FEB. 2, 2018
Tifton, Georgia
478-227-7126
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EX TIFT REGIONAL CEO NAMED TO
HALL OF FAME
TIFT CHAMBER BANQUET HONORS LOCALS
William T. Richardson, who recently retired as president/CEO of Tift Regional Health System, was named to the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce's Wall of Fame during the chamber's Annual Meeting & Banquet Thursday night at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center.
Other honorees
Thursday included former state court judge and state Sen.
John "Dickie" Crosby, who received the Stafford Award;
Melinda Moore, named the Prince Business Woman of the Year;
Danny Griffin, who received the John Hunt Entrepreneur of the Year;
Jody Benson, winner of the J. Lamar Branch Award;
Austin McAlpin, who received the Rotary Club of Tifton's Ethics in Business Award; and
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Chamber honorees, from left: McAlpin, Benson, Powell, Richardson, Moore, Crosby
and Griffin
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Allison Powell, named Chamber Ambassador of the Year.
Richardson, a native of Brewton, Ala., began as CEO of
Tift General Hospital in
1988 and led its growth to
Tift Regional Health System, a network serving
12 counties. Under his leadership, the hospital's services grew to include specialties such as oncology, cardiovascular care and dialysis. Today, Tift Regional has
2,500 employees and a
$554 million impact on the local economy.
Crosby began practicing law in Tift County in 1962 and served as both a state court judge and Tifton city commissioner from 1971-78. He was elected as a judge to the Tift Superior Court in 1980 and served in that capacity for 20 years. In 2008, he was elected to the state Senate, where he represented this area for six years. He was named to the Chamber's Wall of Fame in 2015.
Moore is senior vice president of operations at
South Georgia Banking Co. and is responsible for maintaining operations of the bank's nine locations in five counties. She serves on the Board of Directors for
Brother Charlie's and on the finance committee at
First Baptist Church. She has been a mentor with
Big Brothers/Big Sisters and has been involved with the Tift County Cooperative Extension and 4-H Endowment Board and was a past officer of the
Organization of Professional Women.
Griffin has led the growth of his family business since joining his father
Dan to buy the
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Outgoing Chamber Chair Tyron Spearman, left, passes gavel to Bill Marsh.
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local Ford dealership in 1986. Today, he owns
Griffin Ford Lincoln and
Griffin Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. He has served as the chamber's economic development
chairman, as a
Tiftarea YMCA
board member, board chairman for the
Georgia Automobile Dealers Association
and is a member at
First Baptist Church
.
Benson, a sales consultant with Georgia Premier Services, is active in the Chamber
of Commerce, serving as an
ambassador
. The J. Lamar Branch Award is given to a "rookie" chamber member who best exhibits Branch's character, professionalism and leadership.
McAlpin, through his company
McAlpin Entertainment, has changed the local music scene by bringing big-name acts to the area, such as
Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and
Vince Gill. Along with his wife,
Kirsten, he has created the
McAlpin Foundation to serve
disadvantaged local
youth. Proceeds from each of his concerts go back into the
community in the form of school supplies, Christmas gifts and scholarships for kids to participate in organized athletics.
Powell, with
Rehabilitation Services of South Georgia, has been a chamber
ambassador for several years, attending ribbon cuttings, groundbreakings and serving at special events, such as the annual golf tournament and other networking events.
Also at the dinner, Chamber Chairman Tyron Spearman welcomed Bill Marsh, who will serve as chairman for 2018. Marsh is Tifton city president at Colony Bank.
Brian Marlowe, chamber president and CEO, noted accomplishments in
economic development during the past year, including construction of
American Textile Co.'s new facility and several other industries who relocated or expanded.
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SEMINAR IN TIFTON TODAY
The Georgia Ag Forecast seminar series, being held at six sites across the state, comes today to the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center. UGA agricultural economists will present insights into the latest market and regulatory conditions for the state's largest industry.
Hosted by the
UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the seminar series brings together
producers, agribusiness representatives and community leaders.
"The main objective of the Ag Forecast seminar series is to provide Georgia's producers and agribusiness leaders with
information on where we think the
industry is
headed in the upcoming year," said
Kent Wolfe, director of the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development.
"It helps producers
plan for the next year, but it's also good for bankers and others who have businesses involved in agriculture or who will be impacted by the
farm economy."
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Church Pianist 
Position
Tifton First United
Methodist Church
107 W 12th St., Tifton, GA
Tifton First United Methodist Church has an opening for a church pianist. This is a part-
 time position.
The pianist is responsible for preparing for and practicing with the chancel choir, orchestra and ensemble every Wednesday evening for about two hours and for playing at Sunday traditional services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., as well at special services at Christmas, Easter, etc.
229-382-6100.
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RAIN DELAY: 'RALLY FOR READING'
POSTPONED TO FEB. 11
Because the
weather forecast calls for a
100 percent chance of
rain Sunday, the
Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence has
postponed its
Fifth Annual Rally for Reading tennis event to the following Sunday, Feb. 11.
The event, scheduled for
1:30-4:30 p.m. at ABAC's Red Hill Tennis Center, will help
raise money for the foundation's
Terri Nalls Reading Angel Chair.
The
$100 tax-deductible entry fee is a donation to the TCFEE.
To create a foundation chair, $25,000 is needed. The campaign to fund the chair to honor Terri Nalls kicked off when she retired last spring as media specialist at Charles Spencer Elementary School.
Her friends and family have already given $8,000 toward the chair, and
George McCarty, a long-time foundation supporter, has offered $5,000 if the remainder can be raised.
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ABAC SPEECHES TO HELP MARK BLACK HISTORY MONTH
African-American History Month activities at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will be highlighted by speeches from Dr. Thomas Aiello from Valdosta State University and Wasdon Graydon, a 1970 ABAC alumnus and former ABAC administrator.
Aiello, an associate professor of history and African-American studies at VSU, will speak at 6 p.m. Feb. 12 in Howard Auditorium; Graydon, managing partner with Graydon Enterprises, speaks at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 20 in Room 107 of the Health Sciences building.
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AIELLO
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Aiello earned his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in 2007. The bulk of his courses at VSU relate to African-American history from early slavery to "Black Power." His research interests are broader, covering 20th century cultural and intellectual history. He will share his original research on police brutality in South Georgia in the decade following World War II.
Aiello's books include "The Battle for the Souls of Black Folk: W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington and the Debate That Shaped the Course of Civil Rights," "Jim Crow's Last Stand: Nonunanimous Criminal Jury Verdicts in Louisiana," and "The
Kings of Casino Park: Race and Race Baseball in the Lost Season of 1932."
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GRAYDON
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Graydon was director of ABAC sponsored programs and the Minority Advising Program
before his retirement in 2010 after a 37-year career. He was one of the first African-American students to enroll at ABAC in 1968. He earned his bachelor of science degree in history and education from Georgia Southern University and his master of education degree from VSU.
In 2001, Graydon received the E. Lanier Carson Leadership Award for College Administrators at ABAC and the President's Award for Achievement, Leadership and Service.
In 1994, he was named Arts Citizen of the Year in Tift County. Graydon served as a Tift County commissioner from 1984-1992 and was selected as a member of the Leadership Georgia program in 1991.
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REGISTRATION OPEN FOR TIFT RECREATION PROGRAMS
Registration is now underway through Feb. 9 for spring programs at the Tift County
Recreation Department.
Sports offered this spring include T-ball/coach pitch, youth baseball and softball, machine-pitch baseball, machine-pitch softball and girls fast pitch.
Fees are $50 for Tift County residents, with an additional $12.50 for out-of-county residents. Multiple registrants in the same household receive a 10 percent discount.
Evaluations will be held Feb. 15, and p
ractices begin during the week of March 12.
Picture day is scheduled April 7. The s
eason begins around April 9 and goes through early June, pending the weather.
The Recreation Department's
main office is in the Multi-Purpose Building on Victory Drive.
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Byrnes speaks to Rotary with Hill, at right.
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ROTARIANS HEAR
ABOUT URBAN ELEVATION
Ryan Byrnes, a chiropractor with Tift Regional Health System and a board member of Urban Elevation, explained to the Tifton Rotary Club the purpose of the year-old nonprofit: to create a spiritual solution to local poverty.
"Tifton has great reactive ministries, providing school supplies food, and more," Byrnes said. "Few are establishing relationships. We are meeting kids right where they are and changing who they are."
Bryant Hill, CEO of Urban Elevation, is intent on building relationships with the kids he serves. The organization currently works with an average of 60 kids a day at 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in the gym at First United Methodist Church.
"If we develop these youth, we can change an entire city," he said. "We want to build unity throughout the community. We're trying to break racism," he said.
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FIRST TUESDAY: 'A NIGHT OF PIANO MUSIC'
Three
pianists will showcase a full range of works in
"A Night of Piano Music" at the
First Tuesday Concert at
7 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Chapel of All Faiths at
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The concert is free and open to the public.
Pianists
Andy Lagrimas and
Adam Booher will play
classical music from baroque to
modern pieces written for solo pianists and four-handed piano duets. The show will also feature ABAC alumnus
Avery Atnip.
"My colleague and I will be performing works by
Scarlatti, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy and Brahms," Lagrimas said.
Lagrimas received his Ph.D. in piano and music education from
Florida State University (FSU) and is in his second year at ABAC as assistant professor of piano and theory.
A native of
Nashville, Tenn.,
Booher began studying piano at the age of eight. He received his bachelor's degree from
Lipscomb University and his master's degree from
FSU. Booher teaches piano and music theory at
Florida College.
Atnip received his associate degree from
ABAC in 2015 and is a senior music major at the
Armstrong campus of
Georgia Southern University.
The
First Tuesday series, now in its
16th season, features regional professional artists on the first Tuesdays of five months during the year.
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SOME NEW AREAS OPEN
AT TIFT COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
The photo above shows the new
entrance/lobby area at
Tift County High School. Some of the new
construction at the
high school has
opened for use, including some
classrooms and
science labs.
The
construction is
expanding the school to encompass all grades from
ninth to 12th as the
school system prepares for its
reconfiguration next school year beginning this summer on
Aug. 13.
Under the
reconfiguration, all
current primary and elementary schools will become
kindergarten through fifth grade.
Eighth Street Middle School and the high school's current
Northeast Campus will be for
sixth through eighth grades only. All this will allow students to attend only
three schools during their time in the Tift school system.
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STATE PROPOSAL ENCOURAGES YOUTH TO LEARN HUNTING, FISHING BASICS
A
proposal in the state
Senate
by Sen. Tyler Harper, R-Ocilla, would make it easier and less expensive for
hunters to
teach basics to young anglers and hunters.
The
Georgia Youth Outdoors Passport Act
would create "hunter mentors" and
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HARPER
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"hunter mentees." A mentee would be anyone who has never been issued a hunting license; a mentor would be anyone 18 or older with a current hunting license.
A hunter
mentor program would be established as a way for experienced hunters to provide "safe, memorable and positive
introductions for
first-time hunting experiences."
In return, hunter mentors could get a discounted hunting license.
"Outdoor activities, such as
hunting and fishing, have long been staples of Georgia's culture and identity," Harper said in a written release. "Unfortunately, too many of our state's
youth are passing up on the opportunity to participate in these and other forms of
outdoor recreation. The Georgia Youth Outdoors Passport Act will help our kids
connect with and embrace Georgia's history of
outdoor recreation and will teach them to be good
stewards of the environment."
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PERFECT ATTENDANCE = A NEW BIKE
Few students manage to make perfect attendance at school, especially when there is a season with so many children ill. As a way to reward students at Omega Elementary School who have made efforts to attend school each day during the nine weeks, their names are placed in a drawing for a new bicycle.
Kaylee Lupo, third grader at Omega, has always wanted to win the bike giveaway. This past nine weeks, Kaylee's mom rearranged her schedule to allow her not to miss any days. Kaylee sat during the Pride program with her fingers crossed and couldn't believe it when her name was called.
In the photo, Kaylee tries out her new bike with Principal Victoria Melton.
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YOUR WEEKEND
.
..at a Glance
FRIDAY, FEB. 2
- Estate Sale, 7 a.m.-6 p.m., 1485 Kennedy Road, Tifton
- 2018 Georgia Ag Forecast, 8 a.m., UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, Tifton
SATURDAY, FEB, 3
- Outrageous & Contagious Women's Conference, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, Tifton
- Kids at Art Workshop, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Museum of Arts & Heritage, Tifton
- Little Miss Fitzgerald Pageant, 10 a.m., Grand Theatre, Fitzgerald
- St. Anne's Got Talent, 7 p.m., St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Tifton
SUNDAY, FEB. 4
- Super Bowl, 6:30 p.m., NBC-TV
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JAN. 26
F. Dean Hilliard Jr., 72, Tifton
Celeste Fulwood Bowen, 78, Tifton
James "Ty" Irvin, 45, Tifton
Merchea Depre Green, 30, Tifton
William C. "Bill" Lafaber, 75, Fitzgerald
Dorothy Barton Cole, 94, Turner County
JAN. 28
Morris C. Gill, 83, Oakfield
JAN. 29
Leon Orville "Buddy" Gaskins, 93, Tifton
Elizabeth Lorena Powers Griffin, 85, Tifton
Gladys B. Fleming, 98, Fitzgerald
Roy Monroe Reaves, 63, Fitzgerald
Ann Smith Brewer, 81, Fitzgerald
JAN. 30
Donald M. Marchant, 76, Tifton
Maj. Arthur E. "Gene" Overton, 85, Sylvester
JAN. 31
Lupita Bustamante Raya, 38, Omega
Lynn Wilcox, 59, Fitzgerald
Virginia Manus, 89, Sparks
Clark Roswell Futch, 96, Nashville
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1404 Cypress Road, Nashville, GA
3 beds, 2 baths; 1,347 sq. ft.
Home with tray ceilings, updated kitchen, updated light fixtures,
walk-in closet
and fenced back yard.
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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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