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GARDENING GOES VIRAL!
FROM PEANUTS TO PIRATES BETTER BY DESIGN BONU
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from the editor
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t’s back to school again, but exactly what that means for Bulloch County’s school system, we’re not quite sure. There are some things we are sure about. This year the Board of Education shares with us their 2020 Annual Report, something they’ve been partnering with Statesboro Magazine on for over 15 years. Each year we feature an official update of the Board of Education’s systemwide successes and innovations. Inside get an overall glance at our system’s statistics and find out which schools are top performers. Find out everything you need to know about the high quality schools in our area just in time for school to start back on August 3rd. Or September 8th. Or in a Zoom classroom. Stay tuned. In this issue we also feature a special section dedicated to Ogeechee Technical College and their continued training of frontline workers during Covid-19. Read about their healthcare programs and the other areas of special training offered for the region’s workforce. You’ll also find information on keeping the campus safe and recognition of distinguished alumni. Dr. Kyle Marrero has finished his first year as Georgia Southern University’s 14th president. And, what a year it’s been! Read about the special challenges the University’s faced and the 2019-2024 Strategic Plan that has provided guidance and measurement of the University’s success in spite of trying times. Inside we also visit with veteran educator Beverly Campbell, and learn about how she has become an award winning PreK teacher during her 45 years in the classroom developing and implementing curriculum for our youngest learners. We also have noticed that many area residents have taken to planting Victory gardens since the coronavirus caused shortages in grocery stores this spring. We visited with four area families to learn about their gardens and the benefits of growing your own food in your own backyard. Also, we are so excited to announce a brand new furniture line from our friend, interior designer Summer Deal Hodges, design consultant for L.A. Waters Furniture & Mattress Company. Summer has been hard at work designing and choosing fabrics for what is one of the most elegant lines of furniture we’ve ever seen. See it for the first time in print inside this issue! We’re fortunate to have so many education partners at Statesboro Magazine. Their dedication to educating our children and developing our workforce is inspirational. It’s just one of the many things that makes Bulloch County a great place to live. Remember, “Never stop learning, for when we stop learning, we stop growing!”
Stay strong,
Jenny Foss, Editor
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contributors
Rev. Dr. H. William Perry Bill Perry grew up in Live Oak, Florida, a small town just south of Valdosta, GA. After graduating from Stetson University, he earned three degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2004, he retired as pastor of First Baptist Church of Statesboro after serving that congregation for 22 years. He and his wife, Margaret, registrar of Statesboro High School before her retirement in 2005, have two daughters, five grandsons, and one granddaughter. Bill has been very much involved in community life in Statesboro. He is an avid reader and has been a runner since 1973.
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Hayley Greene Hayley Greene is the public relations/marketing specialist for Bulloch County Schools (BCS). With more than 20 years in her field, her early career included serving as the president of two chambers of commerce and an economic development authority and being the communications manager for a major electric utility before coming to BCS. She has received national awards for her work and been a sought-after speaker for state and national associations in her field. Green received her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Georgia Southern University in 1991. A Jenkins County native with deep Evans County roots, she made Bulloch County her home ten years ago. She is a mother of three, a fourth-grade Sunday school teacher, and an active member of three music ministries.
Frank Fortune Frank is the national award winning freelance photographer who holds the distinction of shooting 20 years’ worth of covers for Statesboro Magazine. He retired from Georgia Southern after having been responsible for capturing the University’s history on film and video for 30 years. Throughout his career Frank’s enjoyed all aspects of photography, including sports, still-life, landscape, and architecture. He and his wife, Mandy, are the proud parents of teens, Jack and Cate.
Lazar Brown Oglesby Lazar Brown Oglesby is the owner of Honey Catering and Café and Dolan’s BBQ both located in Millen and Honey Too located in Statesboro. Lazar attended Ogeechee Technical College where she earned a Culinary Arts degree. In 2012 Lazar followed a lifelong dream and opened Honey Catering and Café. She enjoys cooking Southern food with an adventurous twist! Lazar is known for her famous cheesecakes of which she has over 100 flavors. Lazar recently started the Honey Blog to share her recipes and stories.
Doy Cave From Eagle Nation is a column brought to you by Georgia Southern University, where we cherish our place in the larger Statesboro community. In each issue, we hope to bring interesting and informative stories to the readers of Statesboro Magazine.Doy Cave is the Marketing Content Manager in the Office of Marketing and Communications at the University, and resides with his family in Statesboro.
Ric Mandes Ric Mandes, a popular essayist, retired after 27 years as Director of Public Relations and Development for Georgia Southern. His memories about growing up and living in South Georgia inspire his writings. He’s a published author and former newspaper columnist for the AJC.
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table of contents
THE CULTURE Leadership in One Word, Heroic Written by Jenny Starling Foss
Gardening Goes Viral Hughie Tankersley Wes Chester Michael Daly John R. Scott
ESTABLISHED MARCH 1, 2000
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Jenny Starling Foss Editor
Joe McGlamery Publisher
Hunter McCumber
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Written by Jenny Starling Foss
From Peanuts to Pirates Beverly Campbell
Senior Art Director
Auna Phillips Director of Business Development
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Written by Jenny Starling Foss
Frank Fortune Contributing Photographer
Better by Design Summer Hodges
Statesboro Magazine is proudly produced by:
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Written by Jenny Starling Foss
SPECIAL SECTIONS Bulloch County Board of Education 2020 Annual Report Ogeechee Technical College Creating an Essential Workforce Since 1986 Home & Garden Section
IN EVERY ISSUE From the Editor News & Notes Calendar of Events Look Around Transitions
19 45 58
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The Spiritual Pathway
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The View from Here
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Written by Rev. Dr. H. William Perry
Written by Ric Mandes
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July August 2020
Priceless
FROM PEA NUTS TO PIRATES
True Blue GS
Written by Doy Cave
MAILING ADDRESS: PHYSICAL ADDRESS: P. O. BOX 1084 One Herald Squarex-x Statesboro, GA 30459 Statesboro, GA 30458 p: 912.489.2181 f: 912.489.8613
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Written by Lazar Brown Oglesby
FOR EDITORIAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE E-MAIL: editor@StatesboroMagazine.com
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FEATURED COLUMNISTS Buzz Worthy Bites
FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION, PLEASE E-MAIL: aphillips@StatesboroMagazine.com
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ABOUT THE COVER
Dr. Kyle Marrero has just completed his first year as the 14th president of Georgia Southern University. It’s been challenging, but Dr. Marrero has responded HEROIC with enthusiasm and LEADERSHIP aplomb. With an infectious smile and engaging manner, he has developed a new strategic plan and directed the University through its most trying times. He’s captured on the Statesboro campus of Georgia Southern by award winning photographer, Frank Fortune. BONU S SECTIO N
Bulloch BO E 2020 – 202 Annual 1 Report
GARDEN to TABLE PHOTO T S E T N C Upload a picture of your homegrown fruits or veggies, and the finished dish, and a panel of judges will choose the three top winners!
First First Prize: $100 Gift Card Second Prize: $50 Gift Card Third Prize: $25 Gift Card Winners will be showcased in the September/October issue of Statesboro Magazine!
sion Period Photo Submis 16 nday, August u S – 10 ly u J Monday, s at Upload photo .com oroMagazine www.Statesb
Graymont Designs is now showcasing our very own line of upholstery furniture in the LA Waters Furniture showroom. The collection offers a uniqueness in style, colors, fabrics and the solid quality of the furniture will not disappoint! Take Advantage of the In-Home Consultation with Design Consultant Summer Hodges by appointment today!
Exclusively At
L.A.WATERS FURNITURE & MATTRESS CENTER Downtown Store | 8 West Main St. | 912-764-6576 Mall Location | 300 Lovett Rd. | 912-764-5431
www.lawaters.com July/August 2020
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the calendar
JULY 4 HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
Mill Creek Park July 4th Firecracker Celebration postponed until September 5th.
FRIDAYS - TUESDAYS AT MIDNIGHT STATESBORO MAIN STREET MARKET2GO
Order the season’s freshest local fruits, vegetables and homemade baked goods, preserves, jams, jellies, candies and relishes. You’ll also find locally sourced meat, seafood, spices, dairy and eggs. Home and garden items, honey and locally grown flower bouquets. Shop online Friday – Tuesday at midnight at statesboromarket2go.locallygrown.net. Pick-up on Thursday afternoons at the Statesboro Visitors Center, 222 South Main Street or in Sylvania at the Victory Garden General Store, 124 West Telephone Street.
JUNE 29 - JULY 31 SUMMER CAMPS! CHOOSE WEEKLY CAMPS EARLY CARE, HALF-DAY, FULL-DAY & AFTER CARE 9:00 A.M. – 6:30 P.M. $75 - $175/CHILD AVERITT CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Spend summer with the Arts! Register for weekly summer camps with themes ranging from Legos to Ballet! Enjoy instruction in music, visual arts, dance, photography, beauty and theater. End your summer camp adventure with a theater production in costume! Camp times programed to fit your schedule, with affordable activity rates. Limit of 20 children per camp class. Campers must follow Covid-19 guidelines] Choose your week(s) and register @ www. averittcenterforthearts.org
JULY 6 – JULY 12 JUNE 24 – JULY 6 FIND THE FLAG CONTEST DOWNTOWN STATESBORO
Pick 10 participating downtown shops Take a selfie with the numbered flag Email pictures to MainstreetStatesboroDowntown.com Spend a minimum of $10 at any location and email the receipt to MainstreetStatesboroDowntown.com. Enter a drawing to win a Heritage Park 5-piece Folding Outdoor Dining Set. Drawing to be held on July 6th.
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CHRISTMAS IN JULY AT TMT FARMS 6:00 P.M. – 11:00 P.M. DRIVE THROUGH EVENT FREE PUBLIC FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENT TMT FARMS 16710 OLD RIVER ROAD NORTH, STATESBORO
The expansive farm has acres of lights, antique farm equipment, classic automobiles, historic replicas of past local businesses and a quaint western town for drive-through viewing. There is no charge, but donations ofbnon-perishable foods, pet food and even cash are appreciated. All proceeds benefit the Statesboro Food Bank and Christian Social Ministries.
2020 July & August JULY 8 STATESBORO MEN’S BREAKFAST 6:45 A.M. – 7:45 A.M. $15/PERSON BREAKFAST BUFFET UNCLE SHUG’S ON MAIN
Men’s Breakfast is a monthly event with a full breakfast buffet and a speaker specifically targeted to men to help them be equipped to fight their daily battles. It is Christian based, but it is NOT a church, or affiliated with any single church. It is not a business networking group, not a social club, not a pyramid scheme, not a Sunday school class. It’s just breakfast once a month. A fellowship opportunity for men, with a speaker that is of interest to men and the issues men face daily. Register online @ https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/statesboro-mensbreakfast-tickets-92088261469.
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S END US YOUR EVENTS! EMAIL THEM TO EDITOR@ STATESBORO MAGAZINE.COM
AUGUST 3 FIRST DAY OF BULLOCH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL
(tentative)
AUGUST 7 F1RST FRIDAY – DOWNTOWN PEP RALLY! 5:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. FREE FAMILY EVENT DOWNTOWN STATESBORO
Wear your team colors and get ready to cheer on your favorite local football team! Enjoy food, live music, kid friendly attractions, school bands, mascots, cheerleaders, fans and the celebration with your local community.
AUGUST 1 BULLOCH COUNTY ANTI-BULLYING DAY 2020 IN MEMORY OF TY COBLER 10:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. FREE PUBLIC FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENT MILL CREEK REGIONAL PARK
Let’s all come together for a common cause: to end bullying! There will be raffle prizes, bouncy houses, face painting, cotton candy, food, music and much more! All proceeds will go to the Statesboro Police Officers Foundation and Pineland Mental Health. Sponsors of this year’s event: TC Outdoors and Southern Chiropractic & Wellness Center. For more information call (912)243-9200. Register online @ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bullochcounty-anti-bullying-day-tickets-96435987635.
AUGUST 14 GEORGIA SOUTHERN OPERATION MOVE-IN
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. @ the RAC 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., in the residence halls Georgia Southern University
AUGUST 17 2020 FALL SEMESTER FIRST DAY OF CLASSES
Georgia Southern University, Ogeechee Technical College & East Georgia State College (Depending on guidance from public health officials).
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News & Notes
Sponsored by:
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The Johnson Firm, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors
Y O U H AV E A C H O I C E Attorney Francys Johnson
www.francysjohnson.com | 912.225.1600 | 51 East Main Street
Doing Justice, Loving Mercy, Walking Humbly. — Micah 6:8
Parker’s Donates 600 KN95 Masks to Frontline COVID-19 Healthcare Providers at EGRMC
Georgia Southern and Ogeechee Tech Create Accelerated Pathway for Student Success
In May, Georgia Southern University signed a memorandum of understanding with Ogeechee Technical College (OTC) to provide an automatic admission pathway for local students. The agreement creates an Accelerated Transfer Program that allows students who have been denied admission to Georgia Southern to enter OTC with intent to transfer to Georgia Southern at a later date. “Georgia Southern University is committed to providing opportunities for student success,” said Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero. “We are proud to partner with Ogeechee Tech to provide students with the tools and support they need to excel.” The Accelerated Transfer Program will begin in the Fall 2020 semester. Georgia Southern advisors or admission counselors will work with Accelerated Transfer Program students in cooperation with OTC advisors to provide appropriate academic support and advising to help the students succeed at OTC and then transfer seamlessly to Georgia Southern. Application fees for students in the program will be waived at OTC. “Ogeechee Tech and Georgia Southern have been partners in education for many years,” said Ogeechee Technical College President Lori Durden. “The Accelerated Transfer Program takes the partnership one step further by removing certain enrollment process friction points that may serve as barriers for students. This is another significant step in ensuring a smooth transition between our two institutions.” For more information visit GeorgiaSouthern. edu or OgeecheeTech.edu. 10 statesboromagazine.com
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Parker’s Chief of Staff Kate Smith, left, recently donated 600 KN95 face masks to representatives at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in Statesboro, Georgia. Over the past six weeks, Parker’s has donated more than 7,000 masks to frontline COVID-19 healthcare providers throughout coastal Georgia and South Carolina.
Parker’s, an award-winning, nationally acclaimed convenience store company and food service leader, recently donated 600 KN95 masks to frontline healthcare providers at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in Statesboro during the COVID-19 pandemic. “On behalf of our entire East Georgia Regional Medical Center family, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Parker’s for their recent donation of KN95 masks for our healthcare team,” said Jenny Maddi, BSN RN, patient safety officer and director of risk management at EGRMC. “Through this donation, we will continue to be able to protect our staff and provide the best care to our patients and community. We are very thankful for this support and appreciate Parker’s for always being an engaged partner in our community.” To date, Parker’s has donated over 7,000 KN95 masks to hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout coastal Georgia and South Carolina. “We’re honored to serve our healthcare heroes, who are providing exceptional medical care to area residents throughout the Coronavirus pandemic,” said Parker’s founder and CEO Greg Parker. “We know that mask shortages have impacted our community and want to make sure our doctors, nurses, clinicians and staff members have the Personal Protective Equipment they need to stay safe while caring for patients.” Founded in 1976, Parker’s is one of America’s most respected convenience store brands. Parker’s gives back to every community where it does business through the Fueling the Community charitable giving program, which donates a portion of gas sold at all Parker’s locations on the first Wednesday of the month to area schools, healthcare facilities and other important causes. To date, the company has given more than $7 million in local charitable donations. Parker’s has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of the Fastest Growing Companies in America for five years and currently has 66 retail stores throughout coastal Georgia and South Carolina. The company employs more than 1,200 individuals throughout the region and completes more than 125,000 transactions daily.
Statesboro Magazine Welcomes Auna Phillips
Statesboro Magazine is pleased to announce the appointment of Auna Phillips as the new Director of Business Development. She most recently served as a Multimedia Account Representative for the Statesboro Herald and Advertising Director for Discovering Bulloch Magazine and as Director of Event Planning & Project Management for Morris Multimedia, the parent company of Statesboro Publishing. “We look forward to Auna ushering in a new chapter for Statesboro Magazine,” stated editor Jenny Starling Foss. “In her new role as director of business development, she will be instrumental in taking the magazine to the next level in showcasing all the wonderful things that make Statesboro a great place to live, work and play. We’re looking forward to growing our online presence and developing new ways to market and highlight our many communit y partners in the magazine.” “We’re very fortunate to have Auna Phillips on staff during this time of change at Statesboro Magazine,” stated Joe McGlamery, publisher of the magazine and Regional V.P. for Morris Multimedia. “We feel that she has the right skills and the talent to help with business development at the magazine now and in the future.” Phillips joined Statesboro Publishing Company, which publishes both Statesboro Magazine and the Statesboro Herald, in December of 2018. Phillips moved to Statesboro from Stuart, Florida, in August of 2017. Before her career in publishing, she spent 20 years in the Banking & Finance industry. She has recently been inducted into the Statesboro Exchange Club. Auna is married to Nathan Phillips and they have one daughter, Emma, who is five-years-old.
AgSouth Farm Credit Distributes an Additional $8 Million in Profits to Borrowers
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S END US YOUR NEWS & NOTABLE EVENTS! EMAIL THEM TO EDITOR@ STATESBORO MAGAZINE.COM
AgSouth Farm Credit CEO Pat Calhoun announced that the customerowned cooperative is distributing $8 million in special patronage in June 2020. This is in addition to the record-breaking $39 million distribution received by the cooperative’s members earlier this year. In the Association’s mission to support rural America, AgSouth Farm Credit’s Board of Directors met in May and approved an additional onetime, all-cash distribution to help support its members and the rural communities it serves during these difficult and uncertain times. “Thanks to the continued support and loyalty of our members, we are financially strong enough to provide this additional distribution to our members in these challenging times,” Calhoun said. “The nature and purpose of our cooperative is to help our rural communities and support them through good and bad times. We are extremely happy to be able to provide this to them.” “It is refreshing to see a company like AgSouth putting money back in the hands of farmers in an attempt to help save such a vital industry as agriculture. These extra funds are sure to help our farm in a huge way, we plan to offset some of our high input cost in order to make a better return this year,” said Shaun Page, owner of Page Farms in Ellabell, Georgia. For Jessica Donnelly, co-owner of MJ’s Gardens in Eastover, South Carolina, this special patronage will help her and her husband with the upkeep of their blueberry farm. “I didn’t grow up on a farm like my husband, Mike, so I didn’t realize the surprise expenses that can come with owning a farm. Even if you’re not making a single dollar in profit, there are still supplies that have to be purchased, equipment that needs to be fixed, or you’re always going to be missing that one specific tool that does the one specific job you have to get done,” Donnelly said. “For us, the extra patronage funds are going to be used toward getting our tractor fixed, which will directly impact our ability to cut out a nature path on the land. I cannot explain to you how happy the farm that Mike and I own makes me, and we hope to be able to share that happiness with others because of the support provided by AgSouth.” This year’s patronage distribution marked the Association’s 32nd consecutive year of distributing patronage to its member-borrowers. Through its patronage program, AgSouth has returned over $550,000,000 since 1988. AgSouth Farm Credit provides loans for land, equipment and production agriculture; crop insurance; leasing; and home mortgages. The Association serves 93 South Carolina and Georgia counties and is headquartered in Statesboro. AgSouth is an equal housing lender and an equal opportunity provider. www.agsouthfc.com. July/August 2020
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news & notes
Mark Jaronski to Lead Georgia Tourism Office Explore Georgia
Georgia Humanities Announces Recipients of CARES Act Emergency Operating Grants
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) recently announced that Mark Jaronski, a 25-year travel and tourism industry leader and veteran Disney marketing executive, will lead Explore Georgia, the state tourism office within the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Jaronski will guide the team responsible for attracting tourists from across the globe to Georgia’s inspiring and surprising destinations. Georgia attracted a recordsetting 111.7 million international and domestic visitors, who collectively spent $36.9 billion in communities throughout the state and directly supported 478,000 jobs in 2018, which is the most recent year complete data is available. Jaronski spent 16 years at The Walt Disney Company in Florida in a variety of marketing roles that included Manager of Disney Cruise Line Public Relations, Brand Manager of Walt Disney World theme parks, and Director of External Communications for Disney Parks Worldwide at the company’s headquarters in Burbank, California. Most recently, Jaronski has served as CEO of Select Registry Distinguished Inns of North America since 2016. Select Registry has been the industry’s quality stamp of approval for nearly 50 years, marketing its collection of 300 independently run lodging businesses, including 12 in Georgia, to travelers nationwide. Under Jaronski’s leadership, the marketing association has achieved its highest website traffic and customer retention levels in the organization’s history. He will be transitioning from Select Registry to Explore Georgia in the next 30 to 60 days.
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Georgia Humanities recently announced $634,200 in CARES Act Emergency Operating Grants to 77 museums, libraries, historical societies, colleges and universities, and other organizations that offer humanities programming to Georgians. Two Statesboro organizations received funding: The Bulloch County Historical Society and the Ogeechee International History Film Festival. The grants, ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, were awarded based on the applicant organization’s humanities programming mission, demonstrated need, and annual operating budget. Some grants will allow organizations to keep staff employed; others will use funds to protect facilities and collections; some will offer virtual programming; and others will plan and train staff to prepare for facilities to reopen observing public health recommendations for reduced crowd size and social distancing. “Georgia’s humanities organizations play important roles in our state. Georgia Humanities is distributing 100% of the funds that were entrusted to us by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Congress to assist with this vital work during this challenging time of change,” said Laura McCarty, president Georgia Humanities. Georgia Humanities connects people and communities to encourage understanding and inspire hope. As a nonprofit serving every corner of our state, Georgia Humanities shares and supports programming that engages all ages and backgrounds to explore what shapes us as individuals and binds us together as Georgians. Funding for Georgia Humanities is provided by the Georgia General Assembly, the National Endowment for the Humanities, foundations, donors, and partners. For more information, visit GeorgiaHumanities.org.
ROAD Funds “Love in Action”
Sometimes a simple phone call can improve a person’s day. The Senior Companion Program at Georgia Southern University is aiming to improve the days of many older adults in the area as a part of the new Love in Action telephone reassurance program, which is funded by a grant from the Rockin’ Out Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation (ROAD). The program will begin by calling the 300 people on the Senior Companion Program waiting list and offer this service, which can be vital during the COVID-19 Crisis. Older adults are among the most vulnerable people in the midst of this pandemic. The telephone reassurance program will allow the Senior Companion Program to provide assistance to seniors, as well as others in the community. Darron Burnette, who is the Chief Financial Officer of ROAD, started the foundation in 2012, in an effort to raise money in memory of his mother who had Alzheimer’s disease and passed away that same year. ROAD has given money it has raised to a variety of organizations related to Alzheimer’s research and the treatment of people with dementia, including multiple groups at Georgia Southern. Burnette said he hopes the Love in Action program can expand later this summer and raise awareness for other projects ROAD is doing to help Alzheimer’s patients and other homebound people. In addition to the Love is Action program, ROAD also has a Caring Closet in Statesboro that provides personal hygiene supplies for dementia patients at no cost. The Senior Companion Program is administered through Georgia Southern’s Center for Social Gerontology housed within the Department of Sociology & Anthropology. For more information, visit cbss.georgiasouthern.edu/gerontology/community/senior-companion-program/. S
September/October 2019
Congratulations Class of 2020 Graduates!
Official Sponsor of Georgia Southern Athletics
Statesboro, GA 173 Northside Drive East | 912.489.9500 | 335 South Main Street | 912.764.8900 www.renasantbank.com
NMLS ID: 402669
THE CULTURE
leadership in one word, heroic
Leadership in One Word, Heroic WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK FORTUNE
W
hen Georgia Southern University president Dr. Kyle Marrero took office in April of 2019, one of the avenues of growth that he envisioned for the University was distance learning. While at his previous post, as president of the University of West Georgia, he had seen online instruction increase by 25%. Little did he know at the time, that a worldwide pandemic would lead to the closure of Georgia Southern’s three campuses and put 100% of the coursework for faculty and students online! A planner and a man of quick action, Dr. Marrero was ready for the challenge. “We went from having successful commencements in two cities last year, to virtual commencement this year, then beating UGA at home to sold-out crowds, to hiring Jared Benko, as our new athletic director, to making the decision to close down the school in two weeks and go online,” Dr. Marrero said. During the spring of this year, 5,600 students, faculty and support staff went online for course instruction; 4,600 moved out of residence halls in five days; 170 international students were housed and fed; and refunds of $11 million were issued to students for housing, dining and athletic fees. In addition, the University lent equipment to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and created face shields from 3-D printers in the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering & Computing. Plus, consumable food from campus dining that had been purchased was given to area pantries.
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THE CULTURE
leadership in one word, heroic
“At the end of the semester we were still able to celebrate 4,000 conferred degrees,” Dr. Marrero said. “There were over 100,000 unique viewers of the live broadcast of commencement. That’s more than any other time. “If I have to say one thing about the University coming together in the last two weeks of March 2020, it has to be heroic,” he said. “To move online and take care of all those needs: providing hot spots and computers to make sure faculty had what was needed, to digitize materials, to take care of the clinical students, to offer the resources at our College of Public Health, to communicating with the Regents and the Office of the Governor. So much was accomplished in a very short amount of time.” The orchestration comes naturally to Dr. Marrero, who holds a Doctor of Music Arts degree from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s and master’s in vocal performance from Bowling Green State University. Like a conductor, he has been able to lead the University through the most trying of times. “I’ve always believed in preparing on my own to reach for excellence, then in partnering to be a part of something that is an ensemble,” he said. A perfect description of Dr. Marrero’s leadership style, which is one of shared governance: Inspire. Direct. Lead. And allow everyone to do their best job. “People make an institution great,” Dr. Marrero said. “My mission is to lift our faculty in a shared goal of student success.” Dr. Marrero hopes to accomplish these goals by employing evidence based leadership, a model developed by Quint Struder, a Pensacola 16 statesboromagazine.com
July/August 2020
businessman and philanthropist who is one of Dr. Marrero’s mentors. “Quint teaches us to build out a blueprint for success,” said Dr. Marrero. “We’ve developed a strategic plan for achieving growth and excellence. If we all agree and it aligns with the plan, then we can accomplish it.” Dr. Marrero has created a Vision Statement and Strategic Plan for Georgia Southern in which each vice president is engaged in communication and the leadership process. Each V.P. has a balanced score card that is published, which shows data and measurements, and most importantly, accountability. Each stake holder can see the annual goals and the action plans. [Download here @ https://president.georgiasouthern.edu/performance-excellence/strategic-plan/] “This year we started with fiscal year quarters as measurements,” said Dr. Marrero. “Our plan runs from July 2019 – 2024. It’s a living, breathing document that contains the budget, too. It is fully transparent. Each decision we make leads back to the plan. Our leaders share in decisions with their teams. Then all department chairs are accountable to the plan. Every task is model shared governance, there is acceptance of responsibility and ownership from everyone.” Dr. Marrero feels like he has gotten through most of the hard stuff. He has faced a budget reduction in 2019 of $13.1 million. And this summer, he faced a loss of revenue with no summer camps, no housing and only base tuition from online students. “The good news is summer school started in June,” said Dr. Marrero. “We did not drop in enrollment. We have maintained our numbers, which means we kept our students engaged.” Dr. Marrero’s number one priority for now is the eventual return of students to the three campuses. Something he hopes to do in August at the beginning of fall semester. “I would love for our faculty and students to be as face-to-face as possible,” he said. “We will follow all public health standards set forth by the Center for Disease Control and the Georgia Department of Public Health. Our goal is to deliver quality education within those guidelines. “I see an opportunity for unification during this time,” he said. “Georgia Southern University offers three unique experiences. If you want an urban campus experience, we have the Savannah campus. If you prefer a sprawling campus of 20,000 plus students with Greek life in a small town atmosphere, we have our traditional Statesboro campus, and if you are a member of the military, we have a campus for you in Hinesville. Three unique education experiences that elevate our students’ distinctions under one umbrella.” There are 17 new degree programs now at Georgia Southern, from logistics to healthcare to IT to hospitality. The president views programs designed to meet the needs of businesses in the area as a way to expand Georgia Southern. New collaborations have been formed with Ogeechee Technical College, East Georgia State College, the Bulloch County Board of Education, the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce and the Bulloch County Development Authority. “I believe in working together to make sure that students are successful in going from early learning to the workforce,” said Dr. Marrero. “We want to give every child the opportunity at age 18 to be in school, in the military or employed. We’re in the business of talent development. To meet today’s challenges you have to be a global citizen, a thinker and definitely, a problem solver.” S
“We want to give every child the opportunity at age 18 to be in school, in the military or employed. We’re in the business of talent development. To meet today’s challenges you have to be a global citizen, a thinker and definitely, a problem solver.” Dr. Kyle Marrero
July/August 2020
statesboromagazine.com
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BULLOCH COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS
Visit www.bullochschools.org/board for a schedule of meeting dates and times, maps of the areas that each Board member represents, Board agendas and meeting packets, and official minutes of meetings. Board meetings are held in the board room of the school district’s Central Office.
WATCH BOARD MEETINGS LIVE OR LATER Bulloch County Board of Education 2020 – Pictured Standing (L-R): Dr. Stuart Tedders, Maurice Hill, Mike Sparks, and Jimmy “Jay” Cook; and Seated (L-R): Cheri Wagner, April Newkirk, Glennera Martin, and Heather Mims.
District 1 CHERI WAGNER, BOARD SECRETARY Term: 1/1/2013 – 12/31/2020 clwag68@yahoo.com GLENN WOMACK, MEMBER-ELECT glennwomack@live.com District 3 DR. STUART H. TEDDERS 912.478.1922 (W) Term: 1/1/2017 – 12/31/2024 stedders@bullochschools.org District 5 GLENNERA MARTIN 912-764-3291 (H) Term: 1/1/2015 – 12/31/2022 gmartinsugarhill@yahoo.com District 7 HEATHER MIMS, VICE CHAIRMAN 912.541.3514(H) Term: 1/1/2017 – 12/31/2020 hdmims@bullochschools.org
District 2 MIKE SPARKS, CHAIRMAN 912.842.2460 (H) Term: 1/1/2011 – 12/31/2022 msparks@bullochschools.org District 4 APRIL NEWKIRK 912.690.5973 Term: 1/1/2019 – 12/31/2022 aprilcnewkirk@gmail.com District 6 JIMMY “JAY” COOK, JR. 912-489-3137 (H) Term: 1/1/2015 – 12/31/2022 jlcook@bullochschools.org District 8 MAURICE HILL 912.764.7134(W&H) Term: 1/1/2005 – 12/31/2024 hillmaurice@yahoo.com Board Secretary MARY HENLEY Administrative Assistant to Superintendent 912.212.8500 mhenley@bullochschools.org boe@bullochschools.org
Superintendent of Schools CHARLES WILSON, ED.S., MBA, CPA 912-212-8500 cwilson@bullochschools.org
Board meetings can be watched live or later. They are live streamed online at www.bullochschools.org/ boardlive, and the unedited videos are uploaded and archived to the same website immediately following each meeting.
OPEN RECORDS REQUESTS The public may direct all Open Records Requests to the Custodian of Records. recordscustodian@bullochschools.org.
BOARD LEGAL COUNSEL Edenfield, Cox, Bruce & Edenfield 115 Savannah Avenue Statesboro, GA 30458 912.764.8600 | www.edenfieldlaw.com
KEY ISSUES FORUM An online source of FAQs, information, and feedback www.bullochschools.org/keyissues
WWW.BULLOCHSCHOOLS.ORG/BOARD
STRATEGIC PLAN VISION
By 2020, we will become a school system that prepares our students to be contributing members of society, based upon their interests and abilities, and the opportunity to pursue the colleges and careers of their choice.
BULLOCH COUNTY SCHOOLS STRATEGIC PLAN (2015-2020) Adopted by the Board of Education 02/12/2015; Revised 01/06/2016
COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS
STAKEHOLDER & COMMUNITY SUPPORT
RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION
Increase College & Career Ready Performance Index Scores
Increase stakeholder and community involvement for student success
Develop funding plan to improve school operating capacity
Provide all students with relevant, realworld learning experiences
Develop partnerships with parents, community & organizations
Develop a place for necessary facilities & infrastructure upgrades
Utilize new and existing technologies
Develop partnerships with regional employers & post-secondary institutions
Improve school nutrition: quality, health, costs, & local partners
Provide professional development needed for all employees
Increase stakeholder access to information
Develop plan to attract, retain & promote effective employees
BELIEF & CORE VALUES We believe everyone can learn and grow in a continuous improvement culture that incorporates our core values. Our core values signify our expectations of ourselves and each other, from the boardroom to our classrooms. Be Relational: We build relationships with others through integrity, compassion, and respect. Be Purposeful: We pursue what needs to be accomplished through appropriate and intentional effort. Be Reflective: We evaluate our efforts in relation to our purpose. Be Resourceful: We implement resourceful solutions through innovation and collaboration. Be Courageous: We exemplify commitment, determination, and grit in making needed changes happen. Be Accountable: We hold ourselves accountable for the decisions we make and the actions we take.
MISSION The mission of Bulloch County Schools is to prepare students for success and enhance community value.
SEE THE COMPLETE BULLOCH COUNTY SCHOOLS STRATEGIC PLAN 2015-2020 AT WWW.BULLOCHSCHOOLS.ORG/STRATEGICPLAN.
STATE RECOGNITIONS Governor’s Office of Student Achievement
Georgia Department of Education
Governor’s Office of Student Achievement
Silver Award Greatest gains in student achievement
Reward School for Significant gains in the College & Career Readiness Performance Index
Beating the Odds Schools
Julia P. Bryant ElementarySchool
Sallie Zetterower Elementary School
Governor’s Office of Student Achievement No schools on state turnaround list
Julia P. Bryant, Nevils, Sallie Zetterower , & Stilson Elementary Schools; & William James Middle School
None of the district’s 15 schools require state interventions
BULLOCH COUNTY SCHOOLS AT-A-GLANCE SCHOOLS 15 Schools (total) 9 Elementary Schools (PK-5) 3 Middle Schools (6-8) 2 High Schools (PK, 9-12) 1 Middle-High (6-12) ALTERNATIVE LEARNING CENTERS Transitions Learning Center (6-12) Graduation Performance Academy (9-12) Cedarwood (GNETS) FACULTY & STAFF 2,121 full-time, part-time, contracted services, seasonal and substitute employees Bulloch County’s 2nd Largest Employer 696 Certified K-12 Faculty 64% of faculty have a master’s degree or higher 60% of faculty have 11+ years of experience TRANSPORTATION 102 School Bus Routes 113 drivers, 22 bus monitors, 21 maintenance personnel and
7 mechanics make up our driving force 5,000+ students ride a bus 2x daily 6,200 miles bus drivers travel each day 1.3 million miles bus drivers travel annually Drivers conduct daily pre-route inspections. Every 20 days buses are serviced & inspected by a qualified mechanic.
MILLAGE RATE Bulloch: 9.038* Bryan: 15.075 Candler: 14.000 Chatham 18.881 Effingham: 16.468 Emanuel: 14.000 Evans: 14.000 Jenkins: 15.442 (*In Bulloch County, the school district is also provided a one-percent local option sales tax. This helps keep property millage rates and taxes lower. If you factor in sales tax collections, the effective millage is 15.346) SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAM 60.93% - Students who receive free or reducedprice lunches. 2 – Schools (Langston Chapel Elementary & Langston Chapel Middle) eligible for USDA Community Eligibility Program due to more than 90% of students qualifying for free and reduced-priced meals. All students receive free breakfast. 1,721,988 meals served in fiscal year 2019.
PER-PUPIL EXPENDITURES 2015: $7,651.70 | 2016: $8,383.34 2017: $8,511.00 | 2018: $8,876.00 2019: $9,203.00 GRADE-LEVEL READING 49.8 % of third-grade students read at or above the grade-level target. 69.6% of eighth-grade students read at or above the grade-level target.
STATE RECOGNITIONS Georgia Department of Education
Georgia Department of Audits & Accounts
Title I Distinguished School
Certificate of Achievement Excellent Financial Reporting
Southeast Bulloch Middle School
Troy Brown Assistant Superintendent & Business Services Department
SkillsUSA
21st Century Communities Learning Center
Models of Excellence Designation Top-25 chapters in USA
$349K Grant
Statesboro High School SkillsUSA Chapter
Langston Chapel Elementary School For at-risk student afterschool & summer programs
BULLOCH COUNTY SCHOOLS AT-A-GLANCE STUDENT ENROLLMENT 10,878 (March 2020) 1,418 Special Education 542 English for Speakers of Other Languages 986 Gifted Services STUDENT DIVERSITY 24 Nationalities 18 Languages 50% Caucasian 37% Black 7% Hispanic 2% Asian/Pacific Islander 4% More than one race & other 0% American Indian/Alaskan Native
10 753
11 543
9 869
12 631
PK 551
K 867 1 831
ENROLLMENT BY GRADE
8 834 7 832
2 808 3 824
6 794
5 820
4 811
ECONOMICALLY DISADVATAGED 62.8% HOUSING DISPLACED 176+
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS 4% of students SCHOOL ATTENDANCE Score is based on students w/less than six unexcused absences divided by enrollment; 100-point scale)
45.3% 5 absences or less 41% 6-15 absences 13.5% 15 or more absences 14.7% Chronic absenteeism SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 4,032 Total discipline incidents 1,713 Students involved in incidents 28.5% led to out-of-school suspensions 52.4% led to in-school suspension 0.4% led to expulsion from system SAFE & SUBSTANCE-FREE ENVIRONMENT Total Reported Bullying Incidents 119 Total Reported Physical Incidents 296 Total Reported Drug Incidents 197 Total Reported Weapons – Gun 0 STUDENT SUPPORT PROVIDERS School Social Workers for District: 4 School Psychologists: 5 School Counselors (Full-Time): 27 School Resource Officers: 7 School Safety Director: 1
STRATEGIC PLAN DASHBOARD
Bulloch County Schools Strategic Plan Dashboard
ACHIEVEMENT
Preparing students for success & enhancing community value By 2020, we will become a school system that prepares our students to be contributing members of society, based upon their interests and abilities, and the opportunity to pursue the colleges and careers of their choice.
4-Year Cohort Graduation Rates 84.50% Bulloch
79.00%
84.90% Bulloch
82.50%
79.40%
Bulloch
Georgia
Georgia
85.10% 80.6%
Bulloch
Georgia
81.56% Georgia
79.9% Bulloch
82.0% Georgia
SAT Class of 2019 Mean Score Avg. Bulloch 1043 Georgia 1027 United States 1059
ACT Class of 2019 Composite Score Avg. by Institution
Bulloch 19.8 Georgia 20.4 United States 20.7 Class of 2015
Class of 2016
Class of 2017
Class of 2018
Class of 2019
Note: Updated graduation rate data is released each September. For the most recent data visit www.bullochschools.org.
60.7%
Graduates who were deemed college-ready based on national assessments (SAT/ACT)
Top Institutions Graduates Attend
In State: Georgia Southern University, East Georgia State College, Ogeechee Technical College, University Of Georgia, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Georgia College & State University. Out-ofState: University of Alabama, Harvard, Yale, Liberty University
Advanced Academic
World Languages
SEBHS
100%
100%
SHS
98.4%
100%
Portal
100%
100%
100%
GRADUATION RATES
Fine Arts
Career Pathways
4-Year Grad. Rate Overall
98.55%
95.33%
90.3%
96.43%
92.09%
76.8%
100%
86.7%
Bulloch
99.18%
100%
97.38%
Georgia
99.32%
99.09%
96.72%
405
Students age 16 and older who are dual-enrolled
224
Number of college courses taken by dual-enrolled students
93.95%
79.9%
Graduation rate for Career Pathway completers’ tops 93 percent
The graduation rate for students involved in Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs has risen to 96.54 percent in Georgia. This rate – which applies to students who complete at least one career pathway – exceeds the statewide graduation rate by 14.54 percentage points. The trend is similar in Bulloch County where the graduation rate is 93.95 percent for students who complete a career pathway, compared to the overall fouryear cohort graduation rate of 79.9%. Like the state, high school students in Bulloch County who enroll in advanced academic content courses, world languages, or fine arts, are also shown to achieve higher four-year graduation rates of 97.38 percent or higher. 96.54%
82.0%
Advanced Placement (AP) Class of 2019
179 students took 405 AP exams. Georgia ranks 17th in nation for AP performance.
74.8 (C)
District grade assigned by the Georgia Department of Education, based on College & Career-Ready Performance Index results. Bulloch County’s overall College & Career-Ready Performance Index is higher than 53% of GA school districts.
Academic Growth compared to other school districts Elementary – higher than 61% Middle – higher than 38% High – higher than 46%
STRATEGIC PLAN DASHBOARD LEARNING
5,433
Students who used the district’s digital newsletter, “Always Learning,” to remain engaged in learning during COVID-19 school closures.
315
Number of high school students who participated in our Graduation Performance Academy’s virtual summer school to recover course credits and remain on track to graduate.
2,200+
Students enrolled in career pathway courses to identify and build skills for specific careers.
10,000 Books distributed through the Bulloch Book Bus to increase childhood literacy skills
14
Number of national credentials and certificate options available in our high schools through the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute and the National Center for Construction Education and Research where students can complete a career pathway, pass its accompanying assessment and graduate with the necessary credentials or certifications.
COMMUNITY
RESOURCES
$17,416
$2.5 million
Funds raised by teachers & students for Ferst Readers of Bulloch County to provide free books to children ages birth to five-years-old to help improve childhood literacy.
$3,855
Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Grant to fund learning projects for the Pre-Kindergarten class at Southeast Bulloch High School
344,600+ Number of free meals delivered to children ages 0-18 over an 18-week period to more than 70 pick-up sites during COVID-19 school closures.
$2K
Coca-Cola Powerade Power Your School Grant to Statesboro High School Athletic Department
50
K-12 students who participated in the 1st Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Contest and its preliminary essay contest in partnership with the Willow Hill Heritage & Renaissance Center.
Investment from Education Special Local Option Sales Tax IV revenues to make comprehensive safety upgrades that increase the security of our schools and offices.
2 Schools
Langston Chapel Middle School and Langston Chapel Elementary School qualify for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Federal Community Eligibility Provision of the National School Nutrition Program because more than 90 percent of their students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Both of these schools’ more than 1,457 students receive free breakfast and lunch each school day.
$18.2
Budgeted capital projects expenditures for Fiscal Year 2021
31
Number of E-SPLOST projects completed since 2016
ENGAGEMENT
11,382
Number of parents who participated in the school district’s return-to-school survey. We received a parent response for more than 80 percent of our student enrollment.
1,024
Number of parents who participated in the Georgia School Climate Survey.
30,703 Followers across our social media platforms, up 25 percent from previous school year.
1.866 million
Visits to our district and school websites in 2019-2020
300+
Number of Transportation, School Food Services, and School Social Work personnel and faculty volunteers who either worked daily or in volunteer shifts to feed more than 5,600 children daily for 18 weeks during COVID-19 school closures and through the summer.
COLLEGE & CAREER DID YOU KNOW?
WILLIAM JAMES MIDDLE SCHOOL QUALIFIES FOR NATIONAL NASA COMPETITION
William James Middle School was one of four middle schools in Georgia, and one of only eleven schools nationwide to qualify to compete in NASA’s Student Astronaut Challenge at Kennedy Space Center in February 2020. The team, led by STEM Teacher Amy Smith, competed in four competition events: Space Flight Simulation, Landing Simulation, Aerospace Engineering, and Space Science Design. The team consisted of nine seventh- and eighth-grade students who studied, prepared and met test qualifications through NASA: Kyla Bell, Caleb Cartee, Isabella Halaby, Chatenesia Hendrix, Azaria Joyce, Krupa Pandya, Erin Shen, Abby Smith, and Katlyn Sullivan.
FUTURE GEORGIA EDUCATORS
Teaching as a Profession Career Pathway Bulloch County Schools’ Teaching as a Profession career pathway hopes to lead students to education professions. The school district hosts an annual Georgia Future Educators’ Signing Ceremony to honor high school graduates, who have completed the pathway program and plan to pursue education majors in college. The Teaching as a Profession career pathway is part of the district’s Career Technical & Agricultural Education program. The courses provide students an opportunity to explore the field of education and its possibilities. The career pathway is also one of the initiatives the school system implemented to help create a future pool of culturally diverse Bulloch County education leaders for possible future positions with the school district. The 2020 Future Georgia Educators are Victoria Collins, Christia Parrish, Angel Islar, Austyn Woods, Kolbie Motes, and Savannah Barfoot. These graduates will pursue education degrees at Georgia Southern University, East Georgia State College, and Piedmont College.
A pathway to a career High school students have the option to earn national, industry-recognized workforce competency credentials or industry certifications in a skilled trade when they complete certain career pathways within the school district’s Career Technical & Agricultural Education program and the accompanying end-of-pathway assessment. Through the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute and the National Center for Construction Education and Research there are 14 skilled trade areas in our school district where students can graduate from high school and have the necessary credentials or certifications to be immediately employed in a career. Georgia offers students nearly 150 Career Pathways within 17 Career Clusters. Bulloch County Schools offers 20 of those Career Pathways in 13 Career Clusters, and more than 2,200 students are enrolled in these courses where they are identifying and building skills for specific careers.
PORTAL OPENS NEW AG EDUCATION BUILDING
Portal Middle High School dedicated its new Bill Brown Agricultural Building on September 19, 2019, prior to its inaugural event, the annual Portal FFA Livestock Show. At a cost of nearly $650,000, the new 10,151 sq. ft. building will continue the school’s tradition of providing agricultural education programs. The facility was made possible through Bulloch County Schools’ education special local option sales tax (E-SPLOST).
LANGSTON CHAPEL ELEMENTARY GOES VIRTUAL FOR SUMMER 2020
21st Century Community Learning Centers grant funds PAWS program For June 2020, Langston Chapel Elementary School teachers took their traditional summer enrichment program virtual to serve 120 of its most vulnerable learners for four weeks. “I am absolutely amazed at how the teachers and staff stepped it up and adjusted to every direction they were given,” said Catherine Hendrix, Executive Director of the Bulloch County Commission on Human Services, which is a Family Connection Collaborative, and the 21st CCLC grant administrator for Bulloch County Schools. Amy Tapley, the program’s site coordinator, helped lead a team of 10 teachers who provided grade-level academic skills, wellness, STEM, social and emotional learning and support, and fine arts to students and resources, technology support, and engagement for parents and guardians. Thank you to these innovative educators who quickly adapted the face-to-face curriculum to a successful virtual learning experience and helped prepare families for the school’s distance and virtual instruction models for the new school year. Thank you to LCES teachers Carol Brown, Mary Beth Franklin, Allison Bailey, Sandi Smallman, Ginny Smith, Tracey Jackson, Holly Myers, Amy Hanks, Monique Wallace, and Stephanie Rushing.
COLLEGE & CAREER LIFTING UP LITERACY
STUDENTS RAISE NEARLY $5K FOR LITERACY
Bulloch County Schools has multiple initiatives which seek to improve pre-school literacy, increase the number of reading resources children have at home, and ensure all children read on grade level by third grade. Only 49.8 percent of third-grade students and 69.6 of eighth-grade students in Bulloch County can read at or above their grade level. The school district has multiple community partners to help provide free books for children and encourage reading, which are keys to academic success.
LOCAL SCHOOL MEDIA CENTERS NOW OFFER BOOKS ONLINE
Increased access to books through mobile app The First District Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) provides Bulloch County Schools’ 15 media centers with a vast online book collection, and it’s transforming the student reading experience. Children can still checkout books from their school library but also access e-books and audio books online. Through a mobile reading application (app) called, Sora, students have convenient and safe access to thousands of e-books and audiobooks from a shared digital collection for classroom assignments as well as pleasure reading. See a school website for details.
343 school district
employees raised $12.5K
for Ferst Readers of Bulloch County to provide free books for children.
STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM $10K LITERACY GRANT GA Southern & Mill Creek Elementary partner to improve reading skills
The Georgia Department of Education awarded a $10,000 Summer Literacy Mini-Grant to fund Step Forward with Reading, to benefit 42 rising second- and third-grade students at Mill Creek Elementary School during summer 2020. Developed by Dr. Elizabeth Prosser of Georgia Southern University in collaboration with MCES Principal Jennifer Wade and Joni Aycock, the school’s media specialist, the program seeks to help children move forward with reading skills during the summer instead of experiencing a typical slide in academic skills like reading, that often occurs when children don’t read while school is not in session. Dr. Prosser, an associate professor of Literacy Education, used the grant funds to order enough books to provide each child with a tote filled with 50 books that were carefully matched to their independent and instructional reading levels as well as being of interest to young readers. Building home reading resources for children is a critical tool to improve literacy skills. The students’ families also received tips and resources to help them support and encourage the children to read through the summer and beyond.
$7K grant
for the Bulloch Book Bus from GA Power employees through the Citizens of Georgia Power charitable organization.
Bulloch County Schools’ students collected $4,847.68 in change and donations during the fall to support Ferst Readers of Bulloch County. Over 5,300 elementary students and teachers from the school district’s nine elementary schools participated in the competitive coin drive. Their efforts resulted in 600 pounds of change. Synovus Bank of Statesboro volunteered to count the change from nearly 300 different classrooms. In 2018, the drive collected $6,200, so more than $11,000 has been raised by families to help place books in the hands of children. Ferst Readers partners with the district to mail free books and literacy materials each month to more than 850 children in Bulloch County who are five-years-old and younger. Building home libraries helps build early literacy skills.
BOOK VENDING MACHINE AT LANGSTON CHAPEL ELEMENTARY
School district & Foundation fund reading fun Bulloch County Schools and the Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education funded an Inchy Bookworm Vending Machine stocked with books to Langston Chapel Elementary School. The fun reading tool was unveiled in a special student-led ceremony on March 3, 2020, during Read Across America Week. The Foundation awarded Stacey Blocker, the school’s media specialist with an $850 innovation grant to purchase nearly 1,500 books to stock the vending machine with free books for students. The initiative is part of the school’s ongoing literacy efforts to encourage reading and reward positive behavior.
BULLOCH BOOK BUS BUILDS HOME LIBRARIES
The Bulloch Book Bus gives children access to age-appropriate books in an inviting, welcoming mobile location with which they are familiar, a school bus. Research by local educators revealed some children experience barriers to literacy such as poverty, lack of access to books at home, and transportation to reading resources. Since May 2019, the Book Bus has made stops throughout communities and neighborhoods to give children free books and to have volunteers read aloud to them. In one year the service has facilitated the distribution of nearly 10,000 books.
STAKEHOLDER & COMMUNITY SUPPORT
SCHOOL DISTRICT SERVES CHILDREN DURING COVID-19 Free meals nourish minds, bodies, & souls
T
he temporary closure of public schools due to COVID-19 took away a refuge, shelter, and source of sustenance on which many children depend for survival. Bulloch County Schools knows this is the reality anytime schools close for the weekend, inclement weather, or the summer, not just during a pandemic. This is why the school district quickly puts plans in place to feed children, keep them engaged in learning, and regularly check on their social and emotional well-being during any extended closure. More than 32 percent of the county population lives in poverty, and within the City of Statesboro it’s nearly 50 percent. Nearly 61 percent of the school district’s 11,000 students are eligible for free and reduced meals due to economic hardship, and more than 100 students have no permanent home, so there is nowhere to store or prepare meals. Food insecurity is a reality that local educators see daily.
More than 70 sites to feed children
Bulloch County Schools closed on March 16, and by March 17, sites were in place for families to pick up free breakfast and lunch on weekdays for any children up to age 18. The service grew to 78 mobile sites that served between 2,500 to 2,900 students per day for 18 weeks. More than 325,000 meals were distributed during this time. “This has definitely been an experience I’ll never forget,” said Brandy Napier, a member of Southeast Bulloch High’s school nutrition staff who helped pack and deliver meals. “It was touching to see the kids’ faces when we pulled up on the bus.” Parcella Mosley, a 23-year veteran bus driver, helped with the feeding program every day, and while some bus drivers rotated in daily shifts, Mosley requested to stay and not leave her post. “We were truly blessed to see how
STAKEHOLDER & COMMUNITY SUPPORT happy the children were to see a big yellow school bus coming,” Mosley said.
Board of Education Members Help Serve Children
The Sugar Hill mobile home community is home to Glennera Martin (District 5) Bulloch County Board of Education member. A retired educator, she has helped ensure children in her neighborhood are fed for more than 30 years. “I remember my mother, Delores Wilkey, volunteering at Sugar Hill when I was in elementary school, and I would go along with her to eat and help,” said Keith Wilkey, who is now the director of the school district’s social worker team. Board of Education Chairman Mike Sparks (District 2) and Board member Maurice Hill (District 8) each hosted meal sites in the parking lots of their workplaces, the W.W. Mann Center and Hill’s Mortuary.
Meal sites offer more than food
The meal sites served as a distribution point for printed resources and free books to encourage learning and reading, especially since some children did not have access to home Internet and technology. “It was our intent to provide resources that would keep children engaged and actively learning,” said Teresa Phillips, the school district’s Assistant Superintendent of School Improvement. “We were able to distribute books from our Bulloch Book Bus storage and surplus books from our media centers. Volunteers, mostly media specialists, worked to sort, bag and distribute them.” Local educators knew these sites would be a critical link between the schools and their students. They would nourish minds, bodies, and souls; however, they’ve realized it helped them as well because school employees didn’t get to say goodbye to students before the closures.
“For three days I volunteered to give out packets,” said Betsy Mallard, a response to intervention coordinator for Portal Elementary. “They were the best days. Just to catch a glimpse of the beautiful smiles of our kids blessed me beyond words.” Alina Odom, Brooklet Elementary’s media specialist volunteered to follow a bus meal route in her vehicle to help distribute free books. “The students and parents were so appreciative of getting books in addition to food.” “I helped pass out packets, and when I saw one of my students come around the corner to pick up his lunch my eyes filled with tears,” said Katie Olliff, a sixth-grade social studies teacher at William James Middle School. “He had his little sister’s hand in his, and the smile I got was priceless. It made me proud to be a Bulloch County Schools employee.” Regina Collins, a fourth-grade math teacher at Nevils Elementary said, “It is very rewarding, lots of thank yous and big smiles from our students and parents.”
Service to Healthcare Workers & First Responders The school district delivered meals to the Statesboro YMCA where a daycare center for first responders’ children was set up during COVID-19. Also, Cheri Wagner (District 1) Board of Education member, who is a registered nurse and an assistant director of the emergency room at East Georgia Regional Medical Center, collaborated with the district to have more than 150 meals delivered daily for medical personnel’s children. The hospital stored them safely until staff members were off shift.
“They can’t leave the hospital to pick up meals for their children,” Wagner said as she expressed her thanks to school district employees at a Board of Education meeting. “Thank you for the generosity that the school district has shown the hospital.”
EDUCATORS KEEP KIDS ENGAGED DURING COVID-19
The school district provided weekly digital and print resources to keep students engaged and actively learning throughout the school closure. Teachers connected with students at least twice each week in a variety of ways from home visits, virtual Zoom calls, social media, websites, and students’ Google email accounts. They provided online learning options that utilized many of the classroom learning tools students are accustomed to like iReady, USA Test Prep, Google Classroom, and more. Teachers and counselors also checked in to gauge students’ social and emotional wellbeing. Administrators and teachers used innovative ideas to stay engaged. These are just a few examples: • Statesboro High School Culinary Arts Teacher Cindy Hart posted Recipes from the Hart challenges to her school’s students to encourage them to keep and build basic home economics and culinary skills. • Mattie Lively Elementary School’s principal, Dr. Laurie Mascolo, presented the morning announcements from her home every weekday morning complete with the Pledge of Allegiance, birthday wishes, and student shout outs for virtual learning accomplishments. • Mill Creek Elementary School Principal Jennifer Wade hosted virtual lunches with the principal for each grade level. • Langston Chapel Elementary School Physical Education Teacher Tracey Jackson hosted a fitness egg hunt on YouTube for her students along with other frequent lessons including how to make a homemade jump rope with plastic grocery sacks. • Brooklet Elementary School Music Teacher Tasheina White hosted weekly music lessons on her T-Music White Facebook page and used mobile apps like Quaver Music to help teach harmony.
DISTRICT STOCKS SUPPLIES FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS
Bulloch County Schools gathered and inventoried thousands of pieces of personal protection equipment (PPE) from its science and career education classrooms and nurses’ clinics to have on emergency reserve to help restock East Georgia Regional Medical Center if needed due to COVID-19.
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY AND EFFICIENCY GENERAL FUND HIGHLIGHTS ($ MILLIONS) FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
3.5 of 5 Stars
Financial Efficiency Rating
AA-
Standard & Poor’s Credit Rating
6
Maintenance & Operations Millage Rate has been rolled back annually for the past six years
18,554,379
Total school taxes levied on property in 2019
$517,081
Amount of local reduction in taxes levied on property (2.8% reduction)
Fiscal Year
QBE Revenues
Property Tax Revenues
Local Option Sales Tax Revenues
Total Revenues
Total Expenditures
Revenues over/(under) Expenditures
Ending Fund Balance
FY ‘10
$36.7
$16.40
$9.70
$70.10
$68.60
$1.50
$13.40
FY ‘11
$41.40
$17.30
$10.00
$73.10
$66.60
$6.60
$19.90
FY ‘12
$39.30
$17.10
$10.40
$69.10
$68.90
$0.20
$20.10
FY ‘13
$39.50
$16.60
$9.60
$69.10
$69.30
-$(0.2)
$19.90
FY ‘14
$38.4
$16.5
$9.9
$68.8
$71.0
-$(2.2)
$17.70
FY ‘15
$44.80
$17.40
$10.40
$78.40
$75.60
$2.80
$20.50
FY ‘16
$47.30
$17.20
$10.30
$78.70
$82.70
-$(4.0)
$16.50
FY ‘17
$52.10
$17.60
$10.60
$84.30
$86.00
-$(1.7)
$14.80
FY ‘18
$58.20
$18.20
$10.80
$91.80
$89.80
$2.00
$16.70
FY ‘19
$56.50
$18.30
$10.30
$89.50
$84.90
$4.60
$16.70
FY ‘20
$67.06
$19.0
$11.4
$101.55
$101.77
-$(0.2)
$16.88
FY ‘21
$58.92
$21.46
$8.61
$90.23
$93.95
-$(3.72)
$15.96
(In progress) (Budgeted)
*For complete budget information on all Bulloch County Board of Education funds, capital projects, ESPLOST and state audit reports, visit www.bullochschools.org/budget
FISCAL YEAR 2021 ALL FUNDS BUDGETED Total General Fund Expenditures - $93,954,081
No audit findings
Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts
No furlough days
Other Support Services $164,579 School Administration $7,570,629
No employee furloughs due to COVID-19 budget reductions
Maintenance & Operations $8,426,376
General Administration $801,965 Business Administration $1,053,580
Debt Services Principal 7,675,000
Central Support Services $1,781,332
$9,203
Educational Media Services $1,464,923 Improvement of Instructional Services $2,105,977
Per Pupil Expenditures Instruction $60,556,131
Debt Services Interest $9,371,250 Student Transportation Services $5,853,413
Capital Outlay $10,374,602
Food Services Operation $5,603,976
Pupil Services $4,175,177
BULLOCH COUNTY SCHOOLS REPORT CARD BULLOCH COUNTY SCHOOLS REPORT CARD
College & Career Readiness Performance Index, School Climate & Financial Efficiency for 2019 The College & Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) is Georgia’s comprehensive school accountability measurement tool. Based on a 100point scale, it measures performance in four areas: Content Mastery; Academic Progress; Closing the Achievement Gap; and College & Career Readiness. For high schools, the graduation rate is added. Bulloch County Schools’ overall district score for 2019 was 73.7, which resulted in grade of C from the state. CCRPI scores are the basis for accountability in Bulloch County Schools’ Strategic Waivers School System (SWSS) contract with the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. The district’s Fiscal Year 2016 CCRPI scores are the baseline data year for the contract. Through 2021, the district’s 15 schools must show at least a three percent improvement each year on the gap between the 2016 score and a perfect score of 100. School climate has a significant effect on a child’s ability to achieve academically. Georgia is the first state in the nation to require its school districts to be accountable for their school climates and financial efficiency. This data is released annually by the Georgia Department of Education in October and January. For more accountability data, visit www.bullochschools.org/accountability. Content Mastery 30%/100
Progress 35%/100
Closing the Achievement Gap 15%/100
Readiness 20%/100
Overall Score 100 points
Attendance Rate
% of students missing 6 to 15+ day
Climate Rating (5 Stars)
Financial Rating (5 Stars)
Georgia
67.6
84.4
73.8
81.0
77.1
N/A
N/A
N/A
Bulloch
65.9
83.5
64.7
80.7
74.8
N/A
N/A
3.5
BES
79.3
81.9
37.5
86.2
75.3
48.7%
4
4.0
JPBES
72.1
96.4
58.3
83.5
80.8
45.9%
4
4.0
LCES
42.5
74.3
61.4
73.2
62.6
55.3%
3
2.0
ELEMENTARY
MLES
50.8
76.8
2.8
76.1
57.8
58.5%
3
2.0
MCES
64.1
68.7
83.3
80.8
71.9
42.4%
3
2.5
NES
79.6
76.6
100
84.3
82.6
62.6%
4
3.0
PES
68.1
65.7
16.7
81.6
62.3
49.3%
3
2.5
SZES
67.3
96.8
100
79.7
85.0
49.1%
4
4.0
SES
67.2
87.7
89.3
78.7
80.0
67.0%
4
2.5
MIDDLE
Content Mastery 30%/100
Progress 35%/100
Closing the Achievement Gap 15%/100
Readiness 20%/100
Overall Score 100 points
Attendance Rate
% of students missing 6 to 15+ day
Climate Rating (5 Stars)
Financial Rating (5 Stars)
Georgia
66.3
80.3
50.0
82.9
72.1
N/A
N/A
N/A
Bulloch
65.9
78.5
46.9
81.7
70.6
N/A
N/A
3.5
LCMS
50.2
78.5
32.1
77.1
62.8
53.2%
3
3.5
PMS
66.8
88.4
90.6
84.6
81.5
59.6%
4
2.5
SEBMS
78.1
85.8
54.2
84.9
78.6
63.3%
4
4.5
WJMS
66.6
80.7
62.5
81.8
74.0
57.5%
3
3.5
HIGH
Content Mastery 30%/100
Progress 35%/100
Closing the Achievement Gap 15%/100
Readiness 20%/100
Overall Score 100 points
Attendance Rate
% of students missing 6 to 15+ day
Climate Rating (5 Stars)
Financial Rating (5 Stars)
69.4
82.1
80.0
74.5
77.0
N/A
N/A
N/A
Georgia
Bulloch
67.4
81.1
60.0
76.2
74.3
N/A
N/A
3.5
PHS
59.4
76.5
59.4
77.2
71.3
59.6%
4
2,5
SEBHS
79.7
81.2
55.4
77.4
79.0
67.5%
4
4.0
SHS
59.7
80.1
65.2
74.9
71.2
48.9%
3
4.0
Note: Chronic absenteeism represents lost opportunities to learn. Georgia law (O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-690.2) requires communities and schools to work together to address school climate and truancy through the recommendations of a local Student Attendance and School Climate Committee.
STUDENT RECOGNITIONS National Congressional Art Contest 12th District Winners
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point & U.S. Naval Academy
Fahriye Caliskan – 1st Place Bailey Borck, 1st runner-up Statesboro High School
STATESBORO HIGH JROTC CADETS RECEIVE OATH FROM SPACE
More than 20 JROTC cadets from throughout the region, including four from Statesboro High School, who will enter the military after graduation, gathered at Statesboro High School on February 26, to receive the Oath of Service via satellite from space from U.S. Army Colonel Andrew Morgan who was aboard the International Space Station. Colonel Andrew is a NASA astronaut.
University of Alabama
GA Science & Engineering Fair
Appointments
Blount Scholar & Tutwiler Scholarship Recipient
UGA Charter Scholarship Award
Mitchell Waters Southeast Bulloch High School
Kaleigh Mattos Southeast Bulloch High School
Kevin Davoud Statesboro High School
GOVERNOR’S HONORS PROGRAM
Eight of Bulloch County Schools’ students named state semi-finalists Bulloch County Schools nominated 14 qualifying students to the 2020 Governor’s Honors program. Eight students were selected as state semi-finalists, David Lippincott was named a state finalist, and three students were named state alternates. Over 3,100 students from across the state applied and were nominated by their school districts to the prestigious state level competition. Governor’s Honors is a free residential summer program for gifted and talented rising high school juniors and seniors. Portal Middle High School: Jace Currin, State Semi-finalist & Alternate in Music/Drums; and Jenna Goodson, State Semi-finalist in Visual Arts. Southeast Bulloch High School: Sara Thomas, State Semi-finalist & Alternate in Agricultural Research, Biotechnology, and Science; and Lucas Thompson, State Semi-finalist & Alternate in Music/Voice – Tenor. Statesboro High School: David Lippincott, State Finalist in Mathematics; Bailey Borck, State Semi-finalist in Visual Arts; Mary Hayden Hughes, State Semi-finalist in Communicative Arts; and Evy Shen, State Semi-finalist in Communicative Arts.
WE CAN HELP
GILLELAND IS 2019 PROSTART STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Matthew Gilleland, a 2019 graduate of Statesboro High School, is the Georgia Restaurant Association’s ProStart Student of the Year. Gilleland received the award and its $2,000 scholarship during the association’s annual gala on August 11, 2019, at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta. ProStart is a nationwide, two-year high school program that unites the classroom and industry to develop the best and brightest talent into tomorrow’s restaurant and foodservice leaders. Gilleland was part of the Culinary Arts Career Pathway at Statesboro High School which is led by Cindy Hart, for the school district’s Career Technical & Agricultural Education program.
Over six tons of food donated to three local food banks Bulloch County Schools hosted its second annual We CAN Help food drive on Nov. 4 - 8, 2019. Students and faculty collected more than six tons of food for Bulloch County’s three local food banks. The annual project is held in partnership with Woodmen Life and local Woodmen Life Chapter 158’s national Fight Food Insecurity campaign and in recognition of November being National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Month. Portal Elementary School collected the most cans per student and Mill Creek Elementary School had the second-highest collections. Mr. Ben Beggs’ homeroom class at Southeast Bulloch Middle School was the top class collecting 614 cans.
BITTY & BEAU’S COMES TO BULLOCH
Learning experiences abound for special needs students William James Middle School’s special education program opened its Knightly Café in September 2019, featuring Bitty & Beau’s Coffee. Open to faculty and the public on Fridays for online pre-orders, the café provides a way to teach practical life skills to students with special needs. Patty Johnson, one of the school’s selfcontained special education teachers, worked to bring this program to WJMS. She knew about the Bitty and Beau’s Coffee location in Savannah, and about the company’s corporate mission to advocate for the value, inclusion and acceptance of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The company’s Coffee Cart movement works to help educators further that advocacy in schools. William James’ student council and students hosted a dance to raise the initial funds to make the program a reality on their campus.
FACULTY & STAFF RECOGNITIONS Georgia Department of Natural Resources Stephanie Hodges Georgia Conservation Teacher of the Year
Healthcare Science Education Industry Certification Sharon Pye S.E. Bulloch High School Career Pathway Re-certification
PORTAL ELEMENTARY TEACHER IS GA’S CONSERVATION TEACHER OF THE YEAR
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources named Stephanie Hodges as its 2019 Conservation Teacher of the Year. A passionate grant writer, Hodges always seeks ways to fund her innovative vision to teach and engage children outdoors. She has been awarded more than $36,000 in grants to help provide professional development for fellow teachers and to purchase materials and supplies for schoolwide outdoor projects like a Monarch Recovery Garden in which students planned and created to help increase the monarch butterfly population. Since 2003, she has received numerous state and national grants to build outdoor learning spaces at Portal Elementary. She has also cultivated community partnerships with local farmers, volunteers, and Georgia Southern University’s Garden of the Coastal Plain to bring her vision of outdoor learning to life and to show children creative uses for technology outside.
2019-2020 BULLOCH COUNTY SCHOOLS RETIREES
This year’s retirees have served our community a total of 786 years. Marsha Arnett Eloise Jones Charles Rockett Paul Barnes Jan Keel Jeff Seier Katherine Coleman Dr. Thomas Marshall James Simmons Deryl Collins Samuel McCullough Jeanie Sims Ronnie Cope Betty Mikell Brandy Smith Carlton Dance Terri Mullis Sandra Smith Janice Dickerson Brenda Murphey Thomas Sye Laurie Gabriel Robin Knight Susan Taylor Jan Haggins Phillip Oliver Brian Thomas Kate Haisten Shirley Page Dana White Crystal Holman Martha Robinson Carol Williams
SkillsUSA (Formerly VICA) Josh Hall Statesboro High School Skills USA Advisor Models of Excellence Chapter Designation (Top 24 chapters in U.S.)
Eric Whitacre Renowned National Composer Brent Whitaker Southeast Bulloch High Choral Director Music Educator of the Week (Whitacre’s website)
STEPHANIE HODGES, BULLOCH COUNTY TEACHER OF THE YEAR (COHORT 2021)
Stephanie Hodges is the 2019-2020 (Cohort 2021) Bulloch County Teacher of the Year. Selected in November 2019, she is a veteran educator with 29 years of experience, 21 of those at Portal Elementary School where she leads the school’s Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics Lab (STEM) Lab. Hodges has been selected as PES’s teacher of the year three times: 2019, 2017, and 2003. She is a graduate of Georgia Southern University with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. Due to changes in the state Georgia Teacher of the Year competition that resulted from COVID-19, Hodges will represent Bulloch County in the 20202021 (Cohort 2022) state competition.
2019-2020 SCHOOL-LEVEL TEACHERS OF THE YEAR Meredith Jones Elizabeth Anne Harrison Brittany Bacon Joy Adams Christy Hogan Millie Boykin Melissa Williams Stephanie Hodges Anna Spence Misty Anderson Dr. Patia Rountree Kristen Barnhill Jen Calhoun Kascie Oliver Racheal Moran
Brooklet Elementary School Julia P. Bryant Elementary School Langston Chapel Elementary School Langston Chapel Middle School Mattie Lively Elementary School Mill Creek Elementary School Nevils Elementary School Portal Elementary School Portal Middle High School Sallie Zetterower Elementary Southeast Bulloch Middle School Southeast Bulloch High School Statesboro High School Stilson Elementary School William James Middle School
BULLOCH COUNTY FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION A charitable foundation that supports these worthwhile education programs
REACH GA Scholarships • STAR Student/Teacher Innovation Grants to Teachers • Teacher of the Year Program We’ve helped make college possible for
40 2013
Innovation Grants Since 2006, the Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education (Foundation) has funded more than 220 innovative teacher grants totaling nearly $270,000 to fund learning experiences for Bulloch County children.
$1,000
The grant amount provided each year to the Bulloch County Teacher of the Year
Charitable Giving The Foundation provides a way for individuals, businesses, industries and civic organizations to invest in local education programs that benefit public, charter, private and home-schooled students. In addition, the Foundation’s two major fundraising campaigns are the Statesboro 5K Turkey Trot and Bulloch County Schools’ Jeans Fridays, which is an employee payroll deduction option. College Scholarships The Foundation funds Bulloch County School’s annual participation in the REACH Georgia Scholarship Program with a $7,500 annual contribution. As a result, five graduating REACH scholars each receive a $20K - $30K scholarship for college in addition to the HOPE scholarship.
300+
People who annually participate in one of our main fundraisers Statesboro Turkey Trot 5K Saturday before Thanksgiving; In Downtown Statesboro
Bulloch’s REACH Georgia Scholars since
$270,000 Innovation grant funds provided to more than 220 teacher projects since 2006
STAR Student / STAR Teacher The Foundation is the local underwriting sponsor for the Professional Association of GA Educator’s STAR program. The Foundation’s financial support makes this program possible locally for Bulloch County’s public, private and charter schools.
$37,000
Funds donated annually to the Foundation by Bulloch County Schools’ employees through payroll deduction
Teacher of the Year Program The Foundation is one of the main corporate sponsors for Bulloch County Schools’ Teacher of the Year program. The Foundation annually provides a $1,000 grant to the district’s teacher of the year.
150 Williams Road, Suite A | Statesboro, GA 30458 T: 912.212.8500 | F: 912.212.8529 www.bullochschools.org | boe@bullochschools.org
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THE CULTURE
gardening goes viral
Gardening Goes Viral WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS
36 statesboromagazine.com
July/August 2020
B
eing confined to staying at home is unknown territory for most of us but we have found that many of our friends and neighbors are getting out into their yards to plant some fruits and vegetables, even if they’ve decided to tend just a few pots, they’ve been rewarded this summer with plenty of food for their family and friends. Similar to the Victory gardens planted during World Wars I & II, the garden movement called on Americans to grow food in whatever spaces they could — rooftops, fire escapes, empty lots, and backyards. It maintained that there was nothing more valuable than self-sufficiency, than working a little land, no matter how small, and harvesting your own eggplants and tomatoes. We found that many locals are planting gardens this year and relying on their garden’s bounty to get them through these uncertain times. Interest in gardening, in particular, has surged in recent months in part due to seasonal changes, but also because of an increasing food supply anxiety. In late March, interest in growing a garden hit an all-time high, according to Google Trends. Backyard gardening is a coronavirus-triggered trend in the South that has cleaned out garden supply stores and local nurseries and pushed seed companies to the limit. Local nurseries, home improvement stores, and gardening centers have reported that seeds, plants, and gardening tools are flying off the shelves. Whether folks are motivated by a need for self-sufficiency, a desire to stay out of grocery stores or a loss of confidence in the food-supply chain, first-time gardeners are sprouting up across the region and the nation. We talked to several area gardeners who have found that there are many benefits to gardening beyond sustainability. A home garden can keep your family healthy, teach you about how food grows, provide outdoor activity, produce fresh food, and save money! In the past and present, Victory gardens have been known to boost morale, ease burdens placed on local farmers, and combat food supply chain demands. Similar to cleaning and baking, tending to a garden also relieves stress and anxiety, which peaks during unprecedented times like this. Also, when we interact with green, outdoor environments we tend to breathe more deeply and at a more regulated pace which oxygenates our blood and releases endorphins, which are natural painkillers and mood enhancers. Plus a home garden can keep you and your family happily occupied and help while away the time. You may well find that during this compulsory slow-down period you have the best-kept garden you’ve ever had! And, you and your family will want to start the tradition of continuing the gardening experience each year. We recently visited with four local families who have yielded to the gardening trend. In the following section, we walk the rows with gardeners Hughie Tankersley of Brooklet, Wes Chester of Hopeulikit, Michael Daly of Grimshaw and John Scott of Statesboro, to see what they’ve experienced and grown working with their families in their own gardens this year.
Hughie Tankersley
O
WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS
ur friend, Hughie Tankersley, of Brooklet, Georgia, contacted Statesboro Magazine recently to talk about all of the gardens he has seen friends and neighbors plant this year. He thought the revival in home gardening a blessing because in recent years, many of those who had always planted a garden and shared their bounty with neighbors had grown older and unable to continue what Tankersley deemed an important Southern tradition. “I remember when folks like Ed Wynn, Coach George Roebuck and Coach Fred Shaver planted big gardens and shared what they produced each year with friends and neighbors in the community,” said Tankersley. “I think planting a garden is beneficial in so many ways, and I’m glad to see it continue. I think if there’s one good thing about the coronavirus, it’s the Victory gardens that so many folks in Bulloch County have been planting.” With many of us staying at home due to the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, we have seen a surge in people starting home gardens and looking for gardening tips and advice. We think it’s great that people are using this downtime to get green-fingered – it’s good for the body, the mind and the soil. “I’ve planted a garden everywhere we have lived,” said Tankersley, who is the husband of Georgia District 160 Representative Jan Tankersley. “Even when we lived in the city of Statesboro early in our marriage, I always planted a garden.”
July/August 2020
statesboromagazine.com
37
THE CULTURE
gardening goes viral
Wes Chester WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS
Tankersley notes several positive reasons for gardening. “It’s good for my health. It’s a workout. It’s easy to work up a sweat without even realizing it when you’re preparing the soil, planting the seeds, tending the plants and weeding,” he said. “Plus, even a small garden can produce a lot and I love to share what we have with friends and neighbors.” Tankersley starts preparing for his next garden while he’s still harvesting vegetables in the summer. “I cut up the expired plant material with the lawn mower and “There’s just compost it to use it for mulch,” he said. “I till Black Kow manure something into the soil and use a 10/10/10 fertilizer.” very satisfying Tankersley starts in February planting potatoes, and follows about putting a towards the end of March with green beans, squash, tomatoes, seed in the dirt Japanese eggplant, okra, Sadandy cowpeas, Fordhook limas, and watching it grow.” cucumbers and bell peppers. “My favorite are the tomatoes, but they are hard to grow,” he HUGHIE TANKERSLEY shared. “You have to really watch for disease and insects.” When it comes to gardening, Tankersley’s roots run deep. “My mama, Cloe Tankersley, always planted a garden,” he said. “I remember ladies like Ruby Flanders and Rose Lee who plowed their gardens down with a mule.” The garden of Tankersley’s youth was not only memorable, it sustained his large family of seven, including two brothers and two sisters. And, it made a lasting impression on him. “I have always enjoyed it,” he said. “I like working in the garden, and I like being outside. There’s just something very satisfying about putting a seed in the dirt and watching it grow.” S 38 statesboromagazine.com
July/August 2020
T
en years ago, the place where Wes Chester and his wife, Stacy, built a house and a dog-training business called Shady Acres Retrievers on Akins Smith Road near Hopeulikit, was a big cotton field. The land was part of Chester’s grandfather - John Wesley Chester’s farm. Wes Chester, who was born and reared here, had been a dog trainer in Shady Dale, Georgia, before moving back two years ago. The son of Thomas and Betty Chester longed to return to his Bulloch County roots. “This has always been a beautiful piece of land. We made the decision to move our business back here from Shady Dale, Georgia,” said Chester. “We built the new kennel first and we built the house last year.” A beautiful traditional white farm house now stands in the old cotton field. It’s home to the Chesters and their three sons: Tucker, 15, Colby, 12 and Tate, 4. Chester brought along youngest son, Tate, for our visit to his garden. “This is my second year learning about gardening,” said Chester. “It’s nice to have something growing on the old farm. I’ve enjoyed learning about what grows best. I have discovered that you have to use pre-emergent for weeds or they’ll take over. Especially if it rains a lot.”
Chester likes to work in the garden and share his bounty with his neighbors and friends. While Stacy likes the long rows of sunflowers and canning some of the food they grow. “Stacy uses the sunflowers we plant in arrangements throughout the house,” he said. “We also invite our friends and family to get what they want and to use the sunflower field for family photos.” In addition to sunflowers, Chester plants 10 – 12 rows of purple hull crowder peas, corn, and a patch of watermelons. “We put up the peas and corn-onthe-cob,” he said. “We’re able to enjoy that throughout the fall and winter months.” Canning what’s grown is an added benefit for the family, providing them with fresh produce throughout the year. One of the many reasons Chester wants to continue planting his garden. Each year he starts planting in late March, being sure to start after the last frost, when the soil begins to warm up. “It takes the watermelons 90 days to mature,” he said. “So I start planting them as soon as I can.” For the garden’s pest control, Chester has three guineas and 26 chickens. “The guineas will eat their weight in bugs,” he said. “We call them ‘the girls.’ They’re like watch dogs. They squawk when strangers drive up.” Tate treats the chickens like pets. Alternately playing in the watering trough, chasing the chickens, and climbing on the tractor during our visit. “We love it here and being able to have our home, our family, our business and our garden on granddaddy’s farm,” said Chester. “It’s really the best of everything.” S
“We love it here and being able to have our home, our family, our business and our garden on granddaddy’s farm,” WES CHESTER
July/August 2020
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gardening goes viral
Michael Daly
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WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS
he Daly home is part of a rural subdivision featuring beautiful homes with large front and back yards in an area of Bulloch County once known as Grimshaw. Michael Daly, nurse practitioner with Effingham Health System’s Hospital in Springfield, and Pineland Mental Health Services in Statesboro, started gardening as a way to enjoy the outdoors and relax after work. “I’ve always liked gardening and have added some fruit trees to the back yard through the years,” said Daly. “I planted a minimal amount of things last year, but I’ve always wanted to go bigger. This year I decided to do it! While we were sheltering at home, I decided to plant potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, chick peas, cucumbers, kale and onions.” Of the four gardeners we spoke with, Daly had the most unique approach to laying out his garden beds. “I did some research, and I decided to plant my garden according to the principles of permaculture,” said Daly. “Permaculture gardening literally means ‘permanent agriculture.’ It is a holistic approach to gardening that incorporates the natural forces of wind, sun and water, and everything else your garden needs besides plants and seeds. It creates a cycle of growing and harvesting and planting. Your plant waste is turned into composting. You plant flowers to attract pollinators. You replace chemical weed killers with something more natural. I used biodegradable cardboard as a weed barrier in my beds this year.” Daly, along with wife, Reagan, the Physician Liaison for Optim Orthopedics and also owner of Daly Creative Group marketing firm, and 14-year-old son Kellen, all pitch in to keep things growing.
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gardening goes viral
“Our garden uses a no-till approach,” said Daly. “You can wet the cardboard, cover it with mulch to keep the moisture in, and puncture a hole to place the seed or plant in.” In addition to a bountiful vegetable garden area, the Daly’s enjoy fruit from three pear trees, two peach trees, a plum tree, blueberry bushes and blackberry vines. There are also black walnut and pecan trees shading the yard. “This year we ate a good bit of the fruits and vegetables we grew, and shared with friends and neighbors,” said Daly. “We also made dill pickles with the cucumbers we grew.” “They were so good!” said Reagan. “We also made some plum jelly. And, we’re hoping to pickle some olives.” Being able to work in the garden as a way of relaxing, and using the holistic approach as a way of becoming a part of the overall environment and the continuing life cycle of growing plants, has become another aspect of healing for Daly. “I’m planning on doing another garden next year,” he said. “Gardening offers a relationship with nature that is almost spiritual, it offers us solace and serenity. Spending time in the garden not only gives us the benefit of fresher food, it sustains us and boosts both our physiological and physical health. I find it so rewarding all the way around.” S
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John R. Scott
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WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS
ohn Scott spends a lot of time looking at other people’s homes and gardens. As Bulloch County’s Chief Tax Appraiser, it’s his job to develop the county’s real and personal property appraisal systems, standards and procedures within the Tax Assessor’s office. It’s a career that’s spanned 37 years, 28 of which have been in Bulloch County. “My wife, Wanda, and I were both born and raised in Ocala, Florida,” said Scott. “We left there in 1983 for a job opportunity in Ludowici, Georgia. We were there for five years raising our young family, where I also worked in real estate. We spent another four years in Stephens County, Georgia.” They moved to Bulloch County in the early 1990s and purchased the former home of Dr. Robert Swint, who was an avid plant grower, having three greenhouses on the property. Scott has improved the value of the own property, located in a nice Statesboro subdivision, by tearing down and removing the three old greenhouses and clearing away kudzu and brambles, with friend and helper Robert White, in order to plant a very substantial garden in his back yard. The most urban of our gardeners, Scott, along with wife, Wanda, a retired Ogeechee Area Hospice nurse, tends several rows of vegetables within proximity to the patio and back door. Behind a brick wall and wrought iron gate, Scott’s garden is laid out in neat rows of corn, squash, potatoes, okra, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes field peas and cucumbers. The cucumber vines cover the garden’s far fence, right behind where a volunteer sunflower has sprouted, and stands over ten feet tall! Scott was quick to call his work “My Victory garden.” “It’s my victory garden because three years ago, I had a medical procedure done that went terribly wrong,” he said. “It was a long and complicated recovery, and when I got back on my feet, I planted my Victory garden.” Scott likes to share his bounty with daughters, Rachel Scott Elrod of Auburn, Alabama, and Beth Scott James of Fitzgerald, Georgia, and their families. Between them there are six grandchildren, with number seven on the way. He also likes to share with friends and neighbors of Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church, where he serves as Elder and pastor. Wanda likes to spend time in the kitchen canning and preserving vegetables for winter. She was canning tomatoes on the day of our visit. Hundreds of red ripe tomatoes covered all of the counters and tables in the kitchen area of their home! Wanda also likes to work in the backyard’s flower garden, adding exotic plants that she gets from friends. In flower pots, she’s grown herbs like mint, basil, sage and parsley. S Wanda’s Recipe for Canned Tomatoes Blanch tomatoes in boiling water on top of stove in large pot. (Don’ t use aluminum pot as it will make tomatoes dark in color). Let tomatoes cool, then peel and quarter. Return quartered tomatoes to pot and cook until the juice runs clear. About 30 – 40 minutes. Prepare canning jars and lids according to package directions. Place 1 teaspoon of pickling salt in the bottom of each jar and fill with warm tomatoes. (Don’ t use iodized salt as it will make tomato seeds turn dark).
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THE CULTURE
from peanut to pirates
From Peanut to Pirates
45 Years of PreK WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK FORTUNE
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hen Bulloch Academy PreK teacher Beverly Campbell began her career, Jimmy Carter was the president. The year 2020 will mark 45 years of being instrumental in curriculum development, classroom instruction, and the creation of learning activities for education’s youngest students. Since 1976, she has dedicated her life to the teaching and the development of curriculum for PreK children. “I started at Georgia Southern, under Dr. Betty Lane, as lead teacher in the PreK program in the Family Life Center,” said Campbell. “Dr. Lane sent me over to the Bulloch County Board of Education when Mr. Louis Woodrum was superintendent to begin a program in Early Childhood Education at Statesboro High School. I was to teach high school students how to teach preschoolers. It started out as a federally funded program that became state run. I was there for 30 years. The program became so popular for the children, that every year, we had a waiting list.” High school students could stay three years in Campbell’s program. A good many of her high school students went on to become teachers. “I have at least one former student teaching in every school in Bulloch County,” said Campbell. Former student, Meagan Beasley was selected as 2018-2019 Teacher of the Year for Mill Creek Elementary. Student Brad Boykin is the newly appointed principal at Southeast Bulloch Middle School. “Those two were phenomenal students,” said Campbell. Bulloch County was the first school system in the state to do the PreK instruction which was placed under the Home Economics program at Statesboro High. “People from school systems all over the state came to see our program,” said Campbell. What made Campbell’s program the standard was her creation of separate learning centers for the children. Campbell was responsible for renovating two classrooms to create the lab in which PreK students could be supervised by high school students learning to be teachers themselves. In 2000, Campbell was in the top ten teachers in the U.S. honored by Early Childhood Today magazine. Nominated by one of her student’s parents, Campbell was treated to a trip to Chicago, a plaque, books, resources for her classroom and vendor gifts. “There was a meet and greet function at the top of the hotel and the CEO of Scholastic magazine came up to me and said that she had wanted to meet me,” said Campbell. “She wanted to learn about my peanut butter factory.” Campbell completed her stellar career at Statesboro High after 30 years, but was not ready for retirement. “I retired from public school,” said Campbell. “And now I do my hobby.” July/August 2020
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Her hobby is leading the PreK program at Bulloch Academy. She’s been enjoying her work there for 15 years, where her “new” classroom has its own peanut butter factory. “It takes about two weeks each year,” Campbell said. “The unit has all of the content standards that I am required to do by the state. There is math, science, language and literacy. The children write about their experiences.” The program takes the children through the entire process of making peanut butter. They start with a field trip to a peanut field to see how they grow. They pick the peanuts, wash them, shell them, see them roasted, grind them into butter, put the peanut butter in jars, label the jars, and sell peanut butter in the classroom’s grocery store. “Each student has an apron and is paid $2.00 for their work,” said Campbell. “They can then use their $2.00 in “When a student comes back to me the store. They learn and says, ‘Mrs. Campbell you were economics and basic the best teacher ever!’ Those student life skills, too.” moments are my greatest reward.” Campbell BEVERLY CAMPBELL creates a book documenting the students’ work on the peanut butter factory and other units throughout the year with pictures of the step-bystep processes. The books are available in the classroom library for sharing. The award winning peanut butter factory is just one of the units that Campbell has created to stimulate learning for her students. There is a unit on space exploration, where the children experience being astronauts. They study the planets, participate in space travel and keep a mission log. A copy of Campbell’s book on the space unit is in the Presidential Library in Washington, D.C. There are other units including one on farming, the jungle, the circus, dinosaurs, and indigenous people.
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Campbell’s unit on the ocean includes a pirate ship with maps and buried treasure! “I had a very large cardboard T-Rex that we used for the unit on dinosaurs,” Campbell said. “I had it for years, but it began to show its age. Josh Whitfield of Whitfield Signs and the West District fabricated a new one for us last year. It is very popular with the students. It’s all they can talk about!” Campbell’s husband, Hadley, helps her with some of the units. He has been instrumental in creating some of the props for her classroom and burying the treasure for the “pirates” to find. The Campbell’s are parents to one daughter, Jennifer Mock, and two sons, Jeff and Matthew Campbell. She has taught all three of her children and all of her three granddaughters. “I really have just as much fun as the children do,” said Campbell. “They are so enthusiastic. I love to engage them. I always talk to them face to face kneeling down on their level.” Campbell takes care of the different learning stations and the classroom environment for the students, but she gives them the responsibility of keeping the many centers clean. “During the daily routine, the children can choose their centers,” Campbell said. “We have reading, blocks, science, arts, writing and housekeeping.” Campbell also has a Monarch butterfly center and a unit that is coordinated through the University of Kansas. During research on the Monarch butterfly, Campbell discovered a loss of habitat was negatively affecting populations, so she decided to find a way for the children to positively impact the butterflies as they made their migratory journey from Maine to Mexico each year. “We planted milkweed, the Monarch’s favorite food to attract them,” Campbell said. “In this unit we not only learn about the butterfly, we also learn some Spanish words since they are headed to Mexico. We keep data sheets on each butterfly that visits our outside station. We have tiny stickers that the children attach to the butterfly’s wings for tracking. It takes four generations to get from Maine to Mexico. Only the fourth generation makes it back to us in August each year.” They started with 37 butterflies raised from eggs the first year. This year, 610 were recorded returning to the milkweed garden. When the children release the Monarchs to continue their journey to Mexico, they shout, “Adios mariposa!” to send them on their way. With all the excitement for learning, Campbell has few classroom rules to encumber the children. “I ask them to be good listeners, to walk inside, not run, and to clean up each center before they leave,” she said. “Our number one rule in the classroom is ‘To treat others the way you want to be treated.’” It’s been challenging for her since school was let out in the spring. “I miss my students terribly,” she said. “It’s difficult to find things we can do in a Zoom classroom while we’re all at home.” But, leave it to Mrs. Campbell to come up with a creative solution. “We do scavenger hunts,” she said. “For example, I ask them to find something that starts with the letter ‘B’ in their house, or something that makes a sound. It might not be great for the parents to suddenly have their children running around the house, but they seem to really enjoy it.” Campbell is most appreciative of the support she receives from her administration, and the priceless feedback she receives from her students. “I am so blessed,” she said. “When a student comes back to me and says, ‘Mrs. Campbell you were the best teacher ever!’ Those student moments are my greatest reward.” S
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home & garden
Around the house, inside and out WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS
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orking from home may sound pretty great in the general run of things, but when a pandemic is threatening, and you can’t go out for groceries without a mask and a pair of rubber gloves, it all gets a little less fun. But if there’s something we’ve learned from the area’s top experts on the home and garden, it’s how to make your house a place you want to spend time in. Here are some top tips from our community partners on surviving the coronavirus lockdown. FREEZE SOME ESSENTIALS
The idea of a lockdown started to take solid form for us when a certain member of the Statesboro Magazine team mentioned stockpiling frozen chicken tenders and chocolate ice cream for the impending emergency. In fact we have it on good authority that Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate ice cream is as good as Häagen Dazs when it comes to rich chocolate flavor. Since you’re bound to be preparing more home-cooked meals for the family, here are some fresh ingredients that freeze well: Lemon grass, butter, chilies, citrus fruits, ginger and garlic. Make a big batch of “the holy trinity,” chopped onions, bell pepper and celery, and you have the essential base for many sauces and for a good, health-boosting soup or chili that you can also eat now or freeze for later. All that stockpiling may result in some unimaginative meals, however. There are only so many combinations of tinned foods and frozen condiments one can manage. Assuming deliveries are still functioning, this seems like as good a time as any to sign up for one of Statesboro’s many and varied restaurant meal delivery systems. There’s BoroTakeOut. com and DoorDash.com. Many local restaurants are also delivering directly to your home, while dining rooms are closed. You can even get McDelivery from McDonald’s. Order your groceries online and pick them up instead of picking them out. And, if it’s fresh and local you want, order weekly between Friday and Tuesday at midnight online at StatesboroMarket2Go.LocallyGrown.net. Pick-up your fresh picked and custom packed order on Thursdays at the Visit Statesboro Welcome Center on South Main Street. STAY WELL HYDRATED
Keep plenty of bottled water and other beverages on hand. Of course, you can never go wrong with stock-piling a crate of wine or a case of beer. Georgia lawmakers recently passed a bill approving home delivery of alcohol. You can now order beer, wine and liquor from stores in unbroken packages and have it delivered to your door. To help your neighbors while you shelter, GeorgiaGrown.com, the state’s website featuring foods and products produced by Georgians, has several vintners listed who will ship straight to your home. We also highly recommend the soothing properties of a hot toddy when you’re feeling a bit droopy. Keep a bottle of whiskey and plenty of lemons on hand for medicinal purposes only.
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FIND A PROJECT OR TEACH YOURSELF A NEW SKILL
Let’s face it, boredom is going to be a problem, especially if you live alone or don’t find your partner that interesting. Start curating a streaming watch-list of programs that feature home improvement or gardening. Of course, HGTV offers hours of programming on the home, with shows like Property Brothers and Fixer Upper, but you can also find home and garden shows on GPTV, hulu and Netflix. This could also be an excellent time to nurture the old brain as well - don’t just let it turn to mush in front of Yard Crashers. Sign up for a book subscription service like Amazon Kindle or a subscription book box from Literati. Statesboro Magazine also offers subscriptions which are perfect for friends and family that can’t visit right now. On the subject of not letting the brain atrophy, why not take up a new project? The joys of the digital age mean that there are also plenty of courses to sign up for and online groups to join. Harvard’s free online architecture course is an amazing discovery of ours, and organizations like Masterclass, Ted Talks and Intelligence Squared offer video courses on a range of interesting subjects, which have the added benefits of making you feel like there is someone else in the room with you and making you smarter at the same time.
Gardening Tip for Beginners Consider a container garden. Use pots and planters for your vegetables and herbs. You can move the containers to catch the best light.
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home & garden HOW TO PRESS FLOWERS
Just think of all those things you’ve been meaning to do for which you never seem to find the time. You might learn to perfect Grandmother’s yeast bread, for example - if you’re at home you should have plenty of time to keep an eye on your starter. Ditto the perfect pound cake or pie crust - perfect projects to while away the hours with nothing better to do. There’s a whole world of foods to preserve out there if baking doesn’t tickle your fancy - pickles, jams, jellies, salsa, jerky - the list is endless. And if you have a Victory garden, all the better. With what you reap you can create your very own “farm to table” experience. If you have a new flower garden, now is the time to make like an Edwardian lady of leisure and dry and press some flowers to use as potpourri throughout your home or as gifts to your homebound friends. GET IN A FEW LUXURIES
Place flowers and foliage between two sheets of tissue paper, paper towel, or any thin, porous paper. Take time to arrange the flowers the way you would like them to appear once dried.
RE-ELECT
If you’re not a gardener, a flower subscription will help keep things fresh and cheerful even if you’re not feeling so fresh and cheerful yourself. BloomsyBox is an excellent go-to, and we’re also big fans of locally sourced WilMor Farms for a fresh bouquet. If you can’t leave the house make your home into a sanctuary. We swear by long baths with Southern Soaked Bath Bombs and candles with scents like Champagne Twist and Sand & Salt. Candles may not totally alleviate pandemic-induced anxiety, but they sure will help a little. And when it comes to protecting your health, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do that in style too. The bracing aroma of hand sanitizer is becoming a constant companion at entrances these days, but Bath and Body Works, scented non-drying rinse-free hand sanitizer is a considerable improvement on the alcohol-smelling standard stuff.
FUTCH CORONER
I am proud, honored, and humbled to continue to serve my home town as the Bulloch County Coroner. While serving as your coroner for the past 20 years, I have been a member of the Georgia Coroner’s Association and have served as past president of the G.C.A.. As your coroner I work hand in hand with local, state, and federal agencies, and have been an expert testimony in court proceedings. I have gained the trust and confidence of fellow coroners and law enforcement agencies throughout Georgia. I am asking for your vote and support in November 2020! Thank You, Jake A.Futch Bulloch Coroner *Paid for by The Candidate.
WWW.BULLOCHCORONER.COM MAKE SURE TO VOTE NOVEMBER 3, 2020! 60 statesboromagazine.com
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THOSE LITTLE ‘HONEY DO’ PROJECTS
The biggest feature of all house and garden magazines and television programming is a good renovation project. Does your house look like a tornado came through it? Now is the time to get things in order. We’re not suggesting you start tearing down walls, but if you’re contemplating rearranging your bookshelves, painting your kitchen cabinets, cleaning out closets or going whole hog and decluttering your life, now is the time to seize the day! A host of local companies specialize in helping you with those projects that are just a little too big for DIY. Re-landscaping or renovating a bathroom? Call one of the experts in this section to make your project go smoothly and to get the professional results you’re envisioning. Take time to take care of your family’s greatest asset. For as Dorothy Gale reminded us, “There’s no place like home!” S
9 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR HOME MORE COMFORTABLE Keeping your home cozy is more important now than ever. While we’re required to stay indoors, staying comfortable around the people we love is really essential. Noticing that loose door knob or broken light socket you’ve been too busy to see? Now is the time to make those little or big home improvements, while you’re there to do the work or supervise the professional, take this time to make your nest comfy for you and your loved ones.
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1. Display your memories. You can instantly add warmth to your home by displaying family photos of your happiest memories on your shelves and walls. Some of the best areas to put up these photos are the hallway and the stairway. You can also add in other things that inspire you. For example, do you have a collection from your travels? Arrange your treasured items together to create a focal point of interest. 2. Place rugs for your feet. Nothing feels as good as having a layer of softness under your feet. Place soft and visually appealing rugs in areas where you are most likely to do relaxing activities like next to the bed, in front of your reading chair, under the coffee table, by the fireplace, etc.
3. Replace your old mattresses. Maybe your old mattress has been giving you back aches first thing in the morning. It could also be the reason why you’re not feeling as well-rested most days. If that’s the case, it’s time to get new mattresses for better sleep. Fortunately, Statesboro is home to several premium mattress stores, where you can take your time choosing and testing out the right one for you.
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4. Pile on throw pillows. If your living room couch is looking a bit dated and you can’t afford a new one right now, give it an update with new throw pillows. Pillows are a less expensive option and can be changed often to provide a new look with each season. This makes your living room feel more vibrant and family members will want to commune here more often.
5. Get rid of the clutter. Having to look at a messy space everyday can be a source of stress. You can easily fix that by decluttering. Start small by going into each room, eliminating the items you don’t need and finding a home for those that you do decide to keep. You’ll feel better being surrounded by only the things that you really need. And everything will have a place.
6. Add fresh flowers. Bring in some fresh flowers from outside. Whether cut flowers for the dining room table or vase or a blooming potted plant for the kitchen window, fresh flowers make the room softer and more inviting. Flowers add natural beauty to a dreary space and can really lighten up a room. If you’re not into flowers, consider adding greens instead. They, too, spruce up your home and purify indoor air. They also last longer than flowers.
7. Use soft lighting. Your home may be well-illuminated but is it emitting the right kind of light? Fluorescent lights tend to be harsher and they emit a blue light that messes with your circadian rhythm. Consider adding soft lighting that you can turn on at night. It makes your evenings feel cozier because the warm light signals your brain that it’s time to wind down.
8. Add spa elements. You can incorporate some spa elements into your home to make it extra cozy. Think candles, diffusers, relaxing music, trickling fountains, and soft lighting. Add these throughout your home like the bedroom, living room, and bathroom. Every day will be like a relaxing spa session that leaves you feeling rejuvenated and pampered.
9. Do some DIY. A way to make your home truly feel like your own is by furnishing it with items that you made yourself. Take on a DIY project such as a refurbished coffee table, hand sewn pillow cases, or a self-drawn portrait. Get the kids involved too! This adds personality to your home that no other furniture can.
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better by design
WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK FORTUNE
ast Christmas, when Statesboro Magazine asked Summer Deal Hodges, design consultant for L.A. Waters Furniture & Mattress Company, and owner of Graymont Designs, to give us some tips for holiday decorating, she gave us another tip we weren’t expecting. News that a custom made furniture collection, designed by Summer, would soon be available for sale at the store. We waited with anticipation to see the new line that carries the Graymont Design label. This summer, Summer’s line finally arrived!
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“It started about two years ago,” she said. “I was looking for an affordable and easy-living style of design in the pieces I was using to decorate the homes of our customers. I wanted a style of furniture that would mix easily with antiques and family heirlooms that we knew our customers treasured.” Summer met with the design team from Masterfield Furniture Company, based in Alexander County, North Carolina, a company whose line of furniture L.A. Waters already had on the sales floor, to bring her ideas to life. “I created a color design board with the rich fabrics and the clean lines that I thought would blend with various furnishings,” said Summer. “Transitional in style and neutral in a way that complements any décor.” Developing a custom furniture line is something Summer has been dreaming of for years. For as long as she can remember, Summer has had a penchant for design. “I always had a knack for taking ordinary things and making them look extraordinary,” she said. “Even as a child, I was always rearranging things and using what was already available to create beauty, and to make a room inviting and welcoming.” Summer and her husband, Jay, have plenty of experience in home renovation and design. The couple moved a 100-plus year old farm house from its original location in Twin City, Georgia, over 30 miles to their farm in Clito. The home was totally renovated and Summer decorated the interior herself, even adding a red barn to the property that the family uses as outdoor entertaining space. The name of Twin City is significant because the town was originally made up of two small towns, Graymont and Summit, which were merged. That’s how Summer chose the name Graymont for her design firm. Early on Summer found her passion for design developing into a career. Once she began at L.A. Waters as design consultant, she quickly became one of the top sales people, and was popular among clients wanting to refresh their interior design.
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better by design
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“I started at L.A. Waters when my children began preschool,” said Summer. “I was a stay at home Mom when my children, Audrey, Addy and Brannen, were small. During that time, I was often called upon by friends and family to help them update MOST FABULOUS MEDICAL OFFICE their homes.” & BUSINESS THAT GIVES After years of venturing into homes,BACK helping friends and clients choose their furnishings, obtaining many commercial accounts, along with an extensive list of residential clients, Summer knew it was time to take the next step. She had felt for some time, while working the sales floor and doing her design work, that there was a niche in the furniture world that needed to be filled. She wanted to create good quality, designer furniture that was full of style, color and flare, that was ready and available on the showroom floor, without creating a special order. When her vision began to become reality, Summer approached Anthony Waters, owner of L.A. Waters Furniture & Mattress Company, for his blessing. Waters recognized the potential of Summer’s designs and fully supported her vision. “Graymont Designs is an exciting new offering of color, style and comfort! L. A. Waters is proud to have Summer Hodges’ new concept on display for our customers to experience and enjoy,” said Waters. “This collection makes the decorating
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better by design
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process so much fun with great choices that work together to make any room special!” “I’m so thankful that Mr. Anthony and the team at L.A. Waters have always supported me and my vision,” said Summer. After several meetings with the Masterfield design team in Atlanta and North Carolina, and years of pursing her goal, at last Graymont Design Collection is available, under the Masterfield label, exclusively at L.A. Waters Furniture. The high quality, upholstered furniture is made in the U.S.A. and shipped directly from warehouses in North Carolina. It features clean lines, brilliant fabrics, and colorful throw pillows, which allow you to change the look of any room without going to great expense. “The eight-way hand tied quality of the furniture was very important to me,” said Summer. “I knew I would be selling this product to our best clients, friends and family and only wanted the name Graymont on the highest quality furnishings.” The upholstery collection is made up of sofa and chair styles that are easily mixed and matched to create the look the customer wants to achieve. Many pillow designs are available to complement the furniture groups and the buyer has the ability to choose these. The furniture is now available for purchase and can be delivered to your home within a few days, if not hours! “It’s like a dream come true,” said Summer. “To be able to offer such high quality furniture for our clients under the Graymont Design label without having to special order anything. Now, we can work right from the floor to bring the most beautiful and inviting look to anyone’s home.” S
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buzz worthy bites
“I know I fuss a lot about food, but I care about my food.” Sherry Kay Williams WRITTEN BY LAZAR BROWN OGLESBY
P
ulling into the familiar drive off of Dixie Crescent, as I have many times before, feels a little different this time. Is it because we haven’t seen each other in months due the novel corona virus or the fact that our country has been pushed to the breaking point amid racial tensions? I don’t know the answer but I do know I want to sit at the picnic table in the back yard with my friend, Sherry Kay Williams and enjoy a cold beer. I hopped out of my car with a six-pack of Miller Genuine Draft (Sherry’s favorite) and was greeted with open arms. Sherry has a laugh that is throaty and contagious. Her clothes are ironed to a sharp precision with a pointy crease running down the front of her jean shorts. Her hair is always sassy in a curled pony tail and her lips are tinted a light shade of fuchsia. She is my lead line cook at Honey Café and my friend. I admire her mad skills in the kitchen and I respect her. We don’t always agree, but our relationship is like that of any successful marriage. We pick our battles. Like the time I pursed my lips when Sherry put bell pepper in the cornbread dressing we prepared for the lunch buffet at Honey Café. I always believed bell pepper too harsh a flavor for the delicate dressing my mother taught me to make. Boy was I wrong! My daddy said, “That was the best dressing I have ever put in my mouth!” I sheepishly acquiesced and knew I had been schooled by my elder and my better. I have not known Sherry the longest of all my kitchen peers, but I think we have logged more hours in the kitchen together than with any other person in my life. Side by side we have scrambled eggs, fried anything you could fry, made biscuits, cut steaks, solved the world’s problems, laughed until we had tears dripping off of our chins, and cried over bad days and lost loved ones. We have been “in the weeds” with no end in sight to the length of lunch tickets, stacked two-deep on the line, but we made it through and celebrated at the end of a shift with a salty shot of dill pickle moonshine. Sherry is a fixer of mistakes. Like the time I put way too much salt in my butter beans and she stepped right in and made them edible by rinsing them with cold water. Her home is always open to friends and family. She makes me feel safe and comfortable in
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SHERRY KAY’S FRIED CHICKEN INGREDIENTS:
1 Frying Chicken ¼ cup Texas Pete Hot Sauce 3 Tbsp. Water 2 Tbsp. Salt 1 Tbsp. Seasoned Salt 1 Tbsp. Pepper 3 ½ cups Self-Rising Flour Oil PREPARATION:
Cut chicken into pieces and wash with cold water. Place cleaned chicken in a bowl with Texas Pete, water, salt, seasoned salt, and pepper. Mix with hands until chicken is well coated. Add ½ cup flour. Mix thoroughly until a paste-like batter coats the pieces of chicken. Place 3 cups flour in a paper grocery sack. Add chicken to the sack and close sack tightly. Shake vigorously until chicken is coated. Deep fry in oil preheated to 325° for 15 minutes. Drain on paper sacks and serve hot.
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buzz worthy bites my skin as any good friend would do. I think all great cooks and good people are made better by the company they keep. You were born in Jenkins County. One of how many brothers and sisters? SKW: Eight siblings: three boys and five girls. LBO: Who cooked for all of you guys? SKW: My mother cooked for us and I started helping her when I was 14. LBO: Who taught you to cook? SKW: My Mom, Alma Cummings. LBO: What is your favorite thing to cook? SKW: Cornbread dressing or any kind of greens. LBO: We all know you don’t allow anyone to help prepare the cabbage at Honey Café. Why so sassy with the cabbage? SKW: ‘Cause some people don’t know how to cut them right. It’s bad but it’s true. LBO: What was your first job? SKW: Cleaning houses after school. LBO: Have you always worked in restaurants? SKW: Majority, yes. I was also a butcher in Atlanta. LBO: Out of every tool in your kitchen what is your most favorite? SKW: Knife, (she giggles like a psycho-killer). LBO: I’m not a morning person. You know that, but we have cooked hundreds of breakfasts together. You always rinse your grits. This has always been a curiosity to me. Why rinse the grits? SKW: I like white, pretty grits. Grits have pieces of black trash in them so I clean them. LBO: I love to watch you fry foods. You handle foods with the greatest of care. Like a skilled master! What is the secret to good fried chicken? SKW: Season it properly, batter and then flour, and don’t overcrowd the grease. LBO: We have always been equals in my mind. How do you think people of different races can love each other better? SKW: Respect each other. That’s not hard. LBO: If you could invite any six people (dead or alive) to dinner who would you invite? SKW: My bosses: Lazar & Mary Beth, my sister Brenda Sue, my friend Evelyn, my daughter Latoya, and Cierra (waitress at Honey Café). That’s my friend! I love that little girl! Somebody’s gonna get mad ‘cause I left them out! LBO: If you were able to choose your last meal what would it be? SKW: Dressing, mac and cheese, turnips, rutabagas, butterbeans, and barbequed ribs. LBO:
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RUTABAGAS INGREDIENTS:
4 Rutabagas 2 Tbsp. Bacon Grease 1 Ham Hock or any Smoked Meat 1 Tbsp. Salt 1 Tbsp. Sugar ½ Tbsp. Pepper Pepper Vinegar to Taste PREPARATION:
Bring ham hock, bacon grease, salt, sugar, and pepper to a boil. Remove hard waxy peel from rutabagas. Cut rutabagas into ½ inch square pieces. Add pieces of rutabagas to boiling water. Cook at a rolling boil until tender. Check for seasoning and serve with pepper vinegar on the side.
CABBAGE INGREDIENTS:
1 Head of Cabbage 3 cups Water 1 Tbsp. Salt 2 tsp. Pepper 1 Tbsp. Bacon Grease ½ cup Smoked Meat PREPARATION:
Be sure to purchase a cabbage with dark green outer leaves. Remove darker outer leaves. Wash well. Roll the leaves and slice thinly. Bring water, seasonings, and bacon grease to a boil. Add dark leaves to boiling water first. Cook 5-10 minutes until they start to get tender. Cut remaining cabbage in ½, and cut each piece in half again. Slice thinly. Add to dark cabbage and cook 15 minutes until firm to the bite.
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true blue
Randomly Amongst the Microdroplets WRITTEN BY DOY CAVE
B
efore the onset of this pandemic, I can safely say I’d never thought even once about microdroplets. Microdroplets are those little particles of germs, saliva and goop — less than 100th of a millimeter in size — that emanate from a person’s mouth when they talk or sing or sneeze or even just breathe around you. And, of course, now I think about them all the time, which is why I slathered myself in hand sanitizer before I typed this paragraph. By the time this article is published, I think the majority of the nation will have lifted mandatory quarantines, and will have plans to open schools and businesses safely. For some, it may be too early; for others, not soon enough. The reappearance of toilet paper almost seems like a prophetic sign that normality is just around the corner, doesn’t it? But if you’re like me, I’m just trying to find the line between safety and sanity. I want to get out of the house, but I also really want to avoid this virus for me and for my family. Nandi A. Marshall, DrPH, MPH, CHES, associate professor of community health education and behavior in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern, says she understands the struggle — as a wife, as a mother of two children, and as a public health professional. “We tell people to be home, but everyone can’t do that,” she said. “And so it’s really finding the best way for you and your family to be safe, but still keeping the household functioning, which can be really hard.” So how do you keep your safety, your sanity and your livelihood? DO YOUR PART FOR SAFETY
If you have to go to a populated public space, Marshall says to do everything you can do to keep yourself and others safe. While wearing a mask and keeping your distance might seem intrusive to some, it helps reduce the spread of the virus for everyone — especially those who are particularly vulnerable. Marshall also recommends using pick-up or curbside services whenever you can, but if you have to run errands or make grocery store visits, she says to avoid peak hours. 74 statesboromagazine.com
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“If I have gone to a grocery store, I try to go at a time where the parking lot doesn’t look too full so that I’m not exposed to a lot of people,” she said. SPEND TIME OUTSIDE
One of the most onerous parts of the quarantine has been the sameness of being at home all day, every day, in the same rooms with the same people. To break up the monotony for herself and for her two children, Marshall recommends getting outside, even for brief, mundane activities. She takes her kids on walks around the neighborhood, on car rides for grocery pickups, mailing errands, and school library drop-offs. She says the events may not seem particularly special, but they make all the difference after spending the day inside working. “For me, it’s just getting them out of the house and making sure we don’t have to pay library fines,” she said. “For them, it’s like going on an adventure.” MAKE MEMORIES
Whether you’re in the middle of a pandemic or just navigating another day of the week, Marshall says she works hard to make memories with her kids. These small moments don’t have to be complex productions. She says they can be as simple as making cookies together, drawing on the sidewalk with chalk, or watching a superhero movie marathon and talking about the life lessons they demonstrate. “One thing that is really important for me is that I try to make sure my kids don’t feel the bumps of the world too much,” she said. “We try really hard to keep it as normal — quote, unquote — as possible for them. It’s hard, but it’s worth it.” I, for one, long for the day when we can “get back to normal.” In the meantime, however, you’ll occasionally find me out in public. I’ll be wrapped in a mask and gloves, holding a can of disinfectant, and bobbing and weaving as I do my best to avoid you and your microdroplets. S
WE LIVE HERE
the spiritual pathway
Compassion, Without It Civilization Can’t Exist WRITTEN BY REV. DR. H. WILLIAM PERRY
I
have always been fascinated by the ways human culture has developed down through the centuries. Maybe that’s one of the reasons the early chapters of the book of Genesis have always been so important to me as I have read between the lines. My interest in civilization grew in my first years of college. Two of my professors introduced me to the work and studies of Dr. Margaret Mead, the most famous anthropologist in the world. After getting her PhD in research on the development of human cultures, she went to the Far East and islands of the South Pacific to work among the indigenous tribes. Back in the United States, Dr. Mead was asked by a student, “What is the first sign of civilization in a culture?” The student expected her to talk about clay pots, grinding stones, or fish hooks, but no, Dr. Mead said in her studies of ancient tribes the first sign of civilization was a human thigh bone, a femur, that had been broken, then healed. She explained that in the animal kingdom when you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for water, or hunt for food. You become a meal for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal. But in her work at an archaeological site she discovered a 15,000-yearold skeleton with a fractured femur that had been broken and had healed. To Dr. Mead that was evidence that someone had taken the time to stay with the one who fell, had bound up the wound, carried the person to safety, and took care of the person to recovery. That, she said, is where civilization started. That is fascinating to me. The first sign of civilization is compassion. An attribute that needs to continue or we all move backward, becoming 76 statesboromagazine.com
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more and more uncivilized. I love to see and hear about compassion in people, incidents like the Christian teacher in a public school who whispered to a little girl whose face was terribly disfigured by a cleft palate, “I wish you were my little girl.” Decades later that little girl, now grown, said that was the beginning of healing for her. Or the doctor in Tennessee who works an extra day a week to take care of the medical needs of the working poor. Or the pre-teen boy who gave two quarters to his little brother so he could play the games at the pizza place. Or the lady, homebound and confined to her bed, who keeps a long prayer list and prays for everyone on it every day. Or the American missionary doctor to Southeast Asia who was trying to bring healing to many in his area who had a rare virus. He took the virus into his body, flew back to the United States to a research hospital, and said, “Heal me.” Heroes. Every one of them. Plus this one. In 1824, when Simon Bolivar led Peru to their independence from Spain, the new nation wanted to honor him with a large financial gift, one million pesos. He said the only way he would accept the gift was by adding to it from his own estate and purchasing the freedom of the 3,000 individuals in Peru who were slaves to other men. Why? He said, “It makes little sense to free a nation unless all its citizens enjoy freedom as well.” Compassion for others. Let’s all practice more empathy, kindness and compassion. If not, we’re in danger folks. Let’s not become uncivilized by becoming so self-centered that we lose our concern for others. S
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the view from here
Sandcastles WRITTEN BY RIC MANDES
H
e had always loved the beach. He had grown up on the island, had played in the dunes, had sat for hours watching the sun slip gently into the ocean with the tide and the breeze creating a symphony all their own. Later he had moved away, occasionally returning to this coastal cache of land and water that held so many memories for him: as a child, chasing the seagulls; as a teenager, learning to ride a skiff, catching the winds and flying across the wake of the waves; the night of his high school senior prom, with everyone going to the island’s casino and dancing until morning. The night watchman just smiled and blinked his flashlight signaling to keep it as quiet as possible. Now as he stood looking at the sun, the sand, and the sea, he wanted to shout “Hello!” to it all again. He wanted to say, “Remember me? I’m the skinny kid who always stayed blistered!” He took off his shoes and socks and began walking. The ocean’s roar was the same. The breeze was the same. All that was missing was happiness. This was a canvas on which an artist had once sketched a child with sandcastles. Now the artist with deft strokes imposes a figure with different tones walking slowly through the castles toward the sunset. Life had been both good and bad. He had moved far from the sea; had done well for himself; had retired with a fine professional record and reputation. But in his later years, the castles had dissolved into the crystal beach floor. Visiting the coast had helped. The ocean’s roar matched his own and in its final watery leap thrust memories at him aided by the breeze, filled with voices of the past: his family’s, friend’s, and… others. 78 statesboromagazine.com
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He had come a long way. The battle was not over. His health had been bad. He had worked hard to get it all back together. But it was combat in solo. No one could help. He had to do it on his own. And being on his own, so much had been lost. Not because he particularly wanted it that way. His obsession of getting through the dark tunnel to the other side had done it. No pity. Just nothing. Isolation. And now, he walks the beach with the chorus of the tied and breeze carrying all his yesterdays back and forth. There is nothing worse than an uncharted course. There is nothing more tragic than a human lost. There is nothing more aching than no identity. There is nothing emptier than no dimension. The sun was gone. Just a touch of its glow lighted his face. He walked to the edge of the water feeling its cool uncontrolled caresses flow across his feet. He stood for a long time. “I’ve been watching you, trying to decide whether you were a captain of total privacy, reliving old days, or just feeling sorry for yourself.” she laughed. He turned! She was in jeans and a white buttoned-down blouse that highlighted her tan. She was sitting in a small beach chair. Larry Gatlin’s “Easy on the Eye” floated from her tape recorder. She was sipping from a silver drink can. He walked toward her . . . she smiled. Her hair was blond. And, her eyes were as blue as the ocean. S
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When the moment really matters.
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look around
Bulloch Academy’s Senior 2020 College Send Off Parad Wednesday, May 13, 2020 | 5:30 p.m. Gator Alley Track
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Beverly Gnehm’s 103 Birthday Bash Statesboro resident, Beverly Gnehm, celebrated her 103rd birthday on May 7th. She was born in 1917 and is a longtime resident at Willow Pond Senior Care in Statesboro. Her daughter, Jane Dekle, planned a special drive-by parade of family and friends to celebrate her birthday.
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transitions
“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin Mr. Henry Jasper Akins, II
05.14.20
Mr. Phillip Arthur Gray
05.10.20
Mrs. Nell Brannen Olliff
05.23.20
Mr. Harley Lafayette Akins, III
04.12.20
Mr. George Grover Green, Jr.
05.12.20
Mr. Jefferson Edward “Jeff” Owens, III
04.13.20
Mr. Jimmie Alderman
04.09.20
Mrs. Mary Alice Hagan Groover
05.15.20
Dr. Fred Page, Jr.
04.08.20
Mr. David “Buddy” Allen, Sr.
05.01.20
Mr. Samuel Quenton Hammond
05.16.20
Mr. David Martin Paige
04.22.20
Maj. Harold L. Barber
04.06.20
Mrs. Betty Wise Heath
05.18.20
Mrs. Jeri B. Palmer
05.18.20
Ms. Suzanne Page Barksdale
03.14.20
Mr. David Allen Heath, Sr.
03.30.20
Mr. John Tom Parker
05.08.20
Ms. Stephanie Bergdorf
05.08.20
Mrs. Nellie Virginia Henderson
05.23.20
Mr. James Seborn Patterson
03.27.20
Mrs. Bonnie Alene George Blackmon
03.31.20
Mrs. Burnette Simon Hendley
03.21.20
Dr. Jesse Lewis Petrea, Jr.
05.22.20
Maj. Gen. William Percy Bland, Jr.
03.18.20
Mrs. Kathy Sikes Hendrix
03.22.20
Ms. Ruby Carol Phillips
04.06.20
Mr. Adam Eugene Bowen
04.18.20
Senator Jack Sutton Hill
04.06.20
Mrs. Gertrude Elizabeth Mandell Powell
04.29.20
Mrs. Karban T. Bunting
04.06.20
Mrs. Jane Seymour Hill
03.30.20
Mrs. Ruby Lee Byrd Pryer
04.03.20
Mr. Todd Everett Canady
05.17.20
Mrs. Ruth Ann Hill
04.24.20
Rev. Joe W. Rhodes, Jr.
04.26.20
Mr. Daniel Dederick Cannady
05.25.20
Mr. Richard L. Huff
05.09.20
Mrs. Susan Tew “Sue” McGrady Robbins
04.25.20
Mr. Jimmy Alton Cartee
05.05.20
Mr. Grady Jackson
03.17.20
Mr. Richard Gay Scarboro
05.02.20
Mrs. Linda Cason Cartee
05.08.20
Mr. Raymond Jackson
05.02.20
Mr. Kenneth Emanuel Smith
03.27.20
Mr. Randy Daniel Cassedy
05.10.20
Mrs. Cathy Elaine Rigdon Jacobs
04.29.20
Ms. Mattie J. Smith
03.12.20
Mr. Joseph Alvin “Joe” Cleland
03.19.20
Mr. Joseph Coudon Jarriel
04.13.20
Mrs. Ruth Shetter Smith
05.19.20
Mrs. Patricia Ann Hires Collins
03.27.20
Ms. Debra Kay Jones
03.18.20
Mr. Anthony Lamar “Amp” Sneed
04.26.20
Mrs. Brenda Allen Creech
03.31.20
Mr. Lloyd Mayhue Jones
04.16.20
Mrs. Elizabeth Sneed
04.26.20
Mrs. Kathleen Anderson Crews
05.08.20
Mr. Randall Jones
03.22.20
Mrs. Evelyn Hodges Burden St. John
04.09.20
Mrs. Carol Godbee Crosby
05.02.20
Mr. Waldo Jones
05.14.20
Mr. Marion Stewart
04.15.20
Mrs. Tami Leigh Jenkins Crosby
04.14.20
Dr. Stephen M. Jordan
04.15.20
Ms. Dawn Kilpatrick Stubbs
04.24.20
Ms. Nita J. Daughtry
04.16.20
Mrs. Delores Davis Joyner
05.09.20
Mr. Carl A. Travis
04.29.20
Mr. Jack Brannen Deal
05.15.20
Mr. Robert W. “Rob” Kellof
04.28.20
Mrs. Annette Eason Tremble
05.17.20
Mrs. Nancy Jane Taylor Elkins DeCleve
04.06.20
Cpt. Matthew James Kelly
05.04.20
Mr. Freddie E. Tucker
05.15.20
Mrs. Catherine “Kitty” Warren Ball Dukehart 05.17.20
Mr. Chalton Jerome “C.J.” Lane, Sr.
04.07.20
Mr. Ennis Warner
05.08.20
Mr. Gregory Allen Elliott, Sr.
04.27.20
Mr. Robert “Keujuan” Lawson
03.30.20
Mrs. Madeline McClellan Watkins
03.16.20
Mrs. Linda Diane Rawls Everett
05.12.20
Mr. James Marshall “Jim” Long, III
03.30.20
Mrs. Dorothy Mae Driggers Wells
05.04.20
Mr. Michael Fennell, Sr.
03.16.20
Ms. Heather Lyall
05.06.20
Mr. Joel Garrett “Joe” Wigging, Jr.
03.26.20
Mrs. Peggy Burke Daniell Ferguson
04.14.20
Mrs. Annette Clark Marsh
05.05.20
Evangelist Shiffonda Wiggins
04.18.20
Mr. Francis Marion Fletcher
03.16.20
Mr. Rufus Marsh, Jr.
04.25.20
Mr. Clifford Miller Williams
04.26.20
Mr. John T. Francis
05.11.20
Mr. Steve Mascarello, Jr.
05.16.20
Mrs. Shirley Ann Williams
03.24.20
Mr. Bobby Frank “Frankie” Frawley
03.28.20
Mrs. Rhonda Holton Morey
04.19.20
Mr. William David “Big Bill” Williams
05.11.20
Dr. Evelyn Bonnie Gamble-Hilton
05.20.20
Mr. Gary H. Morris
03.29.20
Mr. James Randle Williams, Sr.
03.18.20
Mrs. Madonna L. Gardner
05.05.20
Ms. Patricia “Chris” Chester Morris
04.04.20
Mr. Earl Woodcock
03.20.20
Mrs. Ann Akins Gay
05.16.20
Mrs. Claire Jones NeSmith
05.07.20
Mrs. Lucille Hodges Zetterower
05.02.20
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Curt Deal
Funeral Director
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