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Issue No.
SEPTEMBER 2 — SEPTEMBER 15 VOLUME 5
If you have ever wanted to make a difference in the staggering hunger statistics in our state, but didn’t know where to direct your resources, Second Harvest is an excellent choice—Right now. Second Harvest has an incredible opportunity to receive a $500,000 Challenge Grant. If they can raise a minimum of $500,000 in gifts and pledges by December 31, 2016, Second Harvest will receive a $500,000 grant from the Williams Family Foundation. This will mean so much for our community. Second Harvest will be able to pay off the low interest USDA rural development mortgage on their newest facility here in town. To break it down, when the mortgage is paid off, Executive Director Eliza McCall and company will be able to provide an additional 100,000 meals per year to people in need. They are encouraging people to commit to a 5x5 Gift or $500 per year for 5 years. However, any commitment level or one-time donations are welcome. Second Harvest bridges that silent hunger gap for so many that don’t qualify for assistance and still need help. Chief Marketing Officer Eliza McCall says, “We are not competing with local agencies. We are working with them. The more successful we are, the more successful they are.” Across all four Second Harvest locations there are only 38 staff members responsible for serving 30 counties. Last year alone Second Harvest distributed 14.5 million meals to food insecure individuals across those different counties. This includes nearly 3,000 children that are fed daily in the 43 kid cafe sites and all but one Boys and Girls Club in the service area.
The facility is modest, yet state of the art. The large structure was engineered to withstand high winds and store thousands of pounds of food at a time. Refrigerated trucks back up to a 55-degree cold dock where fresh and frozen goods are unloaded, preliminarily inspected and moved to a large refrigerator or freezer room. The freezer is literally so cold that it requires a special suit and mask to prevent frostbite. The dry storage is impressively organized. The facility has a large-scale commercial kitchen, put together with the same detail for efficiency, where meals are prepared daily to distribute to hungry kids. The kitchen is designed with the ability to produce as many as 10,000 meals a day. There is a designated shopping area for individuals, churches, foster parents and other organizations to come in and choose specific items that they need. Second Harvest even partners with FEMA and is often one of the first to mobilize to distribute supplies for disaster relief. In addition to providing meals, Second Harvest realizes that parents struggling to feed children are also struggling to buy school supplies. Since teachers can only write off $200 per year, Second Harvest started a pop-up shop six years ago in Valdosta, called Teacher’s Harvest. As of September 10, Thomasville will have its very first Teacher’s Harvest pop up store right here in the Thomasville Second Harvest facility. These lucky teachers will get to shop directly for school supplies for students in their classrooms. Depending on donations, teachers could get to choose from basics like crayons and pencils to larger needs like desks, chairs and tablets. Having to choose between paying for a basic need or food is not a choice anyone in America should be faced with. To take the 5x5 Challenge and help make a difference, visit Second Harvest of South Georgia online at http://feedingsga.org/5x5challenge/ — Cherie L.
So.Ho. Opens Its Doors The Wait is Over, Y'All!
The long wait for the opening of So.Ho., downtown’s newest restaurant, only heightened our anticipation for what was going to be cooking behind those impressive glass front doors. You may have snagged a meal over the last week if you grabbed one of those coveted reservations during the restaurant’s dry run, but worry not, Townies, availability will soon be much wider. Beginning September 1, So.Ho.. will be open Monday – Saturday for lunch and Thursday – Saturday for dinner. No reservation needed. Perhaps you’ve already enjoyed Chef Skyler Cadenhead’s pimento dumplings or chicken yakitori, but have you sampled the pork belly with blueberry ginger sticky glaze? Sticky glaze. If lovin’ that is wrong, I don’t wanna be right. “Skyler loves to cook and I love the hospitality,” says Carolyn Cadenhead, owner and wife of Chef Skyler. They met at culinary school, so I’m betting if we got them in the kitchen together, they would cook up some unheard-of goodness. Since So.Ho. dishes up “Southern looking east” cuisine, your curiosity may be piqued if you’ve noticed the touches of art deco styling. I’ll let you in on a bit of interesting trivia about that later on. As delicious as it is, the food is only part of the story behind this dream establishment by the Cadenheads. With a mutual love of food, farm and flavor, the couple traveled a path from culinary school to marriage and kids to opening their very own restaurant. They, like all of us, have a story to tell, and they decided to bring their story to life in the design of their building. The modern-rustic take on the canning-jar light fixtures are a nod to the decorating style used for their wedding. Even during the day, the lights give off just the right glow for a celebratory meal. The weathered bar and matching light fixture above are made of hefty beams and wood salvaged from the Okaloosa Island Pier
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Help Second Harvest Now: Crucial Area Organization Has Chance at $500K Match Grant The cost of hunger is insurmountable and has an impact not just on individuals, but also on the community. Currently, one in three children in South Georgia don’t know where they will get their next meal. Luckily, Second Harvest realizes that the impact of hunger is long reaching and works hard to get food to those in need.
Lori Rawlings Loan Officer
where Skyler spent many hours with his dad while growing up. As you walk past the bar you can’t help but notice the massive barn doors that frame the kitchen. Skyler and Carolyn’s daughter competes in national horse shows with her Arabian, and the doors pay homage to her passion. Locals will remember the building was home for over 20 years to the educational supply and toy store, Shapes and More. Many of us took our children or grandchildren there to play with the trains, push the tiny shopping cart or select a new book or game. To honor that history, there’s a special kids’ area with a chalkboard wall and toys. Skyler and Carolyn have a three-year-old child themselves, so they get it. There’s more! The upstairs restoration has given way to a grand hall for banquets, movie nights and watching Broad Street events from the big windows. What made the owners think of hosting movie nights? It turns out the building was a theater at one time, hence the reason for the art deco touches. You’ll notice the art deco sign lettering, kitchen ceiling and bathrooms. On dinner and movie nights, we can pretend that it’s Hollywood in Thomasville. So.Ho. seems to be just the right compliment to downtown’s impressive and diverse restaurant scene. Not long ago, a Tallahassee resident shared with me that he and his wife love coming to Thomasville several times each month, and they bring along friends or family. Their favorite thing to do is walk to two or three different spots to enjoy drinks, dinner, dessert, coffee and entertainment. That may qualify as a progressive dinner party. Whatever it’s called, we love that others love it. Come often! See you later. I’m off to So.Ho. to grab the peach and praline pie.
SEPTEMBER 2 — SEPTEMBER 15 VOLUME 5
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One Author: An Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author Janisse Ray
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Deanna Quinton Deanna is the second oldest of four girls, the daughter of sweet Debbie and everyone’s favorite Aussie, Ian. Her family moved to the ‘Ville in 2005 and after spending a few semesters at VSU, Working Deanna decided working was her thing. There’s a very likely in your chance you’ve seen her at one of her many, many jobs. Right now, among other things, she’s managing The Biscuit, a new event best interest. space in town.
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What do you do in the ‘Ville? I have a few jobs. I guess I just like to stay busy! I manage The Biscuit, a new event venue off of Oak Street that my dad and his friend opened in April. I also work at Smith Collective, where the owners are pretty great and the atmosphere is something Thomasville needed! I also help dad at [International Design and Display] a few times a week. It's secretary work, but I find it fun! Work aside, I help with the youth at First Presbyterian Church and am a Young Life Leader at Central High School! Oh, raising www.tcfederal.com my crazy pup Addie should count as a job, too. She’s sure a lovely handful!
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After spending some time in other places, you’re back in South Georgia; essentially, you’re back home. What’s your favorite part about life in the South? My favorite part is just enjoying the place, how deeply connected I am to this place and how happy and settled I feel when I’m here. I feel this place deeply, almost genetically, in my bones. And what’s been the hardest part about coming home? The South I grew up with was a place where you could name people within five miles of you who had these incredible intellectual pursuits: ham radio operators, bird watchers… people who were educated, even if it was self-educated. That’s harder to find now. The rural South is just a harder place to live, and that’s what I grapple with a lot. I’m afraid I’m watching our culture disappear. I’m going to turn the tables a little bit. What books would you recommend for people who love Ecology and want to read more about the South you know and love? My first thought is Zora Neale Hurston and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is especially beautiful, and The Yearling is wonderful fiction. Sue Cerulean’s Coming to Pass, Illumination in the Flatwoods by Joe Hutto, and of course, Bailey White and Patrick Smith’s A Land Remembered. Janisse will be at Southern Regional Technical College on Thursday, September 22, at 7p. Tickets are $10 and are available online {www.onebookthomascounty.org} or at The Bookshelf and the public library. — Annie J.
— Dara B.
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Our expertise is in your best interest.
I sat down to talk with Janisse Ray about her book, Ecolog y of a Cracker Childhood, the morning after our first-ever fundraiser for Our expertise is in One Book Thomas County. I was exhausted and a little unsure, but best interest. Janisse immediately put me at ease. Her warmth cameyour through, even on the telephone, and it was a joy to talk with her about her memoir, which has become a Southern classic. Its popularity made it the perfect choice for our fourth annual One Book selection, You did some traveling last year. Where all did and beginning September 15, the library and various community you go? I went to Vietnam last summer to travel and partners are sponsoring events revolving around Ecolog y of a Cracker spend a little time with my uncle and his family. On Childhood and its lasting legacy. the second day there, my purse was stolen… which There’s this saying — and I believe it to be true — that had my passport, so traveling through the country everyone has a story. What inspired you to write your was out of the question and my uncle got a six week Working story down, to finally put pen to paper? I wanted to write “guest." I decided to add Australia [to my itinerary] about the longleaf ecosystem, but nobody in the world was going once I got my passport back. It’s was such a long and in your to read a book about pine trees. My mentor told me it was senseless crazy process that I would be more than happy to best interest. to write about environmental issues; people care about people. I tell you about, just ask! I was gone for 102 days and decided, then, to use my childhood story as the vehicle to tell the learned a lot about myself and about how different, story of the longleaf ecosystem. It’s an environmental history I knew yet similar, other countries and cultures can be. It was no one would read unless paired with a personal history. such a cool experience and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to get out and see the world! At The Bookshelf, we’ve found Ecology resonates with so What all can we expect from your new space? many readers. Why do you think people see themselves in The Biscuit is up and running! We have had weddings, your story? I think people have so much sadness about what’s been graduation parties, birthday parties and plenty more lost. Generations lived on this one piece of land, and there were so events are booked for the upcoming months! It’s many stories attached to that land. Home place, that long history amazing the ideas people have come up with for each with a place, has ceased to matter, and I think that’s the thing the event in the space! It’s been a fun experience that has book touches on. It touches a time where we lived differently. More allowed me to meet many people in town; getting to trust, more community. So I think it’s a kind of nostalgia that people work with my dad isn’t bad, either! Keep an ear out for see in the book — nostalgia for a way of life that they sense we’ll some of the events coming up! never get back.
So.Ho is located at 112 North Broad Street. Call {229} 236-SOHO or find them on Facebook for more info.
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What's your favorite thing about living in Thomasville? Small town living is just something I love! I have even more of an appreciation for Thomasville after traveling. Familiar faces are something that you just don’t see in other places. Being able to walk into Grassroots, where people know what I like to drink, makes a stressful day less stressful. I have come to find that people here are unique, so I think I’ll stay a little while longer. — Denise P.
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