IN THIS ISSUE THE JOURNEY OF LEADERSHIP
AFFORDABLE LEGAL ASSISTANCE
ChroniCles
A Conversation with Sonia Robinson of CASA
CASA Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of Lowndes and Echols County, supporting children who are in foster care by working diligently with trained, supervised volunteers who are focused on making placement decisions believed to be in the best interest of the children. The mission of CASA is deeply committed to its purpose of providing invaluable assistance to the court by mobilizing a network of thoroughly screened, extensively trained, and closely supervised volunteers. These individuals come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, bringing a rich tapestry of perspectives and experiences to their crucial advocacy roles. The primary focus is unwaveringly directed towards championing the best interest of abused and or neglected children who find themselves entangled in dependency proceedings. Sonia Robinson, the Executive Director of CASA outlines the program.
We started this program a little over two years ago. We started and just tried to hit the ground running with volunteers. Since we started the program, we have had two training classes go through and we have twelve volunteers, advocating for twenty-two children that are experiencing foster care that live in our community.
To me it is all about placement decisions. What we do as advocates is we prepare a court report, and we advocate for the child, for their best interest factors,
and we give our unbiased opinion. For the most part, we are the only nonpaid entity in the courtroom that is looking out just for the best interest of the child. We try to be impartial. We try to be as non-emotional as possible. What we want to do is advocate for the things that are in their best interest that make their life good and successful, so they are able to thrive. So, sometimes that looks like advocating for reunification with the parents, sometimes that looks like advocating for guardianship or adoption. It is really a case-by-case scenario for us.
Q. Advocacy can be a very intense process. How does it affect you, your staff, and the volunteers involved? Especially when a child must be taken out of a home, either because of abuse and or neglect.
You can imagine, that is a traumatic period. A lot of children are not given notice. They are told to put some items into a bag, and they are taken to a brand-new place. I would like to say thank you to all our foster parents and foster homes in our surrounding areas, because that is a huge responsibility, and they take that on, and I am grateful for that. But for these children, imagine if someone told you, hey, you can’t stay at home anymore, and you really just have to take what you can and go and then we take you to a new place and say this is where you live. Now, for me, these children are paying for adult decisions. They are
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Sonia Robinson, of CASA
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In January 2025, Genesis will begin its 15th year in providing the best in Christian Education to South Georgia and beyond. Genesis Bible Institute (GBI) is a not-for profit, non-accredited, and non-denominational Bible based institution.
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paying the consequences, the immediate consequences. They are going through that trauma of not being able to go home that day. They are going through additional traumas, small things like when you are thirsty in the middle of the night, you know where to go in the kitchen to get a glass, to get some water. When you are a guest in someone else’s home, you must ask where those things are. Those are just little things. You can have access to your favorite shampoo and conditioner or toothpaste. These kids are not afforded that luxury. When they are brought into a new place they must ask where things are. They must navigate a new system. Sometimes they must change the school system. You know, sometimes sibling groups will be split up. So, it is just a traumatic event for them and for our volunteers, it can be a secondary trauma for them, because they are advocating for these kids they are getting to know.
We want to create a picture of that child as a whole being. We want the court to know this is their favorite color. This is what they like to watch on TV. These are the things this child wants. Sometimes their wants and wishes are overlooked because they are just children. We want the court, and everybody involved to know, even though they are kids, they still deserve a voice in the courtroom. And most of these kids will tell you, if you ask them: where do you want to be? They just want to go home. They do not understand sometimes why they cannot be at their home. And we all must understand that our normal is not everyone else’s normal. So, these kids are growing up in homes and it is just their normal, and they just want to go back to that.
Q. What impact does the experience have on the child?
We hear in the news, and we see on television and, of course on social media, where some kids are transferred from one place to another place, to another place, to another place, and they literally become victims of the system itself. How does that impact the psyche of a child with which you are working?
It is not good as you can imagine. Having that safety and stability is one of the foundational items, knowing where you’re
going to lay your head down at night as a person, having your same items that you use all the time, going to the same classroom, being surrounded by people that you know and you love and you trust, those are just foundational items that everyone deserves to have, no matter how old you are, but as a child, imagine how that feels to not be able to have access to those things. And again,
Children with CASA volunteers assigned to their cases are usually placed in a permanent home within the first twelve or so months…
out in other ways, but they definitely are getting that individualized care when they have a CASA volunteer. Children with CASA volunteers assigned to their cases are usually placed in a permanent home within the first twelve or so months, so we are seeing a faster time for them to get out of that system when you have a CASA assigned to that case. Part of that reason is there are so many agencies working to help these kids. You have DFCS, you have the court system, you have other agencies, counseling, education, things like that. They are all a different piece for CASA. We are court ordered, so we are allowed to speak to all the different players and bring them all together and say, this is what the facts are saying. Here is what the therapist is saying, this is what the foster family is saying, here is what the parents are saying. We can make all these agencies aware of what is going on in that entire piece of the child’s life, because each transition brings a new set of traumatic circumstances.
Q. Exactly where are these kids in the meantime?
were spending more time at home. A lot of these kids are going to school and getting a lot of the things that other children are getting in their home. If that makes sense, like food or kind words, they are learning how to interact with other people. So, I think the COVID years definitely affected. I can tell you in Lowndes and Echols counties the highest reason for removal is neglect of children that sometimes can go hand in hand with having a low-income family. There are certain causes for a child to be removed from a home. DFCS Would put a safety order in place for those children and try to help the family get the resources they need to remove the defective situation from their life. So, I know that we are on a little bit of a climb right now, but the graph tends to do this, if that makes sense. So, we go up and down, up, and down, the number of children in foster care does not always reflect the number of child abuse and neglect reports, I will say that there are always more reports that are investigated than there are children in care. The last time I looked at the numbers, there are about 311 children in care in Lowndes and Echols counties.
sometimes, kids would rather eat ice cream for breakfast. No, that may not be in their best interest, but they still have a right to say, this is what I want, this is where I want to be. That is where classes are coming in, advocating for that. Just advocate for the educational piece for the children, simple things like making sure they get tutoring, to making sure the child is kept in the same school system.
We just did a data meeting not too long ago; kids are moved about three and a half times in placements within the first 12 months. So that is three traumas, and every move is as traumatic as that first removal. This is really taking a toll on our children. Sometimes they’ll be labeled as kids with behavior issues or, you know, things like that, but just imagine what they’re going through on a day to day basis, and why those emotions may be hard for them to express, and it might be coming
Before placement, they are placed in foster homes. But it may just be a temporary placement, or sometimes it is with family. It is a temporary placement with a family member until another foster home can be found. I think DFCS does an excellent job of trying to do that. First, they look for kinship placement. So, we are trying to preserve that family unit. CASA believes in reunification, if at all possible, because families belong together under the right circumstances, we want to make sure these kids are able to go back to that home, and we want to provide the parents with some resources and help so that they can take care of those children. We work hand in hand with DFCS to help do that.
Q. When you consider the numbers that impact children in multiple situations in the home, are the numbers of abused and neglected children going up? Are we seeing a steady leveling off of those numbers? Are they going down?
We have seen a little bit of an increase in some of the numbers for removal, I think, in child abuse, and I think a lot of that was due to COVID reporting since we
The most important cog in the wheel that makes CASA move forward is the volunteers. Talk to me about the process of attracting volunteers, training them, and getting them ready to put boots on the ground.
Becoming a CASA is not easy. You must have that giving, servants heart. A lot of our CASA’S are full-time employees with families of their own. This can be almost a part time job at times. When we do get people who are interested, we interview them several times. We get fingerprints and background checks. We check with our sexual offender registry and make sure that they are safe to work with children. We do 40 hours of training. It is 30 hours of classroom training and 10 hours of courtroom observation, because we want you to be familiar with that process so that you know what you are getting in to. It is not a glamorous volunteer position. Sometimes when people think of volunteering, it is, oh, once a year: I like to volunteer for the Humane Society, something like that.
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However, with CASA. You may be on a case for two years. We are on the case as soon as we are put on it until permanency is achieved. So, it could be a lengthy process for a volunteer.
It is a mandatory at least one hour a month visitation with your child, but it is a lot of investigation. You are checking with the school, you are checking with the therapist, you are checking with DFCS case managers. You are talking to the foster parents. We let our volunteers go on family visitations. We want to see how the parents interact with the children. We like to go in at the beginning. We like to go to the end, just to see how things go. You are talking to the transporters who are taking the children from their foster home to their visits or to their therapies. It is a lot of talking. It is a lot of communication, but the volunteers who are doing this realize that these kids need somebody in their corner. Think about it this way, when I was in high school, I did drama and my parents, I was blessed with great parents. They came to just about every show. I do not know how they sat through every play in the same place so many times, imagine being that kid that nobody is coming to your play, nobody is coming to your band concert, nobody is coming to advocate for you, for what you need.
We are talking big things down to little things, like you cannot see. You need glasses, but the teachers are just saying that you are not doing your work. You cannot see the board. CASA advocates are those people showing up for these children. They are advocating for the big things. They are advocating for the small thing. They are giving that 100% individualized attention to this child and to this specific case, assessing what is best for that child whatever they need. Making sure when they are in court, they show up for that child in court. The the child may not be in the court proceedings, the CASA is, and we write a report, and we send it to all entities that are involved with the case. We stand up and we give our report orally, and we say, this is what we think is in the best interest of the child. This is what the child wishes. Sometimes those two things are conflicting. Sometimes it is
not in their best interest to do some of the things that they wish. And we will say that, but we will always tell the court what the child wishes.
Q. How important is the therapy piece in the rehabilitation of the lives of these children?
It is so vital. I believe in therapy. I go to therapy. I think it is great to be able to have someone to talk to that can help you in that way. But for the children in these situations, it is imperative. A lot of the kids that are younger will do play therapy. They will do art therapy. They just need to be able to speak to someone who can help them process and understand. You know, trying to remember back to when you were a child, it is hard to express your emotions. That is why younger kids, who don’t have the verbal capacity, will throw a fit. That is how they’re getting that out. And we want to teach these kids and equip them with the language and the knowledge to put their wants and needs out there to make sure that they can say, this is how I am feeling. This is how this is making me feel.
In your vision statement, giving a voice to these children is mentioned. Break that down for us.
It goes back to what I was saying about these kids paying for some adult decisions, and they are often overlooked at times. When you get into that court process, you have the judge, you have the attorney for the parent, you have the attorney for the state, you have the caseworker, but the child has an attorney, a guardian ad litem representing that child, but the CASA is the non paid person. We get a lot of weight given to what we say for these children, because we’re not getting paid. We are doing this because we believe in community, we believe in children. We believe that they deserve to have a safe, permanent place not just to survive. They should be able to thrive wherever they are. They should be able to get all of the care and advantages that they need.
And sometimes children do not even
know what they need. They just know, oh, I am feeling this way, or this makes me feel this way, so we can help them say that to the other adults in the room: this is really what’s going on with this child. A lot of times, our kids are very young, and they do not have the words, they do
We are doing this because we believe in community, we believe in children.
person that needs him. So, for CASA’S we are giving that child that needs us at that moment, that love, that attention, that advocacy that they need, and when that child reaches permanency, we know there is another child that needs us so we can move on to that child. It is important for our volunteers to take care of themselves. We are a very tight-knit community. When they are having a frustrating day, we want them to call us. We want them to tell us what is going on. What can we do to help make your life better? Our plan in the future, moving forward, is to host some events that will help the volunteers just kind of let their hair down a little bit and maybe get creative with some things. We try to feed them as much as possible. Our trainings are on Tuesday nights from 530 to 8.30, it is usually dinnertime. We try to make them feel as valued as they are.
not have the ability to say the things they want and need to say. So, we go, and we try to be that voice for them. We want to advocate for them to live the life that they deserve. And this always makes me feel a little emotional, because I truly believe that every child deserves to have the love and the care, to have that permanency, and deserves to be able to thrive wherever they are, not just have their basic needs met, but be able to be their best self, live their life, be successful in the future.
Q. Where do the director of CASA and the volunteers that work under you find space on the inside to deal with all these issues facing these children on the outside?
It is funny you should ask that. I was in Tifton with another CASA program, and I talked to them about the self care they provide to their volunteers. There is a space that you have to create. You have to create that boundary. We like to look at it in the way that a doctor will see you as a patient, and he will give you his undivided attention while you need him. Then the doctor goes to the next room, the next
Q. How does one go about accessing information, getting in contact, and possibly even getting involved as a volunteer to start the training to become a CASA?
That is a great question. You can email us at info, at La CASA.org, that is a great place to go to look to email us and we will send you information and answer your questions. We do have a Facebook and an Instagram page, CASA of Lowndes, and Echols, so you can look there. You can message us there. Our phone number is 229-247-4324. We will be happy to call you back. Any of those avenues would be great for you to reach out. We are located at 1503, Madison highway. So, if you are ever in the area, you can stop in. We would love to see you. And we realized that becoming an advocate is time consuming, and it is not something that everyone can do. We also have what we call a friend of CASA, and it is not as many hours required. You are helping us with fundraisers. You’re helping us maybe making dinner for the volunteers, things like that help to support us and what we do in our mission, but you’re not putting as many hours into the program, because some people simply don’t have it, but they do have that heart for children, and they do want to help. So friends of CASA is always an option.
I recently met the two men that I write about today. I met them online and I spotted them online, and I was so excited about the community-based effort that they engage in, and I hope that it spreads across the country. Leonard Lee and Robert Lewis are founders of a movement: I AM A MAN-A BLACK MAN. They attended the 2024 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Incorporated annual legislative conference in Washington, DC, and the event served as a powerful platform for a national call to action. Lee and Lewis are inviting Black men across America to unite in support of Black women, children, and communities. I wanted to know just how this movement was born and Leonard Lee explained.
Well, you know, we are from Boston, and we have noticed around George Floyd, there were people marching for us, white liberal women and Black women, everybody was marching, but Black men as a whole were not marching. And we were saying to ourselves, why aren’t the brothers marching on a collective level, to stand up and show the community that they care? So, we put together the I Am a Man March, and we got that from
The Birth of a New Movement
the sanitation strike down in Memphis in the 1960’s, and we made a call out to the brothers that we’re going to march two and a half miles through the black community, and show the community black men in action, showing that we care about the community. It was interesting, because we put it out there, and we were like, ah, we might get twenty-five brothers. We might get thirty-five brothers, but we got 450 men and children, young boys, marching in the streets of Boston, holding signs of, we care, holding signs showing unity of our community and caring for our children, our women, and our community.
While we were marching, we came to a huge intersection in the community called the Mecca square, which used to be called Grove Hall. We laid down in that intersection for about two minutes and blocked traffic for two minutes and just lay down in the middle of the street. And the response was amazing. People got out of their cars and started clapping their hands in support. Little kids would say, I never seen Black men come out like that. Women were like, yeah, brothers, that is wonderful. And at the end of the March, we had women cheering us on and having refreshments and water, because we needed plenty of water that day: it was hot. And it was such a powerful piece. The men wanted more. We wanted to stand up as men and show the caring and the respect that we have for our women and show the caring and impact that we can have with our children showing them men in control of themselves. It was just utterly amazing. So that is what led to the need to continue. And Rob said to me, let us do it. And as we know the election was coming up, we know that the numbers turned out will make the difference.
As Leonard Lee explained what motivated the men to come together and create the march that has led to a movement, we questioned them about the involvement of women.
Here is what Robert Lewis had to say: there were some women that asked that very question: why could they not be involved just as the men were? And this, again, stimulated us to say, wait a minute,
black men are the head of the family, they’re the head of the community, and yes, we want the women Involved, but we-the men wanted something, because who was affected the most by all this, all this with George Floyd? Black men are the most impacted group, and we had women that went on social media and said, “Hey, listen, let us support our brothers. We do not have to march with them. Let us meet them at the end.” And we had women at the end that said, “listen, we will support you. We are going to be there at the end.” And we came together as a collective. We had the African drums that led us, as we walked through the streets. And you know we did not just stop and lay down in the intersection at Mecca Square, we also stopped at four other intersections and did the same thing, and we prayed and had candlelight vigils. We stopped and prayed again when we got to the end, and we galvanized from there.
You spoke of youth and young boys marching with you. What impact did the march have on them and what did they say about what they experienced? Both Lee and Lewis responded.
Oh, that was very important. I had my son; Robert had his son. We were doing something for our community as men, being an example of leadership, determination, and focus. My son still talks about it. He said, Dad, that was one of the most powerful things I have ever seen. You know, when young boys see their fathers in a position of authority in their community, it brings pride and it also stimulates them around excellence, of how they respect their community, how they respect women, how to respect themselves. My little nephew, if you could have seen this kid’s face, and what these young people did: they made the signs that we carried. They surprised us with these signs. My little nephew was in the middle of all this, and I tell you, he was filled with pride, seeing Black men come together.
What will be the next step for the I AM A MAN Movement? Leonard Lee opened the playbook.
Well, one of the things we started to do, as I said earlier, we know people around the country are doing a little bit here, a little bit there, a little bit there. And so, we were saying we need to do a collective effort so that we can start to mobilize men, and not only uplift the men, but also uplift the community, uplift the males, young males, in their life, uplift their women and their lives. And we thought, how can we do that? But also, in one of the most challenging times in the history of America, there is a Black woman running for president and the total disrespect that she has endured is unbelievable, and there was no national outcry from men of color. And so, it made us think that could be my mom, my aunt, my sister, my wife, my partner, and no one is saying anything. So that is when we said, we have to do something. We need to mobilize. We need to make statements, but also, we need to have a strategic plan to make sure that we take nothing for granted.
Robert Lewis added that a woman was saying, wait a minute. Where are the Black men and why aren’t the Black men speaking up? So, we just took it on ourselves. You know, we went to D.C. to try to get some energy. I was like, let’s do this thing together. Everybody gets there, let me just say everybody’s doing something. Listen, let’s come together. Whether we have 10, whether we have 10,000 we’re saying, what are we doing together? What are you doing in your community?
You are moving in a direction that could not only change the narrative, but change the mindset of Black men, women, and children in this country. It begins at home and then spreads abroad.
That’s right, that’s right, it is not about Robert Lewis or Leonard Lee, it’s really about all of us. And one thing you know, because we all carry so much loss from family relationships, losing our children, watching murders happen, we are wounded. And I think if we galvanize, and everybody does a little I guarantee you, the way people look at Black men will change forever.
Leonard Lee, Founder of I AM A MAN
Deanna Clements, President of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, discussed her journey from teaching computer information systems to becoming the college president. She highlighted the college’s mission of workforce development and the importance of removing barriers to education, such as application fees. Clements shared success stories of graduates, including nursing students and twin brothers who started a successful business. She also mentioned new programs like medical laboratory technology, an associate of nursing program, and an aircraft assembly technician program, driven by industry needs.
Deanna Clements is the president of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College right here in our hometown, Valdosta, Georgia. One of her greatest joys is sharing everything that is going on at Wiregrass, and she is no stranger to Technical College education. Here is part of her story.
The Journey of Leadership
A little company called AT&T picked him up right after graduation. Then comes access to healthcare, dental programs, and retirement opportunities, things that you didn’t have access to before.
It was because of that opportunity that the technical college provided for him and that electronics degree, he now had access to all that. He always pushed education, both of my parents did, and I graduated from college. In the next phase of her life Deanna Clements bought a Radio Shack franchise in Cordele, and one day, the Vice President for South Georgia Technical College walked in to my store, and we got to talking, and she said, “Would you mind teaching some classes for us in Lotus Notes to a company” and I said I would love to, and that’s how I got started.
It’s an interesting story, because both of my parents graduated from a technical college back in the 60s. So, I tell everybody I was exposed to technical education really very early on. So, a lot of people may not necessarily know what happens in a technical college and what programs we offer, but I grew up knowing about technical college. My dad graduated from the electronics department at South Georgia Technical College.
Again, back in the 60s, South Georgia Tech was one of the few technical colleges that offered a dorm, so he was able to go and be part of that dorm experience and he graduated with that electronics degree. He came from a household where they didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities: they just didn’t have the same opportunities that I had growing up. But when he graduated with that degree in electronics, it was life changing.
From there, they offered me a fulltime teaching position, teaching computer information systems. I still have my business on the side, but I had gotten married, and so my husband was running the business, and I just kind of worked my way up and the opportunity to move back to my hometown of Fitzgerald presented itself. I returned and started working with East Central Technical College, and they merged with Valdosta tech, and we became Wiregrass.
So, that’s how I started my career with Wiregrass, but I’ve been with the Technical College System of Georgia since 1998 and it’s been wonderful being able to start as an adjunct instructor and then working as a full-time instructor, then as a dean, as a vice president, and now having the opportunity to work as a President. It has really given me an appreciation at every level for what our wonderful employees do every day, working with the students, working with our communities. Our mission is workforce development. We want to make sure that South Georgia continues to be the best place to do business, and that starts with having a trained workforce. We’ve got to make sure that every person that leaves Wiregrass has the knowledge and has the skills to be able to go out and make
the companies that we serve even better. So that’s how 1 got my start and continue to be able to do that every single day.
When speaking with President Clements about Wiregrass Georgia technical College, the excitement in her voice is undeniable. We asked her what excites you most currently about not just the position that you hold as president, but being a part of the Wiregrass family? For her it is all about the students and the opportunities.
We had over 700 that were eligible for graduation, but we had 470 participating. With every single graduation, there is
a story, a student who shares a story, how they came to be at college and the difference it has made in their life. It’s those stories that keep you so excited and make you want to come to work every single day. We’ve had nursing students who walked in and said, “I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was trying to raise my kids, and you know, I just didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities available to me, but I decided, I think I want to be a nurse. I’m going to go to Wiregrass.
I’m going to put forth my best effort to be a great nurse”. And they graduate,
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Deanne Clements, President of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College
HISTORY OF MT. HOPE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
The Mount Hope Missionary Baptist Church began in 1903 when a gift from a “Lumber dealer” was donated and a small building was erected. Deacons involved in the founding of Mt. Hope MBC were Deacon A.J. “Boss” Johnson, Deacon J.G. Gaines, and Deacon Jim Coffee. Rev. H.H. Brice was the first Pastor of the church and land was purchased after a beginning donation of $5 by Pastor Brice. In 1905 the new church was finished and used as the official house of worship for Mt. Hope, originally named the Second Baptist Colored Church of Quitman. Rev. Brice pastored Mount Hope until 1907.
August of 1912 Deacon A.J. Johnson, as trustee, and Rev. J.E. Bridges purchased lot #99 at a cost of $75.00 and a new church was erected with the name of Second Baptist Colored Church of Quitman being changed to Mount Hope Colored Missionary Baptist Church.
In 1951, Rev. K.S. Wilson and members secured a loan for $4000, repayable at $50.00 a month, to renovate the church. Rev. Wilson pastored Mt. Hope MBC for 20 years.
September 22, 1959, Rev. E.B. Moore became pastor and was successful in helping the membership become debt free.
Rev. Booker T. Washington became pastor in 1960, and a kitchen was constructed and completed by 1961. The membership proposed that a new church be built with a pool for baptism. Floor plans were drawn by Sister Juanita Robinson and Brother K.D. Hunter. When the membership was ready to build, they found out there was not enough land to meet the building code of the city. Mr. Bennie Romine was moved and gave the church a lot to enlarge the land and meet the city code. The new church was dedicated on April 4, 1971. A beautiful chandelier was donated for the vestibule by Mrs. Lawton Lee. Rev. Washington pastored for 5 years, the church added their first Assistant pastor, Rev. C.W. Washington and much was established during this time.
Rev. Claude Williams was the pastor from 1977-1981 and under his leadership The Voices of Mount Hope was organized, and the first mortgage burning was held.
Rev. Perry Simmons, Jr. served for one year and while serving wrote the church Policy and Procedures Manuel and set aside the third Sunday of the month for Juniors to be in charge of church services. Pastor Rev. W.W. Woods served from 1982-1985.
Rev. Alonzo became the pastor in September 1985 and served 17 years, until 2002. While he pastored, a new addition was built to include a fellowship hall, renovation of the sanctuary as it is today with stained glass windows, a new roof with a cathedral ceiling was erected, central air and heating was installed, the first church van was donated by Deacon Owen and Sister Bertha Wrice as well as many more accomplishments. Three ministers were ordained: Rodney Irvine, Tommie Goins, and Rufus Medlock.
Rev. Elick Dargan, Jr. was called to pastor in January 2003. He served three years. During his service, Minister Anthony Fletcher was ordained.
Rev. Bobby J. Powell became the pastor in January 2007. He served until 2012. During his tenure, new ministries were re-established and established. Five ministers emerged from the Mt. Hope family: Deceased ministers, Lewis Newsome and John Hall (also the 1st drummer at the church), Ministers Brian Powell, Ryan E. Turner, Richard Goodman, and Stephen Goodman. In addition, Minster Anthony Feacher studied under Rev. Powell.
June of 2012 Rev. Delvin Boatman became Pastor and under his leadership, several improvements were made in the church. New ministries and classes were established, additional land was purchased on the northside of the church, the Venture Club was implemented, a food pantry and a youth fellowship was established. Rev. Delvin Boatman also served as Western Division Union Vice-Chair.
Rev. Ron Wrice became pastor after Rev. Boatman. Due to health reasons, Rev. Wrice resigned, and the current pastor is Rev. K. J. Murphy (top left photo).
and they get a job, and now they have the finances and the security for their families. Those are the stories that keep me going every single day. And it’s exciting. You know, we had some brothers who recently graduated, twin brothers, they went out, and they’ve got a successful business that was just voted the best business. And those are the stories. Again, they started at Wiregrass. And I could go through hundreds of those, but every day being able to see those students come in, and that’s the excitement, that’s what drives me.
The opportunities and career paths offered at Wiregrass can be life changing for the dedicated student and the instructors at the institution play a very important role in guiding the students to their goal achievement. Going from instructor to administrator limits President Clements interaction with these students, but when asked if she manages to still be involved. She responded with a resounding, “absolutely”.
I only get to hear a piece of their success stories. I remember how it was when I was an instructor, you know, and I got to interact with my students every day. I kind of feel envious some days of our instructors, because they hear them more and more, and I just get pieces of them. We’ve got some great, we’ve got some fabulous instructors who get to work with those students every single day, and they get to make that difference. They get to take that student who comes in knowing absolutely nothing and mold them, shape them, help them grow in whatever field it is that they’ve chosen to excel in, and then help them find that career that’s going to that’s going to help them meet their goals.
She went on to explain why the institution offers waivers on application fees. Well, you know, the whole thing is removing as many barriers as we can to education, whether it’s an application fee or whether it’s a document that you may or may not actually need. Whatever we can do to remove the barriers to education. Because that shouldn’t be the hard part, the hard part should be learning what you’ve
got to know you know, to be successful in that career. The hard part shouldn’t be getting enrolled in the college. And so, whatever we can do to remove that barrier, that’s what we want to do. We want to be part of making access to education as easy as it can be, so that anybody when they’ve decided it’s time for me to start my educational journey to where I can have that fulfilling career, we want it to be easy. We want the hardest part to be passing those classes, not getting enrolled.
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College affects all demographics, and that is something to be celebrated. You’re not too young, and you can’t be too old. President Clements shared this memory. You know, I mentioned graduation a while ago and how that’s one of my absolute favorite times. At every single graduation I give some statistics about that graduating class: how many were eligible to graduate with a degree, diploma or Technical Certificate. How many males? How many females? But I also always include the youngest graduate and our oldest graduate because that is important. There’s not an age for education. You’re never too young and you’re never too old, because our students are more than numbers to us, they are family. It doesn’t matter what age the student is when they’ve come to that conclusion or that realization in their life that they want more, that they want more education, they want something more out of their career. We want Wiregrass to be the first place that they think of.
You continue to come up with new programs, almost on a semester-bysemester basis. Tell us about some of the innovative programs offered at Wiregrass. Well, thank you for letting me talk about that, but I’m going to tell you, it’s not us coming up with them. It’s the businesses and industries in the region. Every one of our programs is a direct reflection of the jobs that are out there in our businesses and industries and their needs. We’re going to be opening the medical lab technology program. It’s a degree program we’re starting because of conversations we had with South Georgia Medical Center and
also with coffee Regional Medical Center, where they said we’re having difficulty finding people with that skill set, so the students in our program are going to be able to perform laboratory tests, test body fluids: a specialized skill set that’s needed within that hospital setting.
We want the hardest part to be passing those classes, not getting enrolled.
Now we will open it up to traditional students, and not just dual enrollment, but to those that are already outside of high school, and they’ll be able to take that program, and work with companies like Gulfstream. They are looking for those graduates to be able to go to work with them, and those are some high wage, high skilled careers to go into. So, for anybody that’s looking for a good, solid career where they know its income is going to be able to support a family, that’s what you’re looking at. We’re seeking FAA approval for that program, and we must get our funding in place, so we’re writing a whole lot of grants for that.
Those conversations are what drives the development of these programs.
So medical laboratory technology is one that we’re going to have on our Ben Hill campus, which is in Fitzgerald. We have got a brand-new associate of nursing program that’s going to be starting again. The ASN program is nothing new. That program allows students to sit for their RN degree. And you’ve mentioned the aviation program on the Coffee campus: we’ve got an aircraft assembly technicianone program that can be completed in two semesters, and it includes some concepts about the structure of the aircraft. So, they’ll learn about structural fundamentals, blueprint reading, aerodynamics, things that’s related directly to the aviation industry. And that’s an exciting industry right now, if you look at the shortage of pilots, but also those that are working in on the structure of the aircraft and those that are needing their amp the airframe and power plant certification. So, we started the structural program as a dual enrollment with the College and Career Academy in Douglas and it’s been very successful.
We’re working with other companies to seek funding to start that AMP program, but once we get that started, we’ll be able to have the FAA approve that program and be able to produce graduates as well. And that’s also going to be beneficial for Moody Air Force Base, because you’ve got a lot of people that are doing that job, but they may not have been in FAA but who don’t have FAA approval. Because they didn’t have to have that when they were working at Moody. This will allow them to be able to transition to civilian life as well. So just some exciting things going on with that aviation program, but that’s just a couple of the latest programs that we are starting. Every new program begins in collaboration with business and industry, and we meet with them twice a year to ask, what skill set do our students need to have?
Do they have it and what new skill sets do you see needed coming up in your industry that we might need to develop a program for. Again, our mission is very simple, workforce development. And so, it’s got to start with the business and industries telling us what that workforce looks like.
And I’m really glad we’ve got some good, strong partnerships with the business and industry in our area, and that we’ve got people who want to make sure that our graduates have those skill sets, so they work closely with our instructors to communicate those needs.
The High-School dual enrollment program is a vital part of providing a qualified workforce. We asked President Clements about the process by which Wiregrass collaborates with high schools, even middle schools, in terms of being a feeder into these programs offered at Wiregrass, Georgia Technical College. She informed us that the dual-enrollment initiative is very strong. She suggested that anybody who has kids that are going into high school, and you don’t know about the dual enrollment program, ask questions. Wiregrass works with about 20 different high schools, both public, private and homeschool settings, and we have over 1600 dual enrollment students right now in a number of different program areas.
We’re thankful to our legislators, because due to their efforts we are able to provide funding so that these students can attend college while they’re in high school and go ahead and get that college credit. And they do it in a number of different ways. You have some students that are looking to get just your core classes, like your English, your math, your psychology, your history, because they have, whatever their career path is. They want to get those core classes out of the way so that once they graduate, they’re ahead of the game, they can go ahead and graduate and move into their college career faster. You’ve got others that are looking to gain a skill set while in high school, because they may not necessarily want to go into college immediately and they’re wanting to enter the workforce.
So, think about this. We have, we have probably somewhere around 400 students across the 11 counties that we serve in South Georgia that are enrolled in a Certified Nursing Assistant Program, our CNA program, they’re leaving high school with the ability to sit for that CNA certification, a Georgia certified exam. If they take that exam, they’re going to get that CNA license, and they can go work in any one of our assisted living homes and start a career immediately. Those are the kind of things that we can provide through a dual enrollment program.
We also offer occupational courses in automotive so those that are looking to go in the automotive industry can start early in a dual enrollment program. Welding is a huge career path right now we have, we have quite a number of students that are graduating from our welding program walking into some very nice careers where they’re making a good living. So, they can start as a high school student and get a few classes out of their way then go ahead and develop some of those skills early.
We also offer that in cosmetology, barbering, computer information systems. There’s a number of different areas, but dual enrollment really is a big part of what we do here at Wiregrass. Again, 1600 plus students are taking classes with us while they’re also completing high school. We then posed a hypothetical question to President Clements about the reality of the possibility for high-school students to come out to Wiregrass, seek out counseling, find out where the best jobs are going to be in terms of workforce development, and set a course, get on a path that’s going to lead them to success. Here is what she had to say.
It is possible: most of your dual enrollment funding starts in the 11th and 12th grade. There are some students who can seek funding at the 10th grade level as well. What I would encourage any one of those students to do is talk to their advisors. We have High School Coordinators that serve every single high school so they can ask to speak with a Wiregrass High School coordinator. We’ll set up a time and come and talk to them, tell them about the programs that we offer at that particular high school. Or, if they’re able to travel to our campus, if there’s a program that they really want to take, they can come to our campus as well and take any one of the programs that we offer. So, it’s most definitely possible. What we always want is for students to take classes that really utilize their strengths. We can help them by taking a test that will tell them where their strengths are and let them know if they’re heavy with hands-on skills. They should definitely ask to speak with one of
the Wiregrass High School coordinators.
Wiregrass is a well-established institution in the region. We wanted to know the importance of the partnership between the college and the region’s economic sector. Here is what she had to say. We have the economic development authorities, the chambers of commerce calling us to say, hey, we’ve got a potential business coming in, and we need you at the table. They want the assurance that there’s going to be a skilled workforce in that area. To me, that speaks volumes about the impact that we’re having, because they know, if Wiregrass is here, if we’re offering a program in that area, then we’re going to be able to produce graduates that are going to help that company, whoever it may be, be successful.
You know, when you look at some of the areas where the where the census is showing that there’s a decline in population, we don’t want that to be us. We want to see that we’ve got things that are attracting people and attracting growth. And what does that is businesses. When you look at the number of businesses that are coming into an area, when you look at the number of opportunities for young people, that’s what’s going to show growth for our area. We want to make sure that Valdosta, and all our surrounding areas, are still attracting people.
When you hear people say there are no jobs in Valdosta, Lowndes County and the region. There are no good paying jobs in Valdosta, Lowndes County and the region. How do you answer that? I would say that you need to look at the skill sets that people are hiring in: there’s some good paying jobs out there. It may not be in the skills that you have, let us retrain you, because I can definitely point out some jobs that if you’ve got a skill set in machine tool, you can walk into a job right now and command whatever money you want, and there are opportunities in program logic controls for your PLCs. We’ve got companies paying big money for those that have that skill set. So, when somebody says there’s no jobs. There are no good paying jobs.
What they’re really saying is I don’t have the skill set for the jobs that are paying that. So that just means there’s an opportunity for retraining and for learning those new skills that it takes to get those jobs that are paying at the level that they want to be at. It’s just self-awareness. We must be aware of where those jobs are and what skills are needed, and then go get the training that’s needed for them. Because the jobs are out there.
We’ve got companies right now that are hiring and they’re paying well, if you’ve got the skills that are needed, in the indemand areas: advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and security.
Our commercial truck driving program is seven and a half weeks, and they’re walking out, in some cases, making $70,000. Our nurses are walking out into really good jobs. So is welding, and automotive, all of those are what I consider our highly skilled, high in demand areas. Those are areas that people need to be looking at. And if you’re wanting a good, solid career, come see me, and I will help you get into one of those programs so that you can get those skills, and we can help you get a job in those areas.
We’ve been doing a lot with grant writing. We have a super team here, and we just received a million-dollar grant, a Lowes Gable grant. It is going as help us put a 53-foot mobile lab together that’s going to help support the construction industry. It’s going to feature plumbing, maybe masonry and some wiring, and it’s mobile, so we’re going to be able to overcome some of the transportation barriers that our students have by bringing that training to them. My mission involves going to the different areas we serve and pulling all these pieces together so we can continue to support these communities and make them as strong as they can be.
Her name is Deanna Clements. She is the president of Wiregrass, Georgia Technical College.
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Affordable Legal Assistance - LegalShield
Dr. Corona T. Pruitt is an independent associate with LegalShield. Their mantra is from the trivial to the traumatic and everything in between, LegalShield has you covered. They say that we should expect the unexpected, because LegalShield knows that legal issues arrive every day in one form or another in our lives, and they have multiple services available to assist people. And you know the reality of it is you do not need an attorney until you need an attorney, and far too often in life, we find that we have the need, but we cannot afford an attorney.
Dr. Pruitt talks to us about the benefits of LegalShield and who needs it. LegalShield is a full-service organization. So, we have affordable legal services for families, for small business owners, for CDL drivers, for ride share delivery drivers. We can help insurance agents add this service to their portfolio of offerings for their current book of clients, and we can also help employers
children in your home under the age of 18, or any children that are in college, full time students under the age of 26.
Q. Why is it so important to set up will and estate planning?
Dr. Pruitt explains that statistics show that 90% of people believe a will is important to have, but only about 40% of people have one. And what happens when you do not have something in place, your state can go to probate court, and the probate court can determine what happens with your assets. Now first, let me disclose and disclaim. I am not an attorney. I am an independent associate providing legal services, and we connect you to a law firm where you can get legal representation, but without a will in place, your state can go to probate court, and a judge can determine what happens to your assets. And I know many people think, oh, I do not have anything. I do not have any assets.
your cable service, and you call and it is not resolved in three months, you want to end your service, but they want to charge you an early termination fee. Well, guess what? They are not expecting you to have an attorney.
add it as a voluntary benefit for their employees at no cost to them. We have a family plan that can help you do your will and estate planning and preparation. They can help you with any disputes you may have by making phone calls and writing letters on your behalf. They can help you with any moving traffic violations, and they can also help you with uncontested separations, adoptions, and divorces, and that you can set for as little as $1 a day. So, for $29.95 a month, you can have an attorney, as people would say, on retainer.
Instead of having to search for someone to help you with your legal needs, set up a consultation. For the average attorney that cost can be anywhere from 300 to $500 for a consultation for about 30 minutes and then you are billed by the hour for whatever your legal issue is. So, that’s just how we help people in a preventative way with our family plan, which can cover you, your spouse or significant other, any
It is not about what you have. It is about telling your loved ones what you want to do with whatever it is that you do have. And if anyone’s ever experienced family problems after someone passes, it can be a very, very ugly situation, but with the will in place, health directives in place, you can avoid all of that and maintain peace and harmony with your family and your loved ones and your relatives, because you’ve already established what you want done.
Q. How important is it that we consider LegalShield from the family perspective, from the general to the specific?
From the general, like you said before, it is better to have it and not need it than needed and not have it. So, you do not drive a car uninsured. You do not get car insurance after you have an accident. It is a preventative service for you to have. And every day, we are in some type of legal situation, whether it is driving your car, walking into an establishment, having work done on your house, picking up your phone and not getting good sales service in your house for three or four months, having issues with your cable service. What do I do? For example, if you are having issues in your home with
They are expecting you to just chalk it up and pay that $250 to $350 because most people think it is cheaper for me to do that than to get an attorney. But with LegalShield and the family plan, for $360 a year, you have had that attorney for you for 365 days on retainer for any issues that come up. When you pay a bill, guess what happens? A company has a finance department to collect your money, and they have a legal department to protect the money that you gave them. They have attorneys ready to come after you, but they do not expect that in return, and those that get paid the least or have the least, get taken advantage of the most. Consider this: when you look at the advantage of having this service that is available, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and someone is arrested, naturally, I want to make my phone call. I got one phone call, and you either call home to family or you call your attorney.
When you engage LegalShield, we have 24/7 access to attorneys in emergency situations.
Let us say, a driver is pulled over. They call the 24-hour outline and help is on the way. I will give you a story. A member, his son, was off at college. He was in the car with some friends.
He was not driving. He was a passenger. One of his friends got pulled over. Police searched the car. There was something in the car that was not supposed to be there. I do not know specifics. The young man was signed up under his parents’ plan because he was a full-time student on LegalShield.
He called the 24/7 emergency number. The attorney talked to the officer. The officer told the young man, you are free to go. The young man asked, what about my friends? The officer said, “I didn’t
Continued on page 12…
Dr. Corona T. Pruitt, LegalShield Independent Associate
…LegalShield
talk to their attorney.” That is especially important, someone you can reach out to through LegalShield, and they answer the phone. So, the way the system is set up, it is all electronic. You do not really have to go into an attorney’s office to get advice or get a consultation. If you have a phone, you have an attorney, because we have it through an app, or you can do it through your desktop, through an electronic system. You submit your request for a consultation, and you can either get a phone call within eight business hours, or you can schedule a time for an attorney to reach out to you. And one of the good things about LegalShield is there are so many attorneys, you do not have to go looking for one. You can filter through so many different subject matters, and that will get escalated to the right attorney to help you with your issue.
Q. In situations where parental rights are threatened and a mother faces the possibility of losing her children into the system, whether it be foster care or in the care of the Department of Family and Children Services, can they use LegalShield to fight for them?
We do have attorneys that specialize in family law, but for any services that are not covered, we do offer 25% discount on those services.
Q. How does one go about joining LegalShield so that they can take advantage of all these services that are offered?
Well, I am a good connection for those of in Valdosta, Lowndes County, and southern Georgia. I am a member of the
Black Chamber, so I put myself out there. I am putting myself out there as a resource for those that want to get connected. So, it would be getting connected with an independent associate like me. Again, it is a membership-based service. So, you would pay that monthly fee for the family plan as low as $29.95 a month.
Q. How does one contact Dr. Corona Pruitt to become a part of the effort that you have for LegalShield.
I do have a website to communicate that information. Or you can give me a call at 404-822-3944. We cover families. We cover small business owners. We cover CDL drivers. We cover gun owners. We even cover drive-share delivery drivers. If you drive a Lyft or an Uber, if you deliver food, we cover you. We cover employees through their employers, and we take it case by case. LegalShield also helps you create a path to residual income without interrupting what you are currently doing. We have lots of associates that do this full time. We have associates that do it part time, and there are people that are making six seven figures with LegalShield. It is affiliate marketing. So, as an associate, I can build my team as people come on, you can build your team. As you bring people on, they can build their team. And so that is how we grow as an organization. I saw a need. I worked for a company from 2009 to 2012, and I had LegalShield at the time. It was called prepaid legal as an employee benefit. And I was in my thirties, but I saw the importance of it, and at that time, I took advantage of the services by getting my will and my estate done. I was a single,
LEROY HENDERSON, JR. Editor-Publisher
young, Black female and I had things that I wanted people to know what to do with my assets. I took advantage of the services, and when I left that job, I no longer had the services, and about a year ago, I had a legal issue with the landlord when I was living in Houston, Texas, and I was calling around to a few people in my circle to see if they had LegalShield, to see if they could just get a question answered for me, I didn’t want a consultation. I just wanted a question answered.
And there were people in my circle who said, oh yes, I have had it before, but I do not have it now. And I said, okay, hmm, so, they directed me to attorneys that they knew. These attorneys, their consultation fees were three hundred to $500 so when I put that number out there, it is because I have experienced that myself. That is just for the consultation. That is just for me to tell you what I have going on. I do not even know if you can take my case or not, or even if I have a case, right? So, I saw a need for it, and someone introduced me to the opportunity months prior, and I said, okay, I will think about it. Let us fast forward maybe four or five months. I took the time to manage that situation on my own but was not too confident in the results. And that is another thing about LegalShield. It saves you time and trying to Google your way through a situation.
And so, I said, you know, I think I am ready to come on with LegalShield and be able to create a path to residual income. That was my why. My Why was to help fill this need, fill this gap, especially in our community, a lot of us do not think about it. We do not deal with it. We sweep legal
issues under the rug, or we try to figure it out ourselves, not knowing which way we are going or if the way we are going is correct. LegalShield is there? 24/7 365.
One good thing about LegalShield. Is you do not have to worry about the number of requests or consultations you put in, because there is no up charge for that. We had members who have contacted the attorney law firm numerous times within a week. LegalShield has been around for 50 years. They are based out of Ada, Oklahoma. We have about four and a hatf million members in the US and Canada, we have about 140,000 employers that offer it to their employees, which gives them a peace of mind, because employees don’t have to take time off work, or they don’t have to spend the workday trying to do a Google search to resolve their legal issues.
Q. Is LegalShield a promising investment in terms of generating quote, unquote passive income?
It is your business, and as you sell memberships, you make commission on those memberships, and as those memberships stay on the books. Then you start to gain residuals. As you build your team, you start to receive commission based on, you know, the performance of your team. But you work it the way you want to work it, some walk, some crawl, some run, some sprint with LegalShield. There are various levels that you can achieve within the business. So, everyone starts out as an associate, and you can go all the way up to various levels of director of positions. You can give me a call at 404822-3944.
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ANGELA WARD Features Writer
The mission of the newspaper is to share regional information, local and national content, that too often goes under reported in our area. We look forward to bringing our readers insightful and positive reports on the activities of citizens and communities in our region. We will publish once per month.
Blood donations are at a critical level, especially as they relate to new sickle cell treatments, bringing hope to people who suffer with this disease. We talked with Baltimore Maryland physician Dr. Eric Gehrie of the American Red Cross, and they are urging the public to give blood in support of these patients who are undergoing gene therapy. They may require up to 50 units of blood and 25 units of platelets.
Dr. Gehrie explains the new treatments so vital to people living with sickle cell disease, approved by the FDA, are specifically meant for people who suffer from pain crises. These new treatments have enormous promise and the clinical trials that were done that led to their licensure were viewed as incredibly successful. The Red Cross is trying to do as much as possible to get the word out about these treatments and also do anything that we can do to help patients gain access to these treatments.
One thing that is really important for the public to know though is that in order to get these treatments, people still need to have access to red blood cells and platelet transfusions. So even though these new treatments are really promising and have the ability to truly transform people’s lives, without blood donors, it will not be possible to offer those treatments. We just want to make sure that the public is aware of that and that everybody continues to know that blood transfusions are needed, that blood
Living with Sickle Cell Disease
transfusions are still saving lives, and now blood transfusions can also help to provide access to these newly approved treatments as well.
Dr. Gehrie explains just how patients can access these new treatments that are so important. He commented that these new treatments are available at a small but growing number of hospitals across the United States, and that a lot of effort is being made at hospitals that don’t offer this treatment, to be able to make the treatment available in the future: the Red Cross is trying to do everything that we can to help to ease that. In any specific area, the best way to get information about the availability of these treatments is to ask your doctor who takes care of you for sickle cell disease already, not only because that person would have the latest information about what’s available in your area, but they also would be the most appropriate person to have a conversation about which treatments that would fit the particular needs of a specific patient with sickle cell disease.
In any community family members, friends and congregational members should be on point when it comes to making blood and platelet donations to help save lives. Gehrie explains the opportunities that these new treatments have created. He says that one of the things that has happened is that people living with sickle cell disease now have the ability to receive either one of these new treatments or a stem cell transplant.
We know that some hospitals have not been able to actually offer those treatments because there was not enough blood to prepare the patient for the treatment. That in particular is something that really is close to our heart at the Red Cross because we want so badly for anybody who could benefit from these treatments to have access to them. Therefore, we need everybody, all of the groups that you mentioned, to help us to make sure that we have the blood to make sure that the treatments can actually reach the patient, because whether it’s
one of these newly approved treatments or whether it’s a bone marrow transplant or a stem cell transplant, all of those life-changing treatments can only be performed if there’s adequate blood to prepare and sustain the patient during the treatment.
We asked the doctor just how the bone marrow transplant or the stem cell transplant helps the patient? He stated that what all of these treatments do, the stem cell transplant, bone marrow transplant, as well as the newly approved therapies, is they work in the patient’s bone marrow to make it so that not as many sickled cells are produced by the bone marrow. Each one of these treatments does it in a slightly different way, but in all cases, that is the end result of the treatment. As a result of that, for a patient, what it means is that their blood is relieved from the hemoglobin S from the sickled cells and replaced with cells that do not cause the complications of sickle cell.
We asked Dr. Gehrie to breakdown the hereditary nature of the disease, and breakdown for us how it is that one sibling can be directly impacted by sickle cell disease and other siblings are not? He told us that Sickle cell disease is inherited, and in order for somebody to have sickle cell disease, they must inherit it from both their mother and their father. There are different combinations of genes that can be passed down from your mother or your father to you in order for sickle cell disease to occur.
That hemoglobin S gene, the gene that leads to the production of sickled cells, typically must be inherited from both your mom and your dad. So, in any given family, it is possible that one person could be affected by sickle cell disease and another person inherited slightly different genes from the same parents.
They may not have sickle cell disease. We asked if that Is the difference between having the disease, having a trait or being a carrier? He said, that is exactly right. Having sickle cell disease in most cases
means having two of those hemoglobin S genes. The trait status or the carrier status means that one of the hemoglobin S sickle cell genes was inherited, but the other gene that was inherited was for hemoglobin A usually. And then if you receive hemoglobin A genes from both of your parents, you would not be affected or a carrier. You may just have the typical hemoglobin A in your blood.
Dr. Gehrie talked about his research, training and what led him into this field of practice.
You know, my training in medicine is in transfusion medicine and blood banking. And from the very beginning of my training, the understanding and what was taught to me by my mentors was the fact that patients with sickle cell disease have very particular and special needs when it comes to transfusion. These include the workups that are performed before transfusion is performed in order to assure compatibility between donor and recipient. I was taught about the complexity of those workups, especially for people living with sickle cell disease, and I have also learned about the importance of diverse blood supply and an adequate blood supply to make sure that blood is always available. So, in my area of specialty, sickle cell disease and the preparation of blood for transfusion is just a huge part of my practice.
It has been from the very beginning of my training. And it’s very, very important to me and to all of my colleagues at the Red Cross that we do a good job with this, that we not only do a good job with the workups, but we do a good job recruiting donors, and that we make sure that blood makes it to the hospital and that it’s safe for transfusion. Now we have the ability to also improve access to some of these brand-new therapies and for me, like I said, from day one, sickle cell disease has been an area of special focus because it is so important to the practice of transfusion medicine and blood banking.
Continued on page 14…
Dr. Eric Gehrie of the American Red Cross
…Living with Sickle Cell Disease
The most important thing is for people who feet healthy and who can safely donate blood is to consider being a blood donor. If you cannot be a blood donor for any reason, that is okay. You can still encourage others to consider donating blood. Once we have the blood in the blood bank, we are able to use it to accomplish all kinds of good, whether it’s helping somebody who’s having an acute crisis or a life-threatening complication of sickle cell disease, or whether it’s using that blood to prevent people from having complications in the future, or whether it’s using that blood in order to pave the way to a more definitive therapy like a stem cell transplant or one of these newly approved cell-based gene therapies.
All of that can only be accomplished with a constant and adequate and diverse blood donor supply. And I think the most important thing, if there’s one thing that I could put out there for people to consid-
er, it’s that even with these advancements in the treatment of sickle cell disease, we are not to the point yet where we don’t need blood transfusions in order to help people manage sickle cell disease. They are as important today as they were before these drugs were approved. And for the foreseeable future, we believe that blood transfusion will continue to be absolutely essential for treatment, for the prevention of complications, and for paving the way to more definitive therapies. So, I think that it is a complicated message because on the one hand, we are so excited about these new treatments and what they mean for people, but we also know that patients will not be able to get there without the whole nation’s support in terms of donating blood. Years ago, there were so few treatments for sickle cell disease, and that in and of itself was a tragedy.
Today, the tragedy that could occur is that somebody could qualify for a treat-
ment but not be able to get it because there was not enough blood for them to get there. And that situation, you know, as I mentioned, we have seen it, we know that it is occurring, and that’s why we’re bringing the message to the public to make sure that they know that their blood is still making a world of difference, specifically to people living with sickle cell disease. The South Georgia storms and high heat temperatures have definitely impacted the ability to collect blood at certain times and in various places. The Red Cross works very hard to try to collect blood in other places when one area is affected by a storm to be able to collect in other places, and the Red Cross works to pre-position blood if there’s a warning.
The Red Cross will try to move blood into that area in advance to help take care of people during that time. However, as there are more and more interruptions to
About Leroy Henderson, Jr.
Leroy Henderson Jr. has served as the Pastor of Second Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church for the past 17 years, the only church on Clyattville Nankin Road in Valdosta, Georgia. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he has over 20 years of experience in radio and television and is currently with Black Crow Media, LLC in Valdosta.
With a strong background in theater, writing, and storytelling, Henderson brings creativity and vision to all his endeavors. He is the visionary behind establishing The South Georgia Chronicles newspaper, providing a platform to highlight local, regional and statewide community stories of interest. His combined expertise in ministry, media, and the arts reflects his commitment to leadership and meaningful community engagement from the voices of the people that live within those experiences.
The vision of the South Georgia Chronicles is to provide a digital venue for news, community events, advertising and information
normal operations, heat waves or hurricanes, the number of instances where they have been required to cancel blood drives or shorten blood drives have had an impact. And that’s part of the reason why last July the Red Cross went on a national appeal and asked everybody to check to see if they could donate blood at that time, and that was done in part because the Red Cross was starting to fall behind due to the heat, also due to other factors. People go on vacation, they are not able to donate blood, and the climate factor is something that is impacting blood drives and impacts the blood supply chain.
The American Red Cross often gives multiple incentives for people to come in and donate, and we will certainly do our part in spreading the word, impacting the community with the dire need to continue to donate both blood and platelets.
that gives a voice to the diverse members of the Valdosta-Lowndes and regional community. Our commitment includes presentation of various opinions, promotion of events and recognition of achievement across the region in a fair and accurate manner. The South Georgia Chronicles seeks to be a trusted source for local, state and national information and advertising content that is useful and valuable to the readers we serve.
As editor and publisher of the South Georgia Chronicles I will use my more than 20 years of experience in news gathering and delivery, interviewing and writing to create a newspaper that is inclusive of various points of view on a host of topics. Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment are at the core of what I deem to be vital principles that must be honored in all fairness. We will also work to provide our advertisers with a quality product that serves a diverse consumer base guided by a standard of excellence.