The Giving Issue
GIVE
Learn how Good Shepherd Clinic is giving back to Dawsonville
EAT
Cookies to satisfy your sweet tooth and share joy
READ
Stories to get you in the giving spirit
November/December 2020
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
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Dawson Faces Don Brown, Volunteer of the Year Giving Back Good Shepherd Clinic of Dawsonville
Alexander Popp | Editor Dawson County News /dawsonnews @dawsoncountynews @dawsonnews
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Dawson Reads Get inspired to give back Dawson Eats Spread some holiday cheer in cookie form with this recipe
The best part about being a small town, community-focused newspaper is we get to tell stories about people doing great things. Every day we come to work, answer emails, field calls and listen to the goings-on in Dawsonville and in Dawson County, and it’s great. But I gotta say, the stories that really make this job worth it are the ones where selfless people strive to right a wrong, or fill a gap in the community, or to help someone in need. It’s those stories that make us stop what we are doing to listen, and afterward, they make us want to do more. Over the last three years, I’ve been staggered by the generosity that drives the people of North Georgia. From
the annual fundraisers, dinners, runs and drives held throughout the year, to the popup campaigns that arise when someone, even strangers, have suffered a tragic blow, the people of this community show again and again that they live to give. For The Giving Issue of Dawson Living, we bring you stories of the people and groups in Dawson County that epitomize the giving spirit. Like Don Brown, who has been a relentless volunteer in the local veterans’ community, and the Good Shepherd Clinic, which provides health care to hundreds of local residents that would otherwise go without. So enjoy, be inspired, and do some good as we face these turbulent times together.
EDITOR Alexander Popp
PHOTOGRAPHY Ben Hendren, Alexander Popp, Erica Schmidt
PUBLISHER Stephanie Woody ADVERTISING SALES Sabrina Mergenthaler CREATIVE SERVICES Chelsea Sunshine, Magazine Design
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Erica Schmidt, Sudie Crouch, Jacob Smith DAWSON LIVING A Division of Dawson County News Dawsonville, GA A Metro Market Media Inc. property www.dawsonnews.com
DAW S O N FAC E S
DON BROWN
Volunteer of the Year By Alexander Popp Meet Don Brown, president of Veterans Affairs of Dawson County president and your neighbor. Over the last 15 years, Brown has been a steadfast volunteer in the North Georgia community, serving in various roles with Veterans Affairs of Dawson County, the Georgia Mountains Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, the North Georgia Mountains Chapter 970 and Georgia State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America. In early 2020 the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce named Brown the Jim Wallace Volunteer of the Year for his work in the community. For this issue of Dawson Living, the Dawson County News spoke with Brown about his time in the community and what makes the North Georgia area so caring. How long have you lived in Dawson County? What brought you here? “I have lived in Dawson county for over 15 years. My wife and I came here to build a home and move into an area away from the bustling surroundings of Atlanta suburbs. She was teaching at Milton High School and the commute from Dawsonville was easier and shorter.” What’s your favorite local spot to spend a nice Saturday afternoon? “A Saturday afternoon is usually spent in my backyard. My father-in-law and I share a “barn”, a metal building where we store things and work on things. Our wives call it a man-cave. I know there are many great spots in Dawson County to spend an afternoon, it all depends on your likes and dislikes. We also spend many days on the water fishing, mostly at a Cherokee County watershed.” What does Veterans Affairs of Dawson County do in the community? How did you get involved with them? “Veterans Affairs of Dawson County is an all-volunteer organization that promotes honor to our veterans. We are responsible for the flags and statue at Veterans Memorial
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Park and use that venue for events that honor Veterans such as Memorial Day, POW/MIA Day and Veterans Day. Our biggest event is Veterans Day where Etowah Water and Sewer Authority provides a Chick-fil-A Lunch for Veterans and we follow that with a program and the parade around the square. The COVID-19 will impact this year’s event. I got involved shortly after I moved here by asking then President Pam Hamalainen if I could do anything, and not long thereafter, I was Vice-President then President and now serving a second term as President. “ “Many people have confused us as a part of the Veterans Administration, but we are not. The name is misleading, but the mission is superb. I and some of our members try to answer VA related questions when we can but usually, we provide locations and phone numbers where Veterans or their families can get assistance.” What is it about Dawson County that draws so many charitable, volunteer and support groups? “Dawson County remains a small and almost rural county where the preponderance of residents were born and raised, or have lived here almost a lifetime. Perhaps it is that small town atmosphere and the fact that so many of us become familiar with or friends with each other and want to give what we can to support each other.” What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received? “[A] piece of advice came from a former boss who said, in essence, ‘if you want to be successful you must look successful.’”
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Good Shepherd Clinic of Dawsonville
ABOVE: Tom Quintrell packs Grace-in-a-Box food boxes for the Good Shepherd Clinic of Dawson County. BELOW: Grace-in-a-Box food boxes are filled non-perishable food items for clinic clients.
By Jacob Smith jsmith@dawsonnews.com What started as a clinic in the basement of Grace Presbyterian Church in Dawsonville is now one of the largest nonprofit groups in Dawson County. The Good Shepherd Clinic of Dawsonville is a center that provides free non-emergency health services for adult residents of Dawson County who do not have insurance. According to clinic staff, Good Shepherd Clinic came about from Grace Presbyterian Church’s pastor Dr. Mark Weaver, and when Weaver passed away in 2010, the founding members made sure that the clinic would not fizzle out. One of those founding members, Kay Parrish, now serves as clinic manager. It’s the long-term staff’s dedication to Dawson County is what has kept the clinic alive and thriving, Parrish said.
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G O O D S H E P H E R D C L I N I C O F DAW S O N V I L L E
ABOVE, KAY PARRISH TAKES THE TEMPERATURE OF A CLIENT BEFORE SHE ENTERS THE GOOD SHEPHERD CLINIC.
“THEY NEED US NOW MORE THAN EVER. IT’S A HAPPY PLACE WHERE EVERYBODY CARES, AND NOBODY COMPLAINS.” KAY PARRISH, CLINIC MANAGER FOR THE GOOD SHEPHERD CLINIC OF DAWSON COUNTY. “At Good Shepherd, we feel as though we can’t leave our community,” Parrish said. “That they need us now more than ever. It’s a happy place where everybody cares, and nobody complains.” Though it’s common for small
Georgia towns to have free service clinics, Parrish said it is not common for the clinics to be able to distribute free medication like Good Shepherd is able to do. In 2019, Good Shepherd sourced over $1 million in medications, that all went to needy people and
families in the community. The clinic is powered by volunteers, most of whom are taking their time out of retirement to volunteer. A total of 92 volunteers cycle through to help the clinic. “I volunteered here because I knew I could help,” Parrish said. “It just gives me a sense that I’m doing the right thing. My friends and I started this together and it’s now blossomed into a family. We all feel like we get just as much from the clinic as the patients do.” The staff all work together to provide health services like dental work, women’s wellness, mental health
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counseling and prescription assistance programs prescribed by clinic practitioners. Good Shepherd Clinic is also the northernmost permanent facility for VisionCare in the state, allowing anyone living in Georgia to come to the clinic for help with their vision. In addition to all the health services the clinic provides, volunteers also go a step beyond, with the Grace-in-aBox program which provides food for anyone that walks through the door. Volunteers packs boxes containing shelf stable food that does not need to be refrigerated, fruit and two bottles of water. Every client that enters the clinic receives a box. “We make sure that nobody leaves here without any food,” volunteer Tom Quintrell said while packing a box. “What a blessing it is for my hands to feed the people of my community.” With COVID-19 precautions, the Good Shepherd Clinic had to change their three-to-four day a week schedule to just once a week. Parrish said she is hopeful that the clinic will soon reopen on Friday mornings, but expects safety precautions to be around for a while. Melching said that due to COVID-19, donations are naturally down for 2020 and that they need the community’s help to continue bringing support to their neighbors. Whether volunteering time or providing financial help, the clinic is in constant need of support. “We’ve had patients tell us that we saved their lives by being here,” Melching said. “The stories you hear are overwhelming. It’s truly fulfilling for all of us here. I wish that everybody in our community could get this kind of satisfaction.”
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Top, clinic client Julie Bryant has her blood pressure taken by a volunteer. Below, some of the vision and dental equipment used by the clinic to serve local patients.
We are proud and honored to serve the Dawson County community. It is the mission of the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office to protect the lives and property of our people through professional, progressive, and proactive service. We shall serve with compassion and respect while seeking solutions to improve quality of life, liberty, and safety for all.
We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing to serve you!
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A season of sharing within the pages By Sudie Crouch Lifestyle columnist As we get closer to the holiday season, our hearts and minds shift towards more altruistic pursuits and interests. We start to focus on what we’re grateful for, and as we practice that gratitude, we start to think of how we can share all the abundance we’ve been graced with. Our selected books this month all have the theme of sharing in some form or fashion, as we look at how sharing can come from the heart and look differently depending on the circumstances and the giver. What a perfect way to enter this season than to curl up with a nice cup of something hot and a good book that can help inspire us with the concepts of sharing and giving! The Classic The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein This is an old favorite of mine, as reading it takes me back to the first time I heard it in my son’s pre-K class. His teacher read it one afternoon and it was such an emotionally beautiful book, perfect for all ages to enjoy, and it’s one that will resonate differently
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with each reader, depending on their age group. It definitely resonated a lot differently for me, versus how younger readers may have interpreted it. Younger readers may be able to appreciate the relationship between the little boy and the tree as almost a parental relationship, in how the tree continues to give what is needed to the boy so selflessly. No matter what he needs, the tree is able to give. While recent critics have said the book highlights a dysfunctional and co-dependent relationship, that has never been the feeling I have gotten. My impression has been that the book talks of unconditional love and giving from our heart, that may mirror how a parent can and selflessly give for their child. For the children Llama Llama Time to Share by Anna Dewdney Dewdney’s Llama Llama series is always a kid favorite and probably one the adults can enjoy reading as well, given the author’s ability to make the story flow so smoothly. Our favorite little Llama has found himself meeting a new friend (Nelly Gnu, which is such a cute play on words) and is having a bit of difficulty sharing. We’ve probably all experienced this either personally, when we were children or with our own kids, sharing with new friends can be challenging, especially if it involves our favorite toy. One can definitely understand how Llama feels at times, even when we know sharing is a good thing! This book is written for those younger children, usually pre-school age, to help nurture those sharing skills.
Fiction The Giving Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini This is Book 20 in the Elm Creek Quilt book series, but the author does a good job of introducing the characters to help you get acquainted with them or refresh your connection with them. I wasn’t aware this was part of a series, but it didn’t feel like I needed a lot of the history from the previous ones to dig in. I was initially attracted to this book because of my own family history with quilting. The Giving Quilt created a tapestry among the characters and Chiaverini did a great job of describing how people can go through so many different life experiences and losses, yet still find the ability to give back into the community. There is something healing about being able to share with others when we’ve gone through devastating life changes and great losses. I love the idea of how quilting can tie into this in some way, as a quilt is made up of different pieces of fabric that alone, may not do much but together can create something beautiful and warm. There were some parts of this book that were kind of tough to muddle through. Some of the passages felt a bit extraneous and tedious, but it felt like the author was trying to really flesh out the characters and everything in their world. I tend to prefer getting to know characters from their actions and interactions rather than getting all of their character bible in the story. All in all, the heart – and moral – of this book made it worthwhile.
Inspiration for Giving I Like Giving: The Transformative Power of a Generous Life by Brad Formsma Most of us have heard of random acts of kindness, where people do spontaneous and often anonymous actions to help brighten someone’s day. This book takes that concept but moves it beyond the act of just paying for someone’s order in the drive thru (those are great acts of kindness, but the purpose behind this book is a bit deeper than that). We read about a woman who was struggling one holiday season when she receives a Thanksgiving dinner delivered to her door. She has no idea who sent it, but she only knows it answered a need she had. She finds out later, a lady in her apartment building had sent it to her. This book will inspire you to go beyond just the act of writing a check, but to give of yourself, from the heart and to truly be love in action. When you start to see all the ways in which you can give and share, it opens your eyes and heart to a new form of generosity and way to make giving a way of life. You can also visit the author’s website and sign up for some giving challenges and receive a free copy of Everyday Generosity. I did and was tickled to see it arrived in a handwritten envelope. Those little gestures can go a long way in making you feel like this is a way a life for the author and not a marketing gimmick. I hope if you check these books out that you enjoy them as much as I did! And may your holiday season be blessed and full of joy! Until next time, happy reading!
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Christmas sugar cookies
TO SPREAD HOLIDAY CHEER TO ALL By Erica Schmidt eschmidt@dawsonnews.com
With the holidays coming, there’s no better way to celebrate than with a Christmas sugar cookie, decorated with bright colors to spread holiday cheer. And is there a more perfect Christmas gift for friends, neighbors, or coworkers than a plate of homemade cookies? Here’s my all-time favorite recipe for a delicious, yet surprisingly easy sugar cutout cookies with a royal icing. For cookies: 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup shortening 3/4 cup sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon milk 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg Dash of salt For icing: 4 cups confectioner’s sugar 5 tablespoons warm water 3 tablespoons meringue powder (you can find this in the specialty baking section of any craft store or super center grocery store)
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Directions: 1. In a large bowl, cream together butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the flour, milk, baking powder, vanilla, egg and salt, beating until combined. Cover dough and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, about one hour. 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut cookies into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies for eight to nine minutes or until lightly golden around edges, rotating cookie sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool completely before icing. For icing: Beat sugar, warm water and meringue powder together until icing forms peaks, about 10 to 12 minutes with a handheld mixer on high speed. Add more water if needed to make icing easier to pipe on to cookies but avoid adding too much water or the icing will be runny. Tint icing as desired and use a piping bag (or a ziplock bag with a hole cut in the corner) to pipe onto cookies.
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