Written by Jenny Starling Foss Photos Supplied by Ramona Lawrence

Pre-Kthrough12thGrade SmallSchoolEnvironment CollegePreparatoryClasses AthleticsandActivitiesforAllAges

Statesboro,GA |bullochacademy.com

BULLOCH ACADEMY

Wolverine® RMAX™4 1000 LIMITED EDITION

Wolverine® RMAX™4 1000 LIMITED EDITION

REIMAGINE EVERYWHERE. REIMAGINE EVERYTHING.

REIMAGINE EVERYWHERE. REIMAGINE EVERYTHING.

Wolverine® RMAX™2 1000 LIMITED EDITION

• New, powerful 999cc parallel twin engine Wolverine® RMAX™2 1000 LIMITED EDITION• Auto inspired 2-seater cockpit with industry-exclusive soft touchpoints on the Wolverine RMAX2 • Roomy 4-person cabin with configurable sliding rear seats for additional storage in the Wolverine RMAX4 • New, powerful 999cc parallel twin engine • Auto inspired 2-seater cockpit with industry-exclusive soft touchpoints on the Wolverine RMAX2 • Roomy 4-person cabin with configurable sliding rear seats for additional storage in the Wolverine RMAX4 • 3 D-Mode settings at the turn of a dial: Sport Mode, Trail Mode, Crawl Mode • FOX® 2.0 iQS (Intelligent Quick Switch) shocks puts the suspension settings in the hands of the driver, allowing them to choose the preferred damping levels from a switch in the cockpit • 3 D-Mode settings at the turn of a dial: Sport Mode, Trail Mode, Crawl Mode • Integrated Yamaha Adventure Pro with GPS and adventure planning • FOX® 2.0 iQS (Intelligent Quick Switch) shocks puts the suspension settings in the hands of the driver,• Transport up to 600 lbs. of cargo or tow a full 2,000 lbs. allowing them to choose the preferred damping levels from a switch in the cockpit• Advanced, comfort-focused iQS suspension • Integrated Yamaha Adventure Pro with GPS and adventure planning • Transport up to 600 lbs. of cargo or tow a full 2,000 lbs. • Advanced, comfort-focused iQS suspension • Wolverine RMAX2: 30” Maxxis® Carnivore® tires and 14-inch aluminum wheels in a square setup • Wolverine RMAX4: 29” Maxxis® Carnage® radial tires and 14-inch aluminum wheels • Wolverine RMAX2: 30” Maxxis® Carnivore® tires and 14-inch aluminum wheels in a square setup • Wolverine RMAX4: 29” Maxxis® Carnage® radial tires and 14-inch aluminum wheels

Statesboro Yamaha

22815 US Hwy 80 |Statesboro, GA 30461 912.764.7433

Shocks, Adventure Pro and Tires listed available on Limited Edition models only. Professional riders and drivers on closed courses. Side-by-Side (SxS) models are recommended for use only by operators 16 years and older with a valid driver’s license. Always wear your seat belt, helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. Yamaha recommends that all Side-by-Side riders take an approved training course. For Side-by-Side safety and training information, see your dealer or call the ROHVA at 1-866-267-2751. Read the Owner’s Manual and the product warning labels before operation. Avoid excessive speeds and never engage in stunt riding. Always avoid paved surfaces and never ride on public roads. And be particularly careful on difficult terrain. Never ride under the influence of alcohol or other drugs; it is illegal and dangerous. Models shown with optional accessories. ©2020 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved • YamahaMotorsports.com Shocks, Adventure Pro and Tires listed available on Limited Edition models only. Professional riders and drivers on closed courses. Side-by-Side (SxS) models are recommended for use only by operators 16 years and older with a valid driver’s license. Always wear your seat belt, helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. Yamaha recommends that all Side-by-Side riders take an approved training course. For Side-by-Side safety and training information, see your dealer or call the ROHVA at 1-866-267-2751. Read the Owner’s Manual and the product warning labels before operation. Avoid excessive speeds and never engage in stunt riding. Always avoid paved surfaces and never ride on public roads. And be particularly careful on difficult terrain. Never ride under the influence of alcohol or other drugs; it is illegal and dangerous. Models shown with optional accessories. ©2020 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved • YamahaMotorsports.com

May the holiday season bring happiness and joy to you and your loved ones Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

With 45 private rooms in addition to a large spacious sun room, lobby and lifestyle center, our Residents and Families will agree we are the very finest in retirement living.

Statesboro’s favorite place to retire since 1988

Knocking Down Barriers & Building Dreams

WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS

Dr. Ramona Lawrence, a community engaged researcher, Assistant Professor of Community Health Behavior in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern, and Principal Investigator on a $9.7 million grant for Sickle Cell Anemia research, is dedicated to her science objectives. She noticed that children with sickle cell disease often fell through the cracks of medicine when transitioning from their pediatricians to adult doctors.

Young adults are notorious for using Urgent Care for all their needs, so a record of treatments does not bridge the gap between childhood and adulthood for those born with the incurable disease. This breach formed the basis for her research grant application, which she won and now administers with co-investigator Dr. Ify Osunkwo, professor of Pediatrics at Atrium Health in Charlotte, N.C. The grant is used in research of patients with sickle cell disease in 14 communities in seven states in the U.S., from N.Y. to Miami, Florida. They are testing to see which works best in helping adolescents with sickle cell transition to adult healthcare, a peer mentor or education alone.

Administrating a grant of that size means weekly meetings, flying to research communities, making reports weekly, monthly, every six months, and annually. Assessing data and community outreach. In some areas engaging the community in providing mentors or patients to help with making the processes better. All this while continuing to teach and mentor students at the University.

And that’s just her day job.

She is also a representative for Arbonne, a company which focuses on products for healthy skincare and nutrition; a 200-hour yoga instructor; and president of her own company, Ramona Lawrence, LLC, which seeks to empower women for the next level to come in business.

“Women were left out of the last three industrial revolutions,” said Lawrence. “My goal is to make sure they’re all prepared for the next one, which I believe will be digital. Business is moving online and I want women to have the skills and tools to be prepared to succeed in the next economic era.”

Lawrence makes it her business to challenge systems that keep women from reaching their potential. „

“I call my company Automation & Productivity. In my courses everything is done online,” said Lawrence. “I incorporate five days of free online challenges for my clients, to show them how to navigate the digital world, then they can choose to take online courses to help them succeed.”

All of Lawrence’s Automation & Productivity company work is done online and on the phone, clients register for courses online as part of their training. A genius concept which enables students to learn as they go.

Learning is something that comes naturally to Lawrence. She grew up in Bulloch County, in the Leefield/Stilson area. She is the daughter of former Statesboro Police Chief J.R. Holloway. Her mother, Annette, was a teacher.

“I graduated from Southeast Bulloch, where I was a member of the band and other organizations,” said Lawrence. “Basically, I was an academic.”

She went on to graduate from Georgia Southern University.

“I majored in Biology, but I knew that I’d rather deal with people than fish,” said Lawrence. “So I changed my major to Exercise Science. I could study just the human body and still be eligible for medical school.”

Exercise Science got her approved for a 600-hour internship in hematology at the Medical College of Georgia (now Augusta College), where she ran tests on blood. Something that interested her greatly since she’d know all her life that she had Sickle Cell Disease, inherited from her parents who were both carriers of the gene, but not affected.

“Sickle Cell Disease affects over 100,000 people in the U.S., 90% of whom are African American,” she said. “It also affects Asians and Central Americans.”

Known to appear in countries where malaria is prevalent, Sickle Cell Disease is thought to be linked. It seems that people with Sickle Cell

have an immunity to malaria not found in other populations. Even though Sickle Cell comes with many dangerous effects of its own. In Sickle Cell, there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Instead of being round, the red blood cells are sickle shaped and can clog arteries and cut-off oxygen supply to organs.

While doing her undergraduate and master’s work at Georgia Southern, Lawrence also worked for Pineland Mental Health. After graduating, she taught middle school science for three years. While working on her PhD, she did research on the testing of athletes for Sickle Cell in the NCAA. When she completed her PhD, she became Wellness Director for Georgia Southern.

“My goal wasn’t to be a professor at all,” said Lawrence.

But, she was asked to teach a class as adjunct, then eventually transitioned to professor. Where she has been able to address the barriers to complete healthcare that so many young people face.

“If you ask me my greatest success, academically, I’d have to say the grant, of course,” said Lawrence. “But my family is right up there. To remember how young I was when I married George. To be blessed with my children, Geonna and Geordan, to be a Mom and not have lost myself. To be able to have my job and my other work.”

Across everything she masters, Lawrence’s goal is doing her part to challenge broken systems, whether in healthcare, business, exercise science or nutrition, by doing her very best.

“It’s a common thread in everything I do,” she said. “With the community, it’s sickle cell. With Automation & Productivity, it’s empowering women. With the body and mind, it’s yoga. I examine everything for the barriers. I always ask myself when I find an obstacle, ‘Now what can I do to put a dent in that?’”

She keeps healthy by watching her health, doing yoga, watching her diet, and using Arbonne products for beauty and nutrition. She keeps all her endeavors organized with her own system, Automation & Productivity. And, in the sphere of public health, Lawrence has put a dent in the way adolescents with Sickle Cell are treated by bringing together the communities of pediatrics, adult medicine, healthcare and community organizations to help create that bridge young people with sickle cell so desperately need.

“I feel like I get to treat communities,” said Lawrence. “I love what I do because I’ve been given a unique perspective. I am a patient and a researcher. I can make a difference here. Which means I can be a voice at the table where others aren’t able to sit.” S