Tift Tourism Awards $60,000 in Local Grants

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Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025

Tifton, Georgia

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THINK TIFTON:

TOURISM BOARD AWARDS $60,000

TO LOCAL EVENTS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association has awarded nearly $60,000 in Community Partnership Grants to more than 30 projects, events and meetings that various local organizations have planned for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

“We are one of the few tourism boards in the state that donates to local events to help them be successful, encouraging visitors to come to Tifton and spend the night. We believe this is an excellent investment that transforms into true community economic development,” said Frank Sayles Jr., Tourism Association Board chairman and chair of the Partnership Grants Committee.

The Tourism Association favors events that can attract overnight visitors to Tifton.

Among events receiving grants for 2025-2026 are La Fiesta del Pueblo, Rhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival, Arts in Black Festival, Coastal Plains Agricultural Fair, Gnat Drop, Hometown Holidays, ABAC's Fall Pro PCA Rodeo and Gee Haw Whoa Back Rodeo, South Georgia Juneteenth Festival, Jake's Hands' Juneteenth Festival, Georgia Peanut Farm Show, Georgia and National Forestry Pageants, Tift County High School AFJROTC Drill Competition, Night of the Gladiators, Laughing Donkey Gravel Ride, Tiftarea Fall Livestock Show, Peach State Show Choir Invitational, Sunbelt Ag Expo Farmer of the Year, and Georgia Museum of Agriculture's Folk Life Festival, Cane Grinding & Syrup Cooking, and Trick or Treat in the Village.

Grants for events were also awarded to various organizations, including Alliance for Children, Kraken Pro Wrestling, Rutland Farms, Six Strings Southern Productions, Tiftarea Auto Club, and Tifton Farmers Market.

These grants can only be used for the marketing and promotion of local events. After the events, organizations must submit verification to the Tourism Association detailing how their grants were spent; failure to do so may result in elimination from future consideration for community grants.

In addition to the Community Partnership Grants, the Tourism Association has budgeted more than $40,000 for sports initiatives, which will be used to recruit various sporting tournaments and enhance facilities to help draw those tournaments. The Outreach Marketing Group, composed of tourism staff, city, and community volunteers who assist in developing and bringing events to Tifton, is budgeted at $60,000 for the year.

The Tourism Association also supports the Georgia Museum of Agriculture, the Tifton Council for the Arts, and the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center with marketing funds.

Regarding Tourism Product Development Funds, which can only be used for tourism-related infrastructure projects, the Tourism Association in recent years has helped fund the renovated stage project at Fulwood Park as well as the disc golf course and accessible playground equipment at the park, the Tift County wayfinding signs off the interstate, the proposed annex behind the the Syd Blackmarr Arts Center, and major enhancements underway at the E.B. Hamilton Sports Complex.

Funds for the association are generated from a 7% occupancy tax on local motel/hotel rooms, of which the Tourism Association receives 2-to-3%.

The Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association was created by the Georgia Legislature and is comprised of appointees from the City of Tifton, Tift County, the local hotel/motel industry, and the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce.

Chairman Frank Sayles Jr. and Treasurer William Bowen are the city’s appointees, and Pat Welker and Jonathan Judy are the county’s appointees. Vice Chairman Greg Daniel and John Alec McKinnon represent the hotels/motels, and Melody Cowart represents the Chamber of Commerce on the board.

For more than 30 years, the Tourism Association has contracted with the Spearman Agency to handle the day-to-day operations of the tourism office with Tyron Spearman as the tourism coordinator.

TIFTON POLICE SEIZE 464 POUNDS OF POT

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Tifton Police confiscated 464 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop last Wednesday on Interstate 75.

Police said the traffic stop prompted a brief roadside investigation during which the marijuana was found in the trunk of the vehicle.

"This successful seizure of illegal narcotics is thanks to Officer Jacob Stubbs’ and K-9 Niko’s vigilance and proactivity," Tifton Police said in a press release.

Police did not say if anyone was charged and arrested in the incident.

MAN IN ICU AFTER ADEL SHOOTING

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

A man is hospitalized following a shooting Saturday night in Adel, authorities say.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), a witness called 911 at about 10:31 p.m. Saturday to report a single-car accident near the intersection of South Elm Street and West Fifth Street in Adel.

When an Adel Police officer responded to the scene, the car involved was empty, the GBI said. The officer saw a man walking nearby and drove toward him to ascertain if he was the driver. Before the officer got out of the patrol car, the man pulled out a gun and shot himself, the GBI said.

The incident was captured on the officer’s patrol-car video.

The man was taken to a local hospital and then was life-flighted to a Florida hospital, where he is in the Intensive Care Unit.

The Adel Police Department requested the GBI to investigate the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Adel Police Department at 229-896-2224 or the GBI Region 4 Douglas Office at 912-389-4103. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477).

GEORGIA RURAL CENTER

TO REMAIN IN TIFTON,

AG DEPARTMENT SAYS

By FRANK SAYLES JR

Tifton Grapevine

Georgia’s Rural Center for Innovation and Prosperity, created in 2018 and based on the campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, has been moved from under the auspices of the University System of Georgia to the Georgia Department of Agriculture but will remain headquartered in Tifton.

A spokesman for the state agriculture department told the Tifton Grapevine that the Rural Center’s offices will move from ABAC to the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s South District Office's Tifton Facility on U.S. Highway 41 S. at the beginning of next year.

The ag department recently hired Charlie Fiveash as its new executive director. Former ABAC President David Bridges had led the Rural Center since its inception and announced his retirement earlier this year.

Georgia’s Rural Center projects have resulted in more than $408 million in investments in rural Georgia, and the Department of Agriculture said it looks forward to continuing that success.

“We are incredibly excited that Georgia’s Rural Center is now housed at the Georgia Department of Agriculture, and we look forward to leveraging existing resources through GDA and Georgia Grown to build upon and expand the great work the Rural Center is already doing,” said state Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J. Harper of Ocilla.

“We’re equally excited to welcome Charlie Fiveash, who brings nearly 35 years of experience to the Rural Center team, and I look forward to working closely with Charlie to make investments and build prosperity in rural Georgia,” Harper said.

Fiveash said that “with the support of the Georgia Rural Development Council, I hope to identify Georgia’s rural sectors and communities with the most pressing needs and foster partnerships that create meaningful progress.”

Fiveash is a native of Brunswick and most recently served as executive director of Partnership Habersham in Habersham County. He has experience in commercial real estate development, economic development, and workforce development. Fiveash is a graduate of the University of Georgia, has a master’s degree in logistics & supply chain management from Georgia College & State University, and serves on the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia and numerous other professional, civic, and faith-based organizations.

The General Assembly established Georgia’s Rural Center, giving it statewide authority to work with communities and the private sector to promote general welfare, encourage business, and achieve prosperity through innovation and investment in rural communities throughout Georgia.

To date, Rural Center projects have resulted in a total investment in rural Georgia of more than $408 million, with $3 million of center funds – a 132-to-1 return ratio, the ag department said. Since its inception, the Rural Center has touched all 159 of Georgia’s counties through regional and statewide projects, and directly impacted 73 counties through projects needed in rural communities.

MISS FIESTA DEL PUEBLO CROWNED

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Osiris Cordova was named Miss Fiesta del Pueblo 2025 at the competition Saturday night in Tifton.

She receives $500 in cash and prizes and participates in ceremonies representing the Hispanic heritage festival.

Second place went to Nathaly Rivera, who will receive $250 in cash and prizes.

Pictured from left are committee member Lilia Lizama Aranda, Rivera, Cordova, and Dina Willis, La Fiesta del Pueblo chair.

South Georgia's largest festival celebrating Hispanic culture will be Saturday, Sept. 27, in Tifton’s Fulwood Park.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Members of the board of Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County and the English Language Learners class at Southern Regional Technical College listen as Student Youth Council Mayor Jase Hendricks, at right, reads the proclamation for Literacy Day and Adult Education and Family Literacy Week in Tifton. From left are Carolyn West, Iris Saucedo New, Alexis Angelo, Maria Aguilar, Carly Fortson, Bonnie Sayles, Aurora Story, and Andrea Story.

TIFTON PROCLAIMS HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, ADULT ED/LITERACY WEEK

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

At its workshop Sept. 8, Tifton City Council proclaimed the month from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month and called upon the community to support activities and celebrations to honor Hispanic heritage and culture.

Jim Mejia mentioned the La Fiesta del Pueblo event on Saturday, Sept. 27, saying, “It’s an all-day event, from 10 in the morning to 10 at night with a lot of arts and crafts, and a lot of food. We invite everyone to come out and have a good time.”

Jase Hendricks, mayor of the city's Youth Council, read the Heritage Month proclamation.

Also, members of Literacy Volunteers and the English Language Learners class of Southern Regional Technical College participated in Tifton Mayor Julie B. Smith’s proclamation in honor of International Literacy Day on Sept. 8 and Adult Education and Family Literacy Week – Sept. 14-20.

“Illiteracy is a kind of blindness,” said Andrea Story, executive director of Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County. “Literacy is light; it is hope, passed hand to hand, generation to generation.

“And when one person learns to read, the whole world grows larger, brighter, kinder," she said. "So I ask you, will you join us? Will you open the doors, hand over the keys, light the lamp for someone still in the dark? Because when we teach someone to read, we do more than change a life – we change the future.”

City officials and supporters gather Thursday to cut a ribbon and unveil signs designating Tiftron as a Georgia Exceptional Main Street (GEMS) community.

DOWNTOWN TIFTON CELEBRATES EIGHT YEARS AS EXCEPTIONAL MAIN STREET CITY

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Downtown Tifton’s Main Street program cut a ribbon and hung a sign Thursday

celebrating eight years of being a Georgia Exceptional Main Street (GEMS) community.

Community leaders and Tifton supporters gathered downtown at Tifton Gardens for the event.

There are 20 GEMS communities in Georgia, including Tifton. GEMS represents some of the state's most vibrant downtown districts. These designated cities have demonstrated an exceptionally positive impact in their communities as measured by a state monthly reporting and annual assessment process.

“Being recognized as a GEMS community truly is an honor as it showcases the great things Downtown Tifton is accomplishing. We truly are thankful for all the hands that have come together to help us reach and maintain this level of achievement for the last eight years.” said Tifton Main Street Manager Hillery Culpepper. “Now, it is time for us to showcase and celebrate this honor.”

Along with the sign used in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, three other signs will be placed throughout the entrances to and key locations of Tifton’s downtown district.

Tifton’s Main Street program was established in 1980 as one of the original pilot state coordinating programs and is part of the Georgia Main Street program.

The goal of the state program is to revitalize historic downtowns and commercial districts by fostering economic development, historic preservation, and community engagement.

LOCAL DAR CHAPTER MARKS CONSTITUTION DAY

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Wednesday, Sept. 17, is Constitution Day, and bells will ring at 4 p.m. from St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Tifton to observe the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

Members of the Tallassee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on Monday went before Tifton City Council, where Mayor Julie B. Smith proclaimed the week of Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week in the city.

Sept. 17 marks the 238th anniversary of the drafting of the U.S. Constitution by the Constitutional Convention.

“Constitution Week is one of our biggest activities we do during the year,” said Bobbie Fresh, a member of the Tallassee Chapter of the DAR.

Fresh, at right in photo, introduced other members with her, from left, Lorraine Sullivan, Vickie Walker, Mary Guill, and Holly Hall.

On Thursday, the DAR members will go to Tift County High School to meet with members of the AFJROTC and the TCHS Student Council for a program.

TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RIBBON CUTTING

Professionals Plus Realty Group

New Location: 116 Second St. E., Tifton

Sept. 16

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Gracie" is a five-month-old ball of energy and is playful, curious, and ready to bring joy to her forever family. Come meet Gracie and see if she’s the one for you. Visit her and see other pets available for adoption between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

A $50,000 TIFT COURTHOUSE TO BE BUILT

~ SEPT. 16, 1910

The Tift County Board of Commissioners announced on Sept. 16, 1910, that a $50,000 courthouse was planned to be constructed that year on the corner of Second Street and Tift Avenue. Funds were being raised by a direct tax levy of $12.50 on $1,000 value.

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