Ebony Inn, Inc. Cultural Arts for Youth

submitted by The League of Women Voters of Carrollton/Carroll County

Corlis Long Hudson, Founder and CEO of Ebony Inn, Inc. Cultural Arts for Youth (EII)), was the guest speaker at a recent meeting for the League of Women Voters/ CarrolltonCarroll County. Hudson spoke about her experiences over the past 30 years introducing teens between the ages of 13 and 19 to customs and culture they might not come into contact with within their own neighborhoods.

EII, a non-profit community cultural enrichment organization, takes teens to museums, art galleries, libraries, theater performances, concerts, ballets, etc., and arranges opportunities for them to be creative in the arts as well - with plays, musical performances and expressive arts classes.

In describing their trips to fine restaurants (with tablecloths), Hudson noted that “most of them have never heard of escargot or calamari, but I want them to experience these.” Her kids might also participate in “teas” - learning to distinguish between “high” tea” and “low” in the process. The idea is for the teens to become comfortable in “the board room” as well as on the corner where they live.

Weekly meetings provide opportunities to

Bowdon High senior is recipient of $3000 GFA scholarship and Carroll County Farm Bureau $7,000 scholarship from press release focus on Leadership Skills, Business Meeting Management, Character Development, Life Skills, Etiquette (e.g. how to set a table), Money Management (learning to write checks etc.).

Carroll County Farm Bureau (CCFB) member Adam Stone has been named a recipient of a Georgia Foundation for Agriculture (GFA) scholarship. Stone, who plans to attend the University of Georgia this fall and major in agricultural education, is one of seven students statewide selected to receive a $3,000 Scholarship for Agriculture awarded to a graduating high school senior. Adam, a student at Bowdon High School, has also been chosen by CCFB as the recipient of a $7,000 Paul Cooper Scholarship. Adam is the son of Brian and Meredith Stone.

Stone has been an FFA member since 2020, serving stints as historian and vice president for the Bowdon High School FFA Chapter. He received the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Future of Agriculture Award in 2022, won multiple FFA awards in individual land judging, and was the 2021 Carroll County Cattlemen’s Association youth cattle handling champion. Stone served on the State School Superintendent Student Advisory Council Representative for 2021-22 and was selected to attend the Governor’s Honors Program in 2022 for agricultural science, biotechnology and research.

Georgia Foundation for Agriculture scholarships recognize deserving and outstanding students pursuing an agriculture or ag-related degree at an eligible technical college or college in the University System of Georgia, Berry College or Emmanuel College.

Georgia Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization with 158-chapter offices that cover all of Georgia’s 159 counties. It is a membership-driven, nongovernmental organization, GFB serves as the voice of Georgia farmers. GFB membership is open to the public.

Families may be encouraged to have the teens write “checks” to their parents for items they have asked their parents to provide for them. This lays the groundwork for teens to better understand that the things they want cost money - and how much.

Poignant stories Hudson shared included one about a young person who accompanied an EII excursion to the Carrollton Arts Center for an awards program because the parent of the child expressed no interest in attending. The child explained that her mother said she was not “taking me to no dumb award pro- gram”. “As it turned out, the child’s name was called out at the program to receive an award. The group was glad to have been there to celebrate with her.

In another exchange, one Carrollton boy proudly said to Hudson, “I’ve been to Villa Rica.” (Many of the kids she works with may not have traveled even as far as Villa Rica.)

The cost of the program is $60.00 for registration with a $10.00 monthly fee. There is a fee of $10.00 if someone goes along for one field trip. Sponsorships are available for those in need, but a participant must pay at least $1.00 for organized activities so that no one may think “stuff is free.”

The program operates for 12 months of the year. Core group sizes vary from about 5 to 20. Most participants have come from Carroll

County, though some now join from Douglas and Paulding Counties.

Operating expenses for EII include utilities, phone, office supplies, refreshments, insurance for the Board of Directors and liability insurance. A capital need for the Foundation is a new or used van or minivan. Fuel and maintenance for a van is also a significant operating expense.

Testimonials of past participants in the Foundation’s programs suggest that Ebony Inn, Inc. is “onto something”. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

With Ebony, Inn Inc., teens learn that there are places to go and they acquire the confidence to want to go there. To learn more about EII, visit www.eiiculturalartsforyouth.com