ga. Veterans State Park, Cordele
- Tift County High Blue Devils Football @ Worth County High Rams, 7:30 p.m., Sylvester
SATURDAY, SEPT. 1
-
/bliNG!/ exhibit opening reception,
5-8 p.m., Plough Gallery, Tifton
- U.S. National Forestry Pageant, 6:30 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Downtown Tifton
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AUG. 23
Martha Jane Pearman, 89, Tifton
John Daniel "Danny" Renfroe, 65, Oakfield
Yoshie "Tommie" Yaggi Shaw, 81, Tifton
Teresa Lynn Wishum Abbott, 65, Enigma
Ann Poulos, 66, Kill Devil Hills, N.C.
AUG. 24
Barbara Connor Minter, 74, Tifton
AUG. 25
Danny McDonald, 75, Dougherty County
Stephen Wayne Sizemore, 61, Gurnee, Ill.
AUG. 26
Vauda Lee Skinner, 93, Fitzgerald
Betty Jean Moore, 69, Irwinville
Laura Montgomery, 87, Quitman
AUG. 27
Fleta Lou Riddle, 87, Sylvester
Virginia "Bootsy" Griffin, 83, Lenox
Mable Lee Fowler, 79, Nashville
AUG. 28
Brian Chandler McRae, 45, Chula
Audrey Deloris Shepard, 77, Quitman
Ernest C. Rice, Atlanta
AUG. 29
The Rev. Franklin "Grady" Jones, 98, Tifton
AUG. 30
Ronald D. Jones, 66, Tifton
William Sledge, Sylvester
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105 Fulwood Boulevard, Tifton
MLS#
128970
This 1,731-square-foot home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, fenced-in backyard, guest house, circular paved driveway, large breakfast/family room and formal dining/den combination.
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FRANK SAYLES JR.
Editor & Publisher
iheardit@tiftongrapevine.com
A Service of Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
478-227-7126
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