HENRYCOUNTY.COM
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CHAMBER BRIEFS
The Youth Leadership Henry Class of 2019 Gets Cohesive on Their Teambuilding Day
Learn about the great things that are happening in our community… Longtime Henry County Judge Retires After a 23-year Career HENRY COUNTY, GA- September 24, 2018 — Members of the community and a number of officials bade farewell to Superior Court Chief Judge Arch McGarity at a retirement ceremony on September 21 at the Henry County Courthouse in McDonough. Former and current Superior Court judges including Judge Wade Crumbly, Judge Alex Crumbly, Judge Brian Amero and Judge John “Trea” Pipkin were also in attendance, each sharing kind words and the fond memories they have while working with McGarity throughout the years. McGarity was appointed to Superior Court Judge for Henry County, Flint Judicial Circuit in 1995 by Governor Zell Miller and became Chief Judge in 2007. He also served two terms as the Administrative Judge for the Sixth Judicial District from July of 2010 to July 2014. Judge McGarity will continue to serve as a senior judge in the Flint Circuit but will be retiring from his Henry County Superior Chief Judge position at the end of this month.
Commissioner Holmes Received Community Service Award HENRY COUNTY, GA- September 19, 2018 — Henry County District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes has been selected by the Free and Accepted Ancient Yorkrite Masons to receive the Most Worshipful Smooth Ashlar Grand Lodge’s 2018 Community Service award on Saturday, September 22 in Atlanta. Holmes is received the Community Service Award and was being honored for his significant accomplishments in “improving the lives of others and advancing the Arts, Sciences, Education, Politics and the community.” James Touchton, the former director of policy and government affairs for the Council for Quality Growth, has been named economic development director for the city of Stockbridge. Touchton, who worked with the Council for six years prior to coming to Stockbridge, also was a senior policy analyst and advisor for the Georgia Senate Research Office for five years. Touchton received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kennesaw State University and is president of the Board for Advance Atlanta, a transit advocacy organization. He also serves on the Town Center Alliance Advisory Board. If you are a Chamber member with good news to share, send your logo and/or photo and information to bingram@henrycounty.com and let us spread the word!
By Don Dunlap Chair, YLH Board of Directors The Youth Leadership Henry Class of 2019 assembled for their Teambuilding Day early on the morning of Monday, October 8, at the Fortson 4-H Center in Hampton. As participants arrived, they received their YLH polos and a copy of the book recommended to them by their speaker at last month’s reception, Mrs. Lori Harris. The book, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, was provided by our newest sponsor – “Story On The Square” bookstore in McDonough; we are grateful to Dr. Stephanie Gordon for her generous support. We started our day with an intensive session learning to interpret the results of the Clifton Strengths assessment each member of the class took beforehand. Many business people have gained useful insights in how to learn their top 5 strengths and use them effectively in their organizations – our class members had the added benefit of having our session facilitated by the amazing Jenny Robbins, a trained facilitator provided by the GA EMC, whose Snapping Shoals and Central Georgia
cooperatives are also sponsors of our program. These young people now know much more about themselves, and how they will most effectively interact with others to successfully achieve their goals! The staff at Fortson prepared an excellent lunch for us to ensure we were “fueled” for the afternoon’s activities. Nourished and re-energized, we broke up into groups and did some “on the ground” teambuilding activities, moved to some “lowropes” activities, then proceeded to the “high ropes” activities of Ziplining and Rock Wall climbing. Through the debriefings at each session, we learned how the activities we did applied to real-world team and leadership applications. By the time we finished our day and the class members were picked up by their parents,
they had really broadened their knowledge of themselves, their classmates, and how beneficial it is to “get out of your comfort zone” sometimes, and rely on your team to accomplish organizational goals.
Stay Connected with Youth Leadership Henry Reading about us in the monthly henrycounty.com newsletter is only one way to keep up with our class. You can also “like” our Facebook page (Youth Leadership Henry) and follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@YLHenry) to see pictures and videos of each of our program days. We encourage you to join us “virtually” as we learn about our community and how this group of highschool sophomores is learning to make our community an even better place to live, work, and play!
Leadership Henry Tours County during September Class September’s program day for Leadership Henry focused on the history of Henry County and some of the places and people that make our County unique. The morning opened with several class members leading a discussion of The Energy Bus, the leadership curriculum utilized by the Leadership Henry program, before historian Gene Morris led the group in a moving historical tour that traversed all four Henry County cities. After their morning on the bus, the class returned to the Chamber for a Gezzo’s lunch. The next stop during County Day took the class to Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS), one of the most famous tracks in all of American motorsports. The 900acre facility has been the site of some of NASCAR’s most memorable moments and hosts numerous sporting and entertainment
events throughout the year. The class got a behind the scenes tour of AMS and even spent a few moments on the track stopping to get a photo together in the winner’s circle! After leaving AMS the class visited the Army Aviation Heritage Museum, also located in Hampton. The non-profit Foundation and Museum is dedicated
nately, there just wasn’t enough time left in our class day for that! The class returned to the Chamber of Commerce where they heard a presentation by the Atlanta Regional Commission about the current state of the metro Atlanta region, with a to preserving the legacy of Army focus on Henry County. Class Aviation through aerial demon- members also learned about strations, displays, and educa- some of the opportunities and tional programs. Veterans led the challenges facing our commuclass on a tour of the museum, nity. located at the Atlanta Speedway County Day is always an Airport, and shared important action-packed day, but an impormoments, equipment, and people in aviation history. The facil- tant one in learning about some ity also offers rides in some of the of the people and places that historic helicopters, but unfortu- make up our County.
