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September/October 2014

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WRITE US Sherry Cook is a Tennessee native who has traveled the world thanks to her husband’s military career. Germany, South Korea, Texas, Kentucky, and Alabama are just a few of the places they have called home over the past 25 years. Sherry and her husband now reside in Rincon, along with two of their three children. She is currently focusing on completing the requirements for her BA in History with the University of Maryland.

Sherry Cook

Todd Wood is a visionary photographer, director, and artist with an insatiable hunger for continued education in photography, film, social media and social art. His vision has no boundries.

As a photographer, Todd has won numerous awards from The Georgia Press Association for his photojournalistic images in sports, sport news and features. As a journalist, he has covered the Super Bowl and has been on assignment for ESPN Magazine. He has also received awards from the Georgia Press Association for sports writing.

Today he strives to combine his photography, videography and social media prowess in hopes of creating a more positive and creative community.

Todd Wood

Katie is a freelance writer and Effingham County native who enjoys meeting new and interesting people. She earned her English degree at Georgia Southern University, and caught the travel bug while studying abroad in Costa Rica, where she received a minor in Spanish. After college, she worked briefly in Yellowstone National Park, where she enjoyed hiking and photographing the scenery and the wildlife.

Kathryn Vandenhouten

Write to us and tell us what you think. Pooler Magazine welcomes all letters to the publisher.

Please send all letters via email to Julie Hales at julie@idpmagazines.com, or mail letters to P.O. Box 1742, Rincon, GA 31326. Letters to the publisher must have a phone number and name of contact. Phone numbers will not be published.

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS Pooler Magazine welcomes story ideas from our readers. If you have a story idea, or photo essay you would like to share, please submit ideas and material by emailing Julie Hales at julie@ idpmagazines.com Stories or ideas for stories must be submitted by email. Only feature stories and photo essays about people, places or things in Pooler.

www.poolermagazine.com Julie Hales owner/publisher julie@idpmagazines.com Lane Gallegos graphic design lane@idpmagazines.com

Stefanie is a freelance writer and blogger and has lived all over Georgia. Even though she is still fairly new to Effingham County, there is nowhere else she would rather be. She earned her degree in English Language and Literature from Southern New Hampshire University and is currently enjoying being a stay at home mom. Stefanie resides in Rincon with her husband and three children.

Stefanie Barnes

Lea Allen administrative assistant/circulation lea@idpmagazines.com DiAnna Jenkins account executive dianna@idpmagazines.com

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DiAnna Jenkins

Circulation: Pooler Magazine is publlished bi-monthly (six issues a year), printing 9 ,000 copies and distributed to over 180 locations.

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CONTENTS September/October 2014

features

departments

08 Desmond Crone

Becoming The Man He Needs To Be

35

Let’s Do Business

40

Pooler Attractions

43

Real Estate

14 Summer Hendley High Jumps and Many Successes 20 26 31 42

Bradd Kraft Following A Dream And Winning

Allison VanScooter “Though She Be But Little, She Is Fierce!”

Pooler Rec Spotlight Taz Prayor: Still Loving The Game

Pooler’s Carter Wins Primary

Desmond Crone becoming the man he needs to be Photos by TODD WOOD

I

In places that are measured, not in miles, but the invisible reaches of the human spirit, distance is still distance. And that means you have to know where someone has been to appreciate how far they’ve come.

When you know that, you know Pooler’s Desmond Crone has traveled a million miles to get from where he was to where he is.

And he’s been places. He’s been about as low as a man can get. He’s now approaching heights – but not highs – he wouldn’t have thought possible before May 2, 2013.

You see, that’s the day Crone decided to become the man he needs to be.

“That’s the day I decided to change my life,” he said.

You must know this, or Crone’s story is one without a beginning, like a movie you walk in on after most of it has already been shown. Crone found rock bottom. His trip there was due to addictions, first alcohol and then a whirlwind numbing sadness of prescription painkillers that filled some bottomless hole in his soul.

The heights are coming as he hones his body, mind and spirit and chases a men’s physique title, all while staying sober.

Sobriety, and a faith, or a spirituality, that defies easy categorization – those are the

08 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

things that matter now. That, and pushing himself to achieve something while helping others achieve something too.

“I want to be of service,” Crone said, on a scorching hot August afternoon, where to beat the heat, you had to find a place inside. Crone found shade and some air conditioning in a Dunkin Donut not far from where I-95 crosses the bridge into South Carolina. He sipped iced coffee laced with Splenda – “I live on this stuff” as he tried to figure out how to explain how one day on a calendar filled with days could be so important.

Crone’s never been interviewed, but even were he a veteran of dealing with writers, how does one explain that the schism between before May 2 and after May 2 might as well be light years apart, so different is the man who existed before then and after then?

You do it by being honest.

“I want to help others,” he said. “If I do that, and stay true to the spirit that guides me, then I believe the competitions will come my way, and even if it doesn’t, that’s fine because this is not about winning.”

But there’s still competition, and winning, too, if it happens. It could, though competing in men’s physique at Crone’s level is difficult, and so even though he’s

Pooler Magazine | September/October 2014 09

37, he doesn’t look it, thanks to a workout regimen that includes daily stints in both the weight room and probably enough cardio to trim down a rhino.

This while working in a restaurant and helping friends reach fitness goals, while he ponders his chance to make a splash in men’s physique competitions at a national level, after finishing first in his class in July at the Mr. Georgia competition in Atlanta; that after placing third in his first competition, the Golden Isles in Savannah back in June.

The win in July locked up a trip to New Jersey in 2015 for Crone, who’ll compete in the NPC Universe Championships in July.

Crone’s training for it now. Aiming for it. Thirsting for the chance to keep moving forward, not for himself, but for others, to show them you can go from point A to point B no matter how bad A was. If he can do it, so can you.

But if there’s a B, there’s always point A. You don’t start from nowhere.

And so Crone’s past looks over his shoulder, makes what he’s accomplished all the more remarkable. So many could’ve just given up, given in, let the numbness and drugs and booze wash them out to sea.

And to think that at first, Crone was such a lucky kid. He was born on Tybee Island, grew up there as a normal active kid who liked to have fun and what a better place to live than on a beach in a beach town. “I know I was lucky, to grow up on Tybee,” Crone said. “I didn’t know it then, but I know it now.”

But then the wheels started coming off, though he didn’t know that then either.

When Crone was around 15 or so, he started running with a crowd of teens that would con the drunks on Tybee into buying them alcohol, and then they’d all go party. It sounds harmless enough, kids do it all the time, a rite of passage as old as the world. What’s a day at the beach without a little alcohol to go with it? Only, when every day’s a day at the beach, that little alcohol becomes a lot.

Maybe the other kids grew out of it, but Crone didn’t. He was tossed out of Benedictine but still had that winning personality. He got married, had two kids, and then at some point switched

10 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

from the alcohol to prescription painkillers because his wife had come to hate his addiction to the booze.

“She couldn’t smell the pills,” he said.

“That’s what started me on the painkillers.” But then it went too far.

Crone, who even did a year in jail for possession of narcotics when he was 25, just kept on using and kept getting caught and kept promising he’d stop.

It was a booze and oxycontin and roxycontin - a fueled merry go round that for others wasn’t so merry. He could function, sold cars for a while and was good at it, worked in restaurants and was good at that. But the painkillers and sometimes more alcohol filled the hole.

And then Crone lost his family. His wife had enough. She took their two kids and left him. He lost their trust and the trust of other family members and at last it broke his heart, or yanked the bottom from the hole he used to fill with pills or booze.

“I just felt dead inside,” he said.

“There was an emptiness drugs and alcohol couldn’t fill. That day I couldn’t find enough alcohol or drugs to fill it.

I was hopeless in mind and body and spirit.”

There’s an old saying: The first day of the rest of your life. For Crone, that was it. He’d hit the bottom.

Crone put himself into a treatment facility on May 2, 2013, spent 28 days inside it. “I had to straighten out mentally and physically,” he said. “And spiritually, that’s the most important thing. That’s the biggest part of all this” Crone’s faith isn’t one that comes prepackaged from churches, though he has no problem with those who go that path. He just believes and follows what he believes. His is a personal faith, a belief in an all-powerful creator, a force for good out there that could go by every name in the book and still be the same thing.

“I believe in a higher power that’s bigger than myself,” Crone said, before taking another sip of the iced coffee.

“That guides me and helps me guide others who are willing to open up to that. The universe is just so big, I know there’s something out there bigger than me. And I believe in it.”

As he sobered up, he found that 5foot-9 body he’d wrecked with decades of abuse needed repair. “As I took care

of the mental and physical part, I knew I needed to straighten out physically as well,” he said. “That’s when I set the goal of one day competing in a physique competition.”

Physique competition appealed to him, he said, “because it is hard.”

And on that road to fitness in mind, body, spirit and soul, there lay something else.

He has a friend whose name is Lea. She wanted to lose weight and asked him for help. He quickly agreed and found it filled that hole in his soul better than any drug ever could. So maybe at heart, Crone is all heart.

“The key to happiness for me right now is helping others, without expecting anything in return,” he said.

“That’s where true happiness lies.”

He doesn’t know much beyond that, doesn’t look too far ahead. He’ll train, he’ll do the competitions, he’ll work, he’ll help others, he will do what it takes to stay sober.

It’s a better merry go round than the one he was on before, but it’s a still a ride that doesn’t exactly come with an itinerary. You do what you have to do.

“I don’t plan ahead,” he said. “I take it one day at a time. I live in the moment. But if I have an ultimate goal, it’s to try to inspire as many people as possible. I believe the best way to do that is lead by example.”

Lead by example. It’s already working. Crone’s allowed to see his kids again. He can see other relatives again, too, after an estrangement he caused.

“People trust me again,” he said. “I never thought I’d be able to say that, not before May 2. I never could have dreamed I would have my kids back in my life. Before May 2, I couldn’t string together 30 sober days unless I was in an institution, and I was in them four times.”

It took the last time to be the first day of the rest of Crone’s life. He knows some still think he’ll slip. His ex-wife still looks at him as if she’s not sure he’s real, and sometimes Crone sounds as if he’s still not sure he’s real, either.

“It’s overwhelming for me to realize sometimes where I’m at,” he said.

“When I look at how far I’ve come.”

It’s only about 30 miles from Tybee Island to Pooler. But for Desmond Crone, it is a million miles from May 2 to now.

“I take it one day at a time.

I live in the moment. But if I have an ultimate goal, it’s to try to inspire as many people as possible.

I believe the best way to do that is lead by example.”

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The Savannah Country Day School Congratulates the Class 2014 The TheSavannah SavannahCountry CountryDay DaySchool SchoolCongratulates Congratulatesthe theClass Classofof of2014 2014

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Pooler Magazine | September/October 2014 13 Service Service I IIKnowledge Knowledge I IICharacter Character Service Knowledge Character

high jumps

and many Successes with

Summer Hendley • Story by STEFANIE BARNES Photos by TODD WOOD •

S

ummer Hendley, a junior at Savannah Christian Preparatory School, is truly a girl of many talents.

From cheerleading to Spanish Club to runway modeling, she manages to do it all and do it well.

Her most spectacular achievements come from her participation in track and field which she has been enjoying since sixth grade.

Beginning six years ago, Hendley decided to try her hand at track and field and started running the one-hundred and two-hundred meter race as well as competing in long jump.

She has also been cheerleading since middle school and enjoyed both so much that she decided to continue to pursue the sports into high school.

“My favorite thing about track,” she says, “is the meets. I like practice and everything because I like everyone on my team, but the meets are really fun. The first year I thought it was going to be really nerve-racking but it wasn’t. It was calm and I really enjoyed it.” She also loves the competitive spirit and the relationships she has made while competing. “The people on my team make it worth it. Practice isn’t necessarily always fun, but they make it more enjoyable,” she says.

Her first year competing on the high school level brought Hendley many surprises and successes. Under the instruction of DeeDee and Dale Colter, she began to develop her love for track and field on a whole other level. Only a few

14 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

days before the area meet in Macon, her coach decided to look at athletes on the team who could possibly compete in the high jump division in order to score the team points.

Since there were currently no high jump participants, her coach asked her to give it a try.

Little did she know, she would not only be good at the high jump – she would be excellent at it. She tried her hand at the high jump on a Wednesday, and that Saturday she competed in high jump at area and won. She surprised her coaches, her fellow athletes, and most importantly – herself.

Hendley’s freshman year of high school she was awarded Savannah’s Best of Prep’s award in track and field as well as the SCPS Best Newcomer award for girl’s track. She won the Georgia Private Class A State title in long and high jump as well. This same year, she won an award that she wasn’t expecting, which also happens to be her favorite award. “I am really proud of the J. Ferrell Henry Trophy. I got it for having the highest points in field events at state competition in Albany. It was really surprising; I wasn’t expecting it at all.” Summer also has three Georgia State titles.

In addition to track and field, Hendley participates in many other extracurricular activities. She is a member of the Spanish Club, The Key Club (a service organization), SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), and has maintained high honor roll since middle school. She is also a cheerleader for SCPS and has been modeling for three years.

Pooler Magazine | September/October 2014 15

“Try everything. In middle school I only did the 100 meter and long jump. I never tried high jump because I didn’t think I’d be good at it. I ended up trying it because my coach believed in me.”

She recently participated in Charleston Fashion Week which reaffirmed her love for modeling and was chosen as one of the top ten finalists for Top Model.

Unfortunately, her sophomore year as a track and field star did not go exactly as planned. Hendley participated in competition cheerleading during the fall of her sophomore year and sustained an injury (a multi-torn labrum) which would ultimately lead to her missing the beginning of track season due to having corrective surgery. All of this happened only after she competed in area, sectional, and state cheerleading competitions. Her mother, Tammy, says “Summer’s doctor was surprised. He didn’t know how she managed to continue competing without being in much worse pain than she was.”

In January of 2014, just before track season began, Summer underwent the surgery to repair her shoulder injury. Considering she had a shorter track season than she was used to, she still managed to have a successful season and was once again awarded Savannah’s Best of Preps in track and field as well as SCPS 2014 Coaches Award. Hendley also won the Georgia Class A State title in high jump for the second year and finished third at state in the long jump division.

She also managed to surprise herself again by not only being successful in the high jump, but by upping her personal best.

Hendley’s high jump record is now set at 5’3” – a full three inches higher than where she was able to jump when she first began.

She credits her success in high jump to her coach, Dale Colter.

He works primarily with the athletes who compete in the field events and is the sole reason she tried the high jump to begin with. Hendley says, “He is at every meet and really pushes us in a positive way. He motivates me to do my best without beating me

16 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

down. I don’t respond to that. He is a very positive coach, and that really helps.”

Because of the injury she sustained last year during competition cheerleading, which took away from her track season, she plans to forego the chance of injury this year by only participating in football cheerleading. Since she will no longer be actively participating in competition cheerleading in the fall as usual, she plans to work on strengthening her leg muscles so that she can jump farther and higher and beat her own personal record. Hendley also plans to continue strengthening her shoulder to prevent any new injuries this season.

While college is still two years away for the junior, she has plans to apply to the University of Georgia. One key component to attending whichever college she chooses is one thing that many high school students worry about: grades. However, Hendley has had enough experience with juggling school work and athletics to know what she needs to do in order to succeed. She says, “It is really important to stay ahead with school work. Sometimes you may need to have it done and if you stay ahead you’ll be fine.”

Hendley is a humble athlete and student who constantly surprises herself at what she is able to do when she sets her mind to it. When asked what advice she would give to other young girls who may want to try their hand at track and field, she says, “Try everything. In middle school, I only did the 100 meter and long jump. I never tried high jump because I didn’t think I’d be good at it. I ended up trying it because my coach believed in me. Just try it all, even if you don’t think you’ll be good at it. You might surprise yourself. I know I did!”

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Pooler Magazine | September/October 2014 19

Bradd Craft: Following A Dream...

And Winning • Story by KATHRYN VANDENHOUTEN

N

ot many people wake up one day in their forties and say, “I think I’ll start racing cars.” But Pooler resident Bradd Craft did just that. The racecar driver currently competes at Oglethorpe Speedway Park, and he is having the time of his life on the racetrack.

Craft is no stranger to racing. His stepson, Andrew Smith, raced in the NASCAR K&N Series and in the X1-R Pro Cup Series. “Once he got hot and heavy into his racing career, it looked fun, so I said why not?!” The fact that he was 49 did not deter him at all. “It’s a mid life crisis,” Craft says with a laugh.

“The opportunity presented itself, so I took advantage of it.”

Though he has only been racing for five years, his family has been going to the racetrack since he was young. Now his hobby has become a place for family and kinship. “It’s just a family affair, really,” he says.

His wife, in-laws, and stepson all enjoying watching and participating at the track.

Currently, Craft is racing a Honda Civic in the 440 division at Oglethorpe and other area tracks. One of the challenges is that they can only use the stock components to build their racecars. “You just have to figure out how to make the stock components work better than your competitors do,” he adds.

When he’s not on the track, he devotes a great deal of time to his cars. “We build our own cars, mainly from the junk yard,” he says. “Cash and Carry Used Auto Parts is my long-time sponsor, so that works out pretty good!” And every year from April through September, his Friday nights are spent at the racetrack.

He spends at least an hour or two every day at the shop working on his car. Preparation, he says, is key. When he builds and repairs his cars, the most important factor is safety. “You can cut corners somewhere else, but not in safety,” says Craft. “It doesn’t matter how fast or slow—you need a safe car

20 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

Photos by TODD WOOD •

to start out with.”

It is fortunate that safety comes first for Craft, because he is no stranger to fender benders and collisions. The scariest moment in his racing career occurred two years ago when he flipped his car on the track. Even then, he walked away without injuries, thanks to a good roll cage and a safe car.

Topping out at over 100 miles per hour on the track, Craft loves the speed and excitement of racing.

And while some drivers may say that racing a car is much harder than it looks, Craft disagrees. “It’s easy,” he asserts.

He isn’t completely fearless, of course. He has witnessed wrecks and injuries, so he knows the potential danger is there. “You don’t dwell on what could happen,” says Craft. “If you’re out there saying ‘I may get in a wreck,’ chances are, you will.”

He stresses the importance of concentration on the track.

Craft keeps his eyes on the prize. While it may be fun just to participate in every race, winning is always his goal. “If you’re going to put in the time and effort to compete,” he says, “then you should compete with the intention of winning.”

He is no stranger to victory lane. Craft has been lucky enough to win quite a few races at Oglethorpe Speedway. Oddly enough, he doesn’t mention winning when asked about his most favorite moments on the track. He speaks instead of fellowship.

One of his most favorite moments at Oglethorpe Speedway was when fellow driver, John Puckett, won his first race. Puckett had been racing a long time without a win, and when he finally won, Craft was extremely happy for him. “That was as satisfying to me as winning it,” he recalls. “We’re all pretty tight out there.”

When asked the worst part of racing, Craft struggles to find anything to complain about. Even when he wrecks his car and has to find parts and do repairs, he doesn’t mind at all. “There’s nothing that

Pooler Magazine | September/October 2014 21

I don’t like about it, really and truly.”

As far as hobbies go, the racetrack isn’t the only place Craft excels. He is also a musician. Many people would be surprised to know that he is a pianist who has played in many bands throughout the years. In fact, one of his band mates and former roommate, Tony Arata, wrote “The Dance” for Garth Brooks.

“I played in a band with Tony forever,” he says. “And I really enjoyed doing that for many years.” But one day Craft says it was like somebody turned a switch off on his love of performing. “It got to the point where it was more work than enjoyment, and when racing gets that way, I’ll stop that too.”

For now, though, he has no plans to quit racing. He is having way too much fun. “I love the smell of gas and rubber, so it just comes natural,” Craft jokes.

Somewhere in between playing the piano and racing cars, Craft became a computer analyst. He now works for the Department of

22 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

Juvenile Justice. He has certainly worn many hats in his lifetime.

Throughout it all, he says his biggest fan has been his wife, Peggy. “She’s there every Friday night,’ says Craft. “She’s very supportive.” Family is extremely important to him, and that is where he gets most of his inspiration.

He says his wife inspires him in life, his stepson inspires him in racing, and his son, Taylor Craft, inspires him by taking chances. His son is currently living in Nashville and following in his father’s footsteps as a musician. “I’ve got a lot of inspiration,” Craft says of his family.

He says the biggest obstacle he has had to overcome has been himself. Allowing himself to try new things and getting rid of self doubt and procrastination finally freed him to follow his dreams and do what makes him happy. And for now, being at the racetrack with family and friends makes him happiest.

Racing with drivers half his age does not bother Craft in the

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Craft has no grand delusions of being a professional racecar driver. “I’m just a normal guy having fun,” he says. All he wants for the future is for his family to be healthy and to eventually afford to retire. It may seem like a modest aspiration, but, as Craft says, “I’m right where I need to be, and I’m doing what I want to do.”

Every Friday night at Oglethorpe Speedway, Bradd Craft is doing what makes him happy. His story underscores the fact that it is never too late to follow your dreams. “I’ve been fortunate to win quite a few races in my short career,” he says. “I still think I can win a few more.” And with any luck, he’ll do just that.

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Allison VanScooter

“Though she be but little, she is fierce! ”

- Shakespeare

• Story by STEFANIE BARNES Photos by TODD WOOD •

A

llison VanScooter, known to family and friends as Alli, may seem to be just your average eight year old to most.

However, those who know her best, know this to be an extreme understatement.

VanScooter, a third grader at Godley Station in Pooler, carries herself with the confidence and grace of a young lady much older than eight. How could an eight year old possibly be so confident, with such little life experience?

Her father and mother, Jeff and Jaci VanScooter, believe that her newfound love for martial arts has everything to do with it. “It helps with confidence and it helps with discipline,” says her mother, “It gives them a place to focus their energy and it really helps her to do better in school. One of the big things they teach here is respect. Respect for their teachers, for their parents, for all adults.”

Like her peers, VanScooter has tried her hand at several different extracurricular activities in hopes of finding one that she wanted to pursue long-term. She has been playing soccer for the Pooler Rec Department for three years now and really enjoys playing the position of goalie (which also requires confidence and strength). She has also dabbled in learning how to play the piano but decided to dedicate her time and energy to karate, telling her mother, “It’s just my thing.”

When asked why she decided to take karate lessons, VanScooter answers, “I noticed that my little brother, Brian, was talking to strangers and I did not want anyone to take him away. I wanted to learn to protect him.” Not only is she talented, she obviously loves her little brother (who is also currently learning martial arts) and wants to protect him. Her brother is currently in a younger class, but she cannot wait to spar with him, like many siblings in martial arts often do.

VanScooter has been a student at Robinson’s ATA in Pooler since January of this year. She started taking martial arts lessons only seven months ago and has already developed a love for the sport, as well as a desire to continue to improve the many skills she has learned thus far.

She says, “My favorite thing about karate is that it teaches self-defense and respect.”

26 September/October 2014 | PoolerMagazine

VanScooter has already managed to make her way into the Black Belt Club for her age group. The Black Belt Club is the advanced program out of the basic class for her age group and out of about two-hundred students, only half are in this club. Jennifer Cohens, manager at Robinson’s ATA says, “Ali is an exceptional student. She comes in and helps with the Tiny Tiger class, which is composed of four to six year olds, and was recently chosen to go to the black belt club because of her extraordinary leadership skills.” She transferred into the black belt club only recently, after earning her camouflage belt and has thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of advancing out of her basic program.

Her next step at Robinson’s ATA will be to progress to the Leadership Club. Cohens believes that this will happen before Ali

28 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

even earns her black belt. “She is probably about one and a half years away from earning her black belt. There are only about ten to fifteen kids in the leadership club and they go to competitions and help out with things that we do in the community,” she says. “She is an up and coming rising star in the martial arts world. She is very good and has a lot of natural talent. I believe we can shape her into an amazing martial artist.”

Joining the Leadership Club also happens to be VanScooter’s short-term goal while participating in martial arts. Her long term goal? Opening a martial arts studio where she can teach children karate - a sport that she, herself, is already extremely passionate about as a child. Considering she is constantly helping out with younger children (her brother included) while at karate, she is already practicing the skills needed in order to achieve this goal.

Not only does she help out at karate, she also helps with younger children at school and at her church. “She takes karate, and everything she learns there, with her everywhere she goes,” says her mother.

When asked what she enjoys doing outside of karate, she looks a little confused as if thinking, “That is a tough question...What else is there?” In the midst of being active in her church and concentrating on karate and soccer, she is still able to maintain straight A’s in school.

VanScooter’s favorite subject is math and she is in the gifted program at school.

Not only is she a driven, dedicated, very smart young lady – she was voted class clown last year. Her mother is positive that her daughter is learning everything she needs to know in order to defend herself and others. “You always want to keep them close, but it is comforting to know that they have the skills to protect themselves.”

Having just received her gear and weapons, she says using the redwood sword is her favorite thing to do. “It takes a lot of memory because there are different stances and strikes,” says VanScooter. The students are taught to use these weapons respectfully and only in self-defense. Her favorite move? “I love to do jump kicks.

They are just fun to do.”

VanScooter says she owes a great deal of her success in karate so far to two instructors in particular. “Mr. C has the best kicks to show that I have ever seen,” she says, “he always pushed me to do my best. Also, Ms. Saunders is very kind. She is the sweetest karate teacher I’ve ever seen. She is all about girl power, and I like that!”

It is no surprise that VanScooter thrives off the idea of girl power. When asked if she felt she could protect her brother if the need ever arose, she did not need any words. She simply smiled and nodded her head confidently.

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Pool e r R e c r e a t i o n S p o t l i g h t

Taz Prayor: Still Loving The Game

D

• Photos by TODD WOOD •

onterrish Prayor found it hard to walk away from football after a lifetime spent devoted to the game. “This game will grab you and it won’t let you go,” he said. “That’s why they had to run off Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno and Lou Holtz. They didn’t want to leave.”

The same apparently can be said for Prayor, public servant by day, head coach of the 12U Pooler Packers in the evenings and on weekends. “As long as Pooler will have me, I’ll stick around,” he said.

It’s been quite a voyage for the Navy veteran and son of Richard and Loretta Prayor. Prayor said he was told he got the name Donterrish from a nurse at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, which is where he was born in 1974.

He got his first taste of public service in the Navy upon enlisting in 1991 after graduating from Newnan High School. He also learned discipline.

“Being in the Navy taught you how to follow rules,” he said. “I think that’s what’s helped me along in life. I’m able to follow instructions. I didn’t always like the instructions, and I don’t always like them now, but I’ll do as I’m told. Even now I’m always telling guys, ‘Do it first, complain later.’”

Prayor got out of the Navy in 1994 armed with the G.I. Bill and ready for school and football.

Georgia Southern won that recruiting battle, which apparently wasn’t much of a battle. It wasn’t recruiting, either.

“I’d applied and been accepted by colleges right after high school, before I went in the Navy,” he said. “I wasn’t recruited as an athlete, it was all about academics, but Georgia Southern was the only school to keep my SAT scores. They didn’t throw them out after four years. I kept thinking then it was a destiny thing.”

Prayor got a tryout with then-coach Tim Stowers. Out of the 150 would be Eagles who tried out, Prayor was one of six to make the cut.

“Everything I knew about Georgia Southern was ‘Erk, Erk, Erk,” and my dream was to play for Erk (Russell),” Prayor said.

“But when I got to Southern, Coach Stowers had took over for Erk ... and Tim was alright. I liked Tim. But it’s hard to follow a legend.”

Prayor played for three seasons, starting as a 6-foot-3, 220 pound linebacker and growing into a 280-pound defensive lineman, thanks to the meals at Landrum. He sat out his senior year not because he had to, but because he needed to put school ahead of football.

It worked. Prayor graduated on Aug. 2, 1998 with a degree in mass communications, focusing in journalism. He worked in the journalism field for about eight months with Atlanta-based Crawford Communications before he eventually took a job 15 years ago with the state as a social security adjudications officer.

“I enjoy what I do,” Prayor said. “I think I’m in the field I need to be in. That job is perfect to for what I like to do. I’m not there to be your best friend, but if I can help you in some kind of way, shape, form or fashion, help you process a claim faster, then I’ve performed a public service.”

Still, dreams die hard, so as a younger man Prayor chased pro football for a while. “I thought I was talented enough to play more than I did at Southern,” Prayor said. “I felt it wasn’t for lack of talent, it was more about lack of opportunity. So after about a year of training for it, I wanted to see if I could find a way to make it onto somebody’s practice squad.”

In 1999, Prayor, who had a friend serving as his agent, got a chance to work out at the regional combines, where he did well enough to get to the next round of combines, the super regionals. “That didn’t pan out like I wanted it to, so I wound up signing with a minor league team from Atlanta, the South Atlanta Eagles,” Prayor said. “That began my minor league career.”

It lasted a dozen years and included a number of stops before he wound up with the Georgia X-treme, one of minor league football’s more storied franchises. That was quite a run, too.

Prayor was named an All-American, the team won championships all over the place.

“That’s where all the glory came,” Prayor said. “In five of six years we won minor league national titles, which was kind of cool.”

It was with the X-Treme that Prayor, who played for some fine coaches, also met the one he thinks had the biggest impact on him: coach Will Smith.

“I played for some really awesome people, coming through to little league to high school to college to minor leagues, and he stuck with me as a mentor, friend and coach. He had simple thought process, nothing mindblowing. But his mentality on playing the game and on coaching the game, I still use it.”

Basically, play hard all the time. Be tough. Be accountable.

And then his stepson, Andre Newsome, went out for rec football.

“I started dating my stepson’s mom (Jeanine) in 2009 and was still playing football, still focused on myself. Her son was playing in the morning, I was playing at night, it was football, football, football all the time.”

But Andre had a tough season that year. His team didn’t win a game.

“I felt kind of guilty about that,” Prayor said. “I knew I could help, I just didn’t have the time, or at least I thought I didn’t. But when he decided to play again the next season, I still hadn’t retired, but I wanted to help out. I didn’t want him to have the same results as he did last year.”

32 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

Prayor remembers being impressed with the College Park Athletic Association coach who was out there all by himself, setting up stations to do drills. The man had no assistants until Prayor showed up to ask a few questions and wound up getting a whistle thrown at him. The two coaches took their underdogs to the title game, “where we got our butts whooped, but that season meant more to me than any ring I ever won as a player.”

In 2012, Jeanine got a job in Savannah, so the family moved from Atlanta – it’s a family that includes Prayor’s older son, Javonte, now a senior at Jacksonville State, and 2-year-old DeJuan, settled in Pooler.

And already bitten by the coaching bug, Prayor decided to sign up to help and the rest, as they say, is history. The Packers are winners. Prayor helps see to that along with others. He admits stealing everything he can from other coaches. He shares credit, too.

“I’ve lived a lot,” Prayor said. “I’ve lived a life so abundant, volunteerism is just been a small way of giving back. I appreciate parents entrusting their kids to me a few hours a night to play the game of football. That’s a big responsibility I don’t take lightly.If all they need is a couple of hours to help out, it’s my pleasure to do it.”

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Pooler Magazine | September/October 2014 33

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M

Pooler Continues To Get National Attention!

ore and more folks are learning what Pooler insiders have long known—It really is Cooler in Pooler. From the “megasite” to retail growth, Pooler continues to garner more attention.

An Atlanta Journal Constitution article recently questioned whether another large corporation could be looking at what is referred to as the “megasite” in Pooler (the state of Georgia still has roughly 1,400 acres available of the 1,550 that it purchased in Pooler in 2002 for $24 million for the purpose of economic development to recruit manufacturing). Mitsubishi Power Systems employs over 300 workers at its property on the megasite, where it manufactures gas and steam turbines used by power plants.

Meanwhile, small and large businesses continue to thrive in Pooler. It is quite obvious when you drive along Pooler Parkway near I-95, but take a turn along Highway 80 or go towards I-16 (on the other side of Pooler Parkway) and you will see signs of new growth. These are exciting times for Pooler and our City leadership is doing a great job to help prepare for this growth, and is currently working with the State Department of Transportation

38 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

to address road safety and traffic concerns.

The Pooler Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, Inc. is doing its part to provide services to new and existing businesses and the community, as well as reaching out to prospective businesses, residents and tourists. Speaking of tourists, it is interesting to note that Pooler is growing as a tourist destination, from historic tours to weddings, running events, to Girl Scouts, and more.

Events such as Taste of Pooler, Cooler in Pooler Resolution 5K/15K, Sip & Savor, Patriot Weekend, JCB Mud Run, and the upcoming Pooler Restaurant Week as well as Pooler Park & Shop welcome visitors to the area and benefit residents as the events are held in Pooler.

Proceeds from events such as these also help the chamber to give back to the community in more ways than one. So far this year, the chamber has contributed to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire, Loaves and Fishes, Lions Club, Warrior Transition Battalion, and Rotary Club. The chamber is proud to be a part of the community and looks forward to continued growth and well-being.

Pooler Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cuttings Pretty and Peach Boutique celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting on August 16.

425 E. Collins Street Pooler, Georgia Pictured left to right are: Jabron Webster; Amber Morris; Kim Iler; Lakelyn Iler; Sara Bragg; Kellie Iler; Mike Lamb, Mayor of Pooler; Connie Farmer-Ray; Juliy Cyrn;Veronica Voisine; Katie Iler; and Andresa Eady.

Pooler Magazine | September/October 2014 39

Pooler Attractions Pooler Attractions National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force

175 Bourne Ave. • Pooler, GA 31322 The Museum is conveniently located off of I-95 at exit 102 in Pooler, GA, just two miles south of the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport exit and minutes away from the heart of downtown Savannah. Today, the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum is one of the world’s most powerful museum experiences.

Savannah-Ogeechee Canal

Listed on the national register of historic places, the canal has a hiking trail that starts at a point in Tom Triplett Park and ends at the canal.

There is a museum on the Ogeechee River with guided tours of the canal. For more information, visit www.savannahogeecheecanal.com.

Recreation

Pooler boasts a number of recreational attractions such as a recreation complex near city hall and a 102-acre “super complex” near the Pooler Parkway. This facility is located on Isaac Laroche Drive behind the West Chatham YMCA.Visit the Pooler Recreation Department website for more information, http://www.poolerrec. com/rec/ or call 748-5776.

Tom Triplett Park

The heart of Tom Triplett Park is the lake. Surrounding the lake are biking and jogging paths and a frisbee golf course. The bike paths consist of three intertwined loops of 3.5 miles, 5 miles and 6.5 miles with a lot of technical turns, drops and downhills. Biking in the park is a great way to explore the historic area. Picnic tables under shelters are reminiscent of pagodas and playgrounds while barbeque grills ensure a

40 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

perfect outing for friends and family. Everyone can try their hand at fishing from the two piers. A clubhouse is available for rent for any of your special events.

YMCA

The West Chatham YMCA is located at 165 Isaac G. LaRoche Dr. in Pooler.

Today the YMCA of Coastal Georgia reaches from Tybee Island to Hinesville, Richmond Hill to Rincon, with 10 operating branches in and around the greater Savannah area. With continuing emphasis on family, the YMCA offers a broad selection of activities including preschool childcare, school age care, summer camps, parenting groups, youth and adult sports, family activities, teen fellowship, spiritual rejuvenation, adult wellness, weight management, nutritional counseling, stress management, weight training, aerobics, dancing, yoga, swimming, and much...much more. For more information about the West Chatham YMCA visit their website at www.ymcaofcoastalga. org/west-chatham.

Golf

There are two golf courses in the Pooler area. Crosswinds Golf Club is a unique golfing venue offering 27 holes of some of Savannah’s best golf. They are known for their excellent greens and course conditions throughout the year. The 18 hole championship course is an open, parkland style design with no homes anywhere on the course. Crosswinds is located at 232 James B. Blackburn Drive, Savannah, GA. Call (912)966-0674 or visit their website at www. crosswindsgolfclub.com.

Westbrook at Savannah Quarters is a 950-acre private, gated Greg Norman master planned golf community offering a unique lifestyle.

This community has beautiful custom homes that enables Westbrook residents to enjoy first-class amenities including a swim and fitness center, tennis courts and a newly built clubhouse with three dining rooms, conference room and wine room all within a friendly, vibrant atmosphere.Visit their website at www.savannahquarters. com.

Oglethorpe Speedway Park

Every Friday, race fans gather at Oglethorpe Speedway Park to watch the best drivers in the area race for points and prizes. The half-mile speedway has entertained fans since March of 1951. A tradition of championship racing in a family oriented facility lives on as they run weekly sanctioned NASCAR events. Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks make up the weekly schedule.

For more information or to schedule a visit www.ospracing.net.

Frames-n-Games

There are lots and lots of games at Pooler’s playground, Frames-nGames. The family entertainment center has 28 bowling lanes, videogame arcade, two-story laser tag arena, Balladium and The Pooler Grille, a restaurant and sports bar. Frames-n-Games is located at 6 Towne Center Court, Pooler GA To reserve a lane, or book a party call 912-330-5577.

Fun Zone Amusement & Sports Park

Fun Zone has more than 80 arcade games, four Go-Karts tracks, a 36 hole Mini-Golf course, paintball field, kiddieland playground, food and beverages and free party rooms.

For more information call (912)330-9860 or visit www.poolerfunzone.com. Fun Zone is at 1040 East Highway 80, near I-95 exit 102, Pooler.

Movies

Georgia Theatre Company has opened its 12-screen Pooler Stadium Cinemas 12 at the Pooler Marketplace. Pooler Marketplace is located off of Pooler Parkway near I-16 and I-95.

Royal Cinema and I-Max, a 10 screen movie theatre, is located in the Towne Center at Godley Station next to Frames-n-Games.

Sk8 City

Sk8 City offers an 11,000 square foot skating rink, arcade gaming area, a state of the art laser maze, a soft play area for young kids and a full service snack bar. For more information, call 988-1388 or visit sk8citypooler.com. 4 Towne Center Court, Pooler.

Girl Scouts

Girl Scout First Headquarters 110 Pipemakers Circle Suite 116 Pooler, GA 31322 (912)236-1571 The Girl Scout Program is girl-driven, reflecting the ever-changing needs and interests of today’s girls. Girls discover the fun, friendship and power of girls together, while learning the importance of personal responsibility, the value of goal-setting, the spirit of teamwork and the thrill of accomplishment.

Live Oak Public Library

Located at 216 S. Rogers Street in Pooler, the Live Oak Public Library offers a wide variety of books, videos, music, newspapers, magazines and computers. The Pooler Live Oak Library has a wonderful children’s section, and is a great place to visit during the hotter summer months. For more information about the library, visit their website at www.liveoakpl.org or call, (912)748-0471.

Pooler Magazine | September/October 2014 41

Pooler’s Buddy Carter Wins Primary and Prepares for the General Election

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• Story by KATHRYN VANDENHOUTEN

ormer Pooler Mayor, Buddy Carter, won the runoff in the primary, but his work has just begun. Now he is poised for the biggest race of his career.

“We’re delighted we won 54 to 46 per cent,” he says of his win. “We are very fortunate to come out on top.”

Carter will now campaign against Democrat Brian Reese for Jack Kingston’s seat as U.S. Representative for Georgia’s first congressional district. It has been a Republican seat for the past 22 years, and Carter says he will do everything in his power to keep it that way.

“Community involvement and public service is very important to me,” says Carter. In addition to serving as Pooler’s mayor, he has been in the state legislature for the past ten years. “I was born and bred in the first district, and having the honor of serving these people of the first district is probably the best part of my job.”

As a pharmacist, healthcare has always been important to him.

Carter believes that America has the best healthcare system in the world, and he is worried that Obamacare will destroy healthcare as we know it. “If Obamacare continues like it’s going now, it’s going to ruin that,” says Carter. “And I’m not going to sit aside and watch that happen.” For Carter, the national debt and outof- control spending is also a top priority. “To think that we are saddling future generations with over 17.5 trillion in debt is just unconscionable,” he maintains. “We’re digging such a deep hole that future generations will never be able to get out of.”

To say that the federal government’s fiscal irresponsibility upsets him would be an understatement. In fact, if there were ever a motion to cut the salary of Congress to save money, Carter would support it. “I would not hesitate one bit to vote for that,” he says of the idea.

“Balancing the budget is extremely important to me,” Carter reiterates. He goes on to explain that as a small business owner for 26 years, as the mayor of Pooler, and as a member of the Appropriation Committee in the State Legislature, he has been required to balance a budget, so “if just baffles me that the federal government doesn’t balance their budget,” he says.

He wants Democrats in the first district to know that he wants to represent them as well. “I want to represent all constituents in the first district, whether they be Republican or Democrat,” he says. “We still want to be inclusive and to make sure everybody is represented.”

Carter says there is a lot the people can do to let their opinions be heard, no matter on what side of the political aisle they may sit.

He encourages his constituents to be involved in their local government. “They can make their opinions known. You can do that through email, through phone calls, through letters... but you just need to get your thoughts and your voice out there,” he says.

He knows not everyone shares his political views, so all he can do is share his ideas in hopes that the citizens of the first district agree with him. “The values of the first district are my values,” says Carter. “And those are the values that I want to take to Washington When asked if his faith plays a role in his politics, he answers positively with no hesitation. In fact, he reaches into his pocket, pulls out his pocket Bible, and reads a couple of his favorite verses from Micah and Jeremiah. “My faith influences my politics very

42 September/October 2014 | Pooler Magazine

much in just about every decision I make,” he says.

Overall, Carter just wants to keep serving the people of the first district. He is thrilled that he won the primary, but says he could not have done it without a lot of help. “I’m very thankful for all my supporters,” he says.

No matter the outcome on November 4th , Carter will remain thankful for what he has accomplished in his life. “I have been truly blessed in my life,” he says. “I’ve lived the American Dream, and I’ve been very blessed in that respect.”

The battle in November will certainly be another tough one.

Whether Democrat or Republican, constituents of the first district will be welcoming a new representative this November.

“Brian Reese is a fine young man, and I know that he’ll be a tough competitor just as Bob Johnson was a tough competitor,” says Carter. “I think if we get our message out about conservative values with real solutions, that’s what the people of the first district are looking for.”

May the best man win.

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Pooler Magazine | September/October 2014 43

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