Blue Devils in Football Playoff

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Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026

Tifton, Georgia

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BLUE DEVILS IN PLAYOFFS, FACE COFFEE COUNTY

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The Tift County High Blue Devils football team is headed to the state playoffs, facing the Coffee County High Trojans on Friday in Douglas.

Tift, with a 4-6 record, climbed to No. 29 following its last regular-season win, securing a spot in the Top 32 for playoff contention. In that last game on Oct. 30, the Blue Devils beat Veterans High 28-17, notching a region win.

Coffee, ranked No. 4 with an 8-2 record, defeated Veterans 42-8 last weekend.

The Georgia High School Association Class 6A state playoffs beginning this Friday is a rematch between Tift and Coffee. The Trojans defeated the Blue Devils 35-14 on Sept. 25 in Brodie Field.

Tift County wasn't exactly surprised about making the playoffs. Blue Devils Coach Jeff Littleton kept the team practicing last week, even though its regular season was over.

The Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets are at the top of the region with an undefeated record. The Lee County Trojans are ranked No. 2.

TIFTAREA ACADEMY PANTHERS ADVANCE IN PLAYOFFS

Meanwhile, the Tiftarea Academy Panthers move on to the Georgia Independent Athletic Association Class AAA semifinals, facing the John Milledge Academy Trojans on Friday in Milledgeville. In its first round last Friday, Tiftarea defeated Frederica Academy, 35-13.

The Panthers have an overall record of 6-5 and are ranked No. 3 in their region. John Milledge Academy is undefeated this year and beat Tiftarea 38-0 in the first game of the season.

WWII ARMY NURSE TO BE HONORED AT TIFTON VETERANS DAY EVENT

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

During Tifton's annual Veterans Day Tribute on Wednesday, a plaque will be unveiled at Jack Stone Veterans Memorial Park honoring a U.S. Army Nurse Corps officer who served in the 51st Field Hospital during World War II.

1st Lt. Mildred H. Overstreet, a Georgia native who had lived in Fitzgerald, is recognized as one of only two American women to have served in all five major WWII battles of the European Theater. She received the European African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon with five battle stars, World War II Victory Medal, a recognition associated with a Meritorious Unit Plaque, and was recommended for a Purple Heart.

The Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association helped pay for the plaque in honor of Overstreet and of Tifton veteran Jack Stone. Tifton's Tallassee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Stone had worked together to make the plaque a reality.

In addition to the plaque unveiling, the Southwest Georgia Nurse Honor Guard will make a special presentation to the family of Overstreet, who died in 1991.

The Veterans Day Tribute begins at 11 a.m. and will include a keynote address by Tifton native Phillip Stringfield, a retired Army Command sergeant major. The Tifton Fire Department will present the colors, the Tift Theatre and Providence School of Tifton will present music selections, and the Rev. Chip Grantham will handle the invocation and benediction.

3 TIFT COUNTIANS AMONG GA'S 'MOST INFLUENTIAL'

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Three Tift County residents have been recognized among "Georgia's Most Influential Leaders 2026" in Georgia Trend magazine.

The magazine's recently released special edition honors the "Georgia 500" – 500 top leaders in the Peach State this year.

Among the honorees are TIfton's Monty Veazey, Tracy Brundage, and Chris Dorman.

MONTY VEAZEY is president & CEO of the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, which he has led since 1984. A champion for the state's nonprofit hospitals, Veazey's organization supports efforts to increase qualified healthcare providers, ensure access to quality care, and preserve a tax and regulatory environment in which nonprofit hospitals can thrive.

His Alliance successfully lobbied for passage of comprehensive tort reform legislation in 2025. "Hopefully, this will stabilize premiums that we all have to pay to be insured, and maybe it brings insurance companies back to the state that have left," Veazey said.

He is the youngest person ever elected to the state House of Representatives. In 1977, at age 22, Veazey was elected to represent Tift, Berrien, and Cook counties, serving three terms.

TRACY BRUNDAGE is the 11th president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. She told Georgia Trend that her roots are in workforce education, which has "shaped my belief that learning should always be connected to real opportunity. I'm passionate about preparing students not just for graduation, but for meaningful, productive lives – and building strong communities in the process."

During her four years at ABAC, Brundage has made an impact through "mission-focused, student-centered priorities," the magazine said. Her first strategic plan "has yielded positive results in enrollment, academic excellence, student success, institutional effectiveness, and viability." ABAC enrollment has increased each year since 2023.

Georgia Trend said Brundage's advocacy for ABAC, both statewide and nationally, has resulted in an influx of grants, with more than $1 million in funding secured for education and nursing initiatives during the first half of this year. New academic programs designed to help meet regional needs include agricultural technology management, criminal justice, organizational leadership, and elementary education.

CHRIS DORMAN, president & CEO of Southwell since 2017, started a computer company building physician portals when he was 13. At the age 15, a CEO helped guide him into rural healthcare. At 16, he was managing a physician's office and continued to manage physician practices through college.

"We're bucking the notion of rural hospitals closing," Dorman told Georgia Trend. "Our organization is committed to our community and their families, from the physicians who provide services not available elsewhere in rural communities to an amazing and well-organized medical support staff."

This past summer, Southwell welcomed its third group of first-year medical students in partnership with PCOM South Georgia to get a first-hand look at rural healthcare, along with the inaugural group of third-year students for a four-week rotation through hospital specialities. Graduates are encouraged to stay and work in the area. "We have commitments through 2033," Dorman said.

NEW TIFTON KIOSK OFFERS SELF-SERVICE ACCESS TO VEHICLE, LICENSE SERVICES

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Vehicle registrations can be renewed, insurance penalties paid, and driver license and ID transactions completed in minutes at a new kiosk at Publix Super Market on Virginia Avenue in Tifton.

Tift County Tax Commissioner Chad Alexander led the effort to expand ways residents can reach essential services. With the kiosk placed in a location already part of daily routines, it is hoped that lines are shortened and service is extended to residents who find visiting a government office difficult to fit into a workday.

“After a long 18 months of negotiations, Tift County is one of the smallest counties to receive a kiosk," Alexander said. "This kiosk is available at no cost to the taxpayers, only funded by the users of the kiosk with convenience fees. Tift County residents can now use any kiosk in the state of Georgia. I am proud to bring this technology to Tifton and Tift County.”

Two transaction groups are available at the kiosk:

Vehicle renewal and insurance penalty transactions: $3.95 convenience fee per transaction
Driver license/ID renewal, driver license/ID duplicate, Motor Vehicle Report, and address change: $4.95 convenience fee per transaction

With an average transaction time of under two minutes, the kiosk is built for speed. Transactions are available in English and Spanish, and the kiosk is fully ADA-compliant, Alexander said.

(In the photo above, Tift County Tax Commissioner Chad Alexander, at left, stands at the new kiosk with Austin White, Tifton Publix’s store manager.)

TIFTON ALZHEIMER'S WALK RAISES NEARLY $24,000

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

More than 100 local residents walked a mile and a half around the ABAC campus on Saturday, bringing awareness and fundraising to the Alzheimer’s Association in Tifton’s 18th annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Mary Newton (pictured at right) has participated in every local walk in memory of her mother, Geneva, naming her team Geneva’s Gems. She was named the walk’s Grand Champion fundraiser, raising $10,418 and exceeding her $10,000 goal.

The Tifton Walk raised close to $24,000 through 25 teams. Donations may still be made through the website.

“The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is more than an event, it’s a powerful movement of hope, advocacy, and awareness,” said Mallory Thompson, Tifton’s walk chairman. “At this year’s culmination, we saw so many people come together at ABAC to honor loved ones, support caregivers, and advocate for a future without Alzheimer’s and all forms of dementia.”

She expressed gratitude for a community that stands alongside families impacted by this disease and hope for continued support.

“Fundraising never stops, but we celebrate once a year, so please make plans to join us again next year,” Thompson added. “For more information, please go to act.alz.org/tiftonga or contact the Tifton Walk Manager Robin Salisbury at 229-238-9941 for help to get started.”

TIFTON HAS 'AFFAIR' WITH ARTS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Arts Affair 2026 brought 2,500 attendees Saturday to Downtown Tifton to celebrate creativity, community, and the arts.

Arts Affair featured artists, authors, performers, and vendors, providing cultural performances, hands-on activities, and a variety of food, all producing thousands of smiling faces.

Betty Cooksey won the drawing for the Project Playhouse, a community fundraiser featuring a one-of-a-kind playhouse built by Tifton Arts Council partner McRae Construction Management.

The event was sponsored by the Tifton Council for the Arts, whose stated mission is to "make the arts available, affordable, and accessible to all."

TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RIBBON CUTTING

90th Coastal Plains Agricultural Fair

American Legion Fairgrounds, U.S. Highway 82 E., Tifton

Nov. 10

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Friday Scores

• Tiftarea Acad. 35, Frederica Acad. 13

• Charlton County 48, Irwin County 34

• Thomasville 28, Cook County 27

• Berrien County 14, Bacon County 13

• Carver 42, Worth County 14

• Colquitt County 23, Lowndes Co. 20

• Valdosta 49, Richmond Hill 12

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Weekend Scores

• Georgia 42, Ole Miss 7

• Louisville 44, Ga. Tech 17

• Georgia State 39, App. State 23

• Georgia Southern 49, Marshall 13

• Auburn 26, Arkansas 23

• Kennesaw St. 42, Delaware 40

• Alabama 31, LSU 13

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Sweet Sara" is an eight-week-old gray tabby kitten at the animal shelter. She is sharing her crate with a sibling, and both of them hope to find new homes where they can fully embrace kittenhood with a loving family. Come meet Sweet Sara, her siblings, and other roommates at the Tift County Animal Shelter between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

BLACK TIFT COUNTY CITIZENS

BECOME ELIGIBLE TO SERVE JURY DUTY

~ NOV. 12, 1964

Black citizens of Tift County will now be eligible to serve on Tift County juries for the first time, Tift Superior Court Judge J. Bowie Gray told the Rotary Club of Tifton on Nov. 12, 1964. Gray said the move follows new federal and state rulings.

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