Statesboro Magazine July/August 2015

July August 2015

Priceless

Special Insert Focus 2015

Do Justice

Love Mercy

Walk Humbly Skillet & Spurs

Winning

Cowboy Cooking

Gators Wrestle Away State Title

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Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The time is always right to do what is right.” In our community Rev. Dr. Francys Johnson, attorney-atlaw, has stepped up to the challenge of bringing a message of hope and change to the people of Georgia. President of the state chapter of the NAACP, Rev. Johnson shares with us a message of justice, unity, and faith in a brighter future for everyone.

“Champion” is one word we are blessed to hear often in Statesboro.

In this issue we are celebrating the Bulloch Academy Wrestling Team’s 2015 State GISA Championship, the second in four years. One basketball team that deserves an award for the longest playing, involves a local group of business men and lifelong friends who meet every week on the home court. And, we take a look at an award-winning chuck wagon inside with Troy & Cindy Reddick’s creative cooking outfit, Skillet & Spurs.

School bells will be ringing the first week of August and we want our readers to be informed about our school system’s programs and progress.

Inside, we’re including the Bulloch County Board of Education’s Annual Report, FOCUS 2015. Starting on page 35, you will find detailed information about Bulloch County Schools with plans for the future.

Our future is bright with possibilities because of the talented generation rising up to lead us. We have devoted a special section to highlighting these amazing young professionals. We think you’ll agree. They’re so talented and so involved, we had to call then GenWOW! With these new rising stars, “the time is right!”

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July August 2015

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About the Cover His favorite scripture is Micah 6:8, “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.”

That’s how the Rev. Dr. Francys Johnson, local pastor & attorney, tries to live his life by making a difference in the fight for equality and social justice for all. Captured for our cover by award winning photographer Frank Fortune.

4 • Statesboro Magazine

Special Insert Focus 2015

Do Justice

Love Mercy

Walk Humbly Skillet & Spurs

Wi nni ng COWBOY COOKING

Gators Wrestle

AWAY STATE TITLE

Statesboro Magazine is published bi-monthly (six issues a year) at a $20.00 annual subscription rate

by Statesboro Publishing Company, Inc. Standard postage paid at Statesboro, GA. To subscribe, email Statesboro Magazine General Manager, Reagan Daly at rdaly@StatesboroMagazine.com or call 912.489.2181. The cover and contents of Statesboro Magazine are fully protected by copyright laws of the United States and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the written consent of Statesboro Magazine. We are not responsible for loss of unsolicited inquiries, manuscripts, photographs, transparencies or other materials. Such materials will not be returned unless accompanied by return postage. Address letters and editorial contributions to Statesboro Magazine, P.O. Box 1084, Statesboro, GA 30459. Copyright © 2015 by Statesboro Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Do Justice

Love Mercy

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SPIRITUAL PATHWAYS Bill Perry grew up in Live Oak, Florida, a small town just south of Valdosta, GA. After graduating from Stetson University, he earned three degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2004, he retired as pastor of First Baptist Church of Statesboro after serving that congregation for 22 years. He and his wife, Margaret, registrar of Statesboro High School before her retirement in 2005, have two daughters, five grandsons, and one granddaughter. Bill has been very much involved in community life in Statesboro. He is an avid reader and has been a runner since 1973.

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Statesboro Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery....... 56

StatesboroMagazine.com

Ric Mandes, a popular essayist, retired after 27 years as Director of Public Relations and Development for Georgia Southern. His memories about growing up and living in South Georgia inspire his writings. He’s a published author and former newspaper columnist for the AJC.

Sea Island Bank............................................... 84

Brianna Quarterman is a senior journalism major at Georgia Southern University. Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Brianna has always had a passion for writing and she is always looking for a good story.

Brianna enjoys shopping, traveling, and pinning fashion boards on Pinterest.

Expected to graduate in December 2015, Brianna hopes to one day be the editor of her own publication.

July/August 2015 • 5

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The Culture

TABLE OF CONTENTS

12 Do Justice, Love Mercy,

& Walk Humbly

Rev. Francys Johnson Wr i t t en b y J e n n y S ta rl i n g F o ss Phot og r a p h y b y F ra n k F o rtu n e

18 A Chuck Wagon

Champion

With Skillet & Spurs Wr i t t en b y J e n n y S ta rl i n g F o ss

IN EVERY ISSUE From the Editor...................................................................

4

Calendar of Events..............................................................

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Phot og r a p h y S u p p l i e d b y Tro y R e d d ick News & Notes................................................................

10

Sporting Life

Look Around....................................................................

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30 GISA 2015 State

Transitions........................................................................

82

Wrestling Champs!

Bulloch Academy

FEATURED COLUMNISTS

Wr i t t en b y J e n n y S ta rl i n g F o ss P h o to g ra p h y b y M a r sh a Ha g a n

The Write Place Written by Brianna Quarterman..................................................

53 A League of Their Own Writte n by J e n n y S t a r l i n g F os s P h o to gra p h y b y F r a n k F or t u n e

Reflections Written by Brianna Quarterman..................................................

73 75

The Spiritual Pathway Written by Rev. Dr. H. William Perry.............................................

Phot og r aph y b y Tra c y Ch a n d l e r L e w i s

Special Sections

The View from Here Written by Ric Mandes.................................................................

77 81

23 Meet the Vets 27 Private School Preview 35 FOCUS 2015 61 GenWOW! July/August 2015 • 7

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First Friday Downtown Fun in the Sun!

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End of Summer Puppet Show 10 AM Statesboro Regional Library

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Main Street Farmers Market Every Saturday 9 AM – 12:30 PM Charlie Olliff Square Downtown

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Business After Hours Franklin Toyota

Zach Henderson Library Farm to Table Dinner 6:30 PM Nessmith-Lane

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Independence Day Firecracker Fest 5 PM- 11 PM Fireworks @ 9 PM Mill Creek Park

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Daily Wildlife Program 3:30 PM- 4 PM GSU Wildlife Education Center

Daily Wildlife Program 3:30 PM- 4 PM GSU Wildlife Education Center

Parents’ Day

Red Cross Blood Drive 10 AM- 3 PM Honey Bowen Building

The Duff Summer Movie 7 PM GSU Russell Union

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Open House Bulloch County Schools 4 PM Elementary 5 PM Middle & High Schools

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Georgia Southern Fall Convocation Faculty & Staff

First Day of School Bulloch County Schools

Bulloch Co. Parks & Recreation Fall Registration August 5th – 8th

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Splash in the Boro Season End Open Weekends Only

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First Friday Downtown Pep Rally!

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Brooklet Peanut Festival 5K Run 7 AM Parade 10 AM Street Dance 7 PM

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Business After Hours Georgia Southern

Fall Semester Begins Georgia Southern Ogeechee Tech East Georgia

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Parent and Tot Swim Splash in the Boro 6 AM- 2PM

Up with People Live Concert 7:00 p.m.

Auditorium Statesboro High School

Main Street Farmers Market Every Saturday 9 AM – 12:30 PM Charlie Olliff Square Downtown July/August 2015 • 9

News & Notes

Sponsored by:

J

The Johnson Firm, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors

Loving Mercy,

Y O U H AV E A C H O I C E

Walking

Attorney Francys Johnson

Humbly.

www.francysjohnson.com | 912.225.1600 | 201 South Main Street, Suite A

Statesboro Chosen America’s Best Community Winner

Representing community partners on the grant submission for Statesboro are (L-R) Averitt Arts Center Director Tim Chapman, Statesboro Director of Planning & Development Mandi Cody, Georgia Southern City Campus Administrative Specialist Andi Wilson, and Downtown Statesboro Development Authority Director Allen Muldrew.

Statesboro has recently been designated a quarter-finalist winner in the America’s Best Communities $10 Million Prize Competition. In a field narrowed from 135 applicants to 50 quarter-finalists, Statesboro was the only city in Georgia to be chosen for the award sponsored by Frontier Communications, DISH, CoBank, and the Weather Channel. Advancement to the quarter-final round means the community will receive $35,000 from the ABC Prize Competition and $15,000 from an Adopt-A-Community mentor to create and implement a Community Revitalization Plan. The community also received a GoPro camera to be used to film how Statesboro is celebrating the announcement. Statesboro has six months to refine revitalization plans and compete for the grand prizes totaling over $5 million. In early 2016, 15 semi-finalist will be selected for another $100,000 prize. In April 2017, three grand prize winners will be announced.

Doing Justice,

— Micah 6:8

Professional Women of Statesboro Present Scholarships

Pictured (L-R) Jennifer Mock (PWS Secretary), Regan Thomas (Scholarship Winner), America Minc (PWS Scholarship & Charitable Programs Chair), Christa Mallard (PWS President), Sally Scott (PWS Membership), Brandi Waters (PWS Treasurer), Kasey Kopotic (Scholarship Winner)

The Professional Women of Statesboro recently presented scholarships to two community students who best represent the club’s mission of developing and supporting each other through service and professional achievement. PWS seeks to build strong networks of professional contacts and supports women’s educational aspirations through mentorship and scholarship. This year’s recipients are Ms. Regan Thomas who received a $1,500 scholarship and will be entering the Exercise Science Program at Georgia Southern this fall, and Ms. Kasey Kopotic who received a scholarship for $1,000 and is enrolled in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program at Ogeechee Technical College.

Georgia Southern Students Receive Emmy® Award Georgia Southern University’s Multimedia Development Center (MDC) won a Student Emmy® Award for its “Wounded Eagle” video production at the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Southeast region awards ceremony held on June 6th in Atlanta. The “Wounded Eagle” video was recorded, produced and edited by MDC students Allen Lincoln and James Braswell in cooperation with Georgia Southern University Marketing and Communications.

“We are very proud of the accomplishments of our students,” said Art Berger, director of the MDC. “The Emmy® Award competition provides our students with an opportunity to compete for one of the top industry awards and carry that nomination with them throughout their career.”

10 • Statesboro Magazine

Students associated with the award (L-R): Evan Lebish, Katy Burrell, James Braswell, Allen Lincoln and Christopher Dunn. Braswell and Lincoln were the producers of the winning video.

Brooks Financial Associates Announces Expansion

Steve & Lisa Brooks of Prosurity Insurance of Statesboro are excited to announce that they are now expanding into Brooks Financial Associates. Lisa Brooks, a Statesboro native, began her career journey in Atlanta working with her husband, Steve Brooks, selling mortgage protection insurance. They moved back to Statesboro in 2005 and opened Prosurity of Statesboro, offering a long line of services that they could tailor fit to their client’s specific needs. From mortgage protection to financial and retirement planning, their client list grew into the thousands. After years of favorable response from their clients, the Brooks opened a storefront in July of 2013 as a hub for their partners and associates.

They opened a new location on South Main Street in downtown Statesboro in August of 2014 in order to offer their services to the community.

In order to accommodate their growing business and the number of clients that they serve, they have expanded into Brooks Financial Associates and are now able to help their clients with Complete Financial Management.

They offer many services and plans of life insurance, college planning, disability insurance, mortgage protection insurance, retirement and estate planning and more. They are very thankful to all who have already put their trust in them and assure that many great years are coming for their firm and the community.

For information on their services or to request an appointment with an associate, call 912.681.6611.

State Soccer Final Four Played Out in Statesboro And then there were four. The Georgia Soccer State Cup happens once a year, and this year Georgia Soccer selected Statesboro as the host for the Final Four. The State Cup is a week-long tournament to determine the number one soccer club team in the state of Georgia. The divisions are separated by age groups ranging from U13 to U19 boys and girls. Each of these teams advanced out of the games held in Columbus, GA, over the Memorial Day weekend.

The tournament was held May 29th - May 30th at the Georgia Southern Recreation Activity Center (R AC) fields as well as the Georgia Southern soccer stadium. Teams, parents, coaches, referees and Georgia Soccer officials stayed overnight in Statesboro during the tournament making an estimated economic impact of $1.4 million. “Statesboro is doing great things, and we were so excited to be the hosts for this prestigious event,” said Dr. Darin Van Tassell, owner of The Clubhouse and Statesboro’s Convention & Visitors Bureau President, “This is the first time the tournament has come to Statesboro.”

For a complete list of division winners in each age category visit www.georgiastatecup.com.

Up with People Coming To Statesboro The multinational 110-member cast of Up with People is headed to Statesboro on their 50th Anniversary Tour, one of only 15 stops in the United States! Up with People (UWP), which has toured to more than 40 countries around the world during the last 50-years, announced that they are returning to Statesboro to build on the success of their 2013 visit which included 52 local families hosting cast members, 766 hours of service at 10 different local locations, and 56 local youths applying to travel in future Up with People programs. On Friday, August 28th at 7:00 p.m., Up with People will take to the stage once again to perform a public show at Statesboro High School.

Beginning in July, Up with People will be recruiting families to host international cast members during their stay in Statesboro. Between August 24th and August 31st, 2015, the Up with People cast will live with local host families and spend time participating in community projects, completing more than 1,000 hours of service. The sharing goes both ways, while families share their traditions and local attractions, the cast members share their experiences and cultures. By the end of their five-month world tour, the cast will have visited dozens of communities throughout the United States, Europe and Mexico.

In recent years many Statesboro natives have traveled the world with Up with People, including Katie Walker, current student at Georgia Southern University! If you are interested in becoming a host family, applying to travel in a future Up with People cast or seeing the performance in Statesboro please visit www.upwithpeople.org/statesboro.

July/August 2015 • 11

Do Justice, Love Mercy & Walk Humbly

12 • Statesboro Magazine

Do Justice, Love Mercy & Walk Humbly

Do Justice, Love Mercy & Walk Humbly Rev. Dr. Francys Johnson, Attorney-at-Law Written by Jenny Starling Foss Photography by Frank Fortune

T

The product of a public school system that labeled him as “Special Ed” until the third grade, Francys Johnson was a pawn in an education tracking system that put him in a class where he didn’t belong. It took lawsuits to end the tracking and labeling which often identified poor or African American children as underachievers. The real lesson that he learned early on was about institutional inequality and discrimination. But, he also saw that the law could improve the condition of man.

He was raised in the church by a devoutly Christian Grandmother and Grandfather who both worked hard to provide a living for the family. Only two generations away from slavery, his grandmother took in laundry and ironing, while his grandfather was a sharecropper.

“I saw my grandparents work harder than anyone and at the end of the day have so little to show for it,” Johnson said. “Other farmers had better equipment, but African Americans couldn’t get loans. The system was built like that. I thought - someone has to rebuild it.”

July/August 2015 • 13

Do Justice, Love Mercy & Walk Humbly

Johnson’s passion for helping people through law, education, and faith, is a byproduct of his humble beginning in rural South Georgia. His belief system is built on faith in God and in an uncorrupt and democratic system of justice for all men.

“The law and the church are two important institutions for a good and orderly society,” he said, “one to press us to our highest hopes and dreams, and the other to keep us from descending into the basest of beings.”

Do Justice As a young lad in church he was a member of the Youth Council of the NAACP. He graduated from Screven County High 14 • Statesboro Magazine

School, and attended Georgia Southern University where in 2001 he was president of the Student Government Association.

Accepted to the University of Georgia’s School of Law, Johnson earned a Juris Doctor degree and met his wife, Dr. Meca Renee Williams.

After law school Johnson began work as legal counsel with the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association in the New York area assisting in the overcoming of racial, ethnic, and gender health disparities in the policies and the operations of the organizations.

Johnson eventually returned to Statesboro and opened a private practice, The Johnson Firm, PC, Attorneys and Counsel-

ors of Law. Dr. Williams began work as an educational psychologist and is now a tenured professor at Georgia Southern.

A Diamond Life Member of the NAACP, Johnson continued his involvement with the organization serving in leadership roles including State Legal Redress Director, State Executive Director, and Southeast Regional Director. As Southeast Regional Director, Johnson was the chief manager of the NAACP’s public policy agenda and administrative activities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. He is currently serving as president of the Georgia Chapter, a role in which he has worked to affect change and end disparities for Geor-

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A natural leader and gifted orator, Johnson has testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the importance of strengthening the Voting Rights Act of 1965, advocating for reinforcement of the rules on any pre-clearance requirements states may attempt to enforce.

“We need the tools inherent in a preclearance requirement fully intact and operational in order to tackle head-on the numerous attempts to silence us in a democratic system that requires the voices of all its eligible citizen partners to be a successful Democracy,” Johnson testified.

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July/August 2015 • 15

Do Justice, Love Mercy & Walk Humbly

in the NAACP’s Moral Monday Georgia movement. “A coalition of citizens working for positive change for the public good.”

The MM movement was launched in 2014 on the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Fighters of 1964 to “demand pro-labor, anti-poverty economic sustainability; wellfunded, quality public education for all; comprehensive healthcare, and environmental justice across all the state’s communities; criminal justice reform that ensures equality under the law for every person, regardless of race, class, creed, documentation status or sexual orientation; and to protect and expand voting rights for traditionally marginalized peoples.”

A statewide tour of the organization includes a stop in Statesboro on August 4th at 6:30 p.m. at the Averitt Center for the Arts.

16 • Statesboro Magazine

“We need to be creating a more just society, to finish the work given to us by our founding fathers,” Johnson said. “Each generation has an obligation. Our founding fathers understood that democracy was an ideal that we needed to work to maintain.

It is the job of each generation to draw us closer to the ideal. In America it is not by blood of nobility, but by hard work and tenacity that we rise.

“It is not about race, not about black and white, it’s about red, white and blue. We all must work to do our part to truly establish justice where it does not exist,” he said.

Love Mercy A committed servant-leader, Johnson has also been an ordained minister for 18 years.

He is the Senior Pastor at two area churches: Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Pembroke, GA, and the Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church in Statesboro.

He has a deep and abiding appreciation of the Church. “The Church should stimulate man’s highest ambitions,” he said, “our greatest inspiration.”

Johnson believes the church is traditionally a vessel for social change. His prayers and sermons are often calls for mercy and equality for the disenfranchised and the underserved.

Invited by the University of Georgia to deliver a TED talk for alumni and students, Johnson’s presentation began like a sermon, “I greet you in the spirit of Moses, Harriett, and Sojourner…”

He inspires the audience by proclaim-

ing “Race is a fiction, there is no biological meaning. We all belong to the same species with a common origin.”

But, Johnson believes institutional racism is real. His fight for social change is also motivated by a desire to leave a better society, a legacy for his children, sons Thurgood Marshall Joshua, Langston Hughes Elijah, and the late Frederick Douglas Caleb. For his sons and their future families, he wants a good education, fair justice system, and economic sustainability.

“I believe we should have good schools for everyone. That’s good for all Americans – a world class education to meet global opportunities,” he said.

Walk Humbly “You know my grandmother used to say, ‘when you get, you got to give,’ which was her way of expressing the scripture ‘to whom much is given, much is required,’” said Johnson. “I am a living testimony to that, I am living proof. My grandparents put me through college.

“This came from a woman who was probably never called by her proper name.

Imagine who my grandparents would have been if they could have done what they wanted to do instead of what they had to do just to get by,” he said.

“I have had many opportunities. I have lived in Atlanta and New York. I returned to Statesboro to be close to home. It is a good place to raise my family. I feel I can make a difference here. I feel very strongly about making a meaningful contribution with my life, it is very important to me,” he said.

“If I live another 50 years I want to be worn out, not rusted out. Tomorrow is not promised,” Johnson said.

“We need men and women of courage.

This is America. We are to look at big problems and tackle them. We rebuilt the world after World War II. We didn’t know how to go to the moon, but we figured it out and went. That’s who we are as Americans – we tackle the big problems,” he continued, “Our job is to move this country forward. I feel we are all required to do what we can, where we are, with what we have.” S

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Skillet & Spurs

18 • Statesboro Magazine

Skillet & Spurs

A Chuck Wagon Champion with Skillet & Spurs

T Written by Jenny Starling Foss

Everybody’s got a favorite cowboy. For Chuck Wagon Master Troy Reddick it’s legendary lawman Wyatt Earp, best known for his role in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, settling a dispute with outlaw cowboys in the notorious shootout in Dodge City, Kansas.

Dodge City was the heart of the American West and has been the fictional setting for many stories, movies, and TV series. In real life, Dodge had a rail line running through that made it a destination on the Western Trail, a cattle drive route stretching from San Angelo, Texas through Oklahoma to Kansas. Cowboys drove herds of Texas longhorns north to the rail heads in places like Dodge City and Denver for transportation east to Chicago and St. Louis.

Self-taught cattle drive historian, Reddick shared, “In 1866, there was an expansion of former Civil War soldiers to the West. Former Confederate, Charles Goodnight, an entrepreneur, found that both Texas and Mexico had free range cattle for the taking. You could also buy cattle that had been rounded up for $3.00 a head. If you could get the cattle back East, they would bring $30 a head.

“Goodnight wanted to make money, so he rounded up some men to help him drive the cattle north to the rail lines. The men who he recruited weren’t called cowboys, which was a derogatory term in those days, they were called ranch hands,” Reddick said. “They drove cattle north for three months covering 1,000 to 1,500 miles, always from South to North, where they put them on trains.

“Goodnight had to feed, house, and clothe the ranch hands on the trail. So, he took a Studebaker wagon and put a chuck (cowboy slang for food) box in back. He used a surplus Civil War wagon, and is therefore credited with being the inventor of the chuck wagon.

“With partner Oliver Loving, Goodnight started out on what became known as the Goodnight – Loving Trail to Pueblo and Denver, Colorado. During the drive, Loving was shot by Indians and died en route. He told Goodnight before leaving on the drive, ‘If I die, I want you to bury me in Texas.’ Goodnight carried Loving’s body back to Texas July/August 2015 • 19

Skillet & Spurs

liked to hunt, fish, and camp. We still do it a for burial.

“If this story sounds familiar, it’s because couple of times a year. I always got to be the Larry McMurtry took the history of the cook – grilling and cooking in a Dutch oven,” chuck wagon and incorporated it into his Pu- he said. “We kept growing and as years went litzer Prize winning novel, Lonesome Dove,” on, Cindy and I would get asked to cook for church groups, etc.” said Reddick.

One of the Reddick’s friends told them, It’s the re-creation of the trail drive chuck wagon experience that inspires Reddick. “Man, you’re doing the cowboy cooking, why “We’re not selling food, we’re selling an au- don’t you get a chuck wagon?”

Reddick found one in thentic experience,” he said.

Florida, brought it home, A commercial realtor in “We began looking for ways and rebuilt it from the the Vidalia area, Reddick at each event to improve wheels up. He added a cusand wife Cindy, an interior cooking methods, recipes, designer and owner of retom chuck box on back for and equipment,” he said. food, and other period fixtail shop, Accessorize it! were According to Wyatt Earp, affected by the economic tures like an Arbuckle Cof“Accuracy is everything.” downturn of 2007. Looking fee box, and a coffee grinder. for another business opporFor Reddick, this attentunity, they started catering at special events tion to detail in outfitting his chuck wagon is and on weekends. “We tip-toed into it and part of bringing the genuine experience to the were overwhelmed by the response,” Reddick public. “We began looking for ways at each said. event to improve cooking methods, recipes, “All my life I loved to eat and cook. As a kid and equipment,” he said.

I watched Mama and Grandmama. I cooked According to Wyatt Earp, “Accuracy is evfor myself in college. My college friends and I erything.”

20 • Statesboro Magazine

Over time, Reddick’s commitment to providing the authentic chuck wagon experience led him to start a business with his enterprise, which he named Skillet & Spurs. He gained membership in the Southeast Chapter of the American Chuck Wagon Association (ACWA) which requires “our members and supporters to project a realistic portrayal of the chuck wagon as it was used on cattle drives. To the public, a chuck wagon cook off should be an informative, an educational, and an entertaining experience.” (www.americanchuckwagon. org) Reddick is now president of the chapter.

The ACWA holds regular chuck wagon competitions each year. The wagon camps are judged in two areas: authenticity of the wagon/camp and the food quality. Camp is setup starting Friday morning, with the wagon on full display for judging by 3:00 p.m. The set-up is judged for functionality, appearance, and authenticity in two areas – the camp and the wagon/chuck box. The Reddicks are scored on their period costumes as well.

All cooking utensils, pots, supplies, skillets, Dutch ovens, wagon hardware, and the cook

Skillet & Spurs

fire must meet ACWA standards and are awarded points for historical accuracy.

Ingredients for the food segment of judging are handed out to the wagons by the event host Saturday morning and must be cooked on site. There are five courses to prepare: meat, beans, potatoes, dessert and biscuit/hoecake. Enough is prepared for the judges by 11:45 a.m. and for 50 more people by noon. Tickets are presold to the public for each camp’s meal. Reddick’s reputation for superior cooking means a sell-out everywhere he goes.

The Reddicks are a four-time Grand Champions and three-time First Runners Up, in just four years of competing.

Often asked for recipes, they have developed a food product line to augment their catering. “We have our own brand of barbeque sauce, rub and salsa, plus Chuck Wagon Chili Mix, and Cowboy Coffee. We sell it at events off the wagon and in Cindy’s store,” he said.

According to Cindy, “It’s strenuous work, but we enjoy doing it and have some good friends that help out.”

Brian and Phyllis Frederick attended one of the Reddick’s catering events and later offered to assist.

“They help now with 90% of our catering events. Brian is a good talker and Phyllis is a great worker. Cindy and Phyllis prep for me while Brian entertains the crowd and answers questions. We work to create a good atmosphere,” said Reddick.

Reddick will load his wagon on a big trailer and go anywhere in the U.S. for a catering event or competition. Son Austin, 24, helps out occasionally while son Colt, 11, “isn’t really a cowboy, yet,” according to Dad. In their seventh year of chuck wagon catering, the Reddicks are still

RESIDENTIAL | LARGE RENOVATIONS | LIGHT COMMERCIAL

Jeff Schofield 912-313-0461 Josh Waters 912-313-1388 www.mygreenchoicehome.com July/August 2015 • 21

Skillet & Spurs striving to improve. “We always want to take it to the next level,” Reddick said.

“We have won four categories at one time,” Reddick said, “our goal is to win all six.” Reddick is currently working on building another wagon to use just for ACWA events. “That way we’ll have one for catering and one for the competitions,” he said.

But, it’s not all about the winning. “We were working hard two competitions ago and one of the other cooks came up and asked me, ‘Why do we do this?’” Reddick said. “We do it because we want to get people out of their environment and into the chuck wagon, cowboy world. That’s what motivates us.”

“When we ring that triangle and yell, ‘Come and get it!’ You can see the stress leaving people as they get in the grub line, sit around the wagon and the campfire enjoying the outdoors, the fellowship, and the great food,” he said. “If we can make people happy and they enjoy it, then that’s our greatest reward.” S Editor’s note: to learn more or to schedule a catering event visit www.skilletandspurs.com or Like them on Facebook at Skillet & Spurs.

22 • Statesboro Magazine

W. SCOTT BRANNEN ATTORNEY AT LAW “I promise every client I will treat them like I would treat my own family member, with the highest professionalism, ethics, and bare-bones hard work...” * Real Estate * Land Transactions * Family Law * Criminal Defense * Civil Litigation * Estates & Wills * Civil & Municipal Law

Roach & Brannen, LLP | 323 South Main Street 912.489.8648 | www.RoachandBrannen.com

Meet the Vets

Meet the Vets

The veterinary specialists of the Statesboro area are top dogs in everything from routine wellness care to emergency medical services. Our top Vets pride themselves in providing a high quality of care to both patients and owners. These skilled professionals take great pride in protecting the health

W illiam M organ

Education... D.V.M. University of Georgia

W illiam N essmith

Education... D.V.M. University of Georgia

B enjamin N essmith

Education... D.V.M. Kansas State University

Statesboro Bulloch Regional Veterinary Hospital 23608 Highway 80 East | 912-764-1001 | www.sbrvet.com Comments from Dr. William Morgan:

and welfare of animals through diagnosis of diseases, treatment of sickness and injury, prevention of transmission of diseases from animals to people, and advisement on the proper care of pets and livestock to keep them well-nourished and healthy for a lifetime.

I ENJOY BEING A VETERINARIAN BECAUSE... I enjoy practicing medicine, and I enjoy my relationships with my clients and patients.

MY FAVORITE ANIMAL IS... the one who needs me most at the moment.

I BELIEVE ALL PETS ARE... sent here to be our companions and make our lives complete.

A GOOD VETERINARIAN WILL ALWAYS... be compassionate and understanding I practice in Bulloch County because... we grew up here in Southeast Bulloch. I came back here right out of veterinary school and purchased a practice.

My area of specialty is ... You could really call me a general practitioner, because this area has so many different types of animals that need care. But I do have an affinity for, and a lot of experience in, pain management and care of older animals. There is something extra-special about an old, devoted companion. We can help him or her live long, happy and pain-free.

July/August 2015 • 23

E schol “B arry ” G raham W olfe III, D.V.M.

University Animal Hospital 409 South Zetterower Avenue, Statesboro | 912.243.9162 www.university-animal-hospital.com EDUCATION... University of Georgia, B.S. Agriculture; University of Georgia, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, 2003.

I ENJOY BEING A VETERINARIAN BECAUSE... I get to bring lives into the world. Delivering a foal or performing C-sections never ceases to amaze me.

MY FAVORITE ANIMAL IS... a dog. I am convinced that dogs are the most loyal pets on this earth. They will remain next to your side in all circumstances and they truly just love human companionship.

I BELIEVE ALL PETS ARE... essential parts of people’s lives and excellent therapy!

A GOOD VETERINARIAN WILL ALWAYS... include their clients on all decisions. It is important for your veterinarian to take into account how the humans are feeling. These animals are a part of their family, and I really try to make sure I am considering their needs when I am treating and taking care of their pets.

IF I COULD BE ANY ANIMAL I WOULD BE... “Buddy Wolfe.” Buddy is my wife’s brown and white horse and I believe she loves him even more than she loves me.

IN MY SPARE TIME I LIKE TO... fish, hunt, and swim. Of course, I love spending time with my family. In my down time I also enjoy cutting and baling hay.

I ENJOY PRACTING IN BULLOCH COUNTY BECAUSE... it is my hometown. I grew up here and enjoy getting to see all my friends from high school. Also, Bulloch County is where I first fell in love with veterinary medicine. I spent my spare time in high school working for Dr. Steve Lee. I would walk to his practice after school and assist him with anything he needed. He was one of the gentlest and kindest men I have ever met. Not only was he a mentor to me, he was a friend.

I AM GRATEFUL FOR... two things. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the love and support of my parents. They have helped me more than I could mention, especially when I was in school. Also, I am grateful for meeting the Hendley family and marrying Holly is the best decision I have ever made. Through this, I have grown so much in my relationship with God. Pictured: Dr. Barry Wolfe, Holly Wolfe, Madison & Hendley.

Not Pictured: G.C., Michael & Abigail.

24 • Statesboro Magazine

July/August 2015 • 25

Wells Fargo Advisors 35 South Main Street |Statesboro, GA 30458 Telephone No: 912.764.5080 | Toll Free: 888.455.1508 Randy Hill

Roger Doty

Kristie Crooms

Bill Williams

First Vice President–Investments

Branch Manager | Vice President–Investments

Associate Vice President–Investments Senior Vice President–Investments Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank àliate of Wells Fargo & Company. ©2015 Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. All rights reserved. 0409-3332 [74018-v1] A1287

Welcome to Gator Alley

The Area’s Premier Educational Institution

Low student-teacher ratio

Dual Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SACS/SAIS); Accredited “with quality” by Georgia Accrediting Commission. All faculty members are fully certified or in the process of certification through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission; 15 have advanced degrees; 27 have 10 or more years of teaching experience.

• Current enrollment of 513 in PreK4-12 • Small class size, which is more conducive to individualized instruction & attention • Two classes per grade level • Parapros in PreK, K & 1st grade

College Preparatory Curriculum • Class of 2014 - Average SAT score - 1537 (Bulloch County School System average was 1403, state average was 1445, national average was 1497).

• Composite ACT score - 22.7 (Bulloch County School System average was 19.6, state average was 20.8, national average was 21.0).

• Of the 38-student graduating class of 2015, most were awarded funds to help pay for this post-secondary education. Some of the scholarships received were the Zell Miller Scholarship, the HOPE Scholarship, the ACE Worldwide Scholarship, the Dot Youngblood Scholarship, the Planters EMC Scholarship, the Statesboro Exchange Club Youth of the Year Scholarship and academic/athletic scholarships to the University of Georgia, Georgia College and State University and Limestone College. Other colleges and universities that graduating seniors are attending are Georgia Southern University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Georgia Technical Institute, the University of Washington, Kennesaw State University and San Francisco State University.

• Five Advanced Placement (AP) courses • Senior-to-Sophomore Program in PreCalculus and Calculus • Science Laboratories for Upper and Middle Schools • SMART boards in all classrooms • Three computer laboratories (Lower, Upper/Middle, Media Center) • Advanced Learning Support for Students • ACCEL program with GSU for juniors and seniors • CAMPS (Computer, Art, Music, Physical Education, Spanish) for all lower-school classes • AIM (Accelerating Inquisitive Minds) for all lower and middle-school classes • Strings program (Violin) for elementary music program • Strings program (Guitar) for high school music program • Robotics Team in high school • Primary and elementary-school playgrounds.

Exceptional athletic & co-curricular programs for girls & boys • 32 varsity and middle school teams; nine parentsponsored elementary athletic teams. Bulloch Academy competes in the highest level (Class AAA) of the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA).

Tennis courts • Multi-purpose building for wrestling, cheerleading and physical education classes • Weightroom expansion • Archery for middle, elementary and high school • Competitive Shooting (Skeet, Trap, Sporting Clays)

Varsity: In the past five years, BA has had seven state championships (competition cheerleading, wrestling, girls’ tennis, girls’ basketball, boys’ track), six state runners-up (wrestling, shooting sports, girls’ basketball, boys’ track, and competition cheerleading), nine ‘Final Four’ appearances, nine ‘Elite Eight’ appearances and won 14 region titles.

Middle School:

In the past five years, BA has had the ‘undefeated and unofficial’ state champions in girls’ track, the East Georgia Middle School champions (girls’ and boys’basketball) and regional archery champions. Competing with local and area public school teams in many team sports.

Small-school atmosphere

• Students in lower, middle and upper school interact frequently, which fosters family atmosphere among all students and faculty members • International Student Program to promote global diversity *Partnership with Oe Dae Language School in Seoul, South Korea for English Language Infusion Program School-wide mentoring programs • School-wide assemblies and pep rallies • Parent volunteerism encouraged • Annual class trips and numerous field trips • Class musical programs • Students have the opportunity to participate, achieve and excel in multiple sports and co-curricular activities.

Scholarships Available

Through the Georgia GOAL (Greater Opportunities for Access to Learning) Scholarship program, we can offer partial scholarships to Georgia residents currently enrolled in a Georgia public school (K-9) who wish to attend Bulloch Academy.

873 Westside Road • Statesboro, Georgia • (912) 764-6297 www.bullochacademy.com

REGISTER NOW for 2015-16 School Year July/August 2015 • 27

28 • Statesboro Magazine

B ulloch A cademy 873 Westside Road | Statesboro | 912.764.6297 www.bullochacademy.com

The Area’s Premier Educational Institution Dual Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SACS/SAIS); Accredited “with quality”

by Georgia Accrediting Commission. All faculty members are fully certified or in the process of certification through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission; 15 have advanced degrees; 27 have 10 or more years of teaching experience.

Small-school atmosphere

Students in lower, middle and upper school interact frequently, which fosters family atmosphere among all students and faculty members • International Student Program to promote global diversity *Partnership with Oe Dae Language School in Seoul, South Korea for English Language Infusion Program School-wide mentoring programs • Schoolwide assemblies and pep rallies • Parent volunteerism encouraged • Annual class trips and numerous field trips • Class musical programs • Students have the opportunity to participate, achieve and excel in multiple sports and co-curricular activities.

REGISTER NOW for 2015-16 School Year July/August 2015 • 29

GISA 2015 State Wrestling Champs Bulloch Academy

30 • Statesboro Magazine

GISA 2015 State Wrestling Champs Bulloch Academy

GISA 2015 State Wrestling Champs Bulloch Academy

I

Written by Jenny Starling Foss Photography by Marsha Hagan It was deja vu all over again this spring when Bulloch Academy walked away with the GISA 2015 AAA State Wrestling Tournament Championship for the second time in four years. With an overall point score of 253, Bulloch Academy was 90 points ahead of long-time rival Westfield of Perry, GA. It was a win the team had been preparing for since the 2014 Championship, when just 5.5 points separated BA and Westfield, last year’s winners. The Gators have been narrowly missing the championship since the 2012 State Wrestling Tournament, when for the first time the team brought home the coveted state title by defeating the Westfield Hornets 281 – 208.

Since Head Coach Andy Tomlin started working with the BA Wrestling team in 2005, he’s had his eye on winning championships with a simple approach – wear out the opponent.

“We train our players harder, and make them train longer, than most schools,” Tomlin said. “We use weight lifting and conditioning to get our players into top form, along with training for endurance and stamina.” Tomlin believes the best players have great balance, strength, and endurance, plus the mental strength to im-

pose their will without being afraid to hurt the feelings of the opponent.

When the program first started in 2005, the young men trained in the old West Building Supply building in downtown Statesboro. “There was no heat. Don Lanier and DeWayne Conner used to bring propane heaters in for us. It was a very humbling experience. We moved from there to the lunchroom here at BA.” Accepting the head coach position in 2007, Tomlin brought with him plenty of wrestling experience. He was a three-time state placer in high school at South Gwinnett in Snellville, GA.

After high school, Tomlin attended Georgia Southern and played football on the defensive line for one year under Coach Mike Sewak. He was going to move back to the Atlanta area after being sidelined, but instead, “I fell in love with the kids and the school,” he said. He was hired at 20-yearsold by BA Athletic Director Clint Morgan.

Four years ago, Tomlin and Morgan hired an assistant wrestling coach, Kevin Ulmer, 2009 Individual State Champion in the 119 weight class from Effingham County.

“We wanted to give kids a different option for winter other than basketball. We July/August 2015 • 31

GISA 2015 State Wrestling Champs Bulloch Academy

didn’t want our athletes sitting around.

There’s a small number on the court with basketball. We have 14 different weight classes to compete in with wrestling,” Tomlin said.

Children at the school can start training as early as fifth grade. “Our feeder program and our work ethic is our key to success,” Tomlin related.

“We also are blessed to have people here buy into our program,” he stated. “We have excellent family support. Our squad had an entourage bigger than the Atlanta schools! When we had matches in the Georgia Dome, our BA families, alumni, and fans filled half the dome. Every time a kid scored, the crowd erupted. That’s part of the whole culture here, it keeps the kids engaged.”

32 • Statesboro Magazine

Tomlin also coaches middle school football, a second assignment that keeps his schedule full. “Most of the kids here play more than one sport. Our athletes mostly play football or run cross country,” he said.

But wrestling is like no other sport according to Tomlin, “In wrestling there are no team mates. Coaches can only teach you so much, then you are out there by yourself with the other guy.”

In addition to the challenges of out-performing themselves with each match, the wrestlers must also manage their weight to stay in a specific weight class. “The parents are used to us calling them to check on the kids,” Tomlin related.

The wrestlers must be weighed in before each match to meet qualifications for their class which can be a daunting thing to

manage with growing teenage boys. “They can grow a foot in one year!” Tomlin said.

An obstacle to player recruitment centers on the uniform. “It’s called a singlet,” said Tomlin. “It’s a one-piece wrestling uniform that takes confidence to wear. That can be one of the biggest challenges for the younger kids. They don’t like the singlet.”

In addition to the singlet, competitors must wear a helmet. After that, it’s all technique, strength, and endurance.

In training, the kids wrestle with each other: heavier vs. faster, lighter vs. heavier, to increase strength and perfect technique.

Sometimes the coaches wrestle the kids, but that form of training can have its drawbacks. “I’ve only been beaten once by a student,” Ulmer said. “And he was a threetime state champion.”

GISA 2015 State Wrestling Champs Bulloch Academy

2015 Individual Winners

2012 Individual Winners

106 lb weight class – Kyle Samuels (State Champion)

Class Name Place 106 Justin Lane 3rd 113 Joshua Bohannon 5th 120 Mitchell Ball 5th 126 Dan Hendrix Champion 132 John Gowan 3rd 138 Harrison Averitt 4th 145 Eddie Howard 4th 152 Dillan Finch 2nd 160 Dylan Stuckey 3rd 170 Caleb Bohannon Champion 182 Asa Johnson 2nd 195 Codi Johnson Champion 285 Connor Fordham 6th

126 lb weight class – Billy Tillman (State Champion) 132 lb weight class – Justin Lane (State Champion) 138 lb weight class – Josh Bohannon (2nd) 145 lb weight class – Drew Salter (3rd) 152 lb weight class – Skyler Shuman (3rd) 160 lb weight class – Jake Hagan (4th) 170 lb weight class – Garrett Williams (2nd) 182 lb weight class – Dylan Stuckey (State Champion) 195 lb weight class – Seth Conner (4th) 220 lb weight class – Tyce Lovett (State Champion) 285 lb weight class – G.C. Kimbrell (State Champion)

Tomlin and Ulmer especially enjoy the success of those boys who started early without many signs of promise. “Asa Johnson came into the program in sixth grade.

He had two left feet, no good balance, and wasn’t very strong,” said Tomlin. “But we got him early. He won five matches in three years. In 2013, the year he graduated, he was state champion in his class. Watching

a kid that wasn’t necessarily a natural, who had the determination, grit, and heart to make if from the bottom to state champion is very rewarding. Not to mention how much he added to our success.”

Motivation is also a factor for the coaches. “We keep posters of Individual State Champions in the wrestling room,” Tomlin shared. It’s a new $300,000 facility that BA

alumni and parents have invested in for the program.

It’s been a lot of hard work, but a lot of good times with the kids,” said Tomlin.

“We couldn’t have done it without the BA family overall. It’s been almost a decade of working together,” he said. “That parental support is what sets us apart from all other schools both public and private.” S July/August 2015 • 33

happy kids are healthy kids.

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We are located next to Ogeechee Area Hospice at: 400 East Grady St., Statesboro, GA 30458 912.871.5437 (KIDS) Visit us online at mamadocpediatrics.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/MamaDocPediatrics

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PROFESSIONAL EYE CARE Dr. Horace Deal | Dr. Kyle Varnadoe 214 Savannah Avenue | Statesboro, GA 30458 912-764-5609 | www.visionsource-drdeal.com *Eye exam may be required before lens trial. Professional fees for eye exam may apply. One pair of non-corrective AIR OPTIX® COLORS contact lenses for wear in-office only. Offer available at participating offices.

Important information for AIR OPTIX® COLORS (lotrafilcon B) contact lenses: For daily wear only for near/far-sightedness. Contact lenses, even if worn for cosmetic reasons, are prescription medical devices that must only be worn under the prescription, direction, and supervision of an eye care professional. Serious eye health problems may occur as a result of sharing contact lenses. Although rare, serious eye problems can develop while wearing contact lenses. Side effects like discomfort, mild burning or stinging may occur. To help avoid these problems, follow the wear and replacement schedule and the lens care instructions provided by your eye doctor.

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FOCUS 2015-2016 Annual Report Pr e p ar i n g s t u d e n t s t o f i n d success & enhancing community value

Leadership Superintendent of Schools

Bulloch County Board of Education

Charles G. Wilson, Jr., CPA, MBA Superintendent of Schools cwilson@bullochschools.org Administrative Assistant: Mary Henley mhenley@bullochschools.org 912.212.8500

Pictured Standing (L-R): Jimmy “Jay” Cook, Steve Hein, Cheri Wagner, Glennera Martin. Seated (L-R): Dr. LeVon Wilson, Mike Sparks, Maurice Hill, Mike Herndon.

District 1

District 2

Cheri Wagner

Mike Sparks, Vice Chairman

912.852.3495 (H) clwag68@yahoo.com

Augmented Reality brought to you by Statesboro Magazi ne

912.842.2460 (H) msparks@bullochschools.org

District 3

District 4

Dr. LeVon Wilson, Chairman

Steve Hein

912.489.6688 (H) lwilson@bullochschools.org

912.478.0831 (W) 912.764.4395 (H) shein@georgiasouthern.edu

District 5

District 6

Glennera Martin

Jimmy “Jay” Cook

912-764-3291 (H) gmartinsugarhill@yahoo.com

912-489-3137 (H) jlcook64@gmail.com

District 7

District 8

Mike Herndon

Maurice Hill

912.681.4619( W)

912.839.3917 (H) statesboroagency@gmail.com

912.764.7134(W&H) hillmaurice@yahoo.com

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Success & Community Value Resource Optimization Stakeholder & Community Support College & Career Readiness “Preparing students to find success & enhancing community value”

School System Brief

2

2014

2015

Student Enrollment Graduation Rate (Cohort) Per Pupil Expenditures (FTE)

10,044 71.7% $7,423.38

10,192 75.1% $7,651.70

% Change + 1.5% + 3.4% + 3.0%

Superintendent’s Message Ensuring student success & enhancing community value I am entering my fourth year as the superintendent of Bulloch County Schools, and I am excited for what our community, administrators and teacher leaders are accomplishing. For the first time in the school system’s history, we have alignment of our district’s overall strategic plan, our schools’ improvement plans and each Central Office department’s plans. We are all on the same page from the Board room to the classroom.

This is critical as we become a Strategic Waiver System and enter into a new academic performance contract with the Georgia Department of Education.

College & Career Readiness We are focused on finding the best workforce development model to match community assets with K-12 instruction. We are doing this through the Pathways to Prosperity Network (P2P). As one of only two communities selected by the state to work with the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Jobs for the Future’s P2P program, we are evaluating our academic and career offerings and listening to local businesses, industry and post-secondary institutions. This is helping us develop community-driven, systems-type solutions that will help re-engineer our PreK-12 education experiences for students, experiences that allow every student to have opportunities based upon their interests and abilities.

Stakeholder & Community Support I am an advocate for establishing an effective education pipeline where there is open, continuous dialogue between grade levels, schools, parents, administrators, post-secondary partners and business and industry leaders. Through our multiple community engagement events, you have told us what you feel is going right, and how we can improve. As a Strategic Waiver School System, we believe we will have the flexibility to significantly increase community involvement, spur innovation and increase collaboration. We will continue to work with the community to decide how to best use what we have to do what is best for students.

Optimization of Resources We are ensuring that our leadership teams are effectively trained and empowered to carry out our strategic plan. Nearly 300 Board of Education members, central office and school administrators, and teacher leaders have completed the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement’s Base Camp and Leadership Summit. The school system has also developed its own program, Aspiring Leaders, to better develop teachers and assistant principals for future leadership roles.

Our school system is known at the state and national level for having sound financial management. For 2015-16, the Board of Education, through utilizing our general fund and fund balance is restoring to schools funds equal to the amount of the austerity reduction that the state is still withholding from our school system. By doing this, our school leadership teams will now have additional funding to address personnel and other support-related needs to affect student learning as they see fit.

Thank You for Your Commitment to K-12 Education Congratulations to all who are committed to doing their part to guide us well. This is what leadership is about. Keep up the great work.

Charles G. Wilson, Jr. Superintendent of Schools

General Fund

2015 2016 (budgeted) (projected)

Total Revenue Total Expenditures

$74.5 million $74.6 million

$74.4 million $83.2 millon

3

Student Success & Community Value

4

College & Career Readiness

pathways to prosperity

Success & Community Value

Our community and region are rich in business, industry, post-secondary, military and fine arts resources. For this reason, one of our strategic objectives is to provide all students with relevant, real-world learning experiences that prepare them for opportunities within these areas. We are focused on finding the best model to match resources with K-12 instruction.

One such model is Pathways to Prosperity (P2P), a program led by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Jobs for the Future. Bulloch County is one of only two communities selected by the Georgia Department of Education to work with P2P to develop a statewide model for workforce development.

P2P is currently helping local leaders develop a community-based education and work-readiness system for grades 9 through 14, which leverages our high school programs and resources, to align our students’ opportunities with regional and state labor market needs.

According to P2P’s Asset Report for Bulloch County, the community is well positioned for success. Bulloch County Schools is in the process of designing what the learning experiences should be so that every student has opportunities based upon their interests and abilities.

As part of this process, the P2P team and Bulloch County Schools have accomplished the following: • Conducted an asset mapping to identify the community’s strengths, gaps, opportunities and challenges.

• Met with focus groups of elected officials, post-secondary, business, industry, K-12 faculty and administrators and school counselors.

• Presented P2P’s Asset Mapping Report for Bulloch County to local elected officials, business and industry leaders, post-secondary leaders, key community organizations and school officials.

• Met with the Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce’s Education & Workforce Development Committee and Business & Large Industry Committee to discuss collaboration.

• Superintendent and board of education members have participated in several key state and national meetings and learning opportunities within the P2P Network.

Resource Optimization Stakeholder & Community Support College & Career Readiness “Preparing students to find success & enhancing community value”

Bulloch County Schools is partnering with the Pathways to Prosperity Network to develop a community-based education and workreadiness system for grades 9 through 14

More about Pathways to Prosperity - www.bulloch.k12.ga.us/p2pbulloch 5

Student Success & Community Value We want to do everything we can to help students develop a vision for their futures.

Success & Community Value

Resource Optimization Stakeholder & Community Support College & Career Readiness “Preparing students to find success & enhancing community value” The Statesboro High STEM Career Fair gives students a way to learn about STEM careers from area industry, military & post-secondary leaders.

6

SEB High’s Health Sciences Program received industry recertification.

The Averitt Center partnered with Portal Middle High – national lyrical geometry artist George Snyder worked with students & displayed their work in the Averitt’s gallery.

SEB High’s Advanced Chorus sang at Carnegie Hall & received superior-plus ratings in Choirs of America Nationals.

College & Career Readiness

Post-Secondary & Work Place Partnerships

Guidance Counseling is critical to preparing students for success. Bulloch County Schools provides age-appropriate career readiness activities and counseling for kindergarten through twelfth-grade students.

Mechatronics is a new certificate program for eleventh- and twelfth- grade students.

Housed at Statesboro High and taught by Ogeechee Technical College instructors, it is a dual enrollment program in which students earn both high school elective and college credits. The program seeks to prepare students for employment in industrial maintenance and manufacturing careers. After graduating from high school, participants, who complete the program, can continue their studies within the Mechatronics Program at OTC and also bridge with Georgia Southern University to eventually earn a bachelor’s degree in Applied Manufacturing and Engineering.

Career Agricultural & Technical Education Pathways (CTAE) – Bulloch County Schools has 18 CTAE career pathways offered across our high schools. Students are able to explore their interests and use advanced applications as they take courses in their chosen pathway. As students gain technical skills, they also connect the relevance of the academic skills imbedded in their CTAE coursework through real-world scenarios and lab settings.

The CTAE program partners with area businesses, Ogeechee Technical College, and the Georgia Department of Labor to ensure the relevance of instruction to the workforce.

Work Based Learning is an extension of our career-related education experiences within our CTAE program. Students in

SEB High’s Advanced Chorus was selected to showcase the best of GA’s choral music at the 2015 GMEA Conference.

eleventh or twelfth grade, who are at least 16 years of age and have a defined CTAE pathway, can participate and be placed in the work sites of local partners. Work-based learning coordinators at our high schools are available to assist local businesses that wish to establish opportunities that are relevant to our students’ career coursework or interests.

REACH Georgia is a needs-based mentoring and scholarship program designed to ensure that the state’s academically promising eighth-grade students have the academic, social, and financial support needed to graduate from high school and complete college. Bulloch County Schools has been a pilot district for this program since 2013, and chooses five students annually. With the financial support of REACH Georgia, the Georgia Student Finance Corporation, the Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education, and matching funds from local and statewide post-secondary partners, Bulloch County Schools has named 10 REACH scholars to date. They each have $20,000 waiting for them when they graduate from high school and maintain the program’s qualifications.

Bulloch County Schools faculty advisors begin working with students in the sixth grade to establish a GAcollege411 account and explore its resources, such as career planning, applications, tracking their high school progress, online test preparation courses, researching careers, developing an online portfolio and resume, and scholarship and financial aid information.

More Opportunities - For more information on opportunities like dual enrollment, Move on When Ready, articulated credit, Early College, Gateway to College, residential programs, or joint enrollment, are available from our school guidance counselors or the Bulloch County Schools Student Handbook.

Georgia Apply to College (GAC) – November is Georgia Apply to College Month.

Our high schools host annual GAC events for graduating seniors. Staffed with school counselors, college admissions and recruitment coordinators, educators and community volunteers, these events provide students a helpful, hands-on environment to apply online to college. Many Georgia colleges and universities waive admissions fees during GAC month.

GAcollege411 is a one-stop website for students to plan, apply and pay for college. In

Our middle & high school choruses had 15 students selected for the GA Music Educators Assoc.’s AllState Chorus, 12 were from SEB High.

Two Southeast Bulloch FFA seniors were part of only 48 students in state to receive national FFA scholarships.

SHS Environmental Science students constructed & stocked The Duck Pond, an on-campus outdoor classroom.

7

Student Success & Community Value

“Showing kids the importance of education leads to success at school.”

Parker’s has donated $6,000 to Bulloch County Schools through its Fueling the Community program.

8

The Kiwanis Club contributes grant funds & volunteers for Special Olympics & parent involvement events.

The Exchange Club publishes our school calendar, erects Freedom Shrines in our schools, & provides scholarships to seniors.

14 churches & organizations supply weekend food supplies to more than 400 of our students each week through the Backpack Buddies program.

The Statesboro Regional Library, The Ferst Foundation, and the Altrusa Club provide books to students.

Community Collaboration Local Parent Plays Major Role in Public Education

Success & Community Value

Resource Optimization Stakeholder & Community Support College & Career Readiness “Preparing students to find success & enhancing community value” The Averitt Center for the Arts collaborates with our schools through Art After Hours, student matinées, artists in residence, and monthly Youth Art Gallery exhibits.

The Statesboro/ Bulloch Recreation Department provides afterschool centers in our elementary schools.

Katie Olsen, the mother of two children who attend Bulloch County schools, takes seriously the Georgia Department of Education’s call for parents to play a role in their child’s education. Having served in multiple leadership and volunteer roles at her children’s schools, she accepted an appointment to the state superintendent of school’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC).

Nominated by Bulloch County Schools Parent Involvement Coordinator Leslie Wiggins, Olsen serves with 35 other parents from across the state. She and her fellow council members met with former State Superintendent John Barge and later his successor, Richard Woods, to discuss education issues in Georgia. Their primary focus is to increase parent and family engagement to ensure student success, particularly in Georgia’s Title I schools.

The superintendent’s PAC shares the information they learn with community members, other families and schools. They also serve as advisors and ambassadors for increased parent engagement in their respective communities.

Olsen was also tasked to work on a Council sub-committee to address ways to increase parent involvement at the high school level. “Having confidence in and a close connection to our children’s schools is an integral part of our family’s life,” Olsen said. “Showing kids the importance of education leads to success at school.”

Even though her children, David and Olivia, are now rising to tenth and seventh grade and are more independent, Olsen still understands the impact that her presence has on the success of both her children and their schools.

Through the years she has been a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) president, a school council member, and a volunteer at classroom and school events. She also serves on the district’s Community Engagement Committee, which most recently oversaw a project to gather input from more than 700 members of the community to help the school system develop a comprehensive strategic plan.

“Regardless of their education levels or time commitments, parents can be involved at some level and have a huge impact on their child’s success at school.”

Want to be involved?

Contact us today!

Lakeidra Grant

Leslie Wiggins

Maria Rea

LCES, LCMS, SZES

JPBES, MLES,WJMS

All Schools - Migrant/ESOL

912-682-1570

912-682-9894

912-682-9019

ljgrant@bullochschools.org

lwiggins@bullochschools.org

mrea@bullochschools.org

Sherry Jordan

Joyce Simmons

BES, NES, SES, SEBMS

MCES, PES, PMHS

912-618-0287

912-618-0353

sjordan@bullochschools.org

jsimmons@bullochschools.org

9

Student Success & Community Value

Aspiring Leaders Cohort One: Yvette Ledford - BES; Lawanda Allen, Akeen Grant, Marty Holder, Matt Kuykendell and Travis Brooks – LCMS; Cabrala Awala, John McAfee, Derek Noel and Amanda Cain - LCES; Meghan Simonin -MLES; Leigh Baker -SES; Joe Bettinger, Jennifer Motes-Yates - PMHS; Kent Brannen - SEBHS; Jennifer Sherrod -SEBMS; Lee Bratton, Jake Collins, Joe Depenhart, Shannon Hinson, Tanita McDowell, Tracy Mills, Chad Prosser – SHS; Scott Chapman -WJMS; Jennifer Wade - Central Office.

It is one of our goals to establish a leadership program specific to the performance culture we are developing in Bulloch County.

10

Resource Optimization

Attracting, Retaining, & Promoting Effective Employees

the core values we expect of our employees and students Reflective - Knows purpose of oneself, the organization, and actions one takes Relational - Builds relationships with others through integrity, compassion, and respectful communication Purposeful - Sees what needs to be done and pursues it through relevant solutions development Resourceful - Develops innovative solutions, regardless of challenges and constraints, through creativity, data analysis, and teamwork Courageous - Grit; Determination to do what it takes in pursuit of solutions and make necessary changes Accountable - Self-monitors and takes responsibility for one’s decisions and actions

Success & Community Value

Resource Optimization Stakeholder & Community Support College & Career Readiness “Preparing students to find success & enhancing community value”

Aspiring Leaders Teachers and principals are influential in the lives of children and their success. For this reason, Bulloch County Schools invests in professional development opportunities for our employees to ensure that they are effectively trained and empowered to perform their tasks each day. Through a new local program, Aspiring Leaders, we are also focusing on growing leaders that will continue to support the success of our children in the future.

The Aspiring Leaders program is specifically designed for assistant principals and teacher leaders who want to fill leadership positions in the district. It creates a pool of future leaders who have both a strong sense of the school district’s essentials of leadership and the professional skills and competencies to be effective.

The 11-month, nine-session course teaches participants about instructional leadership, organizational management, planning and assessment, communication and community relations, professionalism and school climate. The coursework culminates in a capstone project that requires participants to do independent research on a question or problem applicable to their school or the district. Participants are awarded five professional learning units (PLUs) upon completion of all course requirements.

Candidates for the program are required to meet one of the following requirements prior to applying for the program: (1) Hold an up-to-date Georgia Professional Standards Commission leadership certificate; (2) Be willing to enroll in a university leadership development program that will lead to L-5, L-6 or L-7 leadership certification; or (3)Hold a district-recognized leadership position.

Candidates must then submit an application and participate in a face-to-face interview with a panel of district leaders.

Taught by instructors from the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI), the first cohort of Aspiring Leaders began meeting in March 2015. The group includes 25 teachers and assistant principals, who were selected from 35 employee applicants. While completion of this program is not a guarantee of future leadership positions, it is certainly an opportunity to grow as a leader.

GLISI is a key partner with the school system in helping develop a performance culture. Nearly 300 of the school system’s Board members, central office and school administrators, and teacher leaders have participated in GLISI’s Base Camp and Leadership Summit. The Aspiring Leaders program provides a local, more in-depth opportunity for employees to continue to grow as leaders.

11

Student Success & Community Value These are additional resource optimization initiatives that are underway to support the school system’s strategic plan.

Facilities Committee – The school system engaged school administrators and the community in a four-month process to identify and prioritize a list of facilities projects for the Board to invest the district’s special local option sales tax funds. By law these funds can only be used for capital projects.

The 35-member committee is made up of two Board members, three central office administrators, and an employee and community representative nominated by each principal. Principals completed a facility needs questionnaire for their schools. The school system’s chief operations officer compiled the list of needs, addressed any that were maintenance-related, and then presented a list of 35 potential capital projects to the committee.

Each school team made a presentation to the group about their projects.

The committee visited each proposed project during a half-day bus tour.

With information gained from the presentation and the tour, committee members then completed a rubric for each project request. The results were ranked, and the committee met to review and discuss the rankings. The projects were then categorized into three phases. The projects listed in phase one are now underway.

School Safety Audits – Representatives from the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency have helped the school system conduct a safety audit of each school and recommended needed upgrades. These safety upgrades are now in progress.

Farm to Table Program – Our School Nutrition Program is integrating more locally grown foods into our schools and encouraging edible school gardens. As part of the Farm-to-Table initiative we are currently buying grain, produce and dairy products from local farmers and have additional meetings established to see how we can incorporate even more local foods into our lunchrooms.

Success & Community Value Resource Optimization Stakeholder & Community Support College & Career Readiness “Preparing students to find success & enhancing community value”

Statesboro High Ag students have established an edible container garden to grow produce & herbs for their school’s cafeteria, culinary arts classes and pre-k program.

12

Bulloch County Schools will begin providing free breakfast for all students in August 2015.

In one of their two greenhouses, Portal Middle High School Horticulture students supplied their school & Portal Elementary with two varieties of lettuce this year using aquaponics.

Resource Optimization General Fund Highlights ($ Millions) Fiscal year

QBE Revenues

Property Tax Revenues

Local Option Sales Tax Revenues

Total Revenues

Total Expenditures

Cost Cuts -

FY ‘08

$44.2

$15.4

$10.8

$73.5

$73.0

FY ‘09

$43.3

$16.3

$10.2

$71.3

$71.3

FY ‘10

$37.9

$16.4

$9.7

$70.1

$68.6

FY ‘11

$41.4

$17.3

$10.0

$72.8

FY ‘12

$40.2

$17.1

$10.4

FY ‘13

$39.5

$16.6

FY ‘14

$38.4

FY ‘15 (To Date) FY ‘16 (Projected)

Revenues over/(under) Expenditures

Ending Fund Balance

Furlough Days (salary reduction)

Employee Positions Attritioned

$.6

$11.9

-

-

$(0.1)

$11.8

-

-

$1.5

$1.6

$13.4

6 ($1,350,000)

21

$66.3

$5.0

$6.5

$19.8

3 ($675,000)

38

$69.1

$68.9

$2.0

$.2

$20.1

2 ($461,600)

26.5

$9.6

$68.8

$69.0

$2.8

$.2

$19.9

5 ($1,169,200)

11.5

$16.5

$9.9

$68.5

$70.7

$0

$(2.2)

$17.7

2 ($470,000)

-

44.0

$17.2

$10.2

$74.5

$74.6

$0

$(.1)

$17.6

0

0

$46.0

$17.4

$10.9

$77.4

$83.2

$0

$(5.7)

$13.3

0

0

$4,125,800

97

TOTAL

$11.3

fISCAL yEAR 2016 bUDGET Central Support Services $1,694,270

FAST FACTS ABOUT BULLOCH COUNTY SCHOOLS

Student Transportation Services $6,131,545

Elementary Schools ...................................... 9 Middle Schools..............................................3 High Schools..................................................3 Middle/High Schools.......................................1 Alternative Schools.........................................1

Other Support Services $190,188

Maintenance & Operations $7,179,348 Business Administration $795,632

African-American.......................................39% Caucasion.................................................53% Hispanic..................................................6.0% Asian/American Indian/Alaskan..................2.0% Per pupil expenditure....................... $7,651.70

#Free / Reduced Meals...................5,752 / 676 # Title 1 Schools..........................................13 #Focus Schools (CCRPI)..................................2

School Administration $5,356,154 General Administration $439,448 Pupil Services $3,221,458

Instruction $53,066,595

#Reward Schools (CCRPI)...............................2 # 2014 Graduates......................................612

13

Bulloch County Schools Report Card College & Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) The College & Career Readiness Performance Index is Georgia’s new comprehensive school accountability tool that replaced Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2012. In that year, the U.S. Department of Education granted Georgia and nine other states a waiver from certain federal mandates within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known

as “No Child Left Behind Act.” This new performance tool requires schools and their school systems to meet even greater expectations and measurements such as school climate surveys that give faculty, students and parents a voice in grading their school’s climate. The overall CCRPI score for each year is based on a 100-point scale.

Climate Star Rating (out of 5 stars)

Success & Community Value ELEMENTARY

County

BES

JPB

LCES

MLES

MCES

NES

BES

4

JPBES

4

LCES

4

LCMS

3

MLES

3

MCES

3

NES

3

PES

3

PMHS

4

SZES

4

SEBMS

3

SEBHS

3

SHS

3

SES

3

WJMS

2

PES

SZES

SES

Achievement Points (of 60)

-

54.3

49.4

39.1

40.8

45.1

47.9

49.3

45.8

48.1

Progress Points (of 25)

-

14.1

17.8

15.2

12.7

14.8

15.4

14.4

14.4

11.9

Achievement Gap Points (of 15)

-

10

8

1

2

4

7

3

2

6

Challenge Points (of 10)

-

5.4

.5

1.8

.5

2.8

3.2

5.5

.6

3.1

2014 CCRPI Score

66.8

83.8

75.7

57.1

56

66.7

73.5

72.2

62.8

69.1

2013 CCRPI Score

74.7

89.5

78.4

64.4

63.2

81.2

78.1

80.0

81.3

69.0

2012 CCRPI Score

70.4

79

65.9

61.1

57.8

70.1

78

81.2

64.4

74.2

State Elementary CCRPI Score MIDDLE SCHOOLS

72.7 County

LCMS

PMS

SEBMS

WJMS

HIGH SCHOOLS

County

SHS

PHS

SEBHS

Achievement Points (of 60)

-

45.6

49.6

52.2

50.5

Achievement Points (of 60)

-

40.3

43.7

44.9

Progress Points (of 25)

-

15.6

16.4

16.4

15.8

Progress Points (of 25)

-

14.6

18.1

14.9

Achievement Gap Points (of 15)

-

9

8

10.0

3

Achievement Gap Points (of 15)

-

6.3

7.5

7.5

Challenge Points (of 10)

-

1.5

4.6

3.3

0

Challenge Points (of 10)

-

1.7

5.9

3.3

2014 CCRPI Score

72.9

71.6

78.6

81.9

71.3

2014 CCRPI Score

67.3

63.1

75.2

70.6

2013 CCRPI Score

75.4

70.5

76.2

78.1

77.8

2013 CCRPI Score

74.7

71.7

77.5

75.6

2012 CCRPI Score

84.8

83.8

85.9

86.9

84.1

2012 CCRPI Score

70.1

68.2

74.0

75.0

State Middle School CCRPI Score

73.8

State High School CCRPI Score

68.4

To See Bulloch County Schools’ performance on all state and national assessments, visit www.bulloch.k12.ga.us/testing 14

Beyond Measure

Recognizing Employee Success

The impact that educators in Bulloch County have on the lives of children is beyond measure. Sea Island Bank asked middle school students to write about their teachers as part of an American Education Week project. They received more than 400 touching essays.

Nigel Washington, a seventh-grader at Langston Chapel Middle School, wrote the winning essay about his sixth-grade math teacher, Joni Chavers. The opening line of his essay states, “ How do you know when a teacher is no longer just a teacher, but somehow, in their time spent with you, has earned a place as someone who shapes the way you think, act and see the world around you.”

Bulloch County Schools’ teachers and support personnel help fulfill our mission of preparing students to find success and enhancing the community’s value. We measure that success in many ways, but none is more important than how we positively affect a child’s life. To all of our employees past and present, thank you for what you do for our community.

For more student quotes about their teachers, visit www.bulloch.k12.ga.us/beyondmeasure.

Linda Fix 2016 Bulloch County Teacher of the Year Linda Fix is an English teacher at Southeast Bulloch High School, where she has taught American, English and World Literature for 14 years. She holds bachelor’s, master’s and specialist’s degrees in Secondary English from Georgia Southern University.

Even before she could read them, books fascinated Fix. Once she learned to read, her love affair with the written word caught fire and fueled her through the tumultuous years of high school and beyond. She did not begin college until she was 26, but once she enrolled, she always knew that she would become a high school English teacher.

Fix strives to live up to the example set by Mrs. Williford, her eleventh-grade American Literature teacher. “I want to be able to guide young people to more than an understanding of how to write well and how to read deeply. I hope to help them feel the importance of great literature, to see themselves in the varying forms they are and that they can be, just as Mrs. Williford did for me.”

2014-15 Bulloch County Schools Retirees This year’s retirees have served our community a total of 919 years.

Jan Bowen Emily Cordell Donna Price Joy Waters Barbara Lanier Deborah Waters Mary Ann Shaw Gloria Anderson Deborah Sarratt Maria Costley John Moseley

Suzanne Watkins Rita Woods Linda Brown Donna Howard Carol Case Freddie Clifton Joanne Newland Jeanne Crews Susan Olliff Charles Yeater Lynn Groover

Michelle Griffin Bunyan Morris Scott Schofill Ernestine Williams Betty Brannen Arlene Hendley JoAnne Collins Tammie Dickens Sandra Kirkland Diane Peabody

2016 School-Level Teachers of the Year Raina Mallard Annie L. Cody Jennifer Thigpen Joni Chavers Shelly Driggers Rachel Beasley Valerie L. Woodrum Jessica Oglesby Mary Coleman Susie Frawley Jennifer Sherrod Ashley Crosby Leigh Baker Amy Smith

Brooklet Elementary School Julia P. Bryant Elementary School Langston Chapel Elementary School Langston Chapel Middle School Mattie Lively Elementary School Mill Creek Elementary School Nevils Elementary School Portal Elementary School Portal Middle High School Sallie Zetterower Elementary School Southeast Bulloch Middle School Statesboro High School Stilson Elementary School William James Middle School

2015 Transportation Honors Bulloch Co. Road-e-o Winner Gil Riggs Bulloch Co. Range Test 500+ Point Scorers Helen Chance, Gil Riggs, Frances Butler, Tom Marshall Drivers/Monitor/Service Technician of the Year Director’s Cup Paula Buckles (Team Brooklet) Monitor of the Year Barbara Black Service Technician of the Year Stephen Peavy Team Stilson Betty Mikell Team Portal Sara Williams Team Mill Creek Beautine Smith Team Langston Chapel Tanya Newman Team Julia P. Bryant Lori Deal Team Brooklet Paula Buckles Team Nevils Daniel Moody Team Mattie Lively Ernest Harris Team Sallie Zetterower Mattie Harris Team Special Education Arthur Kimble Mattie Brinson (25) and JoAnn Collins (40) Years of Service

15

Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education Since its creation in 2006, the Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education has funded nearly 200 innovative projects for our teachers with grants totaling more than $150,000.

Recipient of the Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals’ Patron and Distinguished Patron awards for 2014.

Your tax-deductible contributions help support student success

The Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education provides a way for individuals, businesses, industry and civic organizations another way to invest in our community’s public education. Each year the Foundation awards $20,000 in grants to teachers to fund innovative academic experiences which benefit all students in Bulloch County Schools and even local charter, private and home-schooled students.

Recent grants have provided academic competitions for students to showcase and apply their skills and supplemental technology for improved interactive learning.

We have funded aquaponics food towers that allow students to grow produce for school cafeterias and outdoor classrooms for environmental science research, like The Duck Pond at Statesboro High School. We also recognize the excellence of educators by annually presenting the Bulloch County Teacher of the Year with $1,000.

The Foundation sponsors Bulloch County Schools’ participation in Governor Nathan Deal’s REACH Georgia Scholarship Program with a $7,500 annual contribution. REACH Georgia is a needs-based mentoring and scholarship program designed to ensure that the state’s academically promising eight-grade students have the academic, social, and financial support needed to graduate from high school and complete college. Since 2013, the Foundation has contributed $15,000 to the college funds of 10 Bulloch County REACH Scholars.

The Foundation is supported by generous donations from businesses, educators, and the public. The Foundation also hosts the Turkey Trot each November and other fundraising events throughout the year. Please consider joining our efforts today with a tax-deductible contribution. To learn more, contact 912.212.8530.

150 Williams Road, Suite A | Statesboro, GA 30458 T: 912.212.8500 | F: 912.212.8529 www.bulloch.k12.ga.us | boe@bullochschools.org

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52 • Statesboro Magazine

In A League of Their Own

In A League of Their Own

Written by Jenny Starling Foss Photography by Frank Fortune

I

It had to be 95° plus in the old William James gym on Tuesday afternoon when the Monday Basketball League met to play as they have been doing twice a week for more years than most members can count. This is no casual pick-up game of horse or street basketball for the well-seasoned team. As soon as the ball hits the hardwood court, the courtesies and pleasant exchanges that mark the lifelong friendships of the players are set aside for the constant ribbing and hustle of serious competitors.

The game starts as soon as there are enough players, with others joining in as they arrive shortly after work. It’s exceptional to see an over-50 aged group of men running, jumping, blocking, and sinking baskets like a group of neighborhood kids. It’s extraordinary that the group has been playing every week continuously for almost 50 years.

July/August 2015 • 53

In A League of Their Own

The Monday Basketball League (MBL) was originally formed in 1965 when local real estate broker Robert Tanner, then a recent graduate of Georgia Southern, started playing basketball with a group of friends at the old Georgia Southern gym near Marvin Pittman.

“We were buddies who always enjoyed playing ball. We all played in the Rec Department’s Men’s City League and Church League,” Tanner said. “We started playing every week on Monday nights as a way to get together and to exercise. We played full 54 • Statesboro Magazine

court for a while, but found that we had too many loafers, so we went to half court. In half-court there is more action – it never stops.”

Founding team members include locals Tanner, Bobby Underwood, Marcus Seligman, Steve House, Ronnie Pope, Roy Woodard, and former Georgia Southern basketball standout Don Adler. Adler still holds Georgia Southern’s overall singlegame assist record of 23 against Jacksonville in 1964 when the Eagles played at the NAIA level. Of the original team, only Ron-

nie Pope remains an active player at 71.

“We got tired of playing skins early on and I had jerseys created for the MBL, but nobody wanted to wear them,” Tanner said.

He kept one of the jerseys from the 1960s as a souvenir. The team did wear the jerseys one time, when a visiting lady’s basketball team didn’t make it to play at Georgia Southern and the MBL played the Lady Eagles at Hanner. “They beat the stew out of us,” Tanner said.

In 1969, the MBL moved to the old Grady Street gym, which became their

In A League of Their Own

home court for three decades until it was torn down to build the new police department at 25 West Grady Street. The team then moved to their current location on the planks of the old William James gym on Williams Road.

They added Sunday night to team-play early on, and had Sunday and Monday match-ups, but changed in recent years to Tuesdays and Thursdays to better accommodate everyone’s schedules. The men play three or four games of three on three for 20 points. “We usually have around six or

seven players and average three games,” said Tanner.

Over the years the roster has changed when players moved away or became unable to play due to injury or the limitations of age. New players walked on in the 1980s when Lee DeLoach, Robbie Turner, Jimmy Wiggins, Bob Deal, and Jimmy Hugh Griffith joined in the game. Jimmy High and Charles Brown, who played briefly, were what Tanner wryly called, “Wannabes.”

This good-natured ribbing is part of what makes the games fun and competitive.

Tanner and Pope became the league’s first “Commissioners,” or “Commish” for short, serving as the ones who kept the games going; the ones who called around to see who would be playing each week. The men also coached current players Hill and Tyson when they were middle schoolers on Rec Department teams.

A teasing atmosphere of trash talk permeates the games that now include players Pope, Randy Hill, John Lavender, Alan Tyson, John Rule, Roger Doty, Jimmy Wiggins, Bill Williams, Lee DeLoach and July/August 2015 • 55

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Randy Anderson. Ed Nelson has played and opens the gym for the players each week. The close-knit group has developed nicknames for each other and for the threemember teams, that add to the competitive spirit of the games.

“The Dream Team” consists of Randy “Crow” Hill, Ronnie “The” Pope, and Jimmy “Win at Any Costs” Wiggins. If one of the players isn’t there, it becomes “The Modified Dream Team.” Tyson said, “We try to turn the dream into a nightmare.”

“Portal” is Lee DeLoach, who played high school ball for Portal High. The new “Com-

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missioners,” still under the control of Pope and Tanner are Randy Hill and John Rule for Tuesdays and Thursdays respectively.

Hill keeps a “novel” of rival emails exchanged between players, between games.

“You’ve got to read this to understand,” he said. The “Novel of Hope, Despair, Athletic Competition and Brotherhood,” is titled “Damn the Dream!” It includes game prognostications, wrap-ups, name-calling, and a little mud-slinging. One summary goes – “It is the worst dream I have had in a long time, the league is falling apart quicker than we can order the wheelchairs,” wrote Hill.

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In A League of Their Own

It’s not all on the court action for the men. They meet for a Bible study each week prior to games.

“We meet once a quarter to fry fish, John Lavender furnishes the fish, and Randy Anderson is the cook,” said Hill. There’s also a yearly Reunion/Christmas party at Randy Anderson’s cabin where Alan Tyson leads the caroling.

“Somebody’s on the injured or reserve list all the time,” Hill stated. The injuries and the temperature inside the gym are the player’s greatest challenges. But, the Dream Team keeps going. There’s an invitation only list of fill-ins from the next generation who are called on as needed to play including Mitchell Hill, Tracy Waters, Will Wren, and Michael Mallard.

East Georgia Regional Medical Center welcomes Mark P. Crick, M.D. to the medical staff.

A Fellow of American College of Physicians, Dr. Crick attended the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and completed Emory University’s Affiliated Hospitals Residency Program. Most recently he completed Auburn’s Physician Executive MBA Program.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Crick, call

Mark P. Crick, M.D.

912.486.1480 1497 Fair Road, Suite 205 Statesboro, GA 30458 58 • Statesboro Magazine

This hospital is owned or invested in by physicians

There’s talk of the group doing an exhibition game for charity. That will be a game well worth seeing. The public will have the opportunity to watch the men that hold the record for the longest continually playing men’s basketball game in the MBL. “We’ll be going until we can’t go anymore,” said Hill. “Then we’ll form a wheelchair league.” S

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613 East Grady Street - Statesboro, GA 9 1 2 . 7 6 4 . 5 4 3 5 | w w w. e a s t g e o r g i a o r a l s u r g e r y. c o m

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Bulloch county Foundation For PuBlic Education thursday, august 13 7 P.m. statEsBoro high school auditorium tickEts $25 tickEts availaBlE at

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GenWOW

GenWOW! Since market research began, advertisers and political educated and prepared to meet head-on the demands of the pundits have sought to group each successive generation future. Our next generation is one of vision, high energy, of young people into individual categories with descrip- conviction, and the tenacity to move Statesboro forward to tive names like Baby Boomers, Beat Generation, Hippies, the next level. We could think of only one name for this Yippies, Yuppies, Preppies, Gen X, Gen Y, and Millennials. group of Statesboro’s leading young citizens – GenWOW! The groups share some of the same traits – progressive ideas, political activism, and consumer hyper-awareness. They are followed in studies to determine things like spending habits and product preferences. Often times, the next generation is even assigned a negative identity, like the selfishness of the Me, Me, Me Generation!

Statesboro Magazine has found that the next generation of professionals in our area defies the court of public opinion and shows instead many positive group attributes. We find our young professionals to be self-aware, confident, focused, and determined. Our young people possess the willingness to work within a team, to succeed at goals, and to perform many hours of volunteer service to the community.

We found the next generation will step up in business, healthcare, education, and public service in our community Thank you for placing an ad iswith turning challenges into opportunities.

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July/August 2015 • 61

W

Walker PHARMACY • BOUTIQUE Brooklet

MY BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT — at this point,

J ordan W alker , RP h Walker Pharmacy 1198 Merchant Way | Statesboro, GA 912.681.3784 | www.walkerrx.com

PROFESSION — Pharmacist

EDUCATION — PharmD (Doctorate of Pharmacy), University of Georgia

WHAT INSPIRES ME THE MOST IS — the love of my parents, family, wife, and my God. I am loved beyond what I deserve and nothing motivates me more.

PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS I — played two years of college football at Georgia Southern University.

BEING IN LEADERSHIP HAS TAUGHT ME — people are the most important aspect of business. Customers, co-workers, employees, and superiors should be all treated with respect and love. This may not always be returned or rewarded, but it’s always right.

62 • Statesboro Magazine

graduating from the UGA College of Pharmacy.

Why do you think people would choose to come to you and Walker Pharmacy? — We are all about service! What many people don’t realize is that we have the unique ability through insurance and competitive pricing to offer premium customer care for better prices. That’s tough to beat!

IN MY SPARE TIME I LIKE TO — spend time outdoors, watch and play sports, and enjoy time with family and friends.

MY DREAM VACATION DESTINATION IS — Lake Tahoe, California.

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE — is my parents. They taught me the difference between a man and a boy is more than just his age.

A BUSINESS OWNER IN BULLOCH COUNTY HAS BEEN — exhilarating. Statesboro is a dynamic community and Walker Pharmacy customers are some of the best people I have had the pleasure of serving.

FIVE YEARS FROM NOW I SEE MYSELF — happily married and serving my church and my community, wherever that may be.

J ohn W itherington Ogeechee Technical College One Joe Kennedy Boulevard | Statesboro, GA 912.688.6970 | www.ogeecheetech.edu PROFESSION — Director for Dining Services

EDUCATION — Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Georgia Southern Master of Business Administration, Ashford University

WHAT INSPIRES ME THE MOST IS — My family, in everything I do.

PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS THAT I — Enjoy the occasional pedicure. I’m not afraid to admit that one bit.

BEING IN LEADERSHIP HAS TAUGHT ME — Humility. Not always the easiest lesson to learn, but in the long run, it will prove to be the most valuable and beneficial to anyone in a leadership role.

MY FAVORITE QUOTE IS — “Good leaders must first become good servants.” - Robert Greenleaf

IN MY SPARE TIME I LIKE TO — Run, play golf, cook, sing and play the guitar (poorly), camp with my family, hunt and fish.

MY DREAM VACATION DESTINATION IS — A month-long culinary and wine tour of Italy, Spain, and France.

M andy E dwards ME Marketing Services Statesboro, GA | 912.481.1683 www.memarketingservices.com PROFESSION — Digital & Social Media Marketing Specialist EDUCATION — 2001: BBA, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia MY BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT — My biggest accomplishment would be the continued success of my business. I have seen it grow year after year by double digits. I am amazed at the local support and opportunities I’ve been given over the years, which has attributed to that success.

When you’re a business of 1 or 2, you put a lot of time, energy and tears into it. Seeing the hard work payoff is an accomplishment for any business owner.

MY FAVORITE QUOTE IS — “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

MY DREAM VACATION DESTINATION WOULD BE — to travel across England and Scotland, touring historical locations from the mid-1400’s-late 1700’s.

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE — has always been my faith, hands down. Trusting the bigger plan and knowing I have someone advising & guiding my decisions has helped me to handle the ups and downs of owning your own business.

BEING A BUSINESS OWNER IN BULLOCH COUNTY HAS BEEN — fun and rewarding. I love to serve and help other businesses and doing what my business does, I’ve been able to do that.

I also love how other small business owners come together to help each other out – it’s a comradery.

July/August 2015 • 63

J osh M c C ook , P harm D, RP h McCook’s Pharmacy | 23630 US Hwy 80 East | Statesboro 912.764.2223 | www.mccookspharmacy.com

PROFESSION — Registered Pharmacist BEING IN LEADERSHIP HAS TAUGHT ME — to deliver great customer service. It is our goal every day. I have learned that I need to demonstrate this vision to everyone else working within our company, so together we can achieve this goal.

Also, being in leadership has taught me to be very innovative so we can deliver the best patient care possible. I have learned that leadership is an essential responsibility to our business, to the people working within our company, and to the valued customers we serve.

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE IS — the encouragement I have always received from my parents to try hard and be my best at whatever I do. My parents have always exerted a positive influence about enjoying their work and serving others at the same time and that has made a big impact on my life as well.

I strive to do my best by — serving others.

IN MY SPARE TIME I ENJOY — being outdoors. I enjoy deer hunting, fishing, and playing golf.

J onathan Y oung Citizens Bank 425 Commerce Drive, PO Box 120 | Statesboro | 912.871.2971 www.cbofbc.com PROFESSION — Assistant Vice President - Mortgage Specialist EDUCATION — Washington County High School, 2002,

B.B.A. Management, Georgia Southern University, 2006

SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION — Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry SAFE, MLO, Uniform State Test NMLS#795420

WHAT INSPIRES ME THE MOST IS — a selfless person who truly enjoys helping others. I am encouraged by individuals who go above and beyond what is “normal” to assist, heal, and give to those who are deserving, but less fortunate. The kindness and compassion that I look for in others can be harder to find in the world that we live in today.

PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS THAT I — aside from being a fan of football, golf and other sports, I genuinely enjoy theatre. I’ve discovered that the Averitt Center has some fun and entertaining productions.

BEING IN LEADERSHIP HAS TAUGHT ME — you have to learn from everything, every situation you are exposed to. You have to be positive, stay motivated, work hard and lead by example no matter what role you are in. If you don’t, others will follow suit and success will not be as great. Everyone plays a part in the success of a business and the dynamic has to flow in order to achieve the firm’s goals.

IN MY SPARE TIME I LIKE TO — be active, exercise, play golf, relax with friends/family, and go on dates and various local adventures with a special someone.

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE — my parents, Emory and Sherry Young. Dad works tirelessly to keep the farm prospering each day. Mom, though she retired in December, works hard and has a servant’s heart. Anyone who knows them, will tell you they are the best kind of people and our world needs more like them.

64 • Statesboro Magazine

K athryn W inn M arucco , CPNP Bulloch Pediatrics | 1497 Fair Road, Suite #200 | Statesboro, GA 912.871.4847 | www.bullochpediatrics.com

PROFESSION — Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (CPNP) EDUCATION — Bachelor of Science in Nursing, University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, IL; Master of Science in Nursing, Rush University, Chicago, IL

WHAT INSPIRES ME THE MOST IS — having an opportunity each day to touch the lives of the children and families that I see in the clinic. I truly enjoy providing excellent quality of care to the children, as well as comfort and assurance to their parents. It is personally and professionally rewarding to make a positive impact in someone else’s life.

MY BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT — Becoming a mother to my son, Wes Benson Marucco (born 5/23/15). He is the sweetest baby and I am enjoying every minute of motherhood. We are so blessed!

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE — are my parents, who have supported and encouraged me every step along the way. I could not have accomplished all that I have without their love and support.

ON SOUTHERN LIFE — After growing up and living in Illinois for our first 30 years, my husband Charlie and I decided to make a change. So we packed up our Chicago apartment and headed South, settling in Statesboro. We are completely in love with this charming community, the wonderful people we’ve met, and the Southern lifestyle.

S uketu P atel , DMD, MD East Georgia Center for Oral & Facial Surgery 613 East Grady Street | Statesboro | 912.764.5435 www.eastgeorgiaoralsurgery.com PROFESSION — Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon EDUCATION — Medicine (MD) – University of Pennsylvania, Dentistry (DMD) – University of Pennsylvania, Cell & Molecular Biology (BS) – University of Michigan

WHAT INSPIRES ME THE MOST — my family, especially my beautiful wife and kids.

BEING IN LEADERSHIP HAS TAUGHT ME — to trust my heart, to never look back on tough decisions, and to listen to and learn from those around me. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by a strong team and a terrific mentor in Dr. Rod Uribe.

MY BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT — learning to tie my shoes…made learning to suture during surgery much easier!

IN MY SPARE TIME I LIKE TO — take a nap.

MY DREAM VACATION DESTINATION IS — Outer Space.

BEING A BUSINESS OWNER IN BULLOCH COUNTY HAS BEEN — extremely rewarding. It is a great feeling being able to provide my services and help care for the wonderful citizens of Bulloch County.

July/August 2015 • 65

O Summer Recipes

CREAMY SOUTHERN FRIED CORN

Overrun with fresh from the garden vegetables and fruits this summer? Try one of these favorite easy Southern recipes. Make one batch for you and share one with a friend or neighbor in town. You don’t want to waste any of that great summer goodness.

SOUTHERN CUCUMBERS BAKED & ONIONS SQUASH SOUTHERN STYLE 2-3 medium or 2 large cucumbers 1 1/2 cups white vinegar 1-1/2 cups water 1 tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. red pepper 1 medium Vidalia sweet onion

Peel cucumbers, peel onion. Slice cucumber into a large bowl with lid. Dice onion and add to cucumbers. Add vinegar and water to bowl. Add salt and red pepper. Mix well, let stand 1-2 days before serving.

3 lb. yellow squash 1/2 cup minced onion 1/2 stick butter, melted 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup bread crumbs 2 eggs 1 Tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. pepper Wash yellow summer squash or zucchini, trim the ends and cut the squash into 1 inch pieces. In a saucepan cook the squash in boiling salted water to cover for 10 minutes, or until it is tender. Drain the squash and mash it or puree it coarsely in a blender or food processor. In a bowl combine the squash, bread crumbs and minced onion, 2 eggs lightly beaten, melted and cooled butter, sugar, salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a lightly buttered casserole dish. Pour 1/2 stick melted butter over it and sprinkle the top with 1/4 cup bread crumbs. Bake the squash in a preheated moderately hot oven (375 degrees) for 1 hour or until it is puffed and the crumbs are browned.

66 • Statesboro Magazine

6 ears fresh Silver Queen or yellow corn 1/2 cup bacon grease or cooking oil 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour 2 Tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/2 tsp. salt Shuck corn, wash and remove all of the silk.

Score down through each row of kernels with a sharp knife, cutting them in half.

Holding the cob in your hand over a large bowl, cut corn away from cob slicing a very thin layer of the kernels off the cob. Scrape off the remainder of the kernels catching all of the milk and add to bowl. Heat bacon grease or oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add corn. Lower heat and stir in flour, sugar, milk and water. Mix well.

Cook until tender about 15 minutes. Raise the heat high. Slightly brown corn mixture on the bottom only, don’t burn it. Blend browned crusty bottom into the rest of the corn. Add seasoning. Serve hot. Mixture should be slightly moist, not soupy.

Summer Recipes

ME-MAW’s COLESLAW

EASIEST FRUIT COBBLER

1 small head cabbage, grated 1 carrot, grated 1 medium tomato, diced 1/2 cup mayonnaise or enough to moisten and mix well 1 medium Vidalia sweet onion 1 tsp. vinegar Salt & pepper to taste 1 stick butter 1 cup self-rising flour 2 cups white sugar

Mix all ingredients well and refrigerate.

Great at fish fries and barbeques.

1 cup milk 4 cups fresh berries (great with blueberries or blackberries)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place berries in two quart pot and add 1 cup sugar. Cover and simmer on low until berry juice and sugar have formed some syrup. Place butter in deep casserole dish. Melt butter in the preheating oven, about 5 minutes. Mix flour, sugar, and milk in separate bowl until combined; pour batter over melted butter. Pour berries and syrup into center of batter. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into the batter/ crust comes out clean, about 1 hour. Best served warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream or fresh cream.

3D mammography.

Sharper images. Greater accuracy. Earlier detection.

3D mammography provides images so definitive and precise, they can reduce repeat screenings by up to 40 percent. They also increase early invasive cancer detection by 40 percent over 2D imaging alone, which may mean an even greater chance of survival.

For more information, call 912-764-5656 or visit StatesboroImaging.com.

A department of East Georgia Regional Medical Center Appointments are on a first-come, first-served basis. An order from a physician or qualified healthcare provider is required. If the patient does not have a physician/provider, a list will be provided for the patient’s selection. All mammogram reports will be sent to the physician/provider and follow-ups are the responsibility of the patient. East Georgia Regional Medical Center is directly or indirectly owned by a partnership that proudly includes physician owners, including certain members of the hospital’s medical staff.

July/August 2015 • 67 85207_EGRM_3Dmam_7_375x4_825c.indd 1

6/9/15 9:04 AM

BULLOCH COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE ANNEX

Located at 113 North Main Street in Downtown Statesboro, the extension of Bulloch County Government’s 13,000 square foot annex building will be opening for business in July.

A handsomely landscaped new landmark that adds an impressionistic character and sense of place to the vernacular architecture along the north Main Street District represents a marked departure from the former buildings that occupied the property. The new annex features pedestrian-friendly plazas outside of the front and rear entrances, with interior space that accommodates public ceremonies and events, as needed.

Ample and accessible parking and building access will be to the rear of the building facing Walnut Street. The interior space of the new annex has been designed for easy way finding, low maintenance, high technology and energy efficiency.

The building’s parcel footprint has been designed to allow for additional build-

ing expansion when needed in the future. The county functions that will be transferred to the new building will include the Tax Commissioner and Tax Assessor’s offices, along with the Board of Elections and Voter Registration that combine the highest foot-traffic of any county business office, and maintains strategic access to the Board of Commissioners office.

Whether one is looking to register to vote, vote early, or to pay and discuss their tax obligations, they can do so with greater ease and comfort than before. While the total cost of building development, including land acquisition and demolition approached $3 million, the construction delivery method of guaranteed maximum pricing allowed the building construction to weigh in at $2.4 million. – funded with Special Purpose Local Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds. Palmer Architects and Lavender Construction, both of Statesboro were selected to design and construct the building. Substantial cost-savings were yielded by the use of county forces to perform site work and landscaping.

TAX COMMISSIONER

www.tax.bullochcounty.net | Ph. 912.764.6285 | Fax 912.489.4108

TAX OFFICES www.bullochtaxassessors.org | Ph. 764.6285 | Fax 912.764.3182 BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND VOTER REGISTRATION www.bullochcounty.net/board-of-elections | Ph. 912.764.6502 | Fax 912.764.8167

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The ABC committee will be documenting how Statesboro is celebrating the town’s move into the quarter finals. The GoPro camera furnished by contest sponsors will be used during the next six months to record Statesboro residents in action.

STATESBORO – ONE OF AMERICA’S BEST COMMUNITIES! Statesboro was selected as a Quar- $15,000 from an Adopt-A-Commuter-Finalist in the America’s Best nity mentor to create and implement Communities $10 Million Prize the city’s Community Revitalization Competition!

Plan. Statesboro is the only city in In 2014, Frontier Communica- Georgia to advance to the quarter tions, DISH Netfinals. work, CoBank, and The Statesboro “Because we have all the great components the Weather Chanteam, comprised of together, we feel really nel, launched AmerMain Street Statesgood about going to the next level on this,” ica’s Best Communiboro, City of StatesMuldrew said, “and I ties, a $10 million boro, Averitt Cenlook forward hopefully to prize competition to ter for the Arts, and being up there again, congratulating our comstimulate growth and Georgia Southern munity on the next award.” revitalization in small University City Camcities and towns pus representatives, across Frontier’s 27-state footprint. received a GoPro camera to record Across the nation, 50 communi- progress to become one of 15 Semities have been awarded $50,000 in Finalists invited to the 2016 sumthe quarter-finalist round to further mit to present their proposal with develop and implement their com- a chance to be awarded $100,000 prehensive strategies to accelerate each. The top three winners of the their local economies and improve most innovative and effective proquality of life. This advancement to posals will be announced in April the Quarter-Finalist round means 2017 and awarded a total of $6 milStatesboro will receive $35,000 from lion in grand prizes with the grand the ABC Prize Competition and prize winner receiving $3 million.

A South Main Revitalization Committee (The Blue Mile) Downtown’s Tax Allocation District (TAD) Streetscaping on East Main Georgia Southern’s City Campus Expansion First Friday Events Main Street Farmers Market Downtown Development Incentives (DSDA) Sea Island Bank Low Interest Loan Program

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Representing community partners on the grant submission for Statesboro are (L-R) Averitt Arts Center Director Tim Chapman, Statesboro Director of Planning & Development Mandi Cody, Georgia Southern City Campus Administrative Coordinator Andi Wilson, and Downtown Statesboro Development Authority Director Allen Muldrew.

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72 • Statesboro Magazine

The Write Place s Brianna Quarterman

Little Free Library Trail Winds through Statesboro

T

The Little Free Library project functions as a free book exchange system for readers. A small box in the shape of a house is filled with books and placed near the street for public access. As people come and go, they are free to grab a book at their leisure. When finished with the book, they are to return it to the library for the next reader that comes along. The little free libraries are a part of a lending cycle that promotes literacy. People are encouraged to borrow books for a quick-read-for-free, which also increases readership throughout

the community.

Thousands of Little Free Libraries are located in different countries throughout the world. The libraries are built and designed by local artists or carpenters. It is up to the owner to keep the little free library stocked with books.

In Statesboro, the Little Free Library project, is a part of the Southern Literary Trail created to pay tribute to the literary contribution of writer and essayist Flannery O’Connor. The trail stretches from Savannah to Wrightsville with several stops in

between.

As of right now, Statesboro has two Little Free Libraries.

Rev. Dr. H. William Perry is a Statesboro resident who has a Little Free Library near the sidewalk in front of his home. After reading about the libraries in several magazines and newspapers, Dr. Perry thought it would be a good idea to place one in front of his house.

“These libraries really resonated with me, so I got with a friend of mine who is an excellent carpenter to find a model of a little free library. After it was built, I had it installed a little over a year ago.”

To keep the library filled, Dr. Perry often shops at bookstores and used book sites.

“Places like Goodwill and The Salvation Army always have a lot of good books for such a low price and I enjoy going through and picking out what I think would be a good read for others. I usually keep about 15 books inside of the library.”

Dr. Perry credits his Little Free Library for being a quick stop for people who are looking for a good read.

“What’s so interesting is that people actually leave books inside of the library for me, thinking that I want to read them. So it’s always fun to go through and evaluate the different books left in the library.”

Sine placing the Little Free Library in front of his house, Dr. Perry has put out 300 books and seen a steady flow of readers picking up books.

“I try to restock books once every week. I try to include a lot of fiction, biography and inspirational genres. If I don’t get a book back, that’s always okay. I like to think that people like the books so much they want somebody else to read it.”

Dr. Perry hopes that people will continue to stop by his library to increase reading within the community.

“I enjoy the comments I get from people who have never seen a little free library. This is really just a great way for me to meet new people. So I really enjoy having it in front of the house.”

If you are interested in having your own Little Free Library, visit www.littlefreelibrary.org or the Southern Literary Trail at www.southernliterarytrail.org.

July/August 2015 • 73

74 • Statesboro Magazine

Reflections s Brianna Quarterman

Ode to the ’Boro

A Although Statesboro is not a large metropolitan city, it has the Southern charm that characterizes most small cities in the South. This is a city with a quiet but steady flow. It’s not too fast and even if you are running late for work, you can still make it on time.

Upon first glance, one may think Statesboro is just a small town built around a university. When I tell people that I live in Statesboro, Georgia, the reaction I sometimes get is “where is that?” It is after this statement that I go into detail about what an amazing city Statesboro is and how anyone would be fortunate to stay in a city like mine.

People who are unfamiliar with Statesboro may make the assumption it’s a typical small country town with very few things to do. When I first moved here four years ago as a budding college student, I made that mistake. I had little expectations for a city that I truly knew nothing about. At the time, the only thing I knew about this city was that it was home to Georgia Southern and their football team.

Fast forward four years and I feel like I have been living here my entire life. From the busy intersections to the dirt roads, I have absolutely fallen in love with this city.

Everyone knows each other. When something happens here, whether good or bad, it’s as if the whole community feels it. This is truly a place that is so family oriented, and its citizens are committed to the evolvement of the city.

Though my college career is quickly coming to an end, I must say that there is really no other place that I would rather be.

Statesboro is that small-town city TV shows try to emulate. But only a true Statesboro resident can really understand the ins and outs of living in Statesboro.

Things I am going to miss about Statesboro include the amazing eateries. Experiencing customer service here is as if you are stopping at a friend’s place for dinner to catch up on each other’s lives. One of my favorite places to go is Daylight Donuts. This is THE morning one-stop shop in Statesboro. It is a local favorite amongst residents and a great place to go if you are looking for donuts or homemade chicken biscuits.

Another characteristic of Statesboro is that it is a tight-knit community where everyone knows each other. From the fall football games to the annual Kiwanis Ogeechee

Fair, I have grown to love it all. As I embark upon my last semester at Georgia Southern I am really taking the time to enjoy Statesboro and all that it has to offer. I encourage anyone, especially college students, to get to know this amazing community. Make connections; meet new people. The worst thing you can do is be here for four years and not take advantage of the resources around you.

Statesboro is definitely a great place to be and I plan to enjoy every minute of the last few months I have in this city. I have had so many experiences and made countless memories. I cannot help but thank my family and several friends that I have made along the way.

And thank YOU, Statesboro, for giving me another place to call home!

July/August 2015 • 75

STATESBORO MAGAZINE

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76 • Statesboro Magazine

The Spiritual Pathways s Rev. Dr. H. William Perry

Seeing it All

A

All my life I have been interested in visiting places I’ve heard people talk about.

When my cousin came back to Live Oak after spending a week at Jacksonville Beach, I really wanted to see the ocean. I can still remember the feeling of losing my breath when I first caught a glimpse of the massive Atlantic as our car approached the beach.

Wow! I had similar feelings when I saw my first mountain at age nine, attended my first Ringling Brothers circus, walked into Mammoth Cave, experienced Niagara Falls, ran across the Golden Gate Bridge, looked over New York City from the Empire State Building, and saw the movie studios in Hollywood.

There have been many other breath-taking sights in my brief 74 years: the little town of Bethlehem, the ruins in ancient Corinth, the Alamo, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Mars Hill in Athens, Walden’s Pond, Augusta National, Hoover

Dam, Fort Knox, Boston Harbor, the Sea of Galilee, and Pearl Harbor – to name a few.

I had a college friend from Lake Wales, Florida, who used to talk about Spook Hill, an attraction in his home town. He said you could drive out on this road, stop your car, put it in neutral, and the car would roll uphill. Nah, I said. But before graduating from Stetson, I rode with a friend down to Lake Wales, found Spook Hill, and experienced that crazy impossibility! I checked that one off my list.

I still have some adventures on my bucket list, places I want to go; things I want to experience. The Bay of Fundy on the coast of Nova Scotia is called the world’s most dynamic tidal coastline. At high tide as much 160 metric tons of seawater come roaring into the bay, raising the water level as much as 50 feet. I’ve got to see this!

I also have Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota on my list. The pictures I’ve seen of the 60-foot faces of four of our great American presidents are fantastic!

I’ve got to see this for myself.

I want to see the house of Sarah Winchester in San Jose, California. This 160 room mansion has 47 fireplaces, 40 staircases, 10,000 windows, and 2,000 doors.

It’s called the Mystery House, and is a mon-

ument to eccentricity. Mrs. Winchester, heir to the firearms fortune, had haunting fears that the spirits of those who had been killed by Winchester guns would take their vengeance on her. A seer told her the only way to quell her anxieties and evade the spirits was to perpetuate the building project. So for 38 years the carpenters worked, building stairs where each step is only two inches high, staircases that lead nowhere, balconies in the middle of rooms, bell towers, domes, and skylights. A memorial to fear and anxiety. I’d like to see that house!

Not all of the items on my list are in the far distance. A friend of mine in Screven County told me that the largest post oak tree in the world is just a few miles up the road near Rocky Ford. Massive! I’m going there soon.

But you know, as I think about things I want to see, some of them are more significant than the ones I’ve mentioned. I have a friend who is having marriage difficulties. I hope that he and his wife will seek help and work out their differences. I have a family member who is trying to live his life without the companionship of Jesus. I want to see him welcome Jesus into his life.

And there are friends all over the world that I hope to see in heaven when my days are over. I’m praying and hoping for the best.

July/August 2015 • 77

LOOK AROUND Brooklet Elementary School 3rd Grade Mall Friday, May 22, 2015

78 • Statesboro Magazine

July/August 2015 • 79

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80 • Statesboro Magazine

912-489-2110

23511 Northside Drive East Statesboro, GA www.wisenurseries.com

The View From Here s Ric Mandes

The Invasion from Hell!

I

It’s winter of 1983. The year I turned fifty.

My professional activities were engagements all based on my devotion and allegiance to Georgia Southern. Illustrations – College Today (television) a thirty-minute one-on-one carried statewide by PBS, Atlanta, Macon, Augusta, Savannah and Philadelphia.

A weekly column about Eagle life, its drama, its prestige, appearing in Savannah and Augusta papers, and essays for the Dixie Living section of the AJC. A 42-station radio network taking a two-minute feed from our recording booth each morning.

Our Foundation was experiencing new muscle and strength of purpose. Erk was in town. Our student population was on the verge of a titanic wave rolling 6,000 students into 16,000.

Dale Wesley Lick was my fifth University president!

It was a Saturday morning. I was moving over the light hills of Augusta headed for a lunch with a car dealer, a potential impressive investor for our Foundation.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, tightness in my chest, heart racing, ears ringing; darkness shadowed my vision. I was all-to-pieces. Was this death calling on me? Without hesitation I made a U-turn on Highway 25 and flew home and closed the door on what I thought at that time was a career’s assassination.

Two days later a sense of calm returned.

In the spring of 1984, I was on I/95 headed for Christ Chapel to see my daughter in a wedding. Things were much better. The horror on that Augusta hill, I tendered with brief burnout.

Not to be. Oh, how I remember well this second scourge – gasping for breath, blind, no hearing, weak. Again I turned around and dashed from I/95 to I/16 weeping openly; tunneling my way to home to my nest! This time I was locked in the darkness of fear and wounded. Ric Mandes, a victim of what? Crippled from even leaving town.

And later in my home, sitting there holding onto the couch, gasping, hurting from a jagged pain. Crippled in fear, I was not able to ride with my daughter four blocks to a McDonalds.

Ric Mandes, the interstate statesman for Southern, emceeing alumni luncheons, introducing Eagle’s basketball events, conducting 30-minute television interviews.

Now like a dead gator floating belly-up in an abyss of horror. Yes, I did seek help from a well known cardiologist who hooked my EKG to The University of Chicago Medical School.

“This patient’s heart is fine. No problems.”

Then four hours of demanding tests with a Respiratory Therapist.

Nothing wrong.

Meanwhile fear smothered my freedom.

And them God answered my question the evening I was leafing through Good Housekeeping and there it was FEAR TO FACE THE WORLD. I wept and wept.

The next morning I called Dr. Randy Smith

and inquired as to his knowledge of Agoraphobia. Yes he knew.

For the next six months Randy developed a medical profile to eliminate any unnatural overflow of adrenalin (which incites panic attacks), that caused the two events that blew me away. Unattended they shackled me into agoraphobia (agora meaning market place and phobia meaning fear), all the while Randy ministered to me how what he was doing was equipping me physically to fight back. To learn to drive again. To move onto the stage. To interview.

It took me six months to complete my return to life, eliminating the fear of the fear.

Anticipatory anxiety.

1985! It was a warm Southern evening.

Deanne and I were sitting in the den chatting when suddenly I said, “Come ride with me!” Without hesitation she rode shotgun with her daddy down Highway 80 to the Savannah Airport. We double-parked and walked to the entrance doors which automatically opened as we approached. She reached over and said, “Daddy, a sign from God you are healed.”

“Now let’s go to Dingus and celebrate.”

That December night of ’85 at two in the morning, I was in the middle of 2,000 fans ripping apart the W.S Hanner Field House holding the mic for Erk! Precious freedom.

I was back!

July/August 2015 • 81

TRANSITIONS

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

— Warren Buffett Mrs. Sharon Elizabeth Stubbs Adams

03.05.15

Mrs. Marsha Hainley

03.13.15

Mrs. Betty Joyce Nixon

04.05.15

Mr. Carlton Joe Akins

03.21.15

Mr. William H. “Bill” Hall

04.05.15

Mr. Ransome T. Noblitt

04.10.15

Mr. Paul William Allen

03.05.15

Mr. William Joshua “Squooshie” Hall

04.19.15

Mrs. Elsie Mitchell Nubern

03.06.15

Mrs. Jannie Mae Allen

03.28.15

Mr. James Leonard Hall

03.25.15

Mrs. Eileen Mary Olliff

03.26.15

Mrs. Marjorie Daniel Collins Anderson

04.24.15

Mrs. Sylvia Joan Matras Haney

04.20.15

Mr. Orrin Osborn, Sr.

04.07.15

Mr. Freddie Anthony, Jr.

04.17.15

Mrs. Katherine “Kitty” Shaw Harper

03.07.15

Ms. Ann Marie Hackett Pelshaw

04.05.15

Dr. Cirilo “Jun” Aseron, Jr.

04.03.15

Ms. Julia Harrison

03.30.15

Dr. William Morton “Bill” Powell

Mrs. Sudie DeLoach Aurland

Mr. James Orion Harrison

04.05.15

04.02.15

04.08.15

Mr. Carl H. Ayers, Sr.

03.24.15

Dr. Gary N. Harrison

03.06.15

Ms. Linda Joyce Reddick

03.29.15

Miss Caitlyn Nichole Baggett

04.22.15

Mrs. Irma Nell Gay Hastings

03.12.15

Mr. Herbert Reeves

04.06.15

Mr. Richard R. Barrick, Sr.

04.14.15

Mr. Mark E. Hendrix

03.14.15

Mrs. Roby Lee Reeves

02.26.15

Deacon Roosevelt Bellamy

03.01.15

Rev. Carl Hendrix

03.30.15

Mr. William Lawrence “Bill” Richardson

04.26.15

Miss Martha Jewel Blackburn

03.04.15

Mr. Donald Gene “Don” Hensley

03.11.15

Mrs. Alma Christian Riggs

04.18.15

Ms. Judy Carol (Johnson) Brack

04.07.15

Mrs. Mary “Ginny” Sherrod Hicks

03.11.15

Mrs. Blanche Smith Roberts

03.20.15

Mr. George Mikell Brannen

03.31.15

Mr. Beamon Hill

02.19.15

Mrs. Oleta Kicklighter Robertson

03.04.15

Mr. Jimmy Lee Brewton

03.01.15

Mrs. Judith Lynn Gonya Hill

03.08.15

Mr. W. Bruce Salter

03.17.15

03.03.15

Mr. Sean Michael Sapp

03.22.15

04.24.15

Mrs. Sulee Carnes Scheider

04.02.15

03.09.15

Mrs. Edna Mae Scott

04.25.15 03.21.15

Dr. Walter L. Brown Mrs. Frances Marilyn Brown Mr. James Brown

04.04.15 04.17.15 03.06.15

Mr. Willie Coy Hobbs Mrs. Juanita Cook Holland Mrs. Marie Rountree Hunnicutt

Ms. Willouise McCoy Bunch

03.25.15

Mrs. Carolyn Louise Mallory Jackson

04.28.15

Mrs. Edith Peace Self

Mr. Roland Arthur Carnes

04.23.15

Mrs. Angela Ruth “Angie” Johnson

04.30.15

Ms. Mary Bell Shellman

03.26.15

Mr. Cassius Sherrod Childers

03.09.15

Mr. Bobby Jones

04.22.15

Mrs. Patricia Ann Page Shuman

04.06.15

Mrs. Bobbie Whittington Clayton

12.23.15

Mrs. Cecilia Littles (Davis) Kelly

02.27.15

Mr. Vanice Horace Sikes, Sr.

04.02.15

Mr. Richard Bernard “Dick” Cliffton

04.01.15

Mr. Billy A. “Coon Dog” Kendrick

03.03.15

Mr. Gerald Stacy “Jerry” Smiley, Sr.

03.19.15

Mr. Jerry Collins

03.01.15

Mrs. Agnes Blitch Kennedy

03.10.15

Ms. Alice Smith

04.10.15

Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Strickland Cannady Crane

04.21.15

Mrs. Juanita Burke Kinard

04.12.15

Mr. Willie Albert “Billy” Smith, Jr.

04.03.15

Mr. Franklin E. Crane

03.24.15

Mrs. Peggy Gardner Kollars

03.16.15

Mr. Mack Arthur Sneed

04.18.15

Mrs. June Milton Crooms

03.12.15

Mrs. Nancy Durden Lanier

04.07.15

Mr. Steven “Steve” Stepanek

04.18.15

Mr. Brian Eugene Cullum

03.31.15

Mr. Frederick Lee

04.13.15

Mrs. Elizabeth “Liz” Harrison Curlin

03.18.15

Mr. Robert J. McCool

04.14.15

Mrs. Frieda Mankin Street

04.07.15

Mrs. Vivian Nell Nesmith Davis

04.14.15

Mrs. Mamie Johnson McElveen

03.30.15

Mr. James Warren Sturdivant

03.31.15

Mrs. Beatrice Days

03.24.15

Mr. Roy Monte McNeely

03.07.15

Mr. Earl Luther Swicord, Jr.

04.23.15

Mrs. Bertis Dickerson Akins Deal

04.09.15

Mr. Richard Byron McNeely, Sr.

04.06.15

Mr. Forrest Russell “Cubby” Sydow

04.26.15

Miss Abbie Lorene DeLoach

04.22.15

Deacon Thelmon McPhatter, Jr.

02.27.15

Mr. Henry L. Torrence

03.04.15

Mr. Berge Edward Demirgian

04.12.15

Mr. James Matthew Meeks

04.21.15

Mr. Michael Cornelius Tremble

04.10.15

Mr. Roger Ramone Eason

02.28.15

Mrs. Sharon Diane Meeks

03.06.15

Mr. Bernard Walker

03.11.15

Mrs. Betty Durden Edenfield

03.28.15

Mr. Harry Lamar Merck

04.21.15

Mrs. Winnifred McDowell Wallace

04.11.15

04.24.15

Mrs. Claudia Jean Shatto Walling

04.21.15

03.31.15

Mr. Harry Leonard Waters, Sr.

03.10.15

03.20.15

Mr. David John Wellman

04.18.15 03.08.15

Ms. Carolyn Kennedy Elrod Ms. Hilda Bennett Falligan Miss Karen Ann Fell

03.15.15 04.13.15 04.03.15

Mrs. Jonnie Fay (Akins) Morris Miss Chyna Lashaedeon Murray Mr. Rex Albert Nelson

Mrs. Eugene Flannel

04.22.15

Col. E. Archie NeSmith, Jr.

04.08.15

Mr. Stevie Ray Williams

Mr. Roger Dale Funderburk

04.17.15

Ms. Brenda Kay Barber Newcomb

03.23.15

Mother Agnes Slater Prince Williams

02.27.15

Mrs. Mattie Lee Geiger

04.11.15

Mr. Jerry Agan Newsome

03.13.15

Mr. John Donald Williams, Jr.

04.07.15

Mrs. Dorothy George

02.26.15

Mr. Bobby Ronald Newton, Sr.

04.02.15

Ms. Hilda Ann Whaley Wilson

03.10.15

Mr. William Montrelle Golden, Sr.

03.01.15

Mr. Jerome Cyril Nicklay

04.03.15

Mrs. Runette Rooks Woodcock

03.12.15

82 • Statesboro Magazine

“ She was a spark.

A spark, who with each student, shared a little piece of herself.”

Excerpt from Nigel Washington’s winning “Beyond Measure” essay contest entry.

Sea Island Bank is proud to sponsor the “Beyond Measure” essay contest, recognizing teachers in our community for their work in helping students go above and beyond their potential. Congratulations to contest winner, Nigel Washington, for honoring his teacher, Mrs. Joni Chavers, as the subject of this year’s winning entry.

912.489.8661 seaislandbank.com Banking products are provided by Synovus Bank, Member FDIC. Divisions of Synovus Bank operate under multiple trade names across the Southeast.