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Golf Tournament to Boost Scholarship Funds

Marine Corps League, Detachment 1311, in Woodstock is holding an April fundraiser to benefit the Marine Corps League Scholarship fund for Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) Cadets, Eagle Scouts, and Marine and Marine Corps League Detachment 1311 dependents in Cherokee and Cobb counties.

The 11th annual MSgt. George “Rip” and Barbara Masters Charity Golf Tournament is planned for April 26 at Cobblestone Golf Course in Acworth. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at 9 a.m.

The scholarship is available to students who have achieved academic excellence and have demonstrated superior leadership qualities. In the past 10 years, the event has raised more than $40,000 to help local young people further their education.

A continental breakfast will be provided, along with lunch, carts and range balls. There will be awards given for first, second and third place teams, in addition to longest drive, straightest drive and closest to the pin honors.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, or to register to play, visit www.mcl1311woodstockga. org or email tournament director Ron Welborn at rwwelborn@comcast.net.

One Step Closer to New Parks

The next step in the Southwest Cherokee Parks and Trails Plan includes project phasing, implementation plans and report documents that are scheduled to be presented to the Cherokee Recreation and Parks Advisory Board on March 17, and to the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners at the April 20 regular commission meeting.

Last month, residents viewed revised conceptual plans and provided feedback on the plan. Participants saw a map with four county-owned parcels identified as potential parks for the southwest area. The first two parcels identified make up roughly 52 acres located between Ga. 92 and Clark Creek Elementary School, the third 14-acre parcel is at the intersection of Hunt and Priest roads, and the fourth parcel is 43 acres at the corner of Old Alabama and Kellogg Creek roads.

“During the development of the 2018 Cherokee Recreation and Parks Master Plan, we identified recreation needs for the southwest Cherokee area,” said Cherokee County District 4 Commissioner Corey Ragsdale. “We are excited to see these plans come to fruition and to provide our residents with several options to choose from.”

Visit cherokeega.com and click on SW Cherokee Parks and Trails Plan on the homepage for more details, or contact Bryan Reynolds at bdreynolds@cherokeega. com or Sarah McColley at smccolley@tsw-design.com.

Sheriff’s Charity Makes Donations

Donations to three charities were made recently by the Frank Reynolds Charities, using funds raised at the November Hawks Ridge Golf Tournament. The nonprofit is dedicated to creating a stronger community by uniting people to serve others.

The donations this year included $10,000 to the Anna Crawford Children’s Center, $3,000 to the Children’s Haven, and $1,500 to Goshen Valley. For more details and photos, visit www.frankreynoldscharities.com. The charity also is on Facebook.

New Program Provides Transportation to Veterans

The Cherokee County Homeless Veteran Program has just finished a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Way 2-1-1 program to provide access to a new pilot LYFT program that will provide veterans with rideshare capability - up to $600 - to get to and from their jobs.

“Transportation continues to be a large issue for our homeless veterans as well as those veterans who are disabled, or veterans who do not have access to public transportation that would take them to and from their jobs,” said Jim Lindenmayer, director of Cherokee County Homeless Veterans Program.

Because Cherokee County, like many other rural counties, does not have the funds or infrastructure to support a countywide mass transit system, creative thinking and partnerships are needed to fill in the gaps.

The funded program from LYFT was initially announced in January to help veterans get into and remain in the job force. United Way 2-1-1 was one of the two organizations selected by LYFT to roll out this program. The original program in Georgia was focused on covering veterans in need from the eight counties centered around Atlanta, and ended last June.

“Our program was selected last year to participate in the initial LYFT Pilot program managed by United Way 2-1-1, and, with the success we had, we were again invited to participate in this next pilot program,” Lindenmayer said.

Among the Program details: • Only six slots are available for the pilot. • Veterans must be honorably discharged and provide DD214 to verify their time in service and discharge type. • Male and female veterans are accepted. • Candidates will be screened for job status prior to being selected. • Supports travel to and from work, including any pre-job interviews as well as any job related medical testing required by employers. • Initially each candidate will be given $300 for the program, with the ability to qualify for the additional $300.

For more information, call 678-983-7590 or email jlindenmayer80@gmail.com.

MUST Director Named to Executive Women Post

MUST Ministries’ Yvonne Byars was selected as the 2021 chairwoman of Cobb Executive Women. Byars has been the senior director at MUST Ministries for four years and, prior to MUST, worked for Procter & Gamble in IT project management with a certification as a project management professional. Yvonne Byars

“After spending 25 years in corporate, I was looking for something more fulfilling, and that’s why I chose nonprofit work,” Byars said. “I think my selection as chairwoman of Cobb Executive Women shows that MUST Ministries attracts individuals from Fortune 500 companies and other corporations. We’re able to bring skills from corporate and take them into the nonprofit world.”

Byars oversees MUST Ministries’ Neighborhood Pantry program, which serves more than 100 schools in Cherokee and Cobb counties, has helped more than 20,000 clients and distributed over 1 million pounds of food to students and families.

“Neighborhood pantries serve at-risk students and their families, and a lot of these households are struggling with the choice of paying rent or buying food,” Byars said.

She also developed the concept of MUST Ministries’ new Neighborhood Mobile Pantry. “The innovative mobile bus will take fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meats, breads, canned goods and even dairy, when available, to people living in ‘food deserts’ where groceries are not within walking distance,” she said. “We’re able to provide healthy food options in Cobb, Cherokee and surrounding counties.”

The Cobb Executive Women’s mission is to inspire women to achieve success personally, professionally and within their community. The group holds monthly luncheons and community outreach events, including one this summer when the organization came to MUST Ministries to make sandwiches to feed children in the Summer Lunch program.

Northside Hospital Offers New Cancer Therapy

Northside Hospital Cancer Institute Immunotherapy Program is one of just two programs in Georgia to offer the latest chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy.

Tecartus (brexucabtagene autoleucel), from Kite Pharma Inc., is the first and only FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy for adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). MCL is a rare subtype of nonHodgkin lymphoma, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Treatment often includes chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation.

Immunotherapy essentially is strengthening and empowering a patient’s own immune system to find and attack cancer. It works by taking immune cells, genetically modifying them to be better tumor-fighting immune cells, multiplying them to great numbers (tens of thousands), and then infusing them into the patient.

“We are excited to offer our patients the first and only FDA-approved CAR T-cell treatment for people with mantle cell lymphoma, whose prior treatment either didn’t work or stopped working,” said Scott Solomon, medical director of Northside’s Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Matched Unrelated Donor Program and Stem Cell Processing Laboratory. More information is available at www.northside.com.