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GARDNER By GRACE

cry S tal law

Morgan County native and current Milledgeville local, Crystal Law, has never stopped working, learning and making connections. Crystal is a Financial advisor for edward Jones and is involved in over seven organizations throughout the community, making her more than deserving for this nomination. at 39 years old, Crystal is involved in The Milledgeville rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, daughters of the american revolution and relay for Life. despite her numerous involvements her highest priority is making time to spend with her husband Jesse and her beautiful son, Jaxon, who will soon be two years old.

Crystal has always been a busy bee. There isn’t a time in her life where she hasn’t been working in some way. This go-getter mentality has been embedded in her since her childhood working with her family’s calves on the dairy farm where she grew up.

“i raised them. and that’s actually the first thing that i remember about investments is because my mom, we would raise the baby calves and then she would go in and she’d get us a savings bond for the sale of the calf.”

Constant hard work is a core part of her success at such a young age. She started working in her hometown at Shirley’s Pizza Shop at only 13 years old and helped her family by working at their oil change shop. This taught her how to interact with the public before heading off to attend georgia Military College in 2001-2002. There she achieved an associates degree in Business Management and administration. She progressed shortly after to georgia College and State university in 2003-2005, for her Bachelors of Business administration during night classes. Managing to clean houses and work for a convenient store in any free time she had during her days.

“i’ve always just been on the go. if i slow down, i just feel like there’s something wrong. if i don’t feel like i’ve got a lot of things going on, i feel out of place.”

Crystal has always had big dreams for her future. When she was young she imagined herself living in new york City. Little did she know that her big adventure would bring her to the heart of Milledgeville. When picking an office location with edward Jones she had the choice between athens and Milledgeville. She chose Milledgeville because she loves the small town feel that reminded her of home. She was drawn to Milledgeville because she wanted to be able to make an impact. Crystal left the Bank of Madison after 10 years of employment despite the comfortable road layed out for her. She felt that she wasn’t given enough opportunity to make a difference in other’s lives.

“i just didn’t feel like i was moving the needle of helping somebody at the end of the day, if i felt like i moved that needle to actually make a difference and impact somebody’s life in a positive way. That’s something that means a lot to me.” dr. Carol Lasseter works closely with Crystal Law in the Chamber of Commerce. She comments, “Crystal is just one of those people that has the best heart and the kindest person you will ever meet. She looks at the good in everybody and she wants to figure out how to make things better and improve on things and get involved. She just has a way with her that everybody is drawn to her.” Working with edward Jones in Milledgeville gives Crystal the opportunity to really get to know her clients and neighbors so she can give to her fullest potential and make a noticable difference. Her drive and heart for others has put her on the fast track to success yet she stays humble. When asked if she had any advice for others to achieve success she answered: “don’t look in the rearview mirror. That’s the reason why your front window is larger than your rear view mirror. Keep looking ahead and just like i said, wake up the next day and always try to be the best version of yourself. i think that’s where you can go to sleep at night and try again the next day.” always working, always putting her best foot forward and never putting others’ needs on the back burner. Crystal Law is an inspiration of a highly motivated woman with a kind heart. only time will tell how far she will go.

He wakes up, but not too early because he’s not a morning person. Then he gets ready for the day and heads to class. after class he eats a quick lunch and then focuses on homework. at about 3:00 pm he heads to John Milledge to coach football. Waits around in the locker-room until everyone is gone, then he heads back home around 5:45pm, freshens up, and then heads to the church for youth ministry leadership. He gets back home around 9:00 p.m. and then grayson oliver gets ready for the next day. a native of Milledgeville, ga, twenty-year-old grayson oliver is not only the offensive and defensive line coach for the John Milledge academy’s middle school football team, but he is also a youth leader at Lakeside Baptist Church located in Milledgeville, ga. not to mention that he is in the process of obtaining is degree from georgia Military College as a history major for teaching. His mother is a pre-k three teacher, and his father is the pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church. as an only child, grayson was home schooled up until the 7th grade in which he made his first appearance in a school setting. at this moment, grayson knew he wanted to be a teacher. “There’s just something about the classroom dynamic and the relationships that you can build in the classroom.” He saw this from the student perspective and thought about how he wanted to help students and be a mentor to students as well. it was also around this time that grayson realized he wanted to coach football as well. “it’s weird, i started liking football when i was around eleven years old. i would envision myself playing the game, but i would also envision myself coaching the game more. i looked up to the coaches more than i looked up to Payton Manning and i have a passion for helping kids”. Mentoring kids, especially ages 6 through 12 years of age are the ages grayson feels are the best ages to mentor kids in the decision-making process and making a positive impact on their lives. So, in 2019, grayson decided to make these desires a reality. after graduating form John Milledge academy in 2019, grayson decided to put his desires of youth ministry leadership, teaching, and coaching into fruition.

He graduated from high school on a Friday, and started youth ministry leadership the following Sunday, started college courses at gMC to focus on teaching, and snagged an opportunity to coach football.

“i always liked the idea of coaching, but sometimes you can like the potential of something, then when you actually get into, you realize you don’t like it anymore. The work doesn’t seem to be worth it, but after that first season of coaching, i really knew i loved it and that passion really seems to keep growing every year”. grayson said he didn’t think that he would get the opportunity to coach because he didn’t have as much experience in football as others. “i started meeting with a coach i’ve known my whole life who’s really a mentor. Started to learn the game more from the coaching perspective and from there it just took off. i always wanted to coach more than i wanted to play, and John Milledge was gracious enough to give me the opportunity to do that.”

The youth ministry is another place where grayson reaches the youth. “i’ve been involved in the youth ministry since i was a youth. i got with our youth pastor and have been doing it for 2 years now.” grayson spends a lot of time with the youth ministry because it’s year-round. With football, it’s more so football season. “you never truly feel qualified to mentor these kids, but it’s an honor, and i’m able to see the kids grow.” although grayson dedicates a lot of his time to the youth, he describes himself as a social introvert. “i’m never gonna be that high energy person, but i enjoy being around people.” When asked how is he not high energy, yet able to coach football, grayson said that was a question he’s had to ask himself. “do i flip a switch and be someone i’m not to get the job done, no”. grayson said he’s not that rough and tough coach that’s always yelling. every coach has a different style. “it’s rare that i have to raise my voice to get on to a player.” “These players have a lot of guys yelling at them and they need at least one guy to tell them, no, you’re good, just do it right the next time”.

When asked if he thinks he will continue his career at John Milledge, he said in a dream scenario, yes. grayson said he loved attending John Milledge as a student, and he loves the people there and the atmosphere. “if i could just choose and say that John Milledge is where i’m staying, then that would be pretty awesome.” grayson also revealed that he does not get paid to coach football or in youth ministry but said that football and youth ministry is therapeutic, and he would probably pay to do it. “That’s how much i love it,” said grayson. it is truly amazing to see how an only child has grown to be such a selfless individual. Sitting in his recliner, also known as his office, preparing for another day of helping the kids of his community from his heart.

gray S on oliver

there’s an arrogance that comes with adulthood—one that makes it easy to dismiss the idea that a 16-year-old could have something to teach you about life.

What were you doing when you were 16?

Most of us were focused on keeping the acne at bay or asking someone to the homecoming dance.

Braylen Howell, the youngest member of this year’s 20 under 40, spent his week in atlanta working on State Superintendent richard Woods’ student advisory council.

There, he took notes on strategies he could bring back and help implement for the Baldwin County School district.

Working in a leadership capacity like that isn’t the exception for Howell—it’s the norm.

He holds a laundry list of leadership positions: student council representative, state superintendent student advisory committee member, 4-H northeast district junior board president and senior board member, Milledgeville Kappa League organization vice president, Beta Club member, Chick-Fil-a leadership academy member and junior mayor of the city of Milledgeville youth council. oh yeah, and he works 20 hours a week at Kroger. it is assumed but not verified that he also sleeps at some point.

Braylen’s accomplishments pale in comparison to the mindset that manifested them.

His resume is both impressive and evident of an underlying determination uncommon amongst his peers.

His term as student council representative and 4-H club president will end eventually, but the work ethic that enabled him to reach those feats likely won’t.

Howell is part of gC’s early College Program. as a junior, he already has enough credits to graduate but instead chose to keep taking classes from gMC and CgtC. By the time he’s 18, he’ll have associates degrees in general studies and banking & finance. right now, he’s learning the basics of management, investing and personal finance. director of the gC early college program, dr. runee B. Sallad, was the one to encourage Braylen’s class to pursue their associates degrees instead of graduating.

“dr. Sallad is a great person,” Howell said. “i owe a lot of my success to her because she keeps giving us opportunities to take advantage of.”

The early College Program has been instrumental in his success and presented him with ample opportunities. He says his teachers have broken the norm by consistently offering ways to get ahead like tutoring and extra practice. even when he leaves their classes, he still feels like he can go back to them for help.

“you’re just building relationships with your teachers throughout the year, and that means so much to me because you always have someone you can go back to for advice or help for a recommendation or anything,” Howell said.

There’s a lot that distinguishes Howell from his peers, but his maturity and work ethic don’t exclude him from experiencing the everyday joys of being 16.

He started driving this year and loves having the autonomy to go get food whenever he wants. The most animated he got during our conversation was when he listed off the restaurants he can go to now. “When you’re downtown, you get that downtown feel,” Howell said. “you got the Brick, Velvet, Bollywood, man so much stuff, but then you go up towards north Colombia and you got Zaxby’s, Chick-Fil-a, Sonic, Surcheros.”

He also loves spending time with friends watching his favorite anime like one Piece and naruto. after completing his associates, he plans on going to college to do rotC for the national guard and pursue a degree in finance. Maybe he’ll double major in logistics. He hasn’t decided yet. a military background comes with prestige and networking opportunities Howell wants to take advantage of. it’s another way he can bolster his resume and gain an advantage on the competition.

He considers mastery of finance to be the key to building whatever kind of life he chooses.

“if you got your money right, to me, you can go a long way in this world,” Howell said.

That mindset didn’t develop by accident. His upbringing instilled him with the value of financial wellbeing.

“My mom has always told me from a young age to learn everything you can about money,” Howell said. “it’s the experiences we’ve had because of money. i don’t want to experience those same things in my adult life.”

His mother, Latrina Howell, has been a guiding force for him. The two moved to Milledgeville