My Cook Magazine -- July 2021

My My

BIRTHDAY

My

WORK LIFE

OUTDOORS

A Publication of the Adel News Tribune

My

ART

My My

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Cook County Board of Education "Creating and Inspiring Lifelong Learners" Dr. Dr.Tim TimDixon, Dixon, Superintendent Superintendent Mr.Mr.Chad Sumner, Chairman Jeff Taylor, Chairman Mr. Corkey Jeff Taylor, Taylor, Vice-Chairman Vice-Chairman Mrs. Mr. Sharon Frank Locklear Carter Mrs. Mrs.Brenda FairyMoore Gear Mr. Corkey Chad Sumner Mrs. Taylor Cook Elementary School

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CONTENTS

8

•u•

JULY 2021

Syko Simmons

HOPES TO BRING CAR SHOWS TO ADEL

By Charles Shiver

11

The Page Brothers BAND OF BROTHERS

By Dalton Yawn

12-13 Dr. Vincent Valencia

DR. VALENCIA CARRIES ON FAMILY TRADITION

By Charles Shiver

16

Beth Robinson

HELPING COOK COUNTY RELAX

By Emily Densmore

--Also Inside-6

MY ART MY BIRTHDAY

10

MY WORK LIFE MY VACATION

19

7

18

MY OUTDOOR ADVENTURE MY PETS

20

A 2021 Publication of Cook Publishing Company, Inc.

The Adel News Tribune

131 S. Hutchinson Ave. • Adel, GA 31620 www.adelnewstribune.com

On the Cover: Dr. Vincent Valencia Cover Photo by: Maria Hardman

GENERAL MANAGER Maria Hardman EDITOR Charles Shiver ADVERTISING MGR. Deborah Farmer GRAPHIC DESIGN & COMPOSITION Dalton Yawn, John Henry Walker WRITER Emily Densmore CIRCULATION MANAGER Donna Ballard OFFICE ASSISTANT Hannah Hutchinson

Paintings that Jaycey Reddi ck and her sister Scarlet t Harper pain ted at the Turner Cente r for the Arts 2021.

Doris Baldree working on the quilt she is currently making.

n’t based ked man. He is This is the mas g the du t the world rin off a person bu masks r ea w to d n we ha pandemic, whe e have becom so and the fact they - Shyann Sloan common today

eated on sk art cr ddick. a M in y ad Re B & W L ation by Jaycey lic p p a p u n Pe

Jamie Sears displa ying her artwork fro m Art class with teach er Ellen Wiggins, of the Blessed Brush.

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• July 2021

BIRTHDAY Doris Baldree, celebrated her 90th birthday on June 20, 2021 with lunch at her home, prepared by her children, grandchildren and their families. Submitted by Jan Godwin.

Essie Mae Allen’s 81st birthday party at her home in Adel. Submitted

by Jacqueline Allen.

Summer Reddick celebrated her 5th birthday on the first day of summer 2021 at home with her cousins. It was a frozen party and she dressed up as Elsa. Submitted by Jaycey Reddick.

July 2021 •

My Cook 7

By Charles Shiver

Y O MMO lan “Syko” Simmons is a longtime resident and owner of Syko Fabrications (“SykoFab”) in Cook County.

Syko provides a unique service to those residing in Cook County. He also provides services to those in the surrounding areas and to out-of-state clients by creating one-of-a-kind customizations for a multitude of different modes of transportation, along with collision repair.

He owns his “SykoFab” shop on Val-Del Road, where he does custom body work and adds adjustable suspensions and hydraulics to vehicles for friends and clients alike, building his brand. “SykoFab is not like some run-of-the-mill body shop,” he said.

Syko has recently been working on vehicles from Atlanta, Birmingham, Ala., Colorado, and Florida. One vehicle is currently en route from Pennsylvania to Tampa, Fla., and it will end up in SykoFab for custom work.

He offers services that are otherwise unavailable in this area.

Syko has worked on a custom paint job for a race car that competed at South Georgia Motorsports Park. “I do enjoy going out there,” he said. “I think it’s good that the drag strip is there.”

Syko explained that he does no advertising, and relies on positive word of mouth to draw new clients.

Syko takes pride in giving back to his community by purchasing supplies locally. He also mentors and trains young men in automobile bodywork and customizations. Currently, he has two apprentices who are learning the trade, Kyrin Howard of Valdosta and Dalton Sumner, 16, of Cook County. Syko hopes to hire them on eventually as his full-time shop employees.

Syko supports multiple charities and agencies. In 2017, he participated in a car show benefit at the Mitchell Street fairgrounds in the wake of the deadly tornado that swept through Sunshine Acres mobile home park on Caulie Harris Road. He also has participated in Toys for Tots, a huge event in Valdosta at the end of the year. A couple of years ago, all the gifts were stolen from Toys for Tots. Syko and other organizers conducted a toy drive and were able to collect the equivalent of about 80 percent of what was stolen, so the children could have a merry Christmas.

Syko also creates togetherness within the community through monthly car meets. Syko coordinates two events in Valdosta. Each month, weather permitting, a “Cars and Coffee” event is held in the parking lot of Wendy’s on Ashley Street in our neighboring community.

Syko would like to plan similar events in the Adel area.

One of his goals with the shows is to get young people interested in the cars and the work done on them, so future generations will be interested in continuing the hands-on tradition. All the events that Syko stages are

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kid- and family-friendly.

Syko is a native of Chicago, Ill. His father, the late Stephen Alex Simmons, was from this area. Syko’s dad retired as the longest employed person at Acme Steel in Chicago, having worked 44 years for the industry.

Syko’s father and mother, the late Petra Simmons, first met in Chicago after Mr. Simmons was honorably discharged from the military. Syko’s uncle, the late Byrd Simmons, lived in this area. Syko is proud of his daughter, Katie Simmons of Tifton.

Syko has always had a passion for working on vehicles. He painted his first vehicle when he was 16.

Syko’s first Lincoln was a 1979 Mark V. It sparked his love for Lincolns as his No. 1 car. In January 2008, he bought his dream car, a “suicide door” 1962 Lincoln Continental (the door is hinged at the car’s rear rather than at the front). He immediately began reworking the Lincoln to suit his own predilections. A fresh coat of paint, some interior work, and new tires had “Black Sunshine” up and running. Since then, his car has become the world’s most driven 1960s Lincoln Continental with more than 100,000 miles since being built.

Syko travels to car shows all over the South to meet new car enthusiasts and build his client list, as well as to enjoy the friendly atmosphere and participate in show festivities.

Syko also created a club for fellow 1960s Lincoln Continental lovers named “Suicide Slabs,” which has members all over the world. Updates on the club may

R

O

TO D

be found on Facebook (“Suicide Slabs”) and Instagram (suicide_slabs).

The club runs a magazine featuring members’ builds and tips on how to care for their cars. Syko said he is looking for a new publisher for the magazine so new issues can be released. He hopes that the next issue will be published either later this year or the first of 2022.

A new coat of paint was all “Black Sunshine” needed to become “The GoldShlager” to welcome the golden age of “Suicide Slabs” and SykoFab. Syko is currently working on one of his most unusual projects, a 1984 American LaFrance fire truck. In South Carolina, he acquired the chassis truck, once a pumper-tanker used by the New York City Fire Department. There is no doubt the truck responded to fires and helped save lives in the Big Apple. Syko is redesigning the truck as a vehicle hauler for his and his client’s cars.

Another usual project has been a “super rare” 1956 Continental Mark II (which is not a Lincoln). Only 4,000 of these cars were ever built.

Syko keeps a low key approach, but a truck that Syko worked on was featured in the “Low Rider” national magazine in the late 1990s. He has made friends with some notable car custom work entrepreneurs over the years while visiting the shows, including Jeff Davy with Devious Customs in California and the Parker Brothers, who are known across the globe as custom motorcycle and custom car builders.

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July 2021 •

My Cook 11

. r D

incent

Valencia, M.D.

By Charles Shiver

carries on family tradition in medicine ‘Dr. Vince,’ The Good Doctor

D

r. Vincent Valencia, a family medicine specialist at Southwell Medical-Adel Primary Care, is a very humble, but friendly, man. He says he was initially “shocked and surprised” when he learned he had been nominated for the “My Cook” magazine cover story.

He then read his nominator’s remarks: “I have seen Dr. Valencia in Walmart when a family came to him and asked him to look at a rash. He stopped his shopping to care for the child.” The doctor says those comments convinced him that he should participate so he wouldn’t disappoint the nominator and others who were interested in voting for him (liking him) in the Adel News Tribune’s Facebook poll.

Dr. Valencia was born in the southern central area of the Philippines. His father Dr. Gil Valencia was a family doctor practicing

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medicine in a small rural community. The town is much like Adel, but it also is part of an area plagued by the devastating effects of typhoons. Dr. il’s wife (Vincent’s mom), Dolly Valencia, worked as a nurse when Dr. il first met her.

“Dr. Vince” (as he is affectionately known by many patients and friends) remembers that as a young boy, he helped his dad check the blood pressures of patients in Dr. il’s small clinic. The clinic had two beds where Dr. Gil would treat everyone from senior citizens with illnesses to babies that had become dehydrated.

“In our town, he was it,” the only healthcare provider, Dr. Vince said. “He was the Emergency Room when I was growing up.

He had no nurse, no person to register patients. He carried the entire workload by himself.”

Dr. Vince was 16 when his parents and their family immigrated to Canada for new opportunities.

He returned to the Philippines to complete medical school at Far Eastern niversity, NRMF, Institute of Medicine, in uezon City.

He next completed his Residency at Penn State niversity/ ood Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, Pa. Dr. Valencia, who resided in Hershey, Pa. at the time, still recalls the rich smell of chocolate from the company factories in the streets.

Dr. Valencia met his wife-to-be, Karen, in Toronto, Canada, in 2008, during the time that he was in medical school and he was preparing to enter a Residency Program.

She had immigrated to Canada, too. She had earned a Medical Technologist degree and was working as a medical transcriptionist at home. While they were courting, Dr. Valencia

“I want to serve the under-served.” drove 16 hours once or twice a month to Canada so he could visit Karen. He couldn’t afford air fare.

During an interview in his third year of residency, Dr. Valencia was asked to complete a fill-in-the-blank question about his medical career plans on a form. He completed the question by stating, “I want to serve the underserved.”

After the Valencias married in 2010, Dr. Valencia was looking to set up a medical practice in various places, including Illinois, Canada, and Pennsylvania. Former Cook Medical Center (Southwell Medical) CEO Michael Purvis then worked to recruit Dr. Valencia for Adel.

The Valencias visited Adel and fell in love with the community. They were pleased by the relatively temperate climate, the central location between much larger cities north and south, and the friendliness and hospitality of the people. “We wouldn’t want to go back where we were whatsoever,” Dr. Valencia said.

“We’ve enjoyed it.” He remarked about Adel: “It’s good town, where everyone pretty much knows everyone else. It beats larger cities” that are too big, too busy, and not as friendly.

The Valencias moved to Adel so Dr. Valencia could start his practice on Dec. 1, 2012.

Having more than 20 years of diverse experiences, especially in family medicine, Dr. Valencia is affiliated with medical facilities at both Southwell Medical Center and Tift Regional Medical Center. He is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.

The Valencias’ son, Vonn Kaleb Valencia, is now 8 years old. He is a very precocious young man who enjoys playing the ukulele, recorder, and piano (he does an excellent job with praise and worship music on the latter). Karen has home-schooled Vonn since he was four years old.

Vonn Kaleb is learning about being a reporter or journalist at this point. “What happens if you sneeze while interviewing someone?” he asked during an interview with the Valencia family in their beautiful Southern comfort home in Adel. However, he later added, smiling: “I want to be a doctor like my dad when I grow up.” Dr. Valencia’s response was to grin ear to ear.

In fact, the desire to serve people by meeting their medical needs seems to run in Dr. Valencia’s family. His sister Vanessa works as a nurse in North Dakota, while his youngest sister Valerie plans to pursue a career as an occupational therapist (she lives in Toronto with her parents).

Dr. Valencia would like to encourage more young people to enter into the healthcare field.

There is such a great need for doctors, thera-

pists, and more all over the U.S. and Canada, he said.

In Adel, Dr. Valencia has seen firsthand the grim toll of such illnesses and disorders common to the area as heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and cancer, as well as depression and anxiety.

He has had to sacrifice family time and his son has had to understand as the doctor remains on call 24/7 for emergencies, leaving the house sometimes late at night or in the early morning hours.

Still, the Valencias enjoy activities as a family, especially vacation time. They have visited Key West, Fla. (participating in such water sports as banana boating, “snuba diving,” and parasailing) and Switzerland. Their plans are to vacation in Hawaii and visit all of the national parks over the years. Vonn would like to one day visit the place of his family’s origins, the Philippines.

Back home, the Valencias help support the Cook County Library and are appreciative of the library’s Summer Reading Program in particular. They are members and volunteers at Adel Baptist Church on County Farm Road.

Dr. Valencia is very pleased with all the facility improvements completed and underway at Southwell Medical because that means better access to local healthcare for everyone.

“I’m happy we have a new building (Southwell Medical-Adel Primary Care) for this community,” he said. He added that he is very excited about the new ER and other medical facilities planned for Southwell’s Adel campus.

Dr. Valencia, who sees patients of all ages, says he has now been in Adel so long that he has watched kids grow up and that has been a very rewarding experience.

Dr. Vince says “Hi!” to all his patients and will warmly greet them during his frequent visits to Walmart of Adel.

Among the many positive remarks posted about Dr. Valencia on the Adel News’ Facebook page: • “Dr. Valencia is a great asset to every patient he sees. He takes the time to get to know each one and listens to them. Working with the disability community for many years, I’ve experienced many physicians that don’t always listen to our patients. Congratulations, Dr. Valencia!” - Sheila Peach

• “I’m proud to vote for Dr. Vince. He sets a Christian example for his son, his wife, his extended family members, his community, and his church. He has a heart of gold!”

- Arlene Tunison • “I use to work for Dr. Valencia and would recommend him to anyone in search of a family practice physician. He is a phenomenal person, very thorough and patient. It was a pleasure and honor to be able to work alongside him and see first hand the exceptional care he provides to his patients!!” - Kristal Sheffield • “With pleasure I vote for Dr. Vince. He goes to church with my Aunt, and he and his family are her friends. My aunt has been very sick. They take her food and visit and most importantly, they bring their precious son to see her. Very caring and compassionate man.”

- Lynn Ginger • “From both working with Dr. Valencia to care for mutual patients and using him as our family provider, he is such an amazing physician that is truly using his gift to better our community. He is not only very knowledgeable, but also extremely compassionate and takes the time to listen to concerns of his patients despite being very busy as a physician!”

- Rebecca Boatner

July 2021 •

My Cook 13

Beth Robinson

Helping Cook County relax through Thai massage

By Emily Densmore With almost a decade of experience, Beth Robinson has been helping Cook County relax through massage therapy and Thai massage. Beth is a massage therapist at Hair Works Salon and Spa located at 108 S Goodman St in Sparks.

At the age of 10, Beth and her family moved to Atlanta from West Chester, Pennsylvania. She studied psychology at Valdosta State University and later moved to Halifax, North Carolina, where she worked for Lowe’s Distribution in Garysburg. Wanting to get away from the stress and hassle of her job, Beth scheduled her first massage. Little did she know that she would be a scheduling a life-changing massage. “I knew when I went to get my second massage that I would really love to do that,” said Beth.

Beth began researching massage therapy training programs but did not find any locally that met her needs. She instead found the CORE Institute School of Somatic Therapy based in Tallahassee, Florida, that specializes in therapeutic massage training.

Beth chose the CORE Institute to be closer to her husband, Dejay Robinson’s family, as her sister-in-law, Phyllis Lettin, was living nearby in Monticello, Florida at the time.

After relocating to Tallahassee, Beth earned her massage ther-

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apy licensing at the CORE Institute, where she learned neuromuscular, myofascial, and Thai massage.

Beth previously worked at Lemongrass Salon and Spa in Valdosta for three years as the lead massage therapist. She began her independent practice from her home in Cook County, where she started her business, Adel Massage. Beth now works as a massage therapist at Hair Works Salon and Spa located in Sparks. She has been with Hair Works for five years now and is the only massage therapist in Cook County practicing Thai massage.

She says that her favorite part of being a massage therapist is getting people out of pain. Beth offers a variety of services to her clients, but she specializes in Thai Massage. “It’s a bit more therapeutic than just a regular massage,” Beth said. Many of Beth’s clients deal with tension and pain, and she specializes in alleviating migraines and sciatic pain. Her nominator wrote, “Being that I’m in a wheelchair and have severe pain issues, she has helped me a lot.”

Thai massage differs from Swedish or Western-style massage in several different ways. Rather than on a massage table, a Thai massage takes place on a floor mat which allows for complete range of motion. Another difference is that during Thai massage, the client remains fully clothed, and oils are not applied to the body. The practitioner instead uses a variety of stretching and compression techniques to improve circulation and relieve tension.

Some of the benefits of Thai massage include increasing physical energy levels, lowering stress, easing chronic pain, improving circulation and improving range of motion.

Beth is available for appointments Tuesday through Saturday at Hair Works. For additional information and booking, call Beth at (229) 548-9701 or visit www.linktr.ee/adelmassage.

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My Cook 17

MY OUTDOOR e r u t n e Adv Pete Moore at the Appalachian Trail.

Children at the Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Cook County Area learning to grow vegetables.

Delilah Reddick visiting her Great-GreatGreat Grandfather’s grave.

Colton Baker, Leigha Baker and their fur baby Remi enjoying swinging together.

Sunset from a boat at Reed Bingham State Park.

Sam Bennett caught this monster bass in a local pond in Cook County.

July 2021 •

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My Cook 21

We’re not just Georgia.

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FOUR FOR THE

FUTURE

Award-winning quality of life.

Named a “Four for the Future” Georgia community for outstanding leadership in planning, public health and wellness, downtown revitalization and regional collaboration.

Back in the 1930s, Life magazine recognized Adel/Cook County as the “Watermelon Capital of the World.” Today, the sweet life just gets sweeter here in a community recently lauded by Georgia Trend Magazine for our forward-moving approach. At the Cook County EDC, we’re proud to be part of the success story, promoting our community to global industry and supporting a flourishing economic climate and quality of life. At the EDC, we’re working for the future, working just for you.