Pride 2017

2017 Community

Pride Pride Business

Farmers & Merchants Bank devoted to Bulloch County

PRIDE BUSINESS

2A – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Another banner year for FMB in 2016

By DeWAYNE GRICE dgrice@statesboroherald.com

As Bulloch County’s only locally owned and managed bank, Farmers & Merchants Bank had another banner year in 2016.

The bank is steadily improving and becoming much stronger each month.

In 2016, they saw loans grow by 12 percent, while nonperforming assets decreased 26 percent from

those at year-end 2015.

“We really did have another great year. The bank is focused on returning to more historic performance measures as compared to our peer groups in the next couple of years,” said Brett Morgan, president and CEO of Farmers & Merchants Bank. “This is a testament to our team for doing an incredible job every day. It also highlights the dedicated and loyal customers who choose to do

business with us. We are focused on being the best

community bank possible.”

FMB’s goals of providing quality service and offering competitive products and services is a centerpiece of the bank’s success. With this commitment, they have invested in technology and staff to ensure the best banking experience possible.

This past year they saw their investments in technology pay off.

Their

mobile banking products continue to be a popular banking choice. The number of customers enrolled in mobile banking services increased 41 percent in 2016 to a total of 2,700 users. With the recent additions of Robert Benson and Brannen Smith, they are now fully staffed in their loan division.

In 2016, FMB also added three new board members: Jeff Pope, Doug Lambert and Lee Cromley. In addi-

tion, they also completed a renovation and update of the main office lobby on North Main Street.

Farmers & Merchants Bank offers a full range of consumer and business deposit and credit services, including agribusiness and other local business support. FMB services are fully available online and the institution maintains three ATMs, two full-time branch locations in Statesboro and one in Brooklet.

Farmers & Merchants names Davis to chair Board Special to the Herald

Gary M. Davis, accountant, restaurateur and longtime board member of Farmers & Merchants

Bank, will now chair the bank’s board of directors, FMB announced.

A graduate of Southeast Bulloch High School, Davis holds a BBA from

Georgia Southern University. He began his association with FMB in 1988 with a business loan, which he invested in a Subway franchise. He now

owns six Subway stores in the Statesboro area.

Davis succeeds attorney Gerald Edenfield, who has chaired the FMB board since 2009.

D a v i s p r a i s e d E d e n f i e l d ’s period of leadership: “He did a great job steering us Davis through a difficult period for the banking industry. Thanks to him, the rest of the board and a great team of FMB officers and employees, I get to step up in good times, and the future looks great.”

Davis also said FMB President Brett Morgan is “a great find for this bank and this community, who really helped us through a tough period,” along with help from FMB Chief Lending Officer Anna Swicord, FMB Chief Financial Officer Dwayne Rocker and FMB Senior Vice President Trish Tootle.

Looking back on his chairmanship, Gerald Edenfield said: “Even though times were tough in the banking industry and all of us faced many challenges, FMB had a great staff, board of directors, and customers.

The bank’s leadership was always willing to go the

extra mile to ensure that we continued to serve the community as the only locally-owned bank.

"I know that Gary Davis as chairman, the members of the Board, and Brett Morgan and his capable staff will continue to steer the bank in the right direction.

"I look forward to continuing on the board and to working with everyone associated with the bank.”

Davis lives in Statesboro with his wife, Michelle Davis, the executive director of student activities at Georgia Southern University.

“This bank was founded in 1948,” Davis said. “I remember it from when I was a boy.

"Once there were several locally owned banks in Bulloch County, and now we’re the only one.

"As such, we will continue to provide full-service banking to our customers, build shareholder value through balanced growth and profitability, make sure our bank is a good place to work, and to strive to enhance the quality of life in our community.”

Locally Owned & Operated by the Ellis Family Since 1967!

“MEAT ME THERE” MONDAY - SATURDAY 8AM - 7PM (912) 489-8032 • (912) 489-4216 WWW.ELLISMEATS.COM

WEST MAIN STREET • ACROSS FROM POST OFFICE

PRIDE BUSINESS

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 3A

Coastal Counter Tops is homegrown Special to the Herald

Located on Hill Street in downtown Statesboro is one the largest laminate counter top manufacturers in southeast Georgia -

Georgia Southern College, and “my dad insisted that I go talk to the industrial arts teacher. I will never forget what he told me. He said if you know this is what you want to do, then

Herald file

Workers at Coastal Counter Tops in Statesboro work on their specialty.

Coastal Counter Tops.

From cabinet maker to counter top guru, Dana McLendon is a homegrown entrepreneurial success story.

He started a cabinet making business in 1978 when he was a junior at Statesboro High School.

He was accepted to

you will learn more in one year doing it, instead of three years of us trying to teach it to you. I followed his advice."

McLendon said G. C. Coleman of Coleman Cabinets in Statesboro was retiring and rented his cabinet shop to him.

McLendon said he bought

it a year later, and from those humble beginnings he has never once looked back.

"I loved making cabinets, and it was never really my intent to get in the counter top business.

Things have a strange way of working themselves out, and that is what happened with my business."

McLendon said he bought equipment to make counter tops to go with his cabinets because he was having a hard time getting them supplied.

"Next thing I knew, other cabinet makers were asking me to make counter tops for them," he said. "At some point I had to make a decision, since I was supplying my competitors which was kind of awkward."

McLendon decided to quit making cabinets in 1987 and go full-time into the counter top business opening Coastal Counter Top Distributors. With retired counter top manufacturer Don Gross serving as his mentor, McLendon grew his business to be one of the largest of its kind serving coastal Georgia and South Carolina.

"Don helped me change from building kitchen cabinets to manufacturing plastic laminate countertops and laminate fixtures," he said. "He had sold several shops larger than mine in Ohio and moved to Statesboro to retire. I think he had laminate chips in his blood, and just had to have his hands in it."

McLendon's operation is 26,000 square feet with 10 full time employees - a far cry from the small operation he opened almost 40 years ago.

Supplying countertops to

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hundreds of businesses within a 100- mile radius, McLendon has built a loyal clientele that depend on his product and customer service.

McLendon said the downturn in the economy did have a negative impact on his sales and he has tried to keep that from affecting his employees as much as possible.

"Our business is no where near where it was at the height in 2006 due to the recession in the construction industry. But we are growing every year again."

When you enter Coastal Counter Top, the atmosphere is low key with a keen sense of family. It is easy to see that McLendon

cares about those around them, as well as the product he produces.

"I have been working for Dana for around 21 years," said Daryl Rice.

"There is never a dull moment. It is a laid back atmosphere, and Dana is a good boss. We make a very good product, and we are very proud of that."

Customers of Coastal Counter Top include cabinet makers and big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes. Kandy Logue is in charge of installation sales at the Home Depot on Abercorn Street in Savannah.

"If all of my vendors were like Dana, it would be a wonderful, wonderful world," Logue said. "I have

been working with him for 15 years, and he is my favorite vendor. The service is excellent, and the order is always right and delivered to us. I can't say enough good things about Dana and his company."

McLendon’s son Ryland graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2015 with plans of continuing Coastal Countertops when Dana finally decides to retire.

“Ryland is a perfect fit, since he has been around the shop even before he could walk,” Dana McLendon said.

McLendon is married to the former Linda Ray. They have four children, Ann, Lauren, Ryland and Corey.

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623.2500 • www.bullochfirst.com 1213 Merchant Way, Ste 102

MARKET D I S T R I C T | S TAT ES BO R O

LDP-3085-FMB-Pride_3085FMB2017PrideAdFrontFaces PM Page 1 4ASTATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26,2/15/17 2017 | 4:25 statesboroherald.com

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 5A

All About Bulloch

Why do so many customers keep choosing FMB?

1.

Tommy Green Customer Service Brannen Street

3.

Dora Hill Head Teller Brannen Street

2. Leslie Buchan Head Teller Brooklet

5.

Kinsley Mason Customer Service Brooklet

4. Karin Corbin Bookkeeper Main Street

6.

7.

Amy Smith Loan Assistant Main Street

Kay Smith Loan Clerk Main Street

For our incredible assets.

9. Megan Granade Loan Assistant Main Street NMLS#1416062

Lacey White 10. Brettany Ponder* Loan Compliance Teller Supervisor Assistant, Main Street Main Street

8.

1. Our community and customers are downto-earth, caring, loving people. I’m honored to serve them. — Tommy Green, 1 year at FMB

4. It’s important to be kind and to keep in touch so people you’re helping don’t feel forgotten. — Karen Corbin, 15 years with FMB

8. It’s important that customers trust me.

I want them to feel taken care of.

— Lacey White, 12 years with FMB

2. I just love our customers, the people themselves. When they come in, it’s like seeing an old friend. — Leslie Buchan, 3 years with FMB

5. I try to put myself in customers’ shoes, to understand as well as accommodate them.

— Kinsley Mason, 2 years with FMB

9. People’s money is a sensitive issue. You want to be sure you give the best service you can. — Megan Granade, 12 years with FMB

3. My favorite thing is, if customers are confused, helping them understand and making them happy. — Dora Hill, 6 years with FMB

6. My customers mean a lot to me. I’m glad to help and to know them. — Kay Smith, 14 years

10. I try to treat people like I want to be treated, to make life easier for them.

— Brettany Ponder, 10 years with FMB

NMLS#498426 LDP-3085-17

7. My favorite thing is giving people peace of mind that we’re taking good care of their money. — Amy Smith, 14 years with FMB

11. Kathy Blackburn AVP Loan Operations Main Street

13. Theresa S. Jackson** CSR Supervisor Main Street

12. Kasey Hagan Loan Assistant Main Street NMLS#1539235

11. I enjoy working each day with the frontline staff to provide the knowledge and information they need to serve our customers in an efficient and timely manner.

— Kathy Blackburn, 17 years with FMB 12. My customers are part of my extended family. I make sure they are always taken care of. — Kasey Hagan, 12 years with FMB 13. Nine out of ten customers mostly want someone to talk to, to understand.

— Theresa Jackson, 25 years with FMB

14.

15. Crystal Cross Customer Service Main Street

Kalena Low Bookkeeper Main Street

14. I like creating relationships and figuring out how to solve people’s problems.

— Kalena Low, 2 years with FMB 15. Helping customers is a passion of mine.

It’s a matter of listening, taking time to understand. — Krystal Cross, 1 year at FMB 16. We focus on truth and presenting it clearly.

That is what is best for customers long term.

— Jason Parrish, 8 years with FMB

* Supervisor over all tellers ** Supervisor over all customer service.

912-489-2600

16. Jason Parrish Officer of Credit Administration Main Street Sure, FMB has been growing.

Sure, we have the latest products, services and loans.

Sure, we’re proud to be Bulloch’s only locally owned and run bank.

But you know what we’re proudest of?

Our passionate, caring people.

Read what they say and you’ll see: They’re your people, too.

Learn more about FMB people, products and services at FMBnk.com.

LDP-3085-FMB-Pride_3085FMB2017PrideAdFrontFaces PM Page 1 4ASTATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26,2/15/17 2017 | 4:25 statesboroherald.com

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 5A

All About Bulloch

Why do so many customers keep choosing FMB?

1.

Tommy Green Customer Service Brannen Street

3.

Dora Hill Head Teller Brannen Street

2. Leslie Buchan Head Teller Brooklet

5.

Kinsley Mason Customer Service Brooklet

4. Karin Corbin Bookkeeper Main Street

6.

7.

Amy Smith Loan Assistant Main Street

Kay Smith Loan Clerk Main Street

For our incredible assets.

9. Megan Granade Loan Assistant Main Street NMLS#1416062

Lacey White 10. Brettany Ponder* Loan Compliance Teller Supervisor Assistant, Main Street Main Street

8.

1. Our community and customers are downto-earth, caring, loving people. I’m honored to serve them. — Tommy Green, 1 year at FMB

4. It’s important to be kind and to keep in touch so people you’re helping don’t feel forgotten. — Karen Corbin, 15 years with FMB

8. It’s important that customers trust me.

I want them to feel taken care of.

— Lacey White, 12 years with FMB

2. I just love our customers, the people themselves. When they come in, it’s like seeing an old friend. — Leslie Buchan, 3 years with FMB

5. I try to put myself in customers’ shoes, to understand as well as accommodate them.

— Kinsley Mason, 2 years with FMB

9. People’s money is a sensitive issue. You want to be sure you give the best service you can. — Megan Granade, 12 years with FMB

3. My favorite thing is, if customers are confused, helping them understand and making them happy. — Dora Hill, 6 years with FMB

6. My customers mean a lot to me. I’m glad to help and to know them. — Kay Smith, 14 years

10. I try to treat people like I want to be treated, to make life easier for them.

— Brettany Ponder, 10 years with FMB

NMLS#498426 LDP-3085-17

7. My favorite thing is giving people peace of mind that we’re taking good care of their money. — Amy Smith, 14 years with FMB

11. Kathy Blackburn AVP Loan Operations Main Street

13. Theresa S. Jackson** CSR Supervisor Main Street

12. Kasey Hagan Loan Assistant Main Street NMLS#1539235

11. I enjoy working each day with the frontline staff to provide the knowledge and information they need to serve our customers in an efficient and timely manner.

— Kathy Blackburn, 17 years with FMB 12. My customers are part of my extended family. I make sure they are always taken care of. — Kasey Hagan, 12 years with FMB 13. Nine out of ten customers mostly want someone to talk to, to understand.

— Theresa Jackson, 25 years with FMB

14.

15. Crystal Cross Customer Service Main Street

Kalena Low Bookkeeper Main Street

14. I like creating relationships and figuring out how to solve people’s problems.

— Kalena Low, 2 years with FMB 15. Helping customers is a passion of mine.

It’s a matter of listening, taking time to understand. — Krystal Cross, 1 year at FMB 16. We focus on truth and presenting it clearly.

That is what is best for customers long term.

— Jason Parrish, 8 years with FMB

* Supervisor over all tellers ** Supervisor over all customer service.

912-489-2600

16. Jason Parrish Officer of Credit Administration Main Street Sure, FMB has been growing.

Sure, we have the latest products, services and loans.

Sure, we’re proud to be Bulloch’s only locally owned and run bank.

But you know what we’re proudest of?

Our passionate, caring people.

Read what they say and you’ll see: They’re your people, too.

Learn more about FMB people, products and services at FMBnk.com.

PRIDE BUSINESS

6A – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

J.C. Lewis Ford marks 105th anniversary in 2017 Special to the Herald

Recognized as one of the oldest Ford dealerships in America, J.C. Lewis celebrates its 105th anniversary in 2017.

Originally founded in Savannah just nine years after Henry Ford organized Ford Motor Company, J.C. Lewis opened its doors under the ownership of Julius Curtis Lewis Sr. Today, his grandson Walter Lewis serves as president of the dealership which has remained under continuous family ownership since.

Growth continues at Statesboro location In 2014, J.C. Lewis entered the Statesboro market with the purchase of Rozier Ford located on U.S. Highway 301 South.

Since acquiring the dealership, J.C. Lewis has hired additional employees and increased its new and preowned inventory to over 300 vehicles. With one of the largest selections of cars, trucks and SUVs in the area, J.C. Lewis of Statesboro also has the

advantage of direct access to an even bigger inventory at its Savannah location on Abercorn Extension.

Lewis said 2016 was another successful year for his dealership as sales volume was steady in Statesboro and Savannah, fueled by the popularity of Ford’s F-150 series, the best-selling truck in America since 1977. The F-Series is showing no signs of slowing as it kicked off 2017 with its best sales start since 2004.

Another contributing factor to the F-Series sales juggernaut has been the arrival of an all-new Super Duty, boasting plenty of innovative and impressive features.

In addition, J.C. Lewis continues to see strong demand for Ford’s Fusion, Escape and Explorer – each among the nation’s bestselling vehicles.

Impressed with local community As sales activity at the Statesboro dealership continues to exceed his expectations, Lewis said he is thankful to be a part of the

business community.

“Statesboro is a growing market and one of the finest places in Georgia to live, work and raise a family,” said Lewis. “We feel a close connection dating back to the days when Georgia Southern College started its football program. At the time, my father owned WJCL TV which become involved in the production of Coach Erk Russell’s weekly football show, as well as airing many games. It was exciting back then and now it’s very exciting for us to be involved in a community that remains on the move.

“We continue to be very humbled by the support of our dedicated employees and loyal customers,” he added.

A commitment from generation to generation Lewis joined the Savannah dealership in 1975 following his graduation from the University of Georgia. In 2015, he was Georgia’s nominee for the prestigious “TIME Dealer of the Year Award.” It was the same honor bestowed

SPECIAL

J.C. Lewis Ford, on Highway 301 South, opened in Statesboro in 2014 and has enjoyed tremendous success since it's debut. The dealership is optimistic that 2017 will be another banner year in Statesboro. upon his father in 1966 and 1968 when it was known as the Benjamin Franklin Quality Dealer Award.

With its 105-year heritage, Lewis hopes his dealership will serve the automotive needs of people in southeast Georgia for years

to come. “I really like the business, I am proud of the communities we serve and, I still enjoy cars,” he concluded.

Renasant names Carolyn Ethridge market president Special to the Herald

Renasant Bank just announced the appointment of community leader Carolyn Ethridge as Statesboro market president.

In her new role, Ethridge will spearhead Renasant’s commercial banking activities in the market and be the bank’s lead representative in the community.

Assisting Ethridge, Caroline Nelson recently joined Renasant as a com-

mercial relationship officer and as a vice president.

Nelson will support the b a n k t h r o u g h Ethridge commercial lending and business development.

A community banking veteran, Ethridge brings experience and knowledge to the Renasant banking team.

As an active member of

the Statesboro community, Ethridge understands the positive impact her role can play in the growth and success of local businesses, said Ed Hutchinson, Southeast Georgia Division president for Renasant.

She is a past president and membership director for the Downtown Statesboro Rotary Club, currently serves as a member of the board for the Co astal D ist r ic t Development Authority and recently completed her

final term on the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners.

Ethridge attended Georgia Southern University and is a graduate of the Georgia School of Banking and the Southeastern School of Commercial Lending.

A commercial relationship officer at the bank’s main location in Statesboro, Hutchinson called Nelson an experienced banker.

She joined Renasant

Bank in A u g u s t 2016.

In the community, Nelson is a member of the Home Nelson Builders Association of Greater Savannah and a member of the Savannah Chamber of Commerce. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia.

“Statesboro is one of

our largest markets in South Georgia and it is a privilege to be a part of such a dynamic community,” Hutchinson said.

“It is important to us that we chose leaders and team members in our markets that will represent the values that are important to our bank: integrity, service and community engagement.

"Carolyn and Caroline exemplify these traits, and I am thrilled to have them both as part of our team.”

The Ford Place Since 1912!

As one of America’s oldest family-owned Ford dealerships, we’re proud to be associated with a company that is driving into the future with an American spirit you can believe in.

We’re also proud to be part of this wonderful community.

Convenient locations in Statesboro and Savannah!

For more info, visit jclewisfordlincoln.com • Hwy. 301 South • 912.681.3800

PRIDE BUSINESS

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 7A

LOCAL BUSINESS Spotlight ! s r a e Y 8 1 1

The Statesboro Randy C. Anderson, PC Herald would Attorney at Law  like to spotlight the following Thanking you for businesses, 20 Years!

Wise Choice Realty young and 912-681-9473 old, that have committed their Coastal ! s r a e Y 38 Countertop Distributor services to Featuring a large selection of KITCHEN & BATH COUNTERTOPS the citizens of 764-3561 • 45 Hill Street Bulloch County.

We would ! s r a e Y 0 1 1 like to thank 104 Raybon Anderson Blvd. them for their 681-2653 investment 38 Years! and loyal dedication to Commitment of Excellence the community.

JJE Anderson 1899-1940 Cohen Anderson 1938-1989

912-764-5673 8 Siebald Street Statesboro, GA

813 Gentilly Road • Statesboro, GA

764-6774 • 408 S. Zetterower • www.era.com

80 Years!

912.764.9031 1Proctor Street • Statesboro, GA statesboroherald.com

! s r a e Y 2 4

Stringer Tire Service

Passenger, Truck & Tractor Tires 314 N. Zetterower Ave.

764-9918

Glenda • Sheila

16Years!

Rev. Craig R. Tremble & Yolanda A. Tremble - Owners

Craig R. Tremble Funeral Home Inc. “A Family Serving Families”

238 West Main St. • Statesboro, Ga 30458 • Phone (912) 764-2100 Fax (912) 764-2380 ~ 66 Leford St. • Pembroke, Ga 31321 Phone (912) 653-2600 Fax (912) 653-2677

11 Years!

Len McCook, RPh Janie McCook, RPh • Kristen Clark, RPh Ben Rountree, RPh • Josh McCook, PharmD, RPh

(912) 764-2223 • 23630 Hwy. 80 East

30 Years!

912-764-6905 1683 Jones Mill Rd • Statesboro, GA alineprinting.com

Hometown Store

71 Years!

Home Appliances, Electronics, Exercise Equipment, Lawn & Garden, Tools, & Mattresses SEARS HOMETOWN PREMIER STORE Statesboro Mall • (912)764-6791

PRIDE BUSINESS

8A – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Blanchard serves large and small farms

By HOLLI DEAL SAXON hbragg@statesboroherald.com

Technology has brought farming into the modern age, coming from plowing behind mules to GPSdriven tractors.

All along the way, Blanchard Equipment has kept farmers and property owners ahead of the game by providing just the right equipment.

Blanchard Equipment, a John Deere dealership, was founded in 1956 and is still owned by a single member – Phillip Blanchard. The company has grown to encompass 14 locations, all of which offer a complete line-up of parts, service and sales departments.

Statesboro is home to one of Banchard’s first locations and the company recently acquired Derrick

Equipment and Epting Turf and Tractor in South Carolina. The company is headquartered in Waynesboro.

Increasing the number of Blanchard Equipment locations enables the company to better provide for customers by increasing inventory.

This also gives more “parts availability” options – if an item needed isn’t in stock in one store, it is likely found in another and can be shipped to any location with ease.

Blanchard Equipment has a “parts route” that runs through Georgia and South Carolina, serving all of its stores with added convenience for its customers.

While agriculture is one of Blanchard’s major areas of service, it isn’t all the

company offers. The company serves several different customer segments ranging from large agriculture to the residential home owner.

Yes, Blanchard Equipment is known for its John Deere large agricultural equipment such as row crop tractors, cotton pockets and combines, but they also have a “Precision Agriculture” department that keeps the focus on technological advancements to increase custom-

ers’ efficiency and help them make informed decisions for their operations.

But small agricultural equipment is just as important to the smaller property owner. That’s why Blanchard’s locations offer equipment to include but not limited to compact utility tractors and haying tools and equipment.

Even those who simply want to maintain their lawns find what they need at Blanchard Equipment.

They carry equipment such as residential mowers, ATVs, Honda and Stihl Power Equipment. In addition to being a John Deere dealership, Blanchard is also licensed to deal in Honda and Stihl products.

The company also stocks commercial mowers for

landscaper’s needs.

Parts and service?

Blanchard has that covered.

They offer seasonal service specials and parts specials as well as “value added” services such as maintenance plans for all product categories.

They have master level technicians and 12 advanced level technicians.

Another reason Blanchard Equipment is growing is because of the company offers customer training – providing a variety of customer solutions clinics at the dealerships and with partnering organizations.

The company’s website, www.blanchardequipment. com, states: “We stand by our deep community roots and values, and will stop at nothing to provide you with all of your land needs

with exceptional service.”

Exceptional service is why Blanchard Equipment is a growing company that has been in the area for over 50 years.

Experience counts a great deal in Blanchard’s performance. The parts clerks average 9 years experience each, and in Statesboro alone, the employees have a combined 78 years experience in the parts department and average of 12.8 years per parts clerk.

Over 60 percent of the company’s 250 employees have at least 5 years experience each and 40 percent of our 250 employees have at least 10 years experience.

When it comes to service and knowledge, experience counts with Blanchard Equipment and its customers.

Lane to lead Georgia Academy of General Dentistry Special to the Herald

Statesboro dentist Dr. Ricky Lane, DDS, MAGD, was inducted as president of the Georgia Academy of General Dentistry (GAGD) on last month in Atlanta during the association’s annual meeting.

Dr. Lane has practiced dentistry in Statesboro since 1992.

During his acceptance speech, Lane spoke about the importance of continued education.

“The key to our profession lies in our knowledge.

This is why I became a

GAGD member,” he said. “My journey with this association began right out of dental Dr. Lane school and the Mastertrack program alone has proven invaluable to me – it is where I really began to see the benefits of organized dentistry and the importance of getting involved.”

The Academy’s Mastertrack program is among the best in the nation and requires den-

tists to complete 1,100 hours of hands-on study in 16 dental disciplines.

Renowned dentists from around the world teach the classes.

Growing up on a farm in Swainsboro, Lane decided to become a dentist when he was in the ninth grade.

“After practicing for 23 years to this date, I have not regretted that decision,” he said. “I began my career with few possessions and significant student debt, but I worked hard and I have found a home in organized dentistry. In

essence, we as dentists fix problems and I have always found great fulfillment in caring for and helping heal my patient’s dental problems.”

As members of the Georgia Academy of General Dentistry, dentists are encouraged to volunteer, both for the association and in their home communities. Lane has been a long-time volunteer for the Ogeechee Fair ministry in which local dentists provide free care to carnival employees.

“Dr. Lane was one of the first dentists who vol-

unteered with us when Dr. Bill Perry and I began this ministry in 2001,” said First Baptist Church Reverend Ricky Allen. Lane also volunteers with the Hearts and Hands Clinic.

Lane earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Northwestern University in 1989. He also studied at the University of Georgia as an undergraduate student, graduating in zoology with a minor in biochemistry in 1985.

He has received advanced post-graduate training and is a graduate of the L.D. Pankey Institute

in Florida, where he studied restorative dentistry, esthetic dentistry, and splint therapy. He received training with the American Academy of Facial Esthetics for the administration of Botox and dermal fillers. He serves on the advisory board of the Ogeechee Technical College Dental Assisting Program.

He has three sons, Zachary, Ellis, and Justin.

He is a member of First Baptist Church and a member of Downtown Statesboro Rotary Club since 1995.

Southern Dive Center opens on Northside

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

With Southern Dive Center, Statesboro not only has a place that sells and rents scuba equipment, but one that offers classes for

diving certification and specialties such as wreck diving, night diving and underwater photography.

A checkout dive at one of northern Florida’s freshwater springs is par for the second weekend of the

basic Open Water Diving course. For graduates and already certified divers, frequent excursions such as one to West Palm Beach in March and another into the Georgia Aquarium’s big tank in Atlanta on April 8 are planned, as are twiceannual trips to the Florida Keys.

Instructor Joseph Glenn, 28, has been a certified diver since he was 18 and has taught other divers since he was 20. But the Southern Dive Center, at 2513 Northside Drive West, is a first-time plunge into owning a business for him and wife Haley.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Joseph Glenn. “Kind of been like a little dream.”

Diving firefighter He has a full-time job as a firefighter with the Statesboro Fire Department, where he has served the past four years.

But Glenn has combined diving and firefighting for almost a decade.

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While attending Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, he became a firefighter with the Tifton Fire Department, serving about five years. He also worked part-time, for about three years, as manager of a dive shop owned by someone else. Eventually, he was in charge of the Tifton department’s dive rescue team. Certified as a diver in 2006, in started teaching around 2008, he said.

Here in Statesboro, Glenn actually started certifying students about a year ago, working from home on weekends. The dive shop itself, which opened informally for the first time on Black Friday, went full-time in December. He also led some diving excursions long before the shop opened.

“I’ve got over 300 students I’ve certified, from Open Water all the way to dive master,” Glenn said.

Planning his vacations around diving, he hopes to complete his instructortrainer certification during two weeks in Key Largo in October. The highest recreational diving certification available, he said, this would allow him to teach instructors how to teach.

He then will work on his certifications in technical diving, he said.

The courses he teaches provide Scuba Divers International, or SDI, recreational diving certifications.

Although Glenn is qualified as a public safety diver, he is not certified to teach emergency response diving. But he has a friend in Atlanta who is, and can be called on to make that training available through Southern Dive Center, he said.

All in the family While Joseph Glenn is on duty as a firefighter, Haley Glenn manages the dive shop. They leased and fixed up the building, which in previous lives was a service station and home

Photo courtesy Southern Dive Center

Joseph Glenn, scuba instructor, firefighter and now dive shop owner, holds the flag at left during a dive to the wreck of the USS Spiegel Grove off Key Largo last summer. to a finance company. They Glenns’ son, Parks, just celadded not only new paint ebrated his first birthday. and floorcoverings, but a His dad, the diving couple of new walls. instructor and firefighter, Besides a showroom, grew up in Baxley. the shop now has a classThey have made room. They also have com- Statesboro their chosen pressor in back to fill home, and now the home tanks. of their business.

Brand-new equipment, Southern Dive Center including scuba sets, with isn’t Statesboro’s first dive the regulator, gauge, valves shop. But Dive South, on and harness, at different U.S. Highway 301 South, price points, as well as closed years ago. masks, snorkels and fins, That unrelated business line the walls of the showhad its own pool. The new Southern Dive Center does room.

There are books on div- not. For the first full weeking and cameras and lights end of the two-weekend Open Water diving course, for underwater photograwhich is offered once each phy. The showroom month, students first take includes a display for Go-Pro cameras and acces- their book and paper lessons in the classroom at sories. the shop.

The shop is open six Then they go to an days a week, Monday aquatics pool at Splash in through Saturday. the Boro for their initial “It’s fully locally owned diving practice. and operated,” said Haley The Glenns have a conGlenn. “It’s just the two of tract with Splash, which is us managing and working owned by the Statesboroin the store right now. We Bulloch Parks and do hope to be able to Recreation Department, to expand and, you know, maybe hire a couple of col- use the pools, they said.

For the second weekend, lege students.”

Originally from Vidalia, in which the instructor must check each student’s she graduated from skills, the class usually travGeorgia Southern els to Blue Grotto Dive University in 2011 with a business degree in market- Resort, in an area of freshwater springs at Williston ing. Until recently she was in northern Florida. a stay-at-home mom. The

PRIDE BUSINESS

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 9A

Coldwell Banker setting pace in Bulloch

By DeWAYNE GRICE dgrice@statesboroherald.com

Since being founded in 1984 by Robert Tanner, Coldwell Banker Tanner Realty has been a dominate leader in the local real estate market.

Since Jack Connor took over the company in 2004, the company has continued to soar. Connork become the top selling agent in Georgia in 2006 and last

year the agency continued to be the top producing agency in Bulloch County.

Total sales for 2016 was nearly $63 million.

They lead their closest Bulloch County competitor by close to 74 percent more in total units sold and over 47 percent more in total volume. They were also named the top selling agency of its size for Coldwell Banker in Georgia.

“We pride ourselves,

here at Coldwell Banker, on customer service, relationships with our clients and the community,” Connor said. “But most of all it is our hard work and dedication in listing and selling property and servicing our clients that makes the difference. I am humbled and amazed by not only the seasoned agents here at Coldwell Banker Tanner Realty but the young ambitious new agents coming

into this market bringing new talents and innovations. Never before in my 22 years have I seen a more unified, talented, hardworking, ambitious group of young and old agents assembled together with a common goal. It is the best sales staff I have ever had the opportunity to lead and I look forward to continued success with this dynamic team.”

Eleven Coldwell Banker

Tanner Realty agents were recently recognized nationally for their hard work: Coldwell Banker International Sterling Society: Jake Futch, Margart Hudson and Todd Sarratt Coldwell Banker International Diamond Society: Jackie Anderson, Erin Burns, Thomas Rushing and Brian Arendes Coldwell Banker

International President Circle: Ashley Padgent and Jack Conner Coldwell Banker International President’s Premier: Bubba Hunt Coldwell Banker Tanner Realty is located at 1201 Brampton Avenue in Statesboro.

To inquire about their services call them at (912) 764-5485.

John Roach returns to Synovus/Sea Island Bank

Special to the Herald

John Roach has joined Synovus/Sea Island Bank as senior vice president/commercial lender. Roach was previously Statesboro market president for Renasant Bank/Heritage Bank of the South, which he joined in 2010.

He began his banking career at Sea Island Bank in 2002, when he was an undergraduate at Roach Georgia Southern University.

“John is a gifted banker

and a great advocate for Statesboro/Bulloch County,” said Darron Burnette CEO of Sea Island Bank. “We couldn’t be prouder to welcome him back to Synovus/Sea Island Bank.”

As a commercial banker, Roach helps ensure delivery of the full range of Synovus

services, products, and banking capabilities to small business and commercial banking clients in Statesboro/Bulloch County and southeast Georgia.

Roach is a member of the Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce, Statesboro Rotary Club, and the board

of the Coastal Area District Development Authority. He is a Leadership Bulloch alumni and a past board member of the Downtown Statesboro Development Authority. Roach is a 2003 graduate of Georgia Southern, where he earned a BBA in finance.

Roach is married to Joie

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10A – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

PRIDE BUSINESS

1201 Brampton Ave Statesboro, GA

912-764-5485

THE WINNING TEAM

L to R: Bubba Hunt, Ashley Padgett, Gin McPhail, Nancy Bray, Brad David, Jackie Anderson, Dean Rigdon, Todd Sarratt, Erin Burns, Jack Conner, Shannon Horton, Andy Aldred, Thomas Rushing, Brian Arendes, Bailey Chandler, Margaret Hudson, Marissa Gay, Jake Futch, Jordan Kim, Robert Tanner

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2017 Community

Pride

Agriculture

Farming: A family affair in Bulloch County

PRIDE AGRICULTURE

2 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Bulloch County Farm Gate Values 2015 Ornamental Horticulture

Forestry-related products

• Container nursery — 36 acres valued at $1,476,900.

• Field nursery — 32 acres valued at $418,560 • Turf grass — 1,400 acres valued at $5,929,000 • Greenhouses — 230,000 square feet valued at $4,335,500

TOTAL VALUE — $12,159,960

Fruit and nuts • Strawberries —2 acres, yield valued at $79,200 • Blueberries — one acre, yield valued at $5,100 • Blackberries — one acre, yield valued at $3,400 • Grapes — 18 acres, yield valued at $74,520 • Peaches — 20 acres, yield valued at $70,000 • Pecans — 3,055 acres, yield valued at $6,568,250

TOTAL VALUE — $6,940,470

valued at $10,830,000 • Broiler/grower, 32 houses — yield val • Timber — 1 total ued at $1,600,000 sold; yield valued at • Flight quail, 1 $7,642,061 houses — yield val • Christmas trees ued at $27,000 — 8 acres, yield valued at $56,000 TOTAL VALUE — • Pine straw — $12,457,000 25,450 acres, yield valued at $3,181,250

• Beef stockers, 750 head — yield valued at $425,250 • Beef cows, 10,000 head — yield valued at $8,665,200 TOTAL VALUE — $17,135,500

— 6,000 acres, yield valued at $900,000 • Straw — 3,000 acres, yield valued at $562,500 TOTAL VALUE — $57,600,768.05

Spring harvest, bare ground, irrigated — 40 acres, yield valued at $111,200 TOTAL VALUE — $8,184,226.50

Vegetables

Other income

• Government pay • Carrots, spring ments — Livestock and harvest, bare ground, $10,536,083.00 aquaculture irrigated — 128 acres, • Deer hunting TOTAL VALUE — • Corn — 4,092 yield valued at 957,440 leases, 275,000 acres $10,879,311 • Horses/boarding, acres, yield valued at • Onions, spring — $4,125,000 training, breeding, $2,798,928 • Duck hunting 1,800 head — yield Agritourism • Oats — 396 acres, harvest, bare ground, irrigated — 306 acres, leases, 210 acres — valued at $6,300,000 yield valued at • School tours — yield valued at $10,500 • Horses raised, $73,062 valued at $49,925 • Turkey hunting 300 — yield valued • Rye — 2,328 acres, $4,360,500 • Equestrian trail • Organics — 13 leases, 103,000 acres at $690,000 yield valued at rides — valued at acres, yield valued at — $283,250 • Honeybees/ $387,030 $25,000 • Crop insurance $27,950 • Sorghum — 577 • Fishing — valued honey production, • Watermelon, — $ 2,318,546 900 colonies — yield acres, yield valued at at $190,000 spring harvest, plastic valued at $116,100 $121,862.40 • Camping — valTOTAL VALUE — • Honeybee /colo- • Soybeans — 9,364 — 250 acres, yield valued at $688,800 $17,273,379 ued at $1,520,000 ny rental, 385 colo • Hay rides — valacres, yield valued at • Watermelon, ued at $30,800 nies — yield valued $3,603,735.40 spring harvest, plastic, Total Farm Gate Value • Guide services — at $26,950 • Wheat — 2,616 for 2013 Bulloch drip — 125 acres, valued at $382,500 • Honeybee/other, acres, yield valued at County: yield valued at • Special events — 1 colony — yield $517,444.80 $144,328,672.55 $933,312.50 valued at $6,250 valued at $130,000 • Cotton — 39,831 • Yellow squash, fall • Special attractions • Goats, 2,500 — acres, yield valued at harvest, bare ground, — valued at $4,225 yield valued at $23,564,019.60 irrigated — 4.75 acres, $396,875

• • Peanuts — 27,797 yield valued at $26,980 TOTAL VALUE — Sheep, 100 — yield acres, yield valued at • Pole beqans, Emma Johnson of Twin $1,377,500 valued at $22,625 $23,607,992.10 Spring harvest, bare City gives her hog a • Hay — 3,700 • Beef cattle/fingood wash-down while ground, irrigated — Poultry & eggs prepping for a livestock ished out of county, acres, yield valued at 18 acres, yield valued show during the 2016 $999,000 • Broiler/integrator, 500 head — yield at $64,800 Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair.

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PRIDE AGRICULTURE

statesboroherald.com | Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 3

Ag Partner of the Year

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Statesboro Bulloch Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Farmer of the Year Raybon Anderson and wife Janelle.

Raybon Anderson honored by Chamber of Commerce

By Holli Deal Saxon hbragg@statesboroherald.com

When talking about Bulloch County agriculture, Raybon Anderson’s name is likely to be mentioned at some point.

One of Bulloch County’s most well-known people in the agriculture world, Raybon Anderson, has been honored many times in the past, and was recognized once again as the 2016 Ag Partner during a Farm-City Breakfast sponsored by the Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Committee.

Anderson founded Bulloch Fertilizer and several branches of that business, as well as farmed in

the county for years and later opened Anderson’s General Store, a popular “feed and seed” supplier that also offers clothing, hunting and fishing gear and giftware.

The Farm City breakfast is an annual event, part of the Farm City Week, which agribusiness committee member Kyle Shedd said is “national incentive to celebrate the relationship between farmers and the community.”

Via video, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black “presented” Anderson with the 2016 Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce Ag Partner of the Year award.

The award was not pre-

sented in 2015; instead, Mike Waters and his family were named “Farm Family of the Year.” The Ag Partner award has been presented since 2009 (Wes Harris), 2010 (Debra Chester), 2011 (Wendell Brannen), 2012 ( Wade Hodges), 2013 (Roxanne Kibler), and 2014 ( Allen Muldrew.)

Anderson has “rendered outstanding service … and integrity” over the years, Black said. “He is of a family of deep commitment.

He is a dear friend and mentor to me.

Anderson, from whom the award was kept secret, stepped from a packed breakfast crowd to accept the award.

“I’m honored,” he said.

“All I’ve ever done was what I thought was good for the county. I’ve prayed for it.

I’ve served a long time, and now I feel I’m an old man.

I’ve served 25 years in public office and I wouldn’t take anything for it.”

The Bulloch County native served almost two terms as Bulloch County Commission chairman in the early ‘90s, finishing out Lamar DeLoach’s term when he resigned. He didn’t seek reelection after the second term, and was appointed by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue to the Department of Natural Resources Board, and later, the Department of Transportation Board.

Gov. Nathan Deal later

appointed him to the Agriculture Authority in Perry, where he served five years.

In 1963, Anderson founded Bulloch Fertilizer, and two years later, “the company built the first liquid suspension fertilizer plant of its kind in Southeast Georgia and coined the SUR-GRO brand name. A retail store was added, offering chemicals, seed, feed and farm supplies, according to the company website (www. bullochfertilizer.com.)

In the early 1990s Anderson entered the turf grass market, blending and spreading fertilizer for area golf courses, sod farms and recreational facilities. In

1994 “a state-of-the-art fertilizer blending facility” was added.

The Bulloch Fertilizer retail store section was closed in 2005, but a bigger, more diverse store was added – Anderson’s General Store is operated through a partnership by Anderson’s son Mike Anderson and his wife Vicki Marsh Anderson.

In addition to these enterprises and duties, Raybon Anderson has farmed since the 1970’s, raising peanuts, cotton and soybeans, which he does to this day. The family farm stopped raising cattle a few years ago, he said.

Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.

Lee honored at Farm Bureau Federation Convention Special

One of Bulloch County’s most appreciated farmers — who also happens to be president of the Bulloch County Farm Bureau and a nonagenarian — was honored during a leadership lunch held at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in Phoenix this year.

In January, Lannie Lee was recognized for his many years of service as a county Farm Bureau leader. At age 96, he joined Farm Bureau in 1947 after returning home from serving in World War II. Lee, the patriarch of the 2010 Bulloch County Farm Bureau Farm Family of the Year, has fared his family’s land all his life — land that has been in his family for over 100 years. He raised cattle, cotton, corn, tobacco and more, but in the later years he has been known for his annual sugar cane grinding and syrup making.

He has always loved

named the 2010 farm Family of the Year for Bulloch County, former car dealership owner Frank Rozier remembered going with his own father to Lee's farm about 40 years ago to sell him a truck.

"Lannie was planting, and we pulled to the end of the field," he said.

Rozier's father, F.C. Rozier, told Lee he wanted to trade trucks. After a bit of dickering, with the senior Rozier writing figures down on his hand, Lee said: "All right F.C., I can't come in until tomorrow. I'll take it, and I'll be there tomorrow."

With that, he went back SPECIAL to his task. "He never got Lannie Lee, shown here in a 2014 photo, was recently hon- off his tractor seat," Rozier said. "That's the ored by the Farm Bureau Federation. way they did business farm life, especially work- County," he said with a back in those days." ing with tractors. During laugh.

Lee’s history a 2010 interview with the It has been said that he Statesboro Herald, he loves tractors so much, Lee served as president recalled the thrill of get- he once purchased a of the Brooklet Farm ting his first tractor — a truck without ever dis- Bureau Chapter in his Model H John Deere — mounting from the trac- community in the 1950s after years of following tor he was using to plant and served as a director behind a mule. a field. of the Bulloch County "I felt like I could In an article published Farm Bureau for a numwork all of Bulloch shortly after the Lees were ber of years.

He served as the vice president from 1973 until 2007 when he became president and continues to serve in that position.

Founded in 1937, Georgia Farm Bureau is the largest general farm organization in the state.

Its volunteer members actively participate in

local, district and state activities that promote agriculture awareness to their non-farming neighbors. GFB also has 20 commodity advisory committees that give the organization input on issues pertinent to the major crops and livestock grown in Georgia.

4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 5

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*Offer valid on new 1023E Compact Tractor purchases made between 2/1/2017 and 5/1/2017. Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial. Up to a 20% down payment may be required. Example: based on a purchase of $10,405 with $2,081 down payment, monthly payment of $99 at 0% APR for 84 months. Taxes, freight, set up and delivery charges could increase the monthly payment. Price and model availability vary by dealer. Valid only at participating US dealers. **Offer valid on new 3025E Compact Tractor purchases made between 2/1/2017 and 5/1/2017. Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial. Up to a 20% down payment may be required. Example: based on a purchase of $13,500 with $2,700 down payment, monthly payment of $129 at 0% APR for 84 months. Taxes, freight, set up and delivery charges could increase the monthly payment. Price and model availability vary by dealer. Valid only at participating US dealers. ^Beginning 1/1/2017 all Compact Utility Tractors purchased new from an authorized John Deere Dealer come standard with a 6 year/2000 hour (whichever comes first) Powertrain Warranty. See the Limited Warranty for New John Deere Turf & Utility Equipment at dealer for details. †Manufacturer’s estimate of power (ISO) per 97/68/EC.

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4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 5

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*Offer valid on new 1023E Compact Tractor purchases made between 2/1/2017 and 5/1/2017. Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial. Up to a 20% down payment may be required. Example: based on a purchase of $10,405 with $2,081 down payment, monthly payment of $99 at 0% APR for 84 months. Taxes, freight, set up and delivery charges could increase the monthly payment. Price and model availability vary by dealer. Valid only at participating US dealers. **Offer valid on new 3025E Compact Tractor purchases made between 2/1/2017 and 5/1/2017. Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial. Up to a 20% down payment may be required. Example: based on a purchase of $13,500 with $2,700 down payment, monthly payment of $129 at 0% APR for 84 months. Taxes, freight, set up and delivery charges could increase the monthly payment. Price and model availability vary by dealer. Valid only at participating US dealers. ^Beginning 1/1/2017 all Compact Utility Tractors purchased new from an authorized John Deere Dealer come standard with a 6 year/2000 hour (whichever comes first) Powertrain Warranty. See the Limited Warranty for New John Deere Turf & Utility Equipment at dealer for details. †Manufacturer’s estimate of power (ISO) per 97/68/EC.

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PRIDE AGRICULTURE

6 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Excellence in Public Service

SPECIAL

Bulloch County Agent Bill Tyson, right, inspects peanuts in Register with Bulloch County farmer James Nevil.

Bulloch extension agent Bill Tyson honored

By Holli Deal Saxon hbragg@statesboroherald.com

One of Bulloch County’s many points of pride are the services of the Bulloch County Extension Service, and in 2016, one of the county’s agents was recognized for his valuable service.

Bulloch County residents depend a great deal on Bill Tyson, the county’s University of Georgia Cooperative Extension coordinator, is always on hand to answer questions and solve problems ranging

from weeds in croplands to termites in your home.

That’s why UGA honored him in 2016 with the D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Public Service Extension.

The D.W. Brooks Awards are the highest honors given by the college. Tyson, among others, was recognized in a ceremony in Athens in November.

“These winners are nominated by their peers and selected by a panel of judges as the most outstanding individuals in

their fields,” said Sam Pardue, dean and director of UGA’s College of Ag r icultural and Environmental Sciences.

“They really are the best of the best.”

For more than 22 years, Tyson has worked in Bulloch and Effingham counties as a UGA Extension county agent. He started out in Bulloch County, then worked in Effingham County for 15 years. He returned to Bulloch County in 2014.

“I work with farmers,

homeowners, the taxpayers of Bulloch County,” he said.

“I help with problems with insects, disease, weed control and more.”

He does a great deal more than that, in reality.

Tyson is the go-to man for many. He has a hand in peanut inspections, helps farmers determine the best time to harvest crops, teaches people how to detect pests in their fields and homes, and offers advice on when and what to spray or use to battle the pests, diseases or weeds.

According to a release from UGA, “In their nomination letters, colleagues described Tyson as having the ability to balance an onfarm research program that is helping to shape the best practices in agriculture across the Southeast with the day-to-day demands of a UGA Extension agent, which could include anything from identifying a problem with a constituent’s lawn to managing the county’s $212,000 Extension budget.”

Tyson said he was hum-

bled by the award.

He is married to Kim Turner Tyson, and the couple has three boys — Turner, Gunnar and Konner.

Originally from Brooklet, Tyson worked in the farming industry and as a Georgia Ag Chem employee before taking the position as UGA Extension agent.

In his spare time, Tyson enjoys hunting, fishing and playing golf.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.

Michael Smith named top conservationist for Bulloch County Special

The Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission recently named Michael Smith 2016 Bulloch County Ogeechee River Soil and Water Conservation District's Conservationist of the Year.

Smith married Angela Zeigler in 2004 and they have four sons; Austin, 10, Justin, 7, Josh, 4 and Tyler, 1.

Michael is the son of

Perry and Sue Smith of Statesboro.

After graduating from Statesboro High School in 1995 he began farming with Mr. Lehman and his son Jason Brannen. He farmed by himself as well as with the Brannens through 2004 and went out on his own in 2005.

He continues to farm the 200 acres on the home place that his great grandfather Mr. Joe Hodges, grandfather Mr. Dorris Cason and uncle Mr.

Bobby Joe Cason farmed on the west side of Bulloch County.

He farms a total of 1600 acres today growing corn, cotton, peanuts and wheat.

Michael is conscious of how he tends the land and always strives to make it better.

He plants a cover crop on 75 percent of the land he farms today. He stays up to date with the latest technology advances that will help him better manage the land. He grid soil samples his row crop land and variable rate applies the lime and fe1tilizer. He is also mindful of maintaining the terraces and waterways on the land he farms.

Michael's family is actively involved on the farm.

Other area Conservationalists of the Year Durell Lynn

Jeremy Page

2016 CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR EVANS COUNTY OGEECHEE RIVER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

2016 CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR CANDLER COUNTY OGEECHEE RIVER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

David P. Boddiford

2016 CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR SCREVEN COUNTY OGEECHEE RIVER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

Neil Rogers

2016 CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR TATTNALL COUNTY OGEECHEE RIVER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

Jerry Graham 2016 CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR EFFINGHAM COUNTY OGEECHEE RIVER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

PRIDE AGRICULTURE

statesboroherald.com | Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 7

Matthew hit local pecan crop hard

By Al Hackle ahackle@statesboroherald.com

In Bulloch and surrounding counties, Hurricane Matthew caused lasting damage to pecan orchards and put a Grinchlike whammy on what promised to be a fine 2016 crop for Thanksgiving pies, Christmas fruitcake and export to China.

"We had a good crop and we were getting fairly close to beginning harvest," said Bill Tyson, University of Georgia Bulloch County Extension coordinator. "Some of those trees that went down still had about three weeks before the nuts would have been mature, and that's kind of what's causing the problem now."

As Tyson explained and two of Bulloch County's largest pecan producers confirmed, the minority of trees that tumbled over was only part of the problem. Fallen limbs blocked the way through the orchards for the mechanical sweepers, tree shakers, blowers and harvesters used to gather the nuts.

Meanwhile, mature pecans were falling, and bringing in tractors, trucks or other heavy equipment to remove the limbs and wrecked trees threatened to crush the nuts already on the ground.

With the help of a few employees, Garland NeSmith tends about 1,000 acres of pecan trees in Bulloch and Burke counties. About 700 of those acres are in Bulloch, making him the county’s largest pecan grower. NeSmith estimated he had 300 trees blown completely down.

About 10 large pecan trees can cover an acre, so those 300 trees might cover about 30 acres, but the actual loss was much more extensive, especially to the 2016 crop.

"You've got far, far, far more damage from all of the limbs broken out than the number of trees down," NeSmith said. "You've got all of those limbs broke off and then in some cases you've got maybe 35, 40 percent, maybe even 50 percent of the nuts that are blown off or damaged."

Tyson cited a range of 20- to 50-percent damage for Bulloch County's pecan crop overall. Interviewed the first week of November, he said the damage was too varied to give a single estimate, with some trees totally lost and others leaning badly, plus the many broken limbs and the challenge growers face in cleaning up while gathering as much of the remaining crop as possible.

Before Hurricane Matthew roared through

on the night of Oct. 7, growers were anticipating a particularly good harvest.

"Probably not the best ever, but I would say a very good crop," said multicounty pecan grower Newman Pryor. "The best crop I've ever seen was in 2012. This one was going to be, I would say, at least 80 percent of that. It was looking good."

Add to that the demand from China, which discovered a taste for pecans and has pushed prices to historic highs in recent years, and growers are keenly aware of lost earnings.

NeSmith noted that the Chinese buy somewhere close to half of the crop, and insist on the best, making "Chinese material" a term of art for top-quality pecans.

Georgia leads in pecans The United States, where the pecan tree is native, produces the vast majority of the world harvest, and Georgia is the leading pecan producing state. Georgia's pecan harvest was valued at $313 million in 2014, the most recent year for which a Farm Gate Value Report has been published by the University of Georgia's Center for Agribusiness and Economic

AL HACKLE/staff

Garland NeSmith visits one of his pecan orchards, this one near Brooklet, where examples of widespread damage are seen: a fallen limb dead in front, a fallen but still green tree behind him and more trees down in the distance.

Development.

That made pecans Georgia's 10th most valuable agricultural commodity, of 60 ranked in the center's report.

As of two years ago, Bulloch County ranked 26th among Georgia's 159 counties in pecan production, with a $3.23 million crop reported from 3,055 acres. Tyson gave a smaller estimate of just 1,200 acres of pecan trees in commercial orchards, which seems more in line with the production value relative to other counties.

The leading pecan producing counties are in the state's southwestern quadrant, where top-ranked

Mitchell County's crop was valued at $38.3 million and second-ranked Dougherty County's at almost $37 million.

Screven County resident Newman Pryor, his father, John Pryor, and Newman's brother-in-law, Kyle Sommer, tend about 700 acres of trees in five counties: Bulloch, Screven, Jenkins, Effingham and Chatham. Of that acreage, about 40 percent is in Bulloch, Newman Pryor said.

Cleanup continues Growers last fall did not know the full extent of the damage, and the cleanup

had only begun.

Nesmith received quotes of $250 to $2,000 per tree, based on size, from someone in the business of removing whole trees.

But in mid-November, he was not ready for that step yet. Instead, his process was first to use a sweeper to clear paths into the orchard, sweeping fallen nuts out of the way to save these. Then he brought in a tractor and trailer for removing limbs, using chainsaws when necessary. Finally, he would work on removing fallen trees and harvesting the rest of the nuts the usual way.

"It's 10 times more work than normal, with all the steps to go through it, just added expense," NeSmith said.

Although the trees that lost limbs can produce new growth, some of the trees NeSmith lost were 60 to 100 years old. Young trees transplanted from a nursery usually start bearing reliably in eight to 10 years but would take decades to reach their full potential.

"If you were to plant one here, you're probably looking at 50 years for it to be doing what these were doing, or in some cases 60 years, 70 years," NeSmith said. "It's gone forever."

‘Blessing of the Harvest’ Farming community gathers for prayer at Chamber event

By JULIE LAVENDER Herald Writer

Area farmers halted work in August to gather collectively for prayer and fellowship in a “Blessing of the Harvest’” event at the Bulloch County Center for Agriculture.

Organized by the Bulloch County Agribusiness Committee through the StatesboroBulloch Chamber of Commerce and sponsored

by AgSouth Farm Credit and Georgia Farm Bureau, the event was held to kick off the 2016 harvest season.

Dr. Tom Marshall, Portal High School Ag Teacher for 27 years, opened the event and said man has gathered throughout the history of civilization to ask for a harvest blessing.

“Even if they didn’t know that it was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the one true God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” said Marshall, “they still knew there was a power beyond their control at work causing crops to grow and produce their bounty.”

Marshall said one might be tempted to think a good harvest is the result of the hard work of taking soil samples, correcting the pH, applying the correct kind and amount of fertilizers, scouting for insects and diseases and applying pesticides at the right time, and keeping the weeds out.

“The truth,” Marshall said, “is that producing crops as well as everything else in life is a partnership with God. We are his fellow workers.”

Marshall reminded those in attendance that Paul wrote to the church of Corinth in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9, saying, “I planted the seed; Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one

Emory Brannen, couldn’t be there because he was selling corn and needed to meet a truck by 7 am.

Speer Brannen said, “There’s nothing better than prayer. We turn to the Lord first and give credit where it’s due. Get’s your focus in the right place; keeps your priorities straight.”

He continued with a smile, “It’s good to come together with everyone and have a donut because we won’t get to see each other for the next three or four months.”

J3 Farms

JULIE LAVENDER/Staff

Members of the farming community gathered for a time of prayer and fellowship in a "Blessing of the Harvest" event at the Bulloch County Center for Agriculture to thank God and pray for safety and abundance in the 2016 harvest season. State Sen. Jack Hill is pictured in the center. who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

Marshall concluded with these words, just before leading in prayer: “So what we pray for in life is for God to give the growth. We are called to be hard workers in everything we do. We are called to work hard preparing our crops, to work hard at our jobs, to work hard in our relationships, always planting and watering in faith and obedience and asking God to give the increase. Without him, all of our activity is meaningless.”

Brannen Family Farm Jack Brannen, Brannen Family Farm Partnership, prayed, “We thank you for watchful eyes and your loving arms around us.

We’re thankful for the recent rain, but more importantly, we thank you for our Savior Jesus Christ

for without him we have no hope.”

Todd Faircloth, District Field Representative with Georgia Farm Bureau and AgriBusiness Committee member thanked God for the farmers who work hard for the harvest and asked God’s blessing on those that sit down at the table but do not know him.

Faircloth prayed, “May we in agriculture be a shining light for those in need so that we can bring this country back to the nation it needs to be.”

Willie Scott, Scott Farms in Collins, offered the same sentiment in his prayer.

Scott said, “Continue to bless each one of us, bless our crops, bless our families. Let us be that example of a good Christian so that we might reach others that don’t know you.”

Speer Brannen attended the event as representative of his extended family farm operation, Double B Ranch and Poultry and his personal farm operation,

Hawkshaw Poultry Farms, and said his father, John

Don Johnson and son Matthew Johnson of J3 Farms produce pecans on 160 acres collectively in Bulloch and Jenkins County. Don Johnson laughingly said, “We need all the help we can get,” but quickly and sincerely added, “With our faith, it’s embedded in our life every day to pray.”

A community of faith.

That’s just how Andrea Whitfield, crop insurance specialist with AgSouth and Ag r i bu s i n e s s Committee co-chair referenced the agricultural community.

“Last year was the first ‘Blessing of the Harvest’ event to bring the agricultural community together to bless the harvest and pray for safety and abundance. It’s an opportunity for prayer and fellowship.”

After a time of crop talk, juice, coffee and donuts, farmers made their way back to pick-up trucks to resume work on the farm.

Two attendees spoke the farming language on the way out.

“Did you get that rain up there at your house yesterday?”

“Nope; sure didn’t.”

“We finally got some.”

“I saw that cloud up near your house. I hope we get some today.”

h t an you make ith a bale f c on?

Brooklet, Georgia

A bale of cotton weighs about 480 lbs.

A bale of cotton can make: 215 Jeans • 249 Bed Sheets 409 Men’s Sports Shirts 690 Terry Bath h Towels 765 Men’s Dress Shirts 1,217 Men’s T-Shirts 1,256 Pillowcases 2,194 Boxer Shorts 2,419 Men’s Briefs 3,085 Cloth Diapers 4,321 Mid-Calf Socks 6,436 Women’s Knit Briefs 21,960 Women’s Handkerchiefs 313,600 $100 Bills

8 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

PRIDE AGRICULTURE

We Believe

Agriculture is the noblest

profession and we are honoured to promote those

who feed the world.

2017 Community

Pride

Education

Building a foundation for a successful future

PRIDE EDUCATION

2 – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Bulloch County schools soar Graduation rates improve; Move On program takes off; students shine Five-Year Trend: Graduation Rates Increase Steadily; Exceed Nation & State

The graduation rate for Bulloch County Schools and each of its three high schools meets or exceeds those of the state and nation. The district credits the steady increase to several factors: (1) an increased focus on student performance and transfer data; (2) elimination of the state-mandated graduation test which could prevent students from graduating even if they had satisfied and passed all credit and coursework requirements; (3) career pathways, dual enrollment, and partnerships with local post-secondary institutions to give students a head start on their college and career goals; (4) communicating importance of attendance; and (5) faculty rigorously and regularly monitoring student progress and providing immediate remediation and interventions.

More Students Move on When Ready

Local post-secondary options give students jump start on college & careers The number of high school students choosing to dual enroll in college classes while still in high school has tripled since the Fall of 2013.

More than 400 students from Bulloch County Schools’ three high schools are taking advantage of the state’s Move on When Ready (MOWR) program.

MOWR, Georgia’s recently improved dual enrollment program, allows high school students in ninth – twelfth grades to earn college credit while working on their high school diplomas. The MOWR program includes provisions to help remove some of the financial barriers that may prevent students from participating in a dual enrollment program. Bulloch County Schools partners with Georgia Southern, East Georgia College and Ogeechee Technical College to provide the MOWR program.

REACH Scholarships Make College Possible

Bulloch Co. Foundation for Public Education funds local matching funds for district Bulloch County Schools (BCS) honored five new REACH Georgia Scholars at a signing ceremony Nov. 3.

BCS was one of five systems selected by the state to pilot the program beginning in 2013. Now it has 20 total scholars with $400,000 ready to invest in their future college and career success. Each scholar has $20,000 ear-

marked to fund their postsecondary education thanks to local financial support from REACH Georgia, the Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education, and matching funds guaranteed by more than 60 Georgia colleges and universities.

REACH Georgia is a needs-based mentoring and scholarship program designed to ensure that the state’s academically promising students have the academic, social, and financial support needed to graduate from high school and complete college. The Georgia Student Finance Corporation (GSFC) holds the scholarships for scholars until they graduate from high school.

The 2016-17 REACH Scholars are Joshua Davis (WJMS), Ciaji Wallace (LCMS), Cynthia Martinez (LCMS), Elizabeth Osorio (LCMS), and Lena Dixon (PMHS). All 20 current and past scholars continue to fully meet the program’s requirements. The first cohort of REACH scholars will graduate in 2018.

BOE Approves New Evaluation Tool for Superintendent Measures performance based on strategic plan

The Bulloch County Board of Education created a new evaluation tool for its current and future superintendents which better aligns

Special

2016 Southeast Bulloch High School graduation

Teachers Applaud Use of Professional Learning Communities Collaboration, communication and consistency can help student achievement Bulloch County Schools believes all students and staff can learn and grow in a continuous improvement culture that incorporates its core values by which they expect everyone to be purposeful, reflective, resourceful, courageous, and accountable in their pursuit to increase student achieve-

Special

Professional Learning Communities collaboration is shown at Mattie Lively Elementary School. with the Board of Education’s vision.

The revision process began last spring and included establishing rigorous goals and measurement rubrics aligned with the school system’s Strategic Plan.

The goal is to maintain the Board and staff ’s focus on a few, high-priority and high-impact goals which are focused on student achievement and aligned to the community-created and Board-adopted strategic plan.

The new tool is being used for Superintendent Charles Wilson’s upcoming evaluation this spring.

First Baptist Church

Preschool

ment. This belief has been displayed most evidently in the district's implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs). The collaborative teams are further building leadership capacity and autonomy at the teacher level and supporting the district’s schools’ improvement plans and district strategic plan.

“PLCs work,” Becky Petkewich, a fifth-grade teacher at Brooklet Elementary School, told the Board of Education this fall during a teacher presentation about how PLCs work.

“I feel I’ve gotten to know my students better as learners by collaborating with my PLC team.”

8:30 - 12:00 Noon 6 Months - Pre-K

The Board of Education and the superintendent have provided the necessary training to establish effective PLCs for faculty. To support this process and overall expectation, district leaders created an e-manual for guidance and a monitoring document to guide school communities through the process.

“It’s more work, but it’s the work,” said Dr. Carolyn Vasilatos of Mattie Lively Elementary. “When you can show teachers the success of what they are doing, you automatically get buy in.”

Teachers at each school participate in a scheduled time of differentiation among their grade-level peers thus creating more equitable learning experiences for the students.

Principals are purposeful in having designated times for collaboration for teachers on a weekly basis as well as for themselves with other principals on a monthly basis.

School leadership monitors the PLC meetings, collects and reviews minutes.

Additionally, district level personnel support the monitoring through observation, minutes and quarterly reviews.

District & School Major Achievements 2016-2017 Brooklet Elementary • Recognized by the Georgia Department of Education as a Reward School for being one of 81 Highest Performing schools in the state. Its third-fifth grade students posted higher scores than the state and the district across all subjects (English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies) on the Georgia Milestones Assessment System’s 2015 End of Grade tests.

Julia P. Bryant Elementary • Bronze Award for Greatest Gains from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. JPBES exhibited high growth in student achievement. The students’ academic growth over the last three years has been in the top seven percent in the state.

• Michelle Owen, a JPBES pre-kindergarten teacher, received the district’s Golden Apple Award for her 18 years of continuous service as a pre-k teacher.

Langston Chapel Elementary • Won an $11,500 grant from the United States Apple Association and its partners to fund a complete playground makeover and 18 iPads for a classroom.

• “Wee Learn” Curriculum • Hands On Learning Centers • Age-appropriate Activities • Low Teacher/Child Ratio for additional information about our program or registration please call gwen wilson at

489-7926

F

b C

Langston Chapel Middle • LCMS Science Teacher Travis Brooks was selected as one of Bulloch County’s Top 40 Under 40 leaders.

Mattie Lively Elementary • Fifth-grade Teacher Tamra Lamb named a Georgia Science Teacher of Promise for elementary schools by GA Science Teachers Association.

Mill Creek Elementary • Susan Reagan, the school’s K-5 reading intervention teacher, was selected as the 2018 Bulloch County Teacher of the Year. Reagan will represent the county in the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition and possibly advance to the national level competition.

• First school in the district to become a Digitally Certified School through Common Sense Media due to their digital citizenship efforts for safe technology use by students and parents.

Nevils Elementary • Achieved a Four-Star (out of five) rating in the Georgia School Climate Star Rating Nevils Elementary • Achieved a Four-Star (out of five) rating in the Georgia School Climate Star Rating.

• Students raised more than $1,400 as part of the school’s annual St. Jude’s Trike-AThon.

• NES Teacher of the Year Bob Massee was a finalist in the Bulloch County Schools Teacher of the Year competition.

Portal Elementary • Custodian team has won the Bulloch County Schools Clean Schools program’s Cleanest School Award twice in one year.

• K-2 students participated in the Georgia Children’s Book Awards voting process to select the best children’s book in Georgia.

Portal Middle/High • New Sports Complex • Andrew Harvey, a science teacher at PMHS, was selected as a teacher advisor for WGBH, a public broadcasting station in New England, and their collaboration with NASA. Harvey will help design digital resources for nationwide STEM curricula.

Recognized • by the Georgia Department of Education as one of 162 Highest Progress schools in the state.

Sallie Zetterower Elementary • Won the $500 Dr. Joe B. Crane Classroom Grant from the Georgia Agribusiness Council .

Southeast Bulloch Middle • Xavier Smith selected to serve on the State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council Southeast Bulloch High • Tanner Todd selected to serve on the State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council • SEBH’s Health Occupations career pathway cluster and its Therapeutic Services and Allied Health & Medicine pathways have received national industry recertification.

• Principal Donna Clifton was awarded the Seven Seals Award by Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). The prestigious national award is given only to employers at the discretion of the ESGR’s State Chair or its senior leadership.

This is Clifton's second honor for her support of Guard and Reserve employees.

• Hannah Elrick, a Southeast Bulloch High School Career Technical and Agricultural Education teacher and National FFA Organization advisor, was named a National Association of Agriculture Educators award winner for Georgia's Region Four.

• Weight Lifting Team won the Class AAA State Championship at the Georgia Coaches Association State Weight Meet.

Statesboro High School • SECME program was selected as a finalist for the 2016 Georgia STEM Education Awards by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed). The program was also recognized separately as having one of the top STEM programs in the state.

• Matthew White, a Career Technical & Agricultural Education teacher (CTAE) and SkillsUSA advisor at Statesboro High School, was awarded the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia's (CEFGA) Leadership Award William James Middle School • NASA Astronaut Challenge team qualified for state competition hosted by Kennedy Space Center.

• National finalist in the Northorp Grumman Foundation’s FAB Lab Makeover Contest. Received a $2,000 grant to further school’s STEM initiatives.

• Georgia Southern’s Kappa Kappa Gamma Chapter raised $6,000 to host Girls Academy for 50 young woment at WJMS. The national leadership, values, and service-focused retreat also featured Statesboro Mayor Jan Moore and other key local female leaders in a special panel discussion on their paths to success.

• Boys Tennis Team and Boys Basketball Team won their respective sports’ Coastal Empire Region Championships.

Stilson Elementary School • SES Teacher of the Year Jenny Hendrix was a finalist in the Bulloch County Teacher of the Year competition.

William James Middle School • NASA Astronaut Challenge team qualified for state competition hosted by Kennedy Space Center.

• National finalist in the Northorp Grumman Foundation’s FAB Lab Makeover Contest. Received a $2,000 grant to further school’s STEM initiatives.

• Georgia Southern’s Kappa Kappa Gamma Chapter raised $6,000 to host Girls Academy for 50 young woment at WJMS. The national leadership, values, and service-focused retreat also featured Statesboro Mayor Jan Moore and other key local female leaders in a special panel discussion on their paths to success.

• Boys Tennis Team and Boys Basketball Team won their respective sports’ Coastal Empire Region Championships.

PRIDE EDUCATION

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 3

Reading-driven Reagan honored as top teacher Southeast Bulloch Middle's Vickki Carter the runner-up

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

capable. That is what influences me to strive daily to be the best darn reading teacher you'll ever meet."

Reagan has taught 22 years thus far, all in the Bulloch County Schools.

She is now in her third year as special education reading teacher at Mill Creek.

She previously taught reading and provided aca-

this certification, she has traveled all over the

Southeast teaching other Bulloch County Schools teachers how to teach readTeacher of the Year Susan ing, Transitions Learning Reagan expresses a strong Center Administrator Tim belief in the power of readRountree wrote in a suping. porting letter.

Her fellow teachers at "She works tirelessly to Mill Creek Elementary show children how reading School had selected Reagan is related to so many aspects last May to be the school's of life," Rountree wrote. next Teacher "Many hours of the Year. are spent ‘I know that my students are She specializes searching for in teaching stronger, more capable (when they reading matereading and rials that are c u r r e n t l y learn to read). That is what influences of high interworks with me to strive daily to be the best darn est to her stuchildren from dents. It is reading teacher you'll ever meet.’ kindergarten rewarding to through fifth see a child's Bulloch County Schools Teacher of the grade. eyes light up Year Susan Reagan, in an essay written During the when they as part of her application for the honor ceremony in finally read the Statesboro and compresupport at hend a passage for the first High School media center, demic Learning time." she sat with most of the Transitions other 14 school-level hon- Center and Statesboro High A panel of community orees for the big reveal of School, from 2011 to 2013. leaders and retired educathe county-wide winner She started her career at tors scored the entries with and runner-up. The run- Nevils Elementary School identifying information ner-up is Vickki Carter, as an English and math removed. who teaches eighth-grade resource teacher and coVickki Carter language arts at Southeast teacher, from 1994 to 2010, Bulloch Middle School. and served in a similar role Carter, the runner-up, To get this far, teachers at William James Middle has about 18 years teaching completed applications that School, 2010–11. experience. She has taught required writing essays in After receiving her bach- at Southeast Bulloch answer to seven questions. elor's degree in literature Middle since 2014 and They also received support- and composition from chairs the school's Englishing letters from principals Chapman University in language arts department. and others.

California, Reagan attained She previously taught in Asked about her greatest a master's degree in the Pierce County, Georgia, contributions to education, same subjects from the and Clay County, Florida.

Reagan quoted 19th centu- University of Virginia and She attained her bachery escaped slave-turned- an Education Specialist in lor's degree from Brewtonabolitionist leader Frederick learning disabilities and Parker College, her master's Douglas on literacy as the assessment from the degree in foundations of foundation of a free life: University of Georgia. education from Troy "Once you learn to read, She is also certified as a University and her specialyou will be forever free." reading specialist in the ist degree in teaching and "I believe that with every Wilson Reading System, an learning from Valdosta ounce of my being," Reagan intervention program for State University. wrote. "I know that my stu- people with language-based In his support letter, dents are stronger, more learning disabilities. With Southeast Bulloch Middle

AL HACKLE/staff

Reagan and Carter for 2018: Susan Reagan, center left, and Vickki Carter, center right, are Bulloch County Teacher of the Year winner and runner-up, respectively, with Reagan potentially eligible for the 2018 national award. Superintendent Charles Wilson, left, and Foundation for Public Education Treasurer Billy Yawn presented prizes at the event.

School Principal Dr. Torian White referred to Carter as a "teacher leader" who mentors less experienced teachers and leads in the school's efforts at continuous improvement.

"She has a unique gift of eliciting the best from students because they know that she cares about them as human beings and as learners. ...," White wrote.

"She is consistently positive and looks for the best in all children."

The other schools' Teachers of the Year are Jennifer Cooper of Brooklet Elementary, Beth Cannon of Julia P. Bryant Elementary, Dr. Irina Bowen of Langston Chapel Elementary, Talmeshia Parker of Langston Chapel Middle, Kristin Blythe of Mattie Lively Elementary, Carlee James of Nevils Elementary, Dr. Deborah Cartee of Portal Elementary, Penny Aubrey of Portal

Middle High, Susan Parrillo of Sallie Zetterower Elementary, Matt Olsen of Southeast Bulloch High, Jessica Elmore of Statesboro High, Carrie Fritch of Stilson Elementary and Charles Rockett of William James Middle.

Added prizes This year, every honored teacher received a cash prize after the Parker's Fueling the Community program, sponsored by the Parker's convenience store company, gave $7,500 to Bulloch County's schools, of which $4,000 was undesignated.

School system officials chose to apply this to the Teacher of the Year program. This was added to $1,000 already allocated by the Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education.

The foundation's treasurer, Billy Yawn, joined Superintendent of Schools

Charles Wilson in presenting the resulting checks for $2,000 to the county honoree, $500 to the runner-up and $200 each to the other school-level winners.

Previously, only the county-wide winner would have received a $1,000 award.

Hayley Greene, the school system's public relations specialist and coordinator of the teacher recognition program, noted that school-level winners are featured separately in the Statesboro Herald each year.

Officially, Reagan becomes the Bulloch County Schools' 2018 Teacher of the Year, because honorees are chosen for the year they could win the national honor, if first chosen as Georgia's Teacher of the Year.

The winner of the statelevel competition will be announced in May 2017 and the national winner in January 2018.

www.bulloch.k12.ga.us | 912.212.8500 www.bulloch.k12.ga.us | 912.212.8500

4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

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4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

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PRIDE EDUCATION

6 – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

State Pre-K Teacher of the Year

Channie Frazier

Has led Kids World program for 9 years

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

In 2016, Channie Frazier, who teaches prekindergarten at Kids World Learning Center, walked into two big surprises.

First, she was named a finalist for Georgia's Pre-K Teacher of the Year Award and then she found out she was the statewide winner.

For the winner announcement, Georgia first lady Sandra Deal, Atlanta philanthropist Stephanie Blank and Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, or DECAL, Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs and the department's giant puppy mascot, CALi, were there.

So was Statesboro Mayor Jan Moore. Evan Frazier's parents, Joseph and Connie Hasty of Riceboro, came to the day care center on Savannah Avenue to see their daughter so honored.

"Oh my! I had a feeling, I did," Frazier blurted out.

But still, she said, she really was surprised.

"I'm humbled, I'm excited, I'm happy, I'm honored; 10,000 emotions in one," she told reporters.

'Teacher' since age 10

Frazier always knew she wanted to work with children. From the age of 9 or 10, she served as a babysitter in her family.

"I was teaching my cousins, I was teaching my younger sisters, and my aunt nicknamed me 'Teacher,' " Frazier said.

"She's been calling me that ever since."

Asked what makes her a standout pre-K teacher, she prescribed two things she thinks are essential to do the job well.

"You have to have a love for children, and it can be

➤ Mascot: Gators ➤ Head of School: Leisa

Houghton ➤ School Achievements: ▲ Celebrated 45th year as an independent, college-preparatory school serving the students of Bulloch and neighboring counties. ▲ Enrollment of 554 students in pre-K–12. ▲ Ten students were eligible to receive the Zell Miller Scholarship, which pays full tuition at an in-state public university. Students must have a 3.7 grade point average and score at least 26 on the ACT and/or 1200 on the SAT (critical reading and math).

Seventeen more were eligible for the HOPE Scholarship. ▲ Class of 2016 scores on SAT averaged 1530. The national average was 1484, the state average 1459 and the Bulloch County school system's average 1436. ▲ Class of 2016 scores on the ACT averaged 22.6. The national average was 20.8, the state average 21.1 and the Bulloch County school system's average 20.2. ▲ The International Student Program, with students from China, Germany and South Korea in 2014–15, helps pro-

mote global diversity and understanding. Most students live in Statesboro with host families. ▲ Class AAA state coaches' duals wrestling champion (2017, 2015, 2014, 2012).

Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts & Technology ➤ Mascot: Dragons ➤ Principal: Corliss Reese ➤ Assistant principal: J.

Benji Lewis ➤ School achievements: ▲ 92% graduation rate this year. ▲ Received a 5-star climate rating. ▲ Abigail Cave was spelling bee champion. ▲ Ninety-two and a half percent of SSCCAT's parents attended all four student/parent/teacher conferences. ▲ Successfully received a charter renewal. ▲ Second place overall Outstanding Village award at the International Festival ▲ Natalie Watkins-Cone was chosen as International Festival Top Teacher.

2016 STAR student

Bulloch's best

SHS's Nick Harvey, teacher Rich McCombs honored

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

2 out of 3,800

Public schools and private day care centers host Georgia's lottery-funded pre-K classes for children 4 years old. So when the department and Blank's Naserian Foundation launched the program to recognize outstanding pre-K teachers, they decided to salute two teachers each year.

When the first round of the program opened last December, there were 75 nominations, said Meghan McNail, outreach coordinator for DECAL, which also brands itself "Bright from the Start." The 3,800 or so lead pre-K teachers statewide were eligible.

Six finalists, including three from public schools and three from private centers, were announced in May. Frazier and the other finalists each received $500 cash awards for their personal use at that time.

Frazier received a $2,500 prize as one of the two top honorees, and Kids World will receive $1,500 for materials or upgrades for her classroom. Additionally, the contest will reimburse Kids World for paying substitute teachers on days that Frazier is away serving as a spokesperson for prekindergarten in Georgia and for her travel and lodging during these excursions, Jacobs said.

Frazier is the first-ever statewide Pre-K Teacher of the Year from among private centers. Deal, Blank and entourage bestowed a similar surprise Monday on Connie Ellington of Bethlehem Elementary School in Bartow County.

She is the public school Pre-K Teacher of the Year.

Bulloch Academy

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Still overwhelmed after being named Georgia Pre-K Teacher of the Year for private organizations on Tuesday, Kids World Learning Center teacher Channie Frazier stands with her children as they present a short program for guests who attended the announcement. trying at times, so you need to have patience for children as well, because if you don't, it won't work," said Frazier, who has four sons.

"Just the love that I've had for such a long time keeps me wanting to do this."

However, when Frazier graduated from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor's degree in child and family development in 2004, she considered herself geared toward social services. Then she took a job teaching prekindergarten and is now in her 11th year, including her first two years at a different facility. She has since attained two master's degrees, one in early childhood education from Ashford University and another in teaching and learning with technology.

Frazier arrived at Kids

World as lead prekindergarten teacher in 2007, the same year Maria Smith started as assistant pre-K teacher there. Nine years later, they continue to teach 22 children each year in Kids World's one prekindergarten class.

Michelle Smith Lank, owner and director of Kids World, said Frazier and Smith are a great team that she and Statesboro are lucky to have. Even though Frazier's selection means losing her for a few days this school year, such as when she goes to Children's Day at the state Capitol, Lank doesn't mind, she said, but considers it an honor for her center.

"We are extremely excited at this opportunity because I know how great of a teacher she is, and now

the entire state knows how great of a teacher she is," Lank said.

A visit with Deal and her husband, Gov. Nathan Deal, at the Governor's Mansion was also mentioned as a possibility.

Atlanta connections

Sandra Deal read to children at Kids World during a past visit. She noted that the center has again achieved a top three-star rating in the Department of Early Care and Learning's "Quality Rated" program for child care.

"It's the second time they've done that, and then to have their teacher who trained at Georgia Southern be selected as the outstanding private school Pre-K Teacher of the Year in the state of Georgia is exciting."

Nicholas “Nick” Harvey, the 2016 Bulloch County STAR student, is an accomplished oboe player — first oboe in three different ensembles, in fact — who may major in a math or science, although he hasn’t ruled out studying international relations.

Harvey, 17, middle child of biology professor Dr. Alan Harvey and graphic design agency owner Deborah Harvey, chose Richard McCombs as his STAR teacher.

“He’s an awesome chess player, and he’s good at the oboe,” McCombs said of Harvey. “He’s a talented kid, and whenever he picks something up he gets kind of focused on it and does tremendous work, and he’s not really brash about it, doesn’t brag about it, but he’s willing to sit back and help other classmates.”

McCombs taught Harvey in his 11th-grade Advanced Placement environmental science and scientific research class, but is a friend of his parents and first met the young Harvey when he was in elementary school and joined the chess team with McCombs’ son.

STAR, the Student Teacher Achievement Recognition program, was

created “to shine the light on Georgia’s highest-achieving high school seniors and those teachers that they select that are most instrumental in their academic development,” said B r a n d y Taylor, chair of the Harvey StatesboroBulloch Chamber’s education and workforce development committee.

Before the countywide winners were announced, the committee’s co-chair, Dr. Steve Burrell, first presented awards to the STAR students and teachers representing five public and private high schools in Bulloch County.

To receive a STAR student nomination, soon-to-graduate high school seniors must be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class and have the highest score from a single test date on the threepart SAT college admissions test.

A perfect score is 2400.

Harvey’s “super score,” of combined top scores from the reading, math and writing sections after taking the SAT more than once, was 2240. He said he was surprised to be the county-wide winner, since he was thinking only of that score and not the single-sitting score required for STAR honors.

PRIDE EDUCATION

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 7

Georgia Southern, Armstrong State presidents outline consolidation

Much yet to be decided

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

After its consolidation with Armstrong State University, the expanded Georgia Southern University will honor the scholarships of Armstrong student-athletes, the two universities' presidents said during the first town hall meeting following the announcement of the combining of the two schools.

Also, Armstrong's nursing program appears favored to remain in Savannah. But whether Georgia Southern's nursing classes could move there remains to be considered.

Indeed, just about everything remains to be decided by a Consolidation Implementation Committee and 60 to 80 working groups in the process the presidents and two University System of Georgia officials outlined in town hall meetings on the Statesboro and Savannah campuses.

"A lot of those major decisions, in restructuring and so forth, will be handled within work groups, subcommittees if you will, of the Consolidation Implementation Committee, that consist of faculty, staff, students from both of our institutions," said Georgia Southern University President Jaimie Hebert.

In an interview following the town hall meeting, Hebert said that the state is planning for growth on both the current GS campus in Statesboro and the Armstrong State University campus in Savannah that will become part of Georgia Southern in the consolidation work he is guiding.

“Hopefully, the governor’s budget, which is public, will be approved,”

Hebert said. “That has planning money for an engineering research center here on the Statesboro campus. It includes construction money for a health sciences building in Savannah on the Armstrong campus.”

In his fiscal year 2018 budget, Gov. Nathan Deal has recommended $22 million in construction funds for the Health Professions Academic Center at Armstrong and $4.9 million in planning and design funds for a Center for Engineering and Research on the Georgia Southern campus.

Hebert said the work groups would make recommendations to him and Armstrong State University President Linda Bleicken "for the most optimal restructures based on what's best for our students."

Sports question

The question was simply what consolidation will mean for the athletics programs at both universities.

While Georgia Southern is well known for its NCAA Division I athletics, including Eagles football, Armstrong State has an NCAA Division II program with no football but with 12 other sports.

This year, the Armstrong Pirates are celebrating their 50th anniversary, Bleicken had noted.

Decisions about the sports programs will need to be made sooner than some of the other decisions, Bleicken and Hebert said.

"One of the things that I have committed to our student-athletes is that those who are on scholarship, who came to us to not only play their sport but also to receive a degree, those

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Georgia Southern University President Jaimie Hebert, left, and Armstrong State University President Linda M. Bleicken chuckle before answering a question from a student about whether his Georgia Southern food plan card would work in Savannah and Statesboro during a January town hall meeting at the Performing Arts Center to discuss the consolidation of Georgia Southern and Armstrong State. scholarships will be honored," Bleicken said.

She said this is a matter of ensuring that students are well treated, which she called "my number-one priority."

Hebert agreed.

Nursing students

Armstrong State is Georgia's top public university in undergraduate degrees awarded in health professions, Bleicken noted.

It also offers master's degrees in nursing.

Georgia Southern also has a popular School of Nursing and awards a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

But Armstrong is obviously closer to Savannah's larger hospitals.

"Will certain programs be offered on one campus, for instance health professions on the Savannah campus?" was part of one complicated question.

Hebert said the real answer will evolve in the working groups.

"Again, we do not go into this process with a preconceived idea," he said, but added that probably everyone involved has thoughts on this.

"We know about the stellar performance of the health profession programs at Armstrong, and I don't want to make a public statement saying that's definitely where they're going to be, but it would be tough to convince me that they need to elsewhere," Hebert said.

Lost jobs?

Teaching faculty overall are apparently safer in their jobs than top administra-

tors.

John Fuchko III, the university system's vice chancellor for organizational effectiveness, said consolidation tends not to reduce the number of university employees providing "core services," including in s t r u c t ion .

The need for these, he said, often increases.

"One of the realities we deal with in consolidation is you usually don't decrease the number of students," Fuchko said. "If anything, I think over time you tend to see increases in the number of students."

But "administrative efficiencies" are a stated goal,

with the idea being to put the savings to use in academic programs.

"Quite frankly, at the senior administration level, you're not going to have two vice presidents of — pick something — business and finance," Fuchko said.

The changes usually involve attrition or reassignments, not layoffs, he said.

18-month process

The consolidation of Georgia Southern, which has more than 20,600 students on one campus, with Armstrong, which has more than 7,100 students on two campuses, in Savannah and Hinesville, is expected to take about 18 months. But the decisions are to be made this year.

for the 2017-2018 School Year

QUEST 5th-graders meet Eagles' multimedia team

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

One hundred gifted fifth-graders took turns reading sports play-by-play in front of the camera and helping operate industrystandard digital video, audio and graphics controls at Georgia Southern University's Paulson Stadium.

The students, from the QUEST program in the Bulloch County Board of Education's nine elementary schools, were welcomed by the staff of the universit y's Multimedia Development Center. The MDC, led by professionals but employing many Georgia Southern students, produces the in-stadium video of Eagles football games and works with ESPN3 on coverage of other sports. The center, based in the Gene Bishop Field House, also creates commercials and videos of academic and research programs.

ESPN and GS Eagles logos appeared on monitors between segments of the fifth-graders' simulated broadcast.

"It's really important for us to give young people an opportunity to see the type of careers available in high technology and how Georgia Southern is a leader in this area, and this really gives Georgia Southern an opportunity to give back and show some of the young people in this area some neat career choices," said Multimedia

“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all the day long”.

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Lauren McNure

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Georgia Southern University sports producer Corey Speights, left, shows Bulloch County Schools fifth-graders how a broadcast is put together during the students' visit to the Multimedia Development Center at GSU. Development Center "wows," went up when he Director Art Berger. mentioned "Powerpuff Inside the green room, Girls." where things that match the "So, when I was your age wall color tend to disappear I thought about my career," onscreen to allow for sub- Berger said. "What do I stituting other back- need to be able to do that? grounds, Berger told stu- What do I need to learn dents about his own career now?" path. He started working In the control room with computers "way back" in high school. Then, after Much of Tuesday's progetting a college degree in duction experience took architecture and art history, place inside the MDC's new he went to Los Angeles to master control room.

Zetterower work in the film industry Sallie for a couple of years, before Elementary School fifthgrader Bailey Bryson, 10, returning to Atlanta.

There, he was director of exclaimed, "This is so cool!" presentations for Turner while working with softBroadcasting/AOL, which ware that lets a replay operput him in close contact ator change the speed of with Cartoon Network recorded video. content. Some hands went Bryson wished that she up when he asked if the and classmates had this children had heard of when they did a class proj"Samurai Jack," but many ect, creating videos of their more hands, and some own myths.

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PRIDE EDUCATION

8 – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

It's official: Durden new OTC president From staff reports

After serving as acting president of Ogeechee Technical College for the past month, Lori Durden has been named the new president of OTC. Commissioner Gretchen Corbin announced that the state board of the Technical College System of Georgia voted during its monthly meeting to accept her recommendation of Durden to the position.

Board member Tommy David made the motion to accept the recommendation, and the full board voted unanimously to

approve the appointment.

"It is an honor to assume the presidency of Ogeechee Tech," Durden said. "I look forward to continuing to serve the citizens of Bulloch, Evans and Screven counties and the entire region, and working with both faculty and students to continue the success of OTC." Durden replaces Dr. Dawn Cartee, who served as OTC president for nine and a half years. She left July 1 to become director of the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education in Athens.

Durden served previously as vice president for

economic development at OTC, where her responsibilities included continuing education and industry training, adult education (GED and literacy programs) and facility rentals.

She was instrumental in assisting Great Dane Trailers' job search for employees for its ne w Statesboro plant and facilitating a job fair on OTC's campus for 3,500 applicants.

Active in economic development activities in Ogeechee Tech's service delivery area of Bulloch, Evans and Screven counties, Durden supported local industrial develop-

ment authorities as they worked to strengthen the economic vitality of the region. " M s .

Durden has s h o w n excellent leadership, both in her time as vice president of Durden economic development and as acting president of Ogeechee Technical College," Corbin said. "With her background in economic development and outreach to local industry, as well as her academic partnerships and expertise

developed while serving on the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents, she is the ideal choice to serve both students and the community."

Durden received a bachelor's and a master's degree in business administration from Georgia Southern University, and prior to her affiliation with Ogeechee Tech, she was director for the Small Business Development Center at Georgia Southern.

She is also active on many local and state boards.

Her most recent appointments include the board of trustees for the Foundation

for Public Education in Bulloch, the Coastal Workforce Investment Board, the StatesboroBulloch Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Statesboro board.

In 2013, Gov. Nathan Deal appointed her to the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, representing the 12th Congressional District.

Deal selected Statesboro attorney Laura Taulbee Marsh to succeed Durden on the Board of Regents.

Durden resides in Statesboro with her husband, Tim, and their three children.

'Rad tech' student reaches GOAL

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

Amanda Merry to represent Ogeechee Tech

Amanda Merry, named Ogeechee Technical College's 2017 GOAL winner during the awards luncheon Tuesday, and Melissa Behling, who said her farewell as the 2016 GOAL winner, have some things in common.

Merry is, as Behling was, a radiologic technology student. Both were nominated by Jan Martin, Radiologic Technology Program director and instructor. The college's winner in the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership, or GOAL, competition goes on to regional and state competition.

Ogeechee Tech has established quite a record, producing three state winners and two runners-up in the past nine years.

"I think that speaks well for the quality of the students we have on our cam-

puses," said OTC President Lori Durden. "It certainly speaks volumes for the quality of our instructors, our faculty and our staff, and it certainly signifies the hard work and the great work that Ms. Kelli Martin & Merry Waters does to coach and prepare our local winner for the regional and state competition."

Waters has served as Ogeechee Tech's GOAL coordinator for nine years and loves it, she said. This is the 46th year the state program has existed, so it is older than Ogeechee Tech.

The statewide GOAL winner becomes an "ambassador," or example and spokesperson, for technical education as provided by

the Technical College System of Georgia.

OTC's Foundation and Student Leadership Council sponsor the program at the college level.

Rad tech tradition Merry, 21, from Gwinnett County near Atlanta, is on track to graduate with an associate degree in radiologic technology in December.

Behling, who went on to be first runner-up in the 2016 state GOAL competition, received her "rad tech" associate degree last month and is now working at Effingham Health's hospital near Springfield.

Ogeechee Tech's first statewide winner, 2008 GOAL student Laura "Molly" Bickerton, was also a radiologic technology student, also nominated by

Martin. So the Radiologic Technology Program vies for the most GOAL honors with the Funeral Service Education Program, which graduated 2011 OTC and statewide winner Alvie Coes III and 2014 OTC and statewide winner Lucas "Luke" Teague.

"Because we're a competitive admission program, we get the cream of the crop," Martin said, explaining her three-time success nominating GOAL winners.

For each new cohort of students, the rad tech program takes the top 12 applicants based on grades and entrance exam scores.

Personality isn't considered, and there is no interview process, but students must work hard to succeed, she said.

Jobs with starting salaries usually in the $30,000

to $40,000 range await graduates, and placement rates are high. Of the 11 students who graduated in December, all passed their national certification exams, and 10 already have jobs, Martin said.

"I'm very proud of her," she said of Merry.

Change of path

With becoming a nurse in mind at first, Merry came to Statesboro to attend Georgia Southern University. But the more she learned about Ogeechee Tech's Radiologic Technology Program, the more she knew that was where she needed to be, she said.

"We have to be very structured and we have to be very passionate, and I think that's what you need," Merry said, advancing her own theory about rad tech's

GOAL success.

She has never been afraid to talk in front of people, but actually giving speeches is new to her, she said.

The GOAL speech was her first. But asked if she sees advantages in technical college education, she already sounded like an ambassador for the state system.

"The cost, obviously, and then the success rate," Merry said. "I mean, 98 percent of TCSG's graduates go on to either pursue more education or they're employed in what they graduated in, so statistically it's like the smart choice, if you look at it that way."

Although their parents remain in Gwinnett, both her brother and her sister are students at Georgia Southern. Merry said she wants to remain in Statesboro for at least the first few years of her career as a registered radiographer.

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Hospital shifts toward larger ER

PRIDE HEALTH CARE

2 – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Hospital shifts toward larger ER Electronic records, nurse recruiting priorities at EGRMC

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

are succeeding.

Last summer, emergency department "door-to-doctor" times exceeded 90 minutes. Staff efforts to improve efficiency have now reduced the average wait by more than half, with the goal being no more 30 minutes, he said.

E

ast Georgia Regional Medical Center continues a multimillion-dollar construction project within its walls, moving one department after another and renovating space toward the goal of adding 12 treatment rooms to its emergency department.

That final step will expand the department, casually called an emergency room or ER, from 19 rooms to 31 in an effort to relieve a bottleneck that has sometimes occurred there with patient arrivals.

In the process, the hospital is freshening up the space available to each function that is moved and accommodating the latest technology, particularly for electronic medical records, said CEO Paul Theriot.

He arrived last April from another Community Health Systems hospital, taking the reins in time for East Georgia's biggest expansion since it opened in 2000.

"It gives us an opportunity to configure the space more contemporaneously with what technology we have now," Theriot said. "This building was built only 16 years ago, which in building-years is a brand new building, practically. However, 16 years ago we did not have an electronic medical record; a lot of the technology we use now didn't even exist."

The shuffle to renovate spaces within the hospital resembles that little game with sliding tiles in a frame, where one tile must be moved to leave an empty square for the next tile, and so on. In this case, the first empty square was made by relocating business and medical records offices into the neighboring medical office building, which is connected to the hospital by a breezeway.

A cashier's office where patients can pay bills remains in the main hospital.

Most recently, the inpatient endoscopy suite moved in December into a newly renovated space inside the hospital. The two inpatient endo procedure rooms, plus prep and recovery areas, now occupy floor space where the hospital's pharmacy used to be. Outpatient endoscopy moved last summer, around the same time as the pharmacy.

Right now, the area where inpatient

Nurse recruiting

Notice that the hospital is adding emergency department treatment rooms, not rooms for admitting patients overnight.

"We actually have rooms, if we could get the staff for them," Theriot said.

The limiting factor is the national shortage of nurses.

"It's affecting us all. It's a tremendous challenge for us," he said. "It is our number one priority, to recruit nurses. We've got the beds to put patients in, if we just had nurses to take care of them."

Making full use of electronic medical records, or EMR, technology is another priority. East Georgia "just really in earnest went to an EMR in July of last year," Theriot said.

Electronic records

AL HACKLE/staff

Paul Theriot, CEO of East Georgia Regional Medical Center, unveils a portion of the newly relocated and renovated inpatient endoscopy suite. At right is one of the "workstations on wheels" that make electronic medical records wirelessly accessible throughout the hospital. endoscopy used to be has been sealed off from the hospital's corridors with temporary walls, muffling sounds of construction workers with power tools.

This area should be ready for the sameday surgery department in March, Theriot predicts. That shift will make room for the final phase, construction of the new emergency department, expected to take one full year. So, the hope is for the new emergency rooms to be complete in March 2018, he said.

Unusually busy ER

Theriot's own experience illustrates Community Health System's main reason for investing in this complicated expansion process using available space. In a 17-year

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career in hospital administration thus far, including 10 years at CHS facilities, his most recent previous posting was as chief operating officer of Gadsden Regional Medical Center, a 346-bed hospital in Gadsden, Alabama.

East Georgia Regional Medical Center is a 149-bed facility overall, but the Statesboro facility has a proportionally busier emergency room than the Gadsden hospital.

"We do as many visits in our ER here as my last hospital, and my last hospital was twice this size," Theriot said. "We have a ton of ER volume coming through here, and we'll probably do more once we expand."

Meanwhile, Theriot reports that immediate steps to reduce patient wait times

Although the hospital's medical recordkeeping is not 100 percent electronic yet, a much higher proportion is being handled that way than in the past, he said.

Unlike a traditional patient record in a notebook, the digital record can be accessed simultaneously, for example by both a nurse and the X-ray department, making the latest information available quickly and reducing the likelihood of omissions, he said. Research has shown that the handoff time between shifts is a leading source of errors in care at hospitals generally, and EMR is seen as a way to prevent this.

Using "workstations on wheels," or WOWs, that provide wireless connections, medical professionals at East Georgia can update patient care records from anywhere in the hospital.

"As a matter of fact, one of our big initiatives is to have the nurses performing a bedside shift report with the patients," Theriot said. "What that does is it helps inform the patient, while they're documenting and transferring care from one nurse to the other."

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statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 3

Bulloch painted purple Locals fight cancer one lap at a time at 2016 Relay for Life

By HOLLI DEAL SAXON hbragg@statesboroherald.com

L

ori Wiggins, a cancer survivor since 2001, raised almost $12,000 last year for cancer research and awareness.

She was one of hundreds of cancer survivors and thousands of others who participated in the 2016 Bulloch County Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society at the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds last April.

Teams set up tents surrounding a track lined with luminaries in honor of those still fighting or who have passed on from the disease. The event was Western-themed,

with signs urging others to "Give cancer the boot" and sending messages such as "Cancer can't break our spirit."

There were dunking booths, bake sales, raffles, lemonade stands and more as each team tried to raise even more money.

The event kicked off with a Survivor's Lap, in which cancer survivors made a round of honor to begin the relay. A cookout for survivors and caregivers followed inside the Kiwanis community building as the relay continued outside.

Wiggins, who suffers from Barrett's esophagus (a pre-cancerous condition) and also had skin cancer, held a silent auction and a hot dog sale at her workplace

and raised the rest online, she said.

Barrett's esophagus is related to acid reflux, and hers was a bad case, Wiggins said.

"They had to put my esophagus back into my stomach, it was so bad," she said.

Her team's booth offered boot-shaped cookies, beer bread, cake slices and more as they worked to raise even more money for the cause.

One team, the Citizens of Georgia Power, sold boiled peanuts, drinks and other goodies for the cause.

"We also are having a Kiss-a-Pig contest at work," said Amy Anderson, a Georgia Power employee. "The team formed to support a coworker who is a survivor of breast cancer, Victoria Moore."

There were local mascots, dogs on leash-

2017 Relay for Life ➤ WHEN: Friday, April 28, 6 p.m.–midnight ➤ WHERE: Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds ➤ THEME: "One Wish, Two Wish, I Wish, You Wish for a Cure" (inspired by Dr. Seuss) ➤ GOAL: $138,500 ➤ CO-CHAIRS: Chris Wiggins, a relationship banker at Sea Island Bank, and Lori Wiggins, an administrative assistant in Georgia Southern University's Department of Technology and Learning ➤ HONORARY CHAIR: Lori Grice, a 14-year survivor of cervical cancer ➤ CONTACT: Kay Nay at (912) 764-7410 or kay.nay@cancer.org

es, Georgia Southern University athletes and cheerleaders, and even beauty queens at the event. The relay lasted all night long as participants walked laps around the track to raise money and awareness. Some team members played guitar, others grilled and yet others invited visitors to their camps to play games.

Live entertainment and other announcements and activities kept participants busy and having fun throughout the night.

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SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Cancer survivor Jane Wilkins and her husband — and caregiver — Artemus enjoy the Survivor's Lap to kick off the 2016 Bulloch County Relay for Life at the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds back in April.

For details please contact Rachel Kirkland, Health Career Camp Coordinator at (912) 478-1590 or rachelkirkland@georgiasouthern.edu.

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Pregnant or hoping to be? Call us soon at 912-871-2000. Take a big step on behalf of your baby.

Gary Sullivan, MD FACOG, FACS

Services Include • Home visits by Registered Nurses • RNs on call 24 hours a day • Assistance with personal hygiene by nurse’s aides • Physical and speech therapy as needed • Support of social workers, volunteers and chaplains as desired

• Payment for medications for symptom management • Supplies and equipment at no cost to the patient • Short-term care in our Inpatient Center when needs are complex or when caregiver respite is needed.

Lisa Rogers, MD FACOG

Our staff and volunteers are known for their caring excellence, performing duties with a deep commitment to the mission of Ogeechee Area Hospice.

Learn About Your Choices by Calling us Today

Obstetrics • Gynecology Women’s Surgery Center

You or your physician may request an evaluation by a Registered Nurse from Ogeechee Area Hospice.

www.StatesboroWomensHealth.com

www.OgeecheeAreaHospice.org

1523 Fair Road • Statesboro • 912-871-2000

912.764.8441 or 800.236.1142

Caring for all eligible patients regardless of their ability to pay.

LICENSE #016-057-H

*Formerly Statesboro OB/GYN Specialists, P.C.

LDP3092-17

Barbara Williams, DO FACOG

4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 5

We make appointments available fast.

Looking for a doctor who can see you quickly? We can help! At East Georgia Primary Care, we treat adults, providing preventive care, treating routine illnesses and helping patients manage serious chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and COPD.

Same-day and walk-in care for your whole family.

At East Georgia Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, we care for every member of your family, from newborns to seniors. We are accepting new patients.

To schedule an appointment, call 912-871-2900. Walk-ins welcome or ask about same-day appointments when scheduling.

To schedule an appointment, call 912-764-2273 and ask about same-day appointments.

Mark Crick, M.D.

Delene Musielak, M.D., FACP, FAAP

Board Certified in Internal Medicine

Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics

4451 Country Club Road, Suite 3A Statesboro

East Georgia Regional Medical Center is owned in part by physicians.

1449 Brampton Ave., Statesboro EastGeorgiaInternalMedPeds.com

Members of the Medical Staff at East Georgia Regional Medical Center.

4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 5

We make appointments available fast.

Looking for a doctor who can see you quickly? We can help! At East Georgia Primary Care, we treat adults, providing preventive care, treating routine illnesses and helping patients manage serious chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and COPD.

Same-day and walk-in care for your whole family.

At East Georgia Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, we care for every member of your family, from newborns to seniors. We are accepting new patients.

To schedule an appointment, call 912-871-2900. Walk-ins welcome or ask about same-day appointments when scheduling.

To schedule an appointment, call 912-764-2273 and ask about same-day appointments.

Mark Crick, M.D.

Delene Musielak, M.D., FACP, FAAP

Board Certified in Internal Medicine

Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics

4451 Country Club Road, Suite 3A Statesboro

East Georgia Regional Medical Center is owned in part by physicians.

1449 Brampton Ave., Statesboro EastGeorgiaInternalMedPeds.com

Members of the Medical Staff at East Georgia Regional Medical Center.

PRIDE HEALTH CARE

6 – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Ogeechee Area Hospice continues under experienced leadership Founder Nancy Bryant handed director's office over to Linda Upchurch in 2016

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

W

hen Linda Upchurch took over as Ogeechee Area Hospice's executive director on June 1, 2016, she did so with more than a decade of experience in the organization, and with high praise from her predecessor, the hospice's founder, Nancy Bryant.

"Linda is so highly respected by our staff that it is going to be, and has been, a wonderful transition, and she really is going to take Ogeechee Area Hospice into a great future," Bryant said then. "Hospices have a lot of challenges now, all over the country, a lot of challenges, but Linda is ready for them."

Upchurch taught through 2015 as an assistant professor in Georgia Southern University's School of Nursing but had also been working with the hospice since late 2004. She took the lead at a hospice that has been in existence for 23 years and had grown to have 85 employees and about 100 volunteers. Completed in two phases, in 2005 and 2012, the hospice's $7 million in-patient and residential facility on Grady Street in Statesboro has 25 beds, but Ogeechee Area Hospice's emphasis remains on providing in-home care when possible.

"The coordination of care is extremely complex whenever you have, on any given day, 70 or 80 patients at home being cared for, and on any given day, with residential and in-patient, an average census of about 12," Bryant said in May 2016.

The only nonprofit hospice in its service area, which includes Bulloch, Candler, Evans, Jenkins, Screven and Tattnall counties and parts of Bryan, Effingham and Emanuel counties, Ogeechee Area Hospice now receives about 450 patients a year.

Add the challenges of funding that care primarily from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance, but in an organization that also serves people who have none of those payment sources, and you get some idea of the responsibilities.

"There could not be a better person, I think anywhere, to take over this position than Dr. Linda Upchurch," Bryant said.

It's her specialty

Upchurch holds a doctorate in nursing practice and has made hospice care her specialization. Attaining her bachelor's degree in nursing at Georgia Southern in 2003, she first worked as a nurse in the intensive care unit at East Georgia Regional Medical Center. Then she joined Ogeechee Area Hospice for the first time, full-time, as a registered nurse case manager.

After receiving her master's degree as an adult nurse practitioner, with a focus in hospice and palliative care, from Vanderbilt University in 2007, Upchurch joined the GS nursing faculty full-time. But she continued to work part-time for the hospice, transitioning to the role of nurse practitioner. Meanwhile, she continued her studies, and was one of the first 11 nurses to attain Georgia Southern's Doctor of Nursing Practice, the highest nurse practitioner degree available, in May 2011.

Ogeechee Area Hospice has always maintained a close relationship with the GS School of Nursing. Bryant taught there for four years before founding the hospice, and GS Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jean Bartels, PhD and RN, who came to GS as chair of the nursing school and then became dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, chaired the Ogeechee Area Hospice board for several years.

AL HACKLE/staff

Dr. Linda Upchurch, left, took over June 1 as executive director of Ogeechee Area Hospice from the hospice's founder, Nancy Bryant, right.

Upchurch was one of two faculty members university-wide to win the 2015 Award for Excellence in Instruction.

"I had a great experience at Georgia Southern, but I always knew that there was something more for me," she said. "Hospice has always been my home."

In teaching, she made a point of having every student in her class do a rotation in hospice care, with rotations available both at Ogeechee Area Hospice and Hospice Savannah.

"What I found is that we teach our nursing students about care of the whole person, but they were leaving out one of the biggest parts of that, and that was end-oflife care, and so I feel very proud that I was able to take that into that role as an educator in teaching our new nurses about endof-life care," Upchurch said.

Most nursing students, she said, come in and want to take care of babies, not thinking at first about taking care of people at the end of their lives.

"It's an important aspect of life,"

Upchurch said. "It's not just death, it's life, until a person dies, and so how do we help people to live until they die? That's what we do here. We focus on life and living, and how can we help somebody to do that in the way that they choose."

They sound alike

In all of this, Upchurch sounds a lot like Bryant, and they traded praise when interviewed together as the transition neared.

Bryant, who has a bachelor's degree in nursing and a master's in community nursing, both from Georgia Southern, was a registered nurse for about 10 years before starting the hospice.

"My main two areas of practice were intensive care and home health, and during all those experiences, I realized that there was a better way and that patients and families really needed a lot of support and care at the end of life, and wanted to stay home," she said.

The hospice movement started in England in the 1960s and spread to the United States by the mid-1970s. But in Statesboro and the surrounding area in the early 1990s, the idea of hospice care was not well known, Bryant said. The nearest hospice agencies were Hospice Savannah and one in Augusta.

"In 1994, here, most people had never heard of hospice care, and at that time if you died at home, it was a coroner's case," Bryant said. "And so it was quite a transition that people experienced, little by little, one family to the next, as far as how being at home could be very, very helpful and intimate."

Bryant did the research needed to establish protocols and standards that continue to guide the hospice, her successor observed. She built a team approach involving social workers, chaplains, nurses, nursing assistants, a doctor as medical director, and volunteers.

"It takes vision to create something like this," Upchurch said. "I don't know if she understands, even, the impact that she's had on this community and in the lives of patients and families in this area."

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statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 7

Magnolia Coastlands AHEC welcomes new director Dr. Jane Nester has more than 25 years of experience Special to the Herald

T

he Magnolia Coastlands Area Health Education Center welcomes its new executive director, Jane Nester, DrPH. The mission of the Magnolia Coastlands AHEC is to support the recruitment, training and retention of a diverse health professions workforce throughout its 39-county service region in southeast Georg ia.

Magnolia Coastlands Nester AHEC is a private, nonprofit 501-c-3 organization that is governed by a volunteer board of directors and is housed on campus at Georgia Southern University's College of Health

and Human Sciences.

Nester has more than 25 years of healthcare leadership experience in management, education, teaching, research and grant writing. She also has worked in the area of undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education. Previously, she worked at the North Carolina AHEC program, where she was executive director of the Greensboro AHEC. In this position, she formed educational partnerships and worked with hospitals, medical schools, physician practice providers, medical clinics and health departments.

Nester has worked at Memorial University Medical Center in medical education administration, and prior to that she worked at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was administrative director and co-principal investigator on the Lowering of Vascular Atherosclerotic Risk, or LOVAR,

initiative and prior to that worked in health promotion and disease prevention and also in education as a counselor and a teacher. She had faculty appointments at UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine and Mercer University School of Medicine in Savannah. She earned her Master of Public Health and Doctor of Public Health at Columbia University.

Nester and her husband are happy to

return to southeast Georgia as she begins her new role at Magnolia Coastlands AHEC. For further information, visit www.magnoliacoastlandsahec.org or call (912) 478-1050.

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MICHAEL J. COX, M.D.

BUFFI BOYD, M.D.

Hurting more than usual below your belly button? It could be something easy to remedy. Or it could be an emergency.

Either way, you can find peace of mind close to home. Because Statesboro is home to three doctors with notable experience in diagnosing pelvic pain— and treating it with uncommon compassion and care. Let us help you back to the best of pelvic health.

Gary Sullivan, MD FACOG, FACS

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Obstetrics • Gynecology Women’s Surgery Center www.StatesboroWomensHealth.com 1523 Fair Road • Statesboro • 912-871-2000 *Formerly Statesboro OB/GYN Specialists, P.C. LDP3093-17

Barbara Williams, DO FACOG

PRIDE HEALTH CARE

8 – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Georgia Southern's Telfair named president-elect of the American Public Health Association Special to the Herald

J

oseph Telfair, DrPH, MSW, MPH, professor of public health practice and research and dual chair of the Department of Community Health and Health Policy and Management at Georgia Southern University, has been named president-elect of the American Public Health Association.

"My approach to, and practice of, leadership is to utilize my knowledge, skills

and experience to researcher. He identify and take has been a public on roles that allow health faculty me to make the member, advogreatest contribucate and leader in tion to public three schools of health," Telfair public health for said. "Having this 23 years, working leadership gives with diverse popme a unique and ulations in comprivileged oppormunity-based Telfair tunity to serve." settings, primary Telfair has nearly care and public health.

31 years of experience as a Telfair is the Karl Peace clinician, community Distinguished Professor of advocate, academic, evalu- Public Health in the Jiannator, project director and Ping Hsu College of Public

Health at Georgia Southern.

As a 28-year member of APHA, Telfair has served in numerous leadership roles, including being a member of both the maternal and child health and social work sections, member and chair of the nominating committee, member of the executive board, finance committee, governance committee, strategic planning committee, social responsibility committee and on the membership

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"Based on my years as a member, I have been fortunate to gain vast experience and knowledge of APHA and have continually demonstrated my commitment to the organization and the cause of public health," he said.

Telfair's name was submitted by his APHA sections and by the Georgia Public Health Association to the association's nominating committee. He and one other candidate were

then selected, and their names were sent forth to a 200-member governing council and 17-member executive board who, after a six-month campaign, elected one of those candidates. Telfair won the election.

The APHA is the nation's and the world's leading public health organization, representing more than 25,000 members from all disciplines of public health in the U.S. and in more than 40 countries.

Can eating fruits and veggies help pregnant women get more sleep?

GS team studies correlation Special to the Herald

associated with sleep duration among pregnant A team of researchers at women, controlling for Georgia Southern confounders. Orange and University recently exam- green vegetable consumpined the association tion were both inversely between fruits and vegeta- associated with sleep durable consumption and sleep tion. Researchers found quantity in pregnant that the odds of meeting or women, utilizing data from exceeding sleep time recthe 2011 and 2012 ommendations increased Behavioral Risk Factors slightly with each unit Surveillance System. All increase in total fruit and women (2,951 total) of vegetable consumption and childbearing age (18–44 for every unit increase in years old) who were preg- fruit consumption. limited orthodontics braces and invisalign nant and responded to all Dr. Kelly Sullivan, assisfruit and vegetable con- tant professor of epidemiolsumption and sleep dura- ogy at the Jiann-Ping Hsu tion questions were includ- College of Public Health at Most Dental Insurance Accepted ed. Covariates included age, GS, was the faculty mentorrace, education level, exer- ing author of the study.

Student authors were cise and marital status.

Researchers found that Carmen H. Duke, Jazmin A. 219 SAVANNAH AVE, total daily fruit and vegeta- Williamson, Kassandra R. STATESBORO, GA 30458 LDP-3086-17prideBleedAd_3086SWHSpridead 2/15/17 9:35 1 and Kathryn C. Finch. ble consumption was AM notPageSnook

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Maybe it is time to see us about that unusual bleeding.

Lots of women bleed between their periods now and then. But if you’re soaking pads or tampons hourly, you have a fever or new pain, you’re in menopause, or you might be pregnant, it’s important to see a doctor soon.

Call us today at 912-871-2000.

Because suffering needlessly is just a bloody shame.

Gary Sullivan, MD FACOG, FACS

Lisa Rogers, MD FACOG

Obstetrics • Gynecology Women’s Surgery Center www.StatesboroWomensHealth.com 1523 Fair Road • Statesboro • 912-871-2000 *Formerly Statesboro OB/GYN Specialists, P.C. LDP3086-17

Barbara Williams, DO FACOG

2017 Community

Pride Industry

Growth, investment continue in Bulloch County

PRIDE INDUSTRY

2 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Plank & Tile: It's cool

Showroom is designed as flooring destination

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

The owners of Plank & Tile want to make their 8,500-square-foot showroom on U.S. Highway 301 South a destination for homeowners and designers, while also doing commercial and residential floor and floorcovering installation from Savannah to Atlanta.

A married couple, Roger and Tiffany Guerrero, are the management. He is the company’s owner and president, while she is the vice president of operations. So far, the company has seven employees, including the Guerreros.

Roger Guerrero has been in the floor covering and home furnishing business for 16 years. Most of Tiffany Guerrero’s career has been in sales, marketing and media.

AL HACKLE/Herald file She was regional sales manager for Northland The Plank & Tile sales team, from left to right, company president Roger Guerrero, director of sales Steve Brown and sales Cable, and most recently representative Brandon Brannen, market flooring products to customers from Savannah to Atlanta, and Statesboro. worked in human resourcSince opening in early tile, wood, carpet, laminate es at Great Dane. But the Modern hexagon tiles, “We want to cater to the couple previously owned June, the Plank & Tile team and specialty flooring – are glass tile, mosaics and builders and the new another floorcovering has continued to work a now in place. marble looks, and porce- homeowners,” she said.

“We have new things lain-look marble tiles are store, so she has experience transformation of the building that was previ- coming in every day,” also trending, she said. Spaces for kids, designers in the business, too.

“Quite possibly the ously home to the Yamaha Guerrero said. “Everything Plank & Tile carries Datile “We’re here for designcoolest flooring store ever,” of Statesboro motorcycle you can think of, from tile tiles, MSI wood-look tiles, ers as well,” Guerrero said. to carpet, wood; you name and Du Chateau higher- “We have a workspace, a is a tagline Plank & Tile dealership.

A few professional it, we have it. … The hot end real-wood flooring, table for designers to sit uses to promote itself.

“That is definitely our showroom displays are still thing right now is wood- among other brands. with their clients. It’s very goal,” said Tiffany being made for the new look tile, and we have plenThe company is aiming important that they know Guerrero. “We’re almost store. But most of the dis- ty of that to offer, in beau- at mid- to high-end quali- they can come in and make plays – of tile, wood-look tiful selection.” there.” ty, Guerrero said. themselves comfortable.”

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Open to the rest of the showroom, this design table is in a rear corner of the store, near the store’s little design library, shelves of books filled with samples and decorating ideas.

Near the opposite, front corner of the store, are two other destination features.

The kids’ area has a wallmounted television, little tables and chairs and buckets of crayons.

The centerpiece of Plank & Tile’s conference room is a table that Roger Guerrero put together, with a glass top over weathered, painted boards in varied colors, which his wife said were salvaged from houses in Savannah.

The base is a library table that was left in the building by previous occupants.

The company is offering this conference room as a free meeting space.

“Come sit a spell, have a meeting, check out some floors,” she said. “It just helps with word-of-mouth, and it’s fun, so why not?”

With word of mouth and some newspaper advertising, Plank & Tile pulled in customers in its first month in business, and has also been reaching out to do installations across the state, Guerrero said.

“We do a lot of work in Statesboro and Savannah, and even up to Atlanta,” she said.

The orders in Atlanta are mostly big, commercial jobs, including some from colleges, such as an art college, she said.

The store also displays some wall tile and will add some pillows, area rugs, and accent items, but floorcovering is definitely the focus, Guerrero said.

Manufacturing is key to Bulloch economy Every year local and state leaders set aside a week to recognize the impact manufacturing has on the Georgia economy.

In Bulloch County, we have six manufacturing facilities: Braswell's, Briggs & Stratton, Brodie Meter, Great Dane Trailers, Loxscreen and Viracon.

Combined, these manufacturers directly employ 1,729 people in Bulloch County according to a study done by the Georgia Southern University Bureau of Business Research and Economic Development.

The report goes on to say that manufacturing activities support 2,186 secondary jobs. These jobs are in other industries such as healthcare and social services, entertainment and recreation, food services and others. The average salary for employees working in local manufacturing is $45,820. These companies provide wonderful opportunities and growth potential for people with varying skills and education.

"We are growing a strong, diverse economy in Bulloch County with healthcare and manufacturing leading the way," said Dominique Halaby, director of the Business Innovation Group for Georgia Southern. "When you include GSU into the mix, it proves that we are not just a university town but a growing economic base. It further proves we are a thriving economic hub.This combination creates a nice robust mix of jobs and continues to drive up skill sets and calibers of jobs, further building a smaller eco system which parallels a larger city."

DeWayne Grice The total impact from manufacturing is estimated in the report to be nearly $676 million annually. An additional $147 million is added to the local Gross Regional Product as a result of local purchases made by manufacturers and their employees. These purchases generate a secondary impact of $138 million in GRP. "Manufacturing week gives us a chance to recognize a critical part of our economy," said Benji Thompson, CEO for the Development Authority of Bulloch County. "Local consumers don't buy a Great Dane Trailer or architectural glass typically.

So, this sector is not as obvious as other industries.

Local manufacturers have a huge impact on our tax base, which in effect helps lowers everyone's property tax bill annually. Gateway Industrial Park alone has over 2,000 employees working in various plants.

Thanks to these companies, our community has shown that we have stable, world-renowned manufacturers that call Bulloch home."

One of the first companies to locate in Gateway Industrial Park was Viracon, who specializes in architectural glass. Four years ago, Viracon made a significant investment in modernizing and retooling their plant. They are now one of the largest manufacturing employers in Bulloch County.

"Obviously Viracon remains' bullish on Bulloch," said Rick Farmer, Viracon plant manager.

"Our $6 million investment in equipment and facility upgrades in 2012 has positioned us to continue to capitalize on the resurgence of growth in construction around the world.

"Our dedicated workforce of 400 employees enjoys the quality of life this community offers.

They join us in continuing to support the community in every way possible. Our production outlook remains favorable and we remain very optimistic for the upcoming fiscal year.

Our partnership with Georgia Southern's Engineering Intern Programs has helped us recruit qualified candidates. allowing us to keep skills and depth in our community."

With a new industrial park almost complete at the highly marketable intersection of 301 South and I-16 and creative partnerships with the Bulloch Board of Education, Ogeechee Technical College, East Georgia State University and Georgia Southern University, our community is positioning itself well to capitalize on significant industrial growth. he impact of the harbor deepening and subsequent port expansion at the Port of Savannah alone could be a tremendous windfall for Bulloch County.

If you have a family member or friend working in the manufacturing industry, use this as a reminder to thank them for being a critical part of our diverse economy.

PRIDE INDUSTRY

statesboroherald.com | Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 3

MD Plastics plans expansion Company employs 80 at Brooklet plant

By DeWAYNE GRICE dgrice@statesboroherald.com

Since acquiring Loxcreen in Brooklet in 2012, MD Building Products (headquartered in Oklahoma City) has been working on enhancing the Plastics Group’s traditions and overall business in order to remain a

leader in the plastic extrusion market.

Founded in 1965 as Loxcreen, the MD Plastics Group currently employs 80 men and women to operate its 75,000-squarefoot facility in southern Bulloch County. MD Plastics Group manufactures plastic extrusions and building products that are sold across the U.S., Canada and abroad.

From parts that protect children’s fingers from slamming doors to weather stripping that keeps entry doors sealed, MD Plastics Group in Brooklet has delivered quality plastic extrusions to homes across America and Canada for

over 50 years.

MD Plastics Group manufactures plastic

extrusions, which are custom made for industries across America.

They produce six million pounds of flexible and rigid plastic profiles annually in the Brooklet plant alone.

These profiles are extruded in every color, size and shape imaginable.

Their custom profiles and component parts are utilized by industries such as commercial refrigeration, windows, doors and golf carts.

You can also find their extruded products at national retailers like Lowe’s and Home Depot.

Currently MD Plastics Group is focused on growth. They have plans to significantly increase sales which will result in adding

to the size of the plant in 2018.

Along with this expansion, is the need to increase their labor force.

In fact, the company is currently looking to recruit highly mechanically inclined people who can add to the skilled workforce of the Brooklet plant.

To learn more about MD Plastics Group, visit their website at www. mdteam.com.

For employment opportunities please send your resume to Adam Sellers at adam.sel lers@mdteam. com.

MD Plastics group is located at 3715 Leefield Road in Brooklet.

Line-X adapts, stays productive Line-X and its front man show how it’s done

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

Answering a phone call from someone wanting a bed liner installed in a truck, Jason Beard takes the order by clinching the flat end of a mouth stick in his teeth and applying the pointed end quickly and precisely to an iPad. When another customer walks into the Line-X Southeast Customs showroom to ask about tinted windows, Beard rests the mouth stick in one of two holders for these on the desk top of his motorized chair and speaks to the customer without missing a beat.

“As technology evolves, I usually get more productive,” Beard said.

Now 39, Beard has been quadriplegic since a diving accident in the Savannah River when he was 18, the AL HACKLE/Herald filef Fourth of July after he Jason Beard, right, and his brother Trenton are shown in the lobby of the Line-X office in Statesboro. The brothers, who lead graduated from Screven Line-X Southeast Customs, have been working together in the evolving business for almost 20 years.

County High School in 1995.

Coach Chuck Conley fin- joystick and a sip-andHe used voice com- Beard brothers and their At Line-X Southeast ished second in the state in puff air tube control. mand software to good mom, Wanda – and hanCustoms, Jason Beard’s Class AA, losing the cham- Award-winning turkey effect when he was taking dles the outside sales. voice is the first that most pionship to Washington caller Kerry Terrell is his classes at Georgia These two men have been callers hear. His face is the County, which fielded hunting buddy.

Southern, writing papers working together in this first that most customers future NFL linebacker For work, Beard’s adap- by talking to his computer. evolving family business see when they enter the Takeo Spikes and an tive devices are limited to But in a business setting since their father, Earl, a door. He handles about 90 unusual number of rising the mouth sticks he keeps where he is constantly diesel mechanic, started percent of the in-store college players. So it’s no handy and the sip-and- talking to people by phone with help from his boys in sales, schedules customer surprise that Beard remains puff that steers his wheel- and in person, multitask- his backyard shop in appointments, issues pay- an active sports fan, and chair. Otherwise, his ing with voice controls Sylvania in 1997. Earl ments to vendors, and does especially enjoys attending mobile desk top carries would not work well, he Beard is no longer active some of the billing.

Georgia Southern the iPad and a phone such explained. in the business, having “Jason, he’s the face of University Eagles games. as anyone might use, plus Both Beard brothers turned it over to his sons. the store, the front, as well a wireless keyboard and took a number of courses Trenton has been part as behind the scenes, he Adapted for hunting mouse for accessing the at Georgia Southern, but of it since he was a teendoes a lot of the actual But he also enjoys going office computer. got too involved with their ager learning to drive. bookwork,” said his broth- turkey and deer hunting.

The interface with the growing business to grad- First, father and sons had er, Trenton Beard.

“This time of year, tur- office system is necessary uate. fixed up a pickup for Jason In high school, Jason key hunting is the priori- only for QuickBooks to drive when he turned Beard was a three-year ty,” Beard said with a invoicing, with files too A family story 16. When it was time for starting defensive end on chuckle. large for a tablet to easily As CEO, Trenton Beard, Trenton to benefit from the football team. His He is able to aim and handle, he said. For every- 34, runs the shop, manag- the same rite of passage, senior year, the Screven fire a shotgun or rifle thing else, he loves the es the employees – six at he wanted a sprayed-in County Gamecocks under using a combination of a iPad’s touchscreen. last count besides the bed liner, and when the

Beards couldn’t find anyone in the area whose work gave them confidence, they attended a Line-X demonstration in the Atlanta area, he said.

In 2003, the Beards made Line-X and vehicle accessories a full-time business in Sylvania. The location worked as long as most of their orders were wholesale, through car dealerships, Jason said, but as car dealers struggled in the recession years, the Beards wanted to reach more direct retail customers.

They moved to a Statesboro shop at the end of 2009, opened it in the spring of 2010, and expanded in 2011, the brothers said.

As the name Line-X Southeast Customs indicates, it is a Line-X franchise.

But they sell and install more than bed liners.

Employees include Line-X technician Benji Wiley, suspension and 12-volt specialist Dylan Bacon, window tint specialist Rusty Deal, administrative assistant Monica Otero, and, part-time, GSU engineering students Zack Mc P h e r s o n and Christopher Ryjkoff.

When interviewed two weeks ago, the Beards were advertising to hire a fulltime mobile electronics specialist.

The electronic accessories they carry include navigation systems, in addition to car and truck audio. For trucks, they also sell tool boxes, grill guards, lift kits, wheels and tires.

“We do most any aftermarket accessory to cars or trucks,” Jason said.

For now, Line-X Southeast Customs is at 801 South Main Street, Suite B, in the building with Party Impressions.

But the Beards expect to announce a move to a new location, probably keeping the current one for warehousing, this year, and possibly within a month.

“This year will bring the third expansion in basically six years,” Trenton said.

Dunham's Sports opens in Statesboro Dunham’s Sports, one of the nation’s largest sporting goods chains, held its grand opening in Statesboro last November.

Store hours for the Northside Drive location in the Southern Square Shopping Center near Kmart are MondaySaturday, 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We are excited to be opening a store in the Statesboro community,” said Jeff Lynn, chairman and chief executive officer

of Dunham’s Athleisure Corporation. “Dunham’s prides itself on providing our customers with a wide variety of top-quality, value-oriented, name-brand merchandise at everyday low prices.”

The opening of the Statesboro location is the second Dunham’s Sports in Georgia and marks more than 225 stores chain wide. The new Statesboro store offers a full line of traditional sporting goods and athletic equipment, as well as a wide variety of

active and casual sports apparel and footwear featuring Under Armour, Nike, Adidas, Reebok and more.

“We keep our customers coming back because of our continued commitment to provide the largest selections at the lowest prices,” Lynn said.

There will also be a large selection of athletic and outdoor apparel, a fitness department, plus a large value area.

The expanded hunting department will offer

brands like Remington, Rocky, Bushnell and Barnett.

The store also will have a Fairway Center golf shop featuring top golf brands such as Taylormade, Titleist, Callaway and more.

Lynn said, Dunham’s strives to save the people living in our local communities’ money with pro-

grams like Dunham’s Rewards, the Team Program and the Company Program.

The Team Program

allows coaches of youth sports teams to sign their team up for a money-saving weekend so kids can get all the equipment they need to participate in sports.

Dunham’s was founded in 1937 in Detroit as Dunham’s Bait and Tackle.

You can join Dunham’s Facebook page at www. facebook.com/dunhamss portinggoods

4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

M-D Plastics Group Since opening in 1965, the MD Plastics Group, employs 80 men and women to operate its 75,000 square foot facility. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, MD Plastics Group manufactures plastic extrusions and building products that are also sold across the U.S., Canada and abroad.

QUALITY AT HOME From parts that protect your children’s fingers from slamming doors to weather strip that keeps your entry doors sealed, MD Plastics Group in Brooklet, Georgia has delivered quality plastic extrusions to homes across America and Canada for over 50 years.

PLASTIC EXTRUSIONS, CUSTOM MADE FOR INDUSTRIES ACROSS AMERICA. MD Plastics Group manufactures six million pounds of flexible and rigid plastic profiles annually. Extruded in every color, size, and shape imaginable, the custom profiles and component parts are utilized by industries such as, commercial refrigeration, window, door, and golf cart. You can also find our products at retailers like Lowe’s and Home Depot.

If interested in applying, please send your resume to

adam.sellers@mdteam.com

M-D Plastics Group 3715 Leefield Rd, Brooklet, GA, 30415 TOLL FREE: 1.800.569.5005 www.mdteam.com

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 5

4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

M-D Plastics Group Since opening in 1965, the MD Plastics Group, employs 80 men and women to operate its 75,000 square foot facility. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, MD Plastics Group manufactures plastic extrusions and building products that are also sold across the U.S., Canada and abroad.

QUALITY AT HOME From parts that protect your children’s fingers from slamming doors to weather strip that keeps your entry doors sealed, MD Plastics Group in Brooklet, Georgia has delivered quality plastic extrusions to homes across America and Canada for over 50 years.

PLASTIC EXTRUSIONS, CUSTOM MADE FOR INDUSTRIES ACROSS AMERICA. MD Plastics Group manufactures six million pounds of flexible and rigid plastic profiles annually. Extruded in every color, size, and shape imaginable, the custom profiles and component parts are utilized by industries such as, commercial refrigeration, window, door, and golf cart. You can also find our products at retailers like Lowe’s and Home Depot.

If interested in applying, please send your resume to

adam.sellers@mdteam.com

M-D Plastics Group 3715 Leefield Rd, Brooklet, GA, 30415 TOLL FREE: 1.800.569.5005 www.mdteam.com

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 5

PRIDE INDUSTRY

6 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Big Kat Buggy earns honors Rackleff's family fun wagon wins national trade show awards

for the Big Kat Buggy. A power box that will charge phones and could power future accessories, such as a fan, lights or a bait aerator for anglers, is also in development.

Family-inspired

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

With his trademarked Big Kat Buggy and its innovative hitch mount, Statesboro-based entrepreneur Kevin Rackleff has made two winning trips to Vegas this year.

At the Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show in January, the sturdy handpulled wagon that doubles as a motor vehicle's cargo carrier won a "big pitch" on Fox Business in June. The Big Kat also claimed two top awards at the even larger National Hardware Show in early May. But the biggest prizes yet may be the deal Rackleff landed with camouflage-brand Mossy Oak and further offers from discussions he has underway with big-box retail AL HACKLE/Herald file chains.

"We've been blown away Kevin Rackleff and his Big Kat Buggy have hauled home several awards from trade shows this year. The wagon, which with the response that doubles as a trailer-hitch mounted cargo hauler for beach trips, sports tailgating and family outings, was chosen Best we've had at these shows Overall Tailgate Product at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, where it also garnered the Retailers' Choice Award. with retailers, and we've done about four or five dif- program about new prod- to us because it was coming camo-covered products largest market. ferent ones," Rackleff said. ucts fox Business aired. from the retailers," Rackleff market, especially in the "That will give custom"We've done two major South.

At the National Hardware said. ers another option," he shows and have a third one Show, held in early May, also "Because they're excited, said. "We've got a very good Meanwhile, the Tailgater coming up." in Las Vegas, Rackleff was Magazine award brought we're excited, because they wheel that's all-purpose.

Rackleff will be exhibit- one of more than 2,800 the product recognition in have the brand recogni- However, across loose sand ing his product at the expo exhibitors. More than the magazine. tion," Rackleff said. "They and what not, the Wheel called simply Outdoor 20,000 people, many of have a lot of respect in the Eez upgrade will be a better Retailer, Aug. 3–6, in Salt them industry professionals, Mossy Oak deal industry." option."

Lake City. They can't all be attended the four-day event.

The recent licensing Meanwhile, he also has a He is also patenting a in Vegas.

When it was over, the Big deal with Mossy Oak deal with a company called Big Kat cooler. The cooler But the Las Vegas Kat Buggy had been chosen means that Big Kat Buggies Wheel Eez, which will make and Mossy Oak products Convention Center was for both the Retailers Choice in Mossy Oak camo pat- an axle set with wide, inflat- are still in development. where Kevin Harrington, Award and Tailgater terns will be sold both on able tires, to be sold as an But Rackley had a Big Kat one of the original "Sharks" Magazine's Best Overall www.bigkatbuggy1.com upgrade to the Big Kat equipped with the Wheel on the TV show "Shark Tailgate Product Award. and by Mossy Oak in pro- Buggy. These will substitute Eez upgrade on hand, as a Tank," hosted The Big Pitch A panel representing motional activities such as for the hard plastic wheels prototype, in his office. competition during the national retailers, such as a sports team product cat- on the original model and His website already sells Sports Licensing and Ace Hardware, selected the alogue, Rackleff said. be better for beach use, rail-mount fishing rod Tailgate Show. Rackleff 's Retailers Choice winner.

Mossy Oak is a company which Rackleff thinks may holders and umbrellas and product and pitch garnered "That award meant a lot with a large presence in ultimately be the Big Kat's a cargo net as accessories a five-minute segment in a

Rackleff, whose three children are now teenagers, got the idea that became the Big Kat Buggy about three years ago, when his family began making frequent road trips for recreational sports. He saw the struggles people had unloading gear for a day at the ballpark.

"A lot of families would take these collapsible wagons and put in coolers, their tents, chairs, all that kind of stuff for the day, pull it all into the ballpark and then bring it all out that afternoon, and I'd watch them unpack it and fold it back up and cram it all back in their SUV," Rackleff said.

Technicians in the machine shop at his solid waste transport company, Rackleff Enterprises, created the prototypes, including the retractable mechanism that allows the wagon to be mounted like a cargo carrier on the back of a motor vehicle with a receiver hitch. The wagon's pull handle also slides in for transport.

Rackleff worked with Innovative Design Products, or IDP, of Irvine, California, to refine the design for mass production and practicality. He also worked with a patent law firm on protections for the innovative features. The wagons are made of highstrength plastic, aluminum and stainless steel.

The Big Kat Buggy is manufactured in China to his specifications. After an initial order of 1,000 earlier this year, he has ordered 5,000 more and expects delivery in September.

From there, the level of future production will depend on his negotiations with big-box retailers and sporting goods companies.

"Yes, you can buy them on our website, but our ultimate goal is to partner with retailers and sell wholesale," Rackleff said.

Southern Scapes arrives Landscaping firm purchases Wise’s retail nursery

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

With the purchase of Wise Nurseries’ retail garden center in Statesboro, Brian Powell has expanded his landscaping company, Statesboro Southern Scapes Inc., to include a retail location, and also intends to make landscape design services a larger part of the business.

As of Jan. 1, the Highway 80 East site, which includes a small store and irrigated outdoor growing spaces outfitted variously for sunloving and shade-needing plants, became Southern Scapes Nursery.

Powell bought the garden center from Wise Nurseries owner Matthew Wise, who had operated it since 2004. Wise Nurseries, in business since 1996, continues to operate as a wholesale nursery based in Pembroke.

In fact, Wise Nurseries

AL HACKLE/Herald file

Statesboro Southern Scapes owner Brian Powell, center, expanded his business with the addition of the Wise Nurseries Garden Center, including manager and landscape consultant Bill Renz, right, and assistant manager Adam Sturgill, left. was the source of Southern Scapes’ plant materials all along. Powell started his landscaping business in 2004. After going to Andrew College in Cuthbert for an Associate Degree in business, he attended Georgia Southern

University for a year, meanwhile starting his work as a landscape installer.

“It just snowballed and took off,” Powell said.

Before the purchase of the garden center, Statesboro Southern

Scapes’ range of services encompassed landscaping installation and maintenance, irrigation installation, lawn maintenance and pest management.

Powell is keeping all of these, and the existing Southern Scapes office at

227 South Zetterower Ave. Up until now, the landscaping arm of the business did mostly high-end residential installations, for which the firm did design work in-house.

“Our focus was to have the type of install customers who would want us to maintain that landscape and keep a long-term relationship,” Powell said. “So that’s kind of been the goal, and it’s been a pretty successful method.”

With the addition of the garden center, he hopes to attract even more demand for that sort of turn-key landscaping. But the nursery will also accommodate customers who simply want to buy plants, as well as homeowners who want Southern Scapes to design their landscape and provide the material but then let the homeowner install it.

“If a customer wants to do something on their own, we can offer designing services, and then we can actually go out and lay the pots out, the plant material out for that customer if they still want to do the install themselves, all the do-it-yourselfers,” Powell said. “That’s something that’s really uncommon, at least in this community.”

Designs by Renz Bill Renz, who was manager of the garden center for Wise and worked with that company about seven years, has come over to Southern Scapes in that capacity, but will now also go to customer locations for design work and consulting.

“It gives them so much more freedom and options at different levels. … I like to think of it as coaching,” Renz said. “If they decide to take that option, we can coach them through the entire process, or offer just to go ahead and let us take care of it, turnkey.”

Pest control Powell’s father, Tim Powell, who has a bachelor’s degree in pest management and plant protection from the University of Georgia and more than 35 years of experience in the pesticide business, is the company’s pest management expert. Eradicating lawn weeds is a big part of this branch of the business, which also includes control of insects and plant diseases.

“By the spring we actually are going to be introducing mosquito control, so we’re just kind of trying to cover all the bases,” said Brian Powell.

PRIDE INDUSTRY

statesboroherald.com | Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 7

Viracon still on the upswing Boro plant fabricating glass for Falcons Stadium

By DeWAYNE GRICE dgrice@statesboroherald.com

Viracon continues to put Bulloch County on the map with their high profile projects around the globe featuring glass products manufactured in the Statesboro Viracon plant.

One of the most exciting projects they are working on now is the manufacturing of 110,000 square feet of RE 46 high performance glass for the new Mercedes Benz Falcons stadium in Atlanta. The historic stadium will be one of the most state of the art, innovative facilities of its kind in the world when completed. It will be a showplace for the world and a signature part of the stadium was constructed right here in Statesboro.

AL HACKLE/Herald File “Obviously Viracon remains’ bullish on Using a glass manipulator equipped with large suction cups, Viracon employees Charles Burke, left, and Tim Wise, right, Bulloch,” said Rick Farmer, among his reflections, rack glass panels unloaded from the line after the heat-treating process.

Viracon plant manager. equipment and facility the resurgence of growth in force of 430 employees They join us in continuing “The $6 million investment upgrades has positioned us construction around the enjoys the quality of life to support the community we made a few years ago in to continue to capitalize on world. Our dedicated work- this community offers. in every way possible.

“Our production outlook remains favorable and we are very optimistic for the upcoming fiscal year.

Our partnership with Georgia Southern’ s ‘Engineering Intern Program’ and Statesboro High School’s workforce development program has helped us recruit qualified candidates from the GSU engineering program and SHS allowing us to keep skills and depth in our community.”

Giving back is important. One way Viracon does this is by teaching a 10-hour OSHA safety class to students at Statesboro High who want to enter the manufacturing field.

The class is one way they can immediately give students an edge when entering the manufacturing workforce.

Also, Viracon focuses on “Continuous Improvement and Lean” as one of their key initiatives to improve quality, respond to market demands and lower operating costs. Through these initiatives, and a great mix of talented employees, Viracon Statesboro is at a really good place balancing safety, quality, throughput and profitability.

Viracon has high expectations for their team and the Statesboro-Bulloch community. They expect 2017 to be a banner year for the plant.

Lewis Color merges with Savannah firm Lewis Color of Statesboro recently completed a merger with DX Marketing based in Savannah. DX Marketing offers targeted marketing to firms, services that include research and data analytics, GIS mapping, creative services and commercial printing.

Under joint ownership, the new entity will operate under the moniker “DX Print.” The merger allows DXM to focus its resources on its core services data management and digital marketing. They will continue to operate those services from its MLK Boulevard office in Savannah.

In addition to offering high quality print and fulfillment services to its direct mail clients, DXM clients will have expanded manufacturing capacity and access to new printing technology with Lewis Color.

Through the merger, Lewis Color will see their annual revenue jump from $5.5 million to more than $21 million. Most of the employees have relocated from Savannah to Statesboro, increasing the full-time employee count to 52 at the Lewis Color building on Joe Kennedy Blvd., behind Ogeechee Technical College.

In addition to relocating the printing and direct mail equipment from Savannah, Lewis Color has added three more digital presses. They are also preparing to expand the 36,000-square-foot facility to about 53,000 square feet to accommodate the growth.

“The past year-and-ahalf has been pivotal for DX Marketing,” said DXM company President Ray Owens. “We have firmly established ourselves as a data-driven targeted marketing firm and we knew it was time to bring the print side of our business under the management of someone who can continue to meet the growing demands of our direct mail clients.

We found the perfect partner in Lewis Color because they share our passion for excellence and they treat employees like family. I am

most gratified that we were able to accomplish the merger with 100-percent employee retention.”

Lewis Color President Tommy Lewis said: “DX Marketing has a healthy stable of long-term clients they bring into this merger so it is important that we continue serving them with no disruption and with the same knowledgeable employee teams they have grown accustom to.

The added value for customers is that recent investments we’ve made in new technologies will allow us to maximize the capabilities of DXM’s print business to produce an even better finished product.”

Lewis Color was founded in 1961 by Tommy’s parents Walter and Sara Lewis. The Lewis’s used their tax refund that year to purchase a small press and started the business at their home. They later moved the business to Highway 80 West and operated the printing and office supply business there until they built the current facility behind Ogeechee Tech in 1993.

The Lewis children: Cindy (Bowers), Tommy and Randy acquired the business a few years later and now Tommy, Randy and Randy’s son Justin own the business. Walter continues to check in on the “boys” daily. In return, they have continued to stay true to the basic tenants of success instilled in them by their dad.

They have a strong reputation in the market for being a high quality, customer-centric business.

The entire Lewis family continues to be very community minded and heavily engaged in a variety of community projects.

In the three decades that I have followed the success of Lewis Color they have led the industry by investing in cutting edge technology. Also, they have sought innovative ways to adapt to the highly volatile changes in the printing industry. Seeing a niche in the early 90s, they focused more on becoming a trade printer. This led to heavy

DeWayne Grice growth in the business as they become the outsourcing printer for smaller print operations throughout the area. The model, however, is very volume focused with narrow margins.

The merger with DXM allows them an entry back into the retail side of the business, where the margins are better and increases their ability to manage

DeWAYNE GRICE/Herald file

Justin, Tommy and Randy Lewis are shown in the printing area of the Lewis Color plant in Statesboro. large, custom-printed direct mail projects. The

Statesboro Post Office will see a boon in business as

DX Print is projecting more than $10 million in direct mail postage purchased and processed through the Statesboro branch, which will dramatically increase their volume.

This merger is yet another exciting example of businesses in our community engineering opportunities for growth in market segments that are often depressed.

With the Lewis families’ continued investments and entrepreneurial spirit, I expect them to leverage this opportunity for even more impressive growth in the years to come.

ShowcaSing our community to the world

Proud to announce

joining our industrial partners: BRIGGS & STRATTON • GREAT DANE TRAILERS BRODIE INTERNATIONAL • VIRACON • SESOLINC WALMART DISTRIBUTION • BRASWELL’S • THE SACK COMPANY M-D PLASTICS • GAF • ASPEN AEROGELS

AdvAntAgeBulloch.com DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF BULLOCH COUNTY

8 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

PRIDE INDUSTRY

2017 Community

Pride Lifestyles

Deal’s facelift adds new furniture showcase

PRIDE LIFESTYLES

2 – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

FBI honors fallen hero Chester McBride's family presented with flag flown over base where he served

By HOLLI DEAL SAXON hbragg@statesboroherald.com

T

he family of a fallen local hero was gifted in April with the presentation of an American flag that was flown in his honor over the military base where he served in Afghanistan following his death.

United States Air Force Staff Sgt. Chester McBride, a Statesboro native and 2003 graduate of Statesboro High School, was killed on Dec. 21, 2015, along with five fellow American troops when a suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden motorcycle into a joint NATO-Afghan patrol near Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military facility in Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

According to reports, McBride actually shielded the linguist assigned to his patrol during the explosion, saving the linguist's life as he absorbed the worst of the blast.

The Statesboro community gave tribute to McBride on New Year's Day in 2016 as his body was returned home, turning out in droves for a solemn parade and later filling Georgia Southern University's Hanner Fieldhouse for an emotional memorial service.

On April 18, the Statesboro and Atlanta offices of the Federal

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Special Agent Marcus Kirkland, center, of the Statesboro FBI office gives Annie McBride a hug after presenting her and husband Chester McBride Sr. with a flag from the base where their son, Chester McBride Jr., served with the Georgia National Guard in Afghanistan.

Bureau of Investigation added to the show of appreciation for McBride's sacrifice by presenting his family with the flag.

McBride was looking forward to a career with the FBI and had received a letter of acceptance from the agency. He planned to begin as a special agent after retiring from service when he returned home.

During the presentation ceremony in City Hall's council chambers, Atlanta FBI Special Agent-inCharge J. Britt Johnson spoke first, telling the McBride family how Chester had enjoyed "a close relationship" with the agency and was considered "part of the family."

The son of Chester R. McBride Jr. and Annie L. McBride, Chester McBride

Chester McBride Jr. had been deployed several times and began his most recent deployment in October 2015 on a volunteer basis.

Angela Tobon, assistant special agent-in-charge of the Atlanta FBI office, told the family that McBride's smile was "infectious and genuine" and that "he held a place close in our hearts from day one."

Statesboro FBI Special Agent Marcus Kirkland also spoke with the family, sharing personal memories of McBride.

McBride's family expressed appreciation for the gesture.

"It was very thoughtful and touching," Annie McBride said as she stood beside her husband, who held the framed flag close.

"People say he was a hero, but he was my son. To me, he was everything. He was my baby and has always been my hero, ever since I first laid eyes on him."

Chester was her only son, she said. His sister, Latrell Zeigler, accompanied her parents to the ceremony, as did family friend Aretha Clisby.

"I know how badly Chester wanted to be part of the FBI," Clisby said. "I remember when he got his acceptance letter."

She smiled through tears as she recalled her close friend.

"He was absolutely the same person he was behind closed doors as he was on the outside," she said. "I told him how proud I was, how much I admired and respected him. I always looked up to him."

Assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 405, out of Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, McBride was one of six Air Force personnel who died in the attack. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations lost three men and one woman, a major, that day. Two other Air Force-enlisted men who died were with the 105th Security Forces Squadron out of Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York.

Humanitarian of the Year

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Chris Yaughn expresses his appreciation after being named Humanitarian of the Year during the 28th annual Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind Awards gala at the NessmithLane Conference Center in March.

Dancing with the Statesboro Stars

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Devon Thompson shows off some fancy moves during the opening ensemble number of Dancing with the Statesboro Stars back in October.

PRIDE LIFESTYLES

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 3

Deal's facelift adds new furniture showcase

By AL HACKLE ahackle@statesboroherald.com

A

fter playing a part in so many customers' lifestyle changes over the years, Deal's Furniture and Mattress Outlet is undergoing a little front-end makeover of its own.

The family-owned business has been around for 41 years now. Owner Craig Deal and his sister Gail NeSmith, the gift shop manager and company secretary-treasurer, built their reputation on selling new mattresses and furniture by top makers, but often purchased at discount prices, and gifts for all occasions or none, as well as used furniture and collectible

items. Craig Deal's son, Matt, is the other Deal helping operate the business started by his grandfather, the late John E. Deal, in 1976.

Expected to be completed within a month, an addition of about 1,000 square feet, with glass on the front and one side, will create a new main entrance to the store. It will also provide a display area for Deal's higher-grade new bedroom suits, dining sets and furniture such as sofas, loveseats and recliners.

"It's just a showcase, basically, in the front so that we can let people know that we are a furniture store," NeSmith said.

The highly visible renovation adds only a fraction

to the total footprint of the store, which is on Georgia Highway 67 not far from the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds. Deal's already had more than 25,000 square feet of showroom space and about 45,000 square feet of warehouse space.

Deal's remains in full operation while the construction work proceeds.

Just behind the new showcase, the gift shop portion of the store will also expand a little, NeSmith said. Craig and Matt Deal are both Georgia Southern graduates, and the shop is well known for its college-themed items, especially Eagles and Georgia Bulldogs merchandise. But the gift shop

also carries fashion jewelry, handbags and decorative home accessories. The selection of T-shirts includes some lines unique to Deal's.

Deal's laser engraving machine has now been in use through two Christmas seasons. Picture frames, knives, travel mugs, keychains, pens and coasters are some of the items available to be personalized by engraving.

Deal's Furniture and Mattress Outlet has added Magnussen to its lines of new furniture, which also include Vaughan-Bassett, Jackson Furniture and Jackson's Catnapper label.

The store also carries Liberty Furniture, Home Elegance, Ashley

and Klaussner.

The A&H Woodworking line includes finished and unfinished handmade pine furniture, Craig Deal said.

In mattresses, the Serta and Simmons Beautyrest labels, now actually from the same maker, are Deal's premier lines. The store also carries Corsicana, along with other mattress lines from overstock purchases.

"We also specialize in adjustable beds," Deal said, indicating that Serta iComfort is the high-end brand his store carries in these.

New furniture now makes up more than 60 percent of Deal's business in non-mattress furniture, while mattresses are the store's "bread and but-

ter" for revenue, NeSmith said.

But further back, the showroom area is packed with used furniture and antiques, from large items to curiosities that might decorate a shelf. The smaller used items tend to come from estate sales. When individuals offer things for purchase, NeSmith said, she is mainly interested in larger items, primarily furniture.

"We buy high-quality used furniture," Deal said.

Deal's has four full-time and three part-time employees. Having a small labor force and buying in bulk, such as truckloads and closeouts, help the store pass on the best prices to customers, Deal said.

Fighting Parkinson's with words and watercolor Local artist John Givens arms himself with creativity

By JULIE LAVENDER | Herald Writer

H

eritage Inn Health and Rehabilitation resident John Givens found out a decade ago that he had Parkinson's disease. Yet he doesn't let his illness define him. In fact, he's putting up a fight every day.

His weapons of choice? French crayons, oil pastels and watercolors.

"I'm not always feeling good every day,"

Givens said, "but I am doing art every day.

It takes me away from Parkinson's."

Givens sits in a rocking chair on the front porch of Heritage Inn, usually after lunch, with his art supplies on a tray and his walker nearby — a walker he doesn't always use but provides help when his balance is unsteady.

Sixty-five-year-old Givens likes being outside to create because he draws most of

his inspiration from nature — that and his memories.

Born in Claxton, Georgia, Givens remembers playing under a chinaberry tree when he was 7 or 8. With few toys to speak of, he played an imaginary war game.

"I played with stick man, but he had to have somebody to fight, so I drew war men in the dirt," he said.

It was a time of racial unrest, and Givens often found himself running into the woods to hide.

"I saw all the colors of the trees," he said.

"I ran through a playful joy of nature — my first lesson of golds and browns and yellows, leaves falling, coloring the path I walked."

In his early 20s, after serving two years with the U.S. Navy, Givens worked on a couple of paintings and carvings and began writing poetry, but he didn't seriously pursue his creativity until almost 10 years later.

It was then that he slowly began again to create and collect pieces for his portfolio, hoping to show them eventually, and write poetry, with the hopes of having it published.

"I moved back to Statesboro in 1984 because I wanted my family to take me seriously as a writer," he said.

That didn't happen, however, and after a brief stent, Givens relocated to North Carolina to work as a roofer and then to Philadelphia, where he worked as a tree surgeon, a job that sometimes sent him 80 feet off the ground. Givens said the experience gave him a new perspective that affected his creativity.

"I liked being up high," he said. "I met God up there. He's a nice guy; told me to watch out for myself and be careful. I was scared that high, though. That's a good feeling, too, especially if you can get over it."

However, Givens said he's never had any fears or doubts about sharing his creativity.

"I knew it was that good," he said. "It's not about whether it gets published; it's knowing that it's that good."

When his health began to deteriorate, Givens again returned to Statesboro four

JULIE LAVENDER/special

Heritage Inn Health and Rehabilitation resident John Givens works on an art piece on the front porch of the facility back in May. Givens, who has Parkinson's disease, fights his illness with words and watercolors as an artist and poet. years ago, with even more art pieces and poetry in his portfolio, and has been a resident of Heritage Inn for just over a year, where he paints daily, writes frequently and motivates many.

"I get a chance to talk to a lot of folks," he said. "You'd be surprised how they talk to me about their dreams. I inspire them.

Little kids run up to hug me."

Givens continues to dream, with words and watercolors and ideas. He wants his own apartment. And his poems published.

And an art show. And a Parkinson's disease awareness event. And backyard gardens.

"God's going to help me accomplish what I want to do," he said. "All I want for anybody is to be healthy and live a happy life.

"I say to Parkinson's, 'There's a fight going on.' Parkinson's ain't gonna win. I'm gonna be running a very long time. I'm going to fight Parkinson's through my art."

2016 Turpentine Festival Doug Chassereau of the Georgia Forestry Service takes a listen to the still as unrefined turpentine pours through a pipe during Portal's annual Catface Turpentine Festival in October.

SCOTT BRYANT/ staff

4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

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4 - STATESBORO HERALD - Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

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6 – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Our Statesboro Alexia Reed, 12, right, and Faith Harvey compare creations at the "Paint Place" easels during the 2016 ArtsFest at Sweetheart Circle on the campus of Georgia Southern University back in April. The festival was hosted in its traditional place by the StatesboroBulloch County Parks and Recreation Department, with major contributions from the Averitt Center for the Arts, acting as the official host for the first time.

Keese Brown, left, and Lanie Ross get to know one another as teammates on the Red Sox 4- to 6-year-old T-ball team as the Statesboro-Bulloch County Parks and Recreation Department kicked off youth baseball and soccer with Swing into Spring at Mill Creek Regional Park in March.

Dancers run through a dress rehearsal of a ballet piece before their public performance during the Atlanta Ballet Summer Intensive at Georgia Southern University in April. Students are exposed to vigorous training in several different disciplines, including ballet, pointe, modern, jazz and even music theater.

Alice, portrayed by Alexandra Price, right, encounters Tweedle Dee (Hannah Dabbs), left, and Tweedle Dum (Sarah Gagel) during a scene from "Alice Through the Looking Glass," a Statesboro High School student production last April.

Shelton Murphy of Headland, Ala., hangs on as his bareback bronc goes airborne during the 2016 Kiwanis Rodeo in April. This year, the annual rodeo will be in town April 21–22, 2017.

Photos by SCOTT BRYANT/staff Portal Elementary School fifth-grader Zion Robb, 11, right, is all smiles after receiving Seattle Seahawks rub-on tattoos from former Statesboro High School and University of Georgia football player Deangelo Tyson in March. Tyson gave fourthand fifthgraders at the school some advice about life as they prepared to take on the Georgia Milestones assessment test, stressing confidence, reading and hard work as keys to success.

Devont'e Davis, 4, gets into the fall spirit while riding on the Kid's World Learning Center float during the 2016 Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair Parade in October. This year, the fair will be in town Oct. 16–21, 2017.

PRIDE LIFESTYLES

statesboroherald.com | STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 7

Photos by SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Lt. Tracy Atkinson of the Brooklet Police Department makes a goodwill stop to share some popsicles with Caylin Gibson, left, and twin sister Caylie, 9, during a shift back in August.

Atkinson has been working hard to develop community relations and has been using social media to let the public know when she's stocked up on goodies.

Brooklet's 'ice cream cop' Popsicle giveaways part of Tracy Atkinson's patrols

By HOLLI DEAL SAXON hbragg@statesboroherald.com

O

n sizzling summer days, one local police officer does more than patrol the streets while fighting crime. Brooklet police Officer Tracy Atkinson's efforts to makes the sweltering days a little more pleasant for folks she encounters has earned her a nickname: She is Brooklet's "ice cream cop."

That's how she's known, although most of the time it's popsicles she's handing out to area children. She carries dog treats in her pockets, too, for those furry friends she encounters on her daily patrols through the streets of Brooklet.

The sweet gesture began after Atkinson found herself on the receiving end of a large box of popsicles. A vendor who was switching out merchandise had some leftover product that was still good but approaching its "best sold by" date, and he asked Atkinson if she wanted them.

"I thought he meant 10 or 12, but he gave me a box of 100," she said.

It didn't take long for her to decide what to do with the frozen snacks.

As she patrolled, she began passing out smiles and popsicles, keeping them packed in dry ice in the back of her patrol car. She has given treats to adults, too, but her favorite "customers" are children.

In a time when tensions are high and negativity surrounds law enforcement and an era in which some parents use the police as a way to make recalcitrant kids behave, Atkinson wanted to show a more positive side of policing.

"I decided to make meeting people as more of an encounter," she said. "I posted on Facebook that I was doing this, and people caught on and started yelling at me all day, looking for me."

When the original batch of icy treats was gone, Atkinson didn't want the fun to stop, so she purchased more.

"This is my way of giving back, so people don't think cops are bad — sort of showing the softer side," she said.

In a previous interview about the dangers of policing today, Atkinson told the Statesboro Herald that she has considered her own mortality and "stays prayed up" as controversy surrounding police-related shootings and attacks against law enforcement officers continue to appear in media reports.

Being an officer that brings smiles and creates camaraderie is always preferable to those kinds of situations, she said.

"The kids get excited," she said. "People were surprised at first, but then they say, 'You know, thanks for what you do. Be safe out there.' " As for the dog treats, she's been carrying those in her pockets for a while now, long before she became known as the ice cream cop. Atkinson has always enjoyed striking up conversations with people she meets

Atkinson stops by the home of Sherry Rich to get some love from Opie. She says Rich's dogs are her therapy during a long shift.

Atkinson visits the children at Creative Kids Preschool and Childcare to dole our some frosty treats. She said she feels it's important for children to have positive experiences with police officers beginning at a young age.

who are walking their pets. The popsicles simply take that sentiment a step further.

Being seen as more than just a ticket writer and crime fighter helps people real-

ize that law enforcement officers are not the enemy, she said.

"We're humans," she said. "We have feelings and emotions, too."

PRIDE LIFESTYLES

8 – STATESBORO HERALD — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

2016 Statesboro Film Festival

A traveling man Bulloch native returns home each year with the Kiwanis Fair midway

By HOLLI DEAL SAXON hbragg@statesboroherald.com

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Kenny Gamblin shares a few words with the audience after accepting awards for Best Film and Best Cinematography for his documentary "For Nepal" during the 2016 Statesboro Film Festival at the Averitt Center for the Arts in April.

Grocery Grab winner

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Stewart Bennett of Leefield is all smiles with a full cart after winning the third annual Statesboro Herald Grocery Grab at Ken's IGA in Brooklet last August. Bennett, a regular customer at the store, headed straight for the meat section and filled his cart with $1,013.12 worth of beef in 60 seconds.

2017 Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair

F

ourteen years ago, Bulloch County's Ronnie Douberly took a job he said saved his life.

It meant he would be away from his family, traveling with Amusements of America, the company that provides the midway for the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair and dozens of other fairs nationwide.

Douberly started out as a bumper car operator, but now he is the maintenance supervisor.

Spending winters at his home in Mexico and traveling with the midway during "fair season," he doesn't get to see his Georgia family much, so coming to Statesboro every fall means family reunion time. It's a sweet week for Douberly, but he also treasures his nomadic lifestyle with his Amusements of America family, going from town to town, bringing rides, screams, laughter and fun to folks all over the country.

Douberly still considers Bulloch County his home, as he has done for 48 years, ever since he left Statesboro in 2002.

The job opportunity wasn't planned, he said.

But it was fate.

"I was hanging with the wrong crowd, had no job, and I knew I could make extra money setting up rides at the fair," he said.

➤ This year, the fair will

open at the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds following the annual parade downtown on Monday, Oct. 16, and will be in town through Saturday, Oct. 21.

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Amusements of America employee and Bulloch County native Ronnie Douberly, center, takes a few minutes from his maintenance duties to visit with relatives during the 2016 Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair in October.

Amusements of America often hires temporary workers from cities along its route to help assemble and dismantle rides and exhibits.

Sometimes the jobs last all week.

"They asked me to operate a ride that week," he said.

And sometimes they last for years.

Apparently, his work ethic impressed someone, because "they asked to hire me — and here I am, 14 years later," he said.

Douberly worked his way up from ride operator to maintenance supervisor, and now he spends time overseeing maintenance, welding, fabrication and repairs for the Vivona fam-

ily, who own the company.

"I started out at the bottom of the totem pole — bumper cars — and the company has been good to me," he said. "I love traveling, and I get paid to travel and make people happy."

But does he ever feel lonely? Never, he says.

Aside from coworkers, Douberly has made many friends while traveling from town to town.

"I have friends from Miami, New York, out West, all over the country," he said. "To me, this job has been a blessing. It kind of saved my life. I was headed for the graveyard or the jailhouse."

Nine years ago, life changed again for Douberly. He met a lady

named Xochit (pronounced Zo-She), and the couple had a charmingly simple wedding ceremony at the fairgrounds here in Statesboro.

"When I met her, it changed the way I thought about things," Douberly said.

Soon, there were more changes to come in the form of a daughter, now 5, named Victoria Isabelle.

Xochit visits and travels with Douberly often, then returns home to Mexico, where Victoria attends school.

Through phone calls and social media, Douberly maintains his family relationships when he's away — but visiting with family and friends makes coming home even more special, he said.

"On Sunday afternoon we go to Mama's, and with all the cousins, aunts and uncles, it is like a family reunion," he said.

But come Monday, it's on the road again, traveling to the next town where he will spend a week bringing smiles to more faces.

2017 Community

Pride

Public Service

Protecting and serving all of Bulloch County

PRIDE PUBLIC SERVICE

2 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Bulloch chooses new sheriff in 2016 From staff reports

Bulloch County saw a lively race between three candidates for sheriff in 2016. Former sheriff Lynn Anderson retired, leaving the seat up for grabs.

The race helped bring out a record number of voters in Bulloch County.

Former Bulloch County Sheriff ’s chief deputy Jared

Akins, former Georgia State Patrol trooper K e i t h Howard and f o r m e r Bulloch Brown Count y Sheriff ’s Sgt. Noel Brown each entered the race, with Brown overtaking Akins in the General Primary before

moving on to beat Howard in the General Election.

All three candidates campaigned Howard hard, each promising better accessibility and accountability, among other aspects of being sheriff.

In the e n d , Republican Noel Brown swept away with the votes in the race for the Akins Bulloch County sheriff ’s seat, collecting 15,924 votes to 7,948 votes for Democratic candidate Keith Howard —

a 66.71 percent lead over Howard’s 33.29 percent.

Akins, also a Republican, lost to Brown in May’s general primary.

Howard said he chose to run on the Democratic ticket in order to avoid a three-way split between himself, Brown and Akins.

Brown expressed excitement about being Bulloch County’s sheriff.

“I’m ready to do a job I’ve dreamed about since I was a small child,” he said.

“I will serve people with pride, knowing that I will support all the people.

The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and my love for people will be my guide to solving problems that may arise from day to day inside our office and community.”

SPD chooses SUVs as new patrol vehicles

BY Al Hackle ahackle@statesboroherald

The Statesboro Police Department's patrol cars will, over time, be replaced by patrol SUVs, if the department and officials who control its purse strings like the seven 2017 Ford Police Interceptor Utility units now on order.

These will be equipped

after-market with a latestmodel digital video camera system, wirelessly interactive with the recently arrived body-worn cameras.

The SUVs are a special version of the Ford Explorer. Most of the police force's 56 marked patrol vehicles are Dodge Chargers, purchased beginning with the 2008

fb.com/JonBurnsGA jon.burns@house.ga.gov 404-656-5052

model year. The fleet also includes several remaining Ford Crown Victoria sedans, purchased from 2001 through 2008.

Especially since Ford ceased production of the venerable "Crown Vic" with the 2011 models, the Dodge Charger has been popular with law enforcement agencies. But making the department's case for ordering Explorers earlier this month, Deputy Chief Robert W. Bryan received backup from the city's fleet maintenance team in arguing that the Chargers make too many costly pit stops.

"Due to the high operational cost and the maintenance costs, the Statesboro Police Department and the city shop are recommending transition from Dodge Chargers to Ford Interceptor Utility vehicles, the Ford Explorer," Bryan told City Council.

The department already operates some sport utility vehicles, including several Chevrolet Tahoes and five Ford Explorers. Those Explorers, purchased beginning with model year 2012, are assigned to detectives, so their use is not quite the same as patrol

WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE IT’S PUBLIC SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES.

City Hall PubliC Works PoliCe

duty, he said.

Cost-based decision But operating costs for the Explorers were 12 to 15 cents per mile, compared to about 29 cents for the Chargers, including maintenance and repairs but not fuel, Bryan reported.

Also included in the proposal was a seven-year, 100,000-mile extended warranty, which he said "will also save us tremendously from our general fund budget." The city will have to pay a $100 deductible on each repair beyond the regular 3-year, 36,000mile warranty.

"Some of the frequent bills we have seen, especially from the Chargers when they actually have to go back to Dodge for any type of major work, are $2,000 or $3,000," Bryan said.

One patrol car recently had its engine replaced at an even higher cost, but it would have cost $100 with the extended warranty, he said.

The research he presented also included comparisons of vehicle maintenance costs from other departments that operate both types of patrol vehicles, including the Bulloch County Sheriff 's Office, Chamblee Police Department and Liberty County Sheriff 's Office. All reported lower maintenance costs for the Ford Interceptor, and some agencies, including the Bulloch sheriff 's department, reported no maintenance needs on these so far beyond tires and oil changes.

But the Dodges do get slightly better gas mileage, according to data Bryan also presented from testing this year by the Michigan State Police. The Dodges and Fords both averaged 15 miles per gallon in city driving, but the Dodge Chargers got 23 mpg to the Ford Interceptors' 20 mpg in highway driving. That resulted in a combined fuel economy of 18 mpg for the Dodge and 17 for the Ford.

City Council on Dec. 6 unanimously approved the purchase of the seven Police Interceptors from

Allan Vigil Ford in Morrow on a statewide-contract cost of $26,680 each plus $1,835 each for the extended warranty. In state contract purchases, the city gets the same price as the state and other local governments. Only a few vendors participate.

Latest camera system Also approved was the purchase of seven Watch Guard 4RE in-car camera systems direct from Watch Guard for a total of $36,970.

Unlike in the older system installed in most of the department's cars, video from these cameras does not have to be transferred with portable memory devices. It will upload wirelessly through access points in the parking lot when cars return to headquarters.

The in-car system will mesh with the department's body-worn cameras, Bryan said. They were also purchased from Watch Guard.

"This 4RE will integrate with the body-worn camera and let the video from the car be wirelessly transferred to the servers so you get rid of having to deal with flash drives, with DVDs," he said.

Authorized in the city budget more than a year ago, the body-worn cameras arrived this fall and were fully deployed by early November. This is the first time the SPD has made general use of bodyworn cameras by officers responding to calls. With the system in the new SUVs, video from the incar and body-worn cameras will also be automatically synchronized and can be reviewed simultaneously.

Additionally, City Council approved buying equipment such as light bars, prisoner transport cage partitions and sirens from West Chatham Warning Devices for a total of $59,350 for the seven vehicles, or $8,479 for each. West Chatham was the low bidder, with two local businesses also bidding.

Instead of having the company install the equipment, the plan is for the city's shop to install it an estimated installation cost of $8,841. This is a new approach also intended to save some money, Bryan said.

Total $305,000 The total cost for the seven SUVs and their equipment is $304,766, with $300,000 coming from Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds and the rest from funds seized by the police, mostly from defendants in drug cases.

Most years, the city purchases some replacement police vehicles with SPLOST money. But maintenance expenses are paid from the department's general fund budget.

"I really hope to see a positive impact so that we can return those dollars to some other areas," Bryan told the council.

The patrol vehicles are not the full SPD fleet, which numbers about 78 machines, ranging from vans to a motorcycle.

Bryan, who provided the counts of vehicles, is the interim chief of police, and has been serving in that capacity for a year now.

He and City Council members briefly discussed a desire to make all the patrol cars look similar again.

"We would like to not see a mixed fleet," Bryan said.

As older blue-and-white patrol cars retire, they are being replaced with vehicles in a color scheme already familiar to observant citizens. The SUVs, which he said may be delivered in February, were ordered black with silver doors.

But the department will see how the new Fords do before committing to buy more, Bryan said.

"The next time we go to purchase vehicles, we'll review this, look at how it's going and constantly evaluate so that we're making sure that we're being responsible with the taxpayers' money," he said.

DePartment mayor & City CounCil rePresentative Planning & Zoning Commission 104 Church St., Brooklet, GA 30415 Phone Number: (912) 842-2137 Fax Number: (912) 842-5877

STATESBORO-BULLOCH COUNTY AIRPORT Did you ever wonder how you can order something from California and have it waiting on your doorstep the next morning? How about that fire in your neighbor’s field - ever wonder how help arrived so quickly? What about the helicopter that appears out of the sky to render aid to accident victims? The answers lie right here at the StatesboroBulloch County Airport.

The airport serves not only local pilots, but

also many of our major corporations find the airport invaluable when transporting people, equipment, and goods in and out of the region. Georgia Southern University’s athletic department, alumni, and guests routinely use the airport. Members of the medical community, schools, fire and emergency services, and law enforcement also benefit from the airport.

For more information visit us at www.statesboroairport.com, or give us a call at 912-764-9083.

PRIDE PUBLIC SERVICE

statesboroherald.com | Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 3

Police Academy for Clergy Course opens eyes, dialogue for Statesboro police, pastors

By JULIE LAVENDER Herald Writer

More than a dozen members of the local clergy marked their graduation this week from Statesboro’s inaugural class of the Concerned Clergy Citizens Police Academy.

Their graduation was celebrated with a dinner, round-table discussion and certificate presentation. The five-week, 20-hour course is a condensed version of the Citizens Police Academy, held annually for interested community members since 2012, and was geared specifically for religious leaders in the community.

The clergy-specific class was the brainchild of Interim Police Chief Rob Bryan who saw a need for this type of program.

“The original concept was designed to help bridge the gap for communication between the community and police officers,” Bryan said.

“Communication is what’s not happening. I couldn’t imagine a better way than to reach out to clergy. They stand in front of a congregation, numerous people, each week, and can reach more people than we ever could in our long-term classes.”

The two longer-term Citizens Police Academy classes Bryan referred to include the fall class of 20 to 25 community members and the summer Youth Police Academy classes.

The clergy group met for two hours over five separate Tuesday evenings for informative lectures and classes, behindthe-scenes information dissemination, honest dialog and actual police scenario reenactments in which the participants took part by way of a police simulator.

Simulator scenarios The simulator scenarios seemed to be a favorite of many of the participants.

Pastor Wayne Williams with New Beginnings Christian Outreach Ministr ies, v iv idly described his scenario.

“The simulation was an individual holding up some students in a school with a knife,” Williams said. Taking on the role of a police officer on duty, Williams and a partner, both armed with policeissued, simulated weapons, entered the school building.

Williams said the simulator is a valuable tool and has the capability to change in response to the reaction of the officers.

“There’s no doubt, it feels real.”

Pastor Williams said before he “went in,” he had a plan.

“What I thought I was going to do, go in with a m o re diplomatic approach: ‘Son, put down the weapon. I know your family. I know you.’ But when it kicked off, adrenaline took ahold. He didn’t back down. When he came toward me with the knife, my partner shot him.”

Obviously, with a simulated gunshot, but Williams said it still felt real.

“We now have much more respect for the department after going

there for a positive thing than a negative thing.”

“It kind of tears down the walls,” said K9 handler Kyle Briley. “More transparency. Allows dialog between the officers and community. We learn from them; they learn from us.”

Though both sides of the badge admitted there’s more work to do, the consensus of the group was one of overwhelming success.

Mayor’s comments

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Wayne Williams, pastor of New Beginnings Christian Outreach Ministries, center, recounts some of his experiences to Lt. Anthony Gore of the Statesboro Police Department, left, after stepping into the shoes of a police officer as the Concerned Clergy Citizens Police Academy wraps up with a dinner at R.J.'s Grill. through this class. We thank God for it.”

Others in the class e ch o e d Wi l l i a m s’ thoughts and discussed how they talked among classmates after each event about reactions and responses, sometimes questioning decisions made, but agreed that their perceptions changed after the simulation.

Chief Bryan responded, “We all saw how quick some decisions have to be made. How quickly it can go from an innocent looking encounter to a deadly one.”

Bryan said all of the simulations were based on real encounters of officers from across the nation.

“I saw some hands trembling,” Bryan said.

“Well, that’s a controlled environment. We were in a class. We knew we were going home that night.”

urged them to share with their congregants, young people especially.

“Don’t hold court on the street,” he said. “If an officer is doing something wrong, come to the department and let them know about it and we’ll take care of it. We don’t

want rogue officers.

“But when an officer is on the street, he has the authority to protect himself. Clergy, teach the young folks, don’t have a confrontation on the street. If you got a problem, let us know. The street is not the place for

a confrontation.”

Two police officers who were able to attend the event spoke highly of the citizens class. Lt. Anthony B. Gore, Watch Commander, added, “We can do things without a problem, without having an issue. Easier being

Mayor Jan Moore said: “I think the Citizens Police Academy for members of the clergy yielded a level of understanding that neither the participants nor our police department anticipated.

“I feel one of the best ways for our community to move forward is to build trust and understanding through structured exercises like this in which both parties are putting in the time and effort to learn about one another and to collaborate on the most promising ways to go forward.”

Mayor Moore shared that she plans to roll out another initiative in the next several weeks that will involve the community’s youth and is very excited about doing so.

The mayor ended the event with a challenge to the clergy in attendance to find others within their sphere of influence that would benefit from the Citizens Police Academy and urge those persons to sign up.

BULLOCH COUNTY

Clerk of Superior, State, and Juvenile Courts

Honest discussion Minister Derrick Solomon, Body of Christ Assembly, praised the course and said it was a good experience, with open discussion from the very beginning.

“We spoke about diversity, and I appreciate the [police department’s] effort to have more diversity on the force. Working with our youth, they want to see our guys in uniform.

“Some of the kids I work with are afraid of the police and they don’t even know why. After this class, hopefully, I can do what I can to bridge that gap.”

Bryan addressed the elephant in the room and said, “As in all professions, there are some who should not be in that profession, and law enforcement is no different. But we don’t want an officer like that in our program.

When an officer does something like that, it tarnishes all the badges.”

Retired Police Chief John Raymond “J.R.” Holloway, the first black man to lead the Statesboro Police Department as commander, stood and addressed the clergy and

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PRIDE PUBLIC SERVICE

4 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

'Bridging the Gap' in Bulloch County Event brought law enforcement, citizens together

By JULIE LAVENDER Herald Writer

Several local churches and members of the Concerned Clergy of Bulloch County worked together to sponsor an event called “Bridging the Gap: Community Day with Law Enforcement” in September 2016 at Luetta Moore Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The festive day included family friendly events; free food, clothing and some household items; games and prizes; and informative discussions and dialog with local

police officers, sheriff ’s deputies and Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents.

Community Day was the brainchild of Pastor Paul Johnson of Spirit and Truth Worship Center, who said he is known locally as “Pastor J.” But the idea didn’t originate in his church, he said.

Johnson is the owner of Kingdom Cuts Barbershop in downtown Statesboro and Kingdom Cuts Campus in College Plaza, and he said what’s happened all across the nation has put a negative

spin on law enforcement, a negativity he hears echoed in his barbershop.

“I listen to the young men talking. I hear the tone. What they’re saying about law enforcement is inaccurate. It’s not the truth,” he said. “I know — we have police officers in our church.

“We look at law enforcement with the wrong eyes, not as our partners in the community in stopping the violence,” he said. “Our gang activity is growing. Kids are jumping on each other, hurting one another.

“If the enemy, Satan, can keep the black community thinking law enforcement is against us, he can keep us from coming together to handle these things that come up in our community.”

Johnson said the event was twofold: to serve the community by providing things like food and clothing and to disseminate information that can build better relations between community members and law enforcement officers.

“We’re focusing on eliminating the false stereotypes that some com-

munity members have against law enforcement and providing an opportunity for the community and law enforcement officers to work together, through conversations back and forth, to stop violence in the community,” he said.

Johnson hoped that some of that dialog will stem from role-reversal simulations that would take place that day. Community members will have a chance to play the role of police officers in such scenarios as traffic stops and domestic violence disputes to gain a perspective from the offi-

cer’s side.

Johnson recently completed the five-week Concerned Clerg y Citizens Police Academy, during which he took part in several realistic law enforcement scenarios.

“Some of them brought me to tears,” he said.

Johnson has plans for this initial event to be the first of many.

“We’ve got to change what our young people are hearing; we’ve got to change people’s thought processes,” he said. “We need to be actively doing something to bring our communities together.”

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

The K-9 team of APO Kyle Briley and Rio demonstrate their skills for the students during the 2015 Citizens Police Academy. Statesboro hosted its first national K-9 certification event in 2016.

Georgia State Senate S enator J ack H ill Georgia’s 4th District

Chairman, Appropriations Committee 234 State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia 30334 (404)656-5038 Fax: (404)657-7094 1-800-367-3334

P.O. Box 486 Reidsville, Georgia 30453 (912)557-3811 Fax: (912)557-3522 Jack.Hill@senate.ga.gov

Statesboro hosts 2016 K-9 certification event

By Holli Deal Saxon hbragg@statesboroherald

Statesboro hosted its first national K-9 certification event in 2016. The inaugural K-9 Challenge drew participants from a number of local and area law enforcement agencies.

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The National Narcotic Detector Dog Association, or NNDDA, conducted the exercise over two days at Connections Church, said Madison Bridges, spokesperson for the Statesboro Police Department.

Canine teams participating included the Bulloch County Sheriff's Office, the Statesboro Police Department, the Effingham County Sheriff's Office, the Chatham County Sheriff's Office, the SavannahMetro Police Department and the Rincon Police Department.

Bulloch County sheriff’s Cpl. Kirk McGlamery and Statesboro police Advanced Patrol Officer Kyle Briley, both with the Statesboro-Bulloch County Crime Suppression Team, were approached last summer with the idea of having a national certification hosted here, McGlamery said.

“Franklin Chevrolet approached (us) wishing to sponsor the first annual K-9 Challenge to support the local law enforcement canine teams,” he said. “The National Narcotic Detector Dog Association was contacted to provide the standards and certification testing.”

Certification is required for all K-9 teams. In all, 14 teams participated in the exercise, including three from Bulloch County: Briley and his dog, Rio; McGlamery and his dog, Max; and Bulloch County sheriff’s Cpl. Mark Guarino and his dog, Gismo.

The event was held at Connection Church “because it has the space needed for effective certification without disrupting anyone's day-today operations,” Bridges said.

“This is a major undertaking for NNDDA to come here and allow us to host this certification and something we are very proud to have an opportunity to be a part of.”

The Statesboro Police Department first presented a plaque to the NNDDA in appreciation of its service, and the certification exercises followed, Bridges said.

All three local handlers said they were pleased with their dogs’ performance.

Briley’s K-9 partner, Rio, has been with the Statesboro Police Department since June 2014. The German shepherd was born in Germany and originally trained by AMK9 professional instructors in Florida. He is single purpose narcotic detection canine who is nationally certified in identifying the odors of metham-

phetamine, heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

“The certification is required per policy,” Briley said. “The National Narcotic Detector Dog Association is one of the more reputable organizations in the country.”

He said Rio, who is 4 ½ years old, was “exceptional” and did a great job during the certification.

The officer-canine team trains weekly and has “logged over 1,000 searches since being assigned to the city of Statesboro K-9 unit,” Bridges said.

Guarino has been working with Gismo, a Belgian Malinois from Germany who was originally trained by UPC K9 professionals in Savannah, since May. Gismo is a dual purpose canine trained in narcotic detection, tracking and article searches, as well as patrol work.

“This was our first patrol certification and our second narcotics certification,” Guarino said.

He said the 2 ½-year-old dog “did phenomenally in narcotics and did exceptionally well in patrol.”

Gismo performed well in building-clearing too, Guarino said, finding a hidden decoy.

“He comes home with me seven days a week,” he said. “If I’m in the in back yard playing ball, Gismo is there.”

Max, 8 years old, has been with the Bulloch County Sheriff 's Office since September 2013. The German shepherd was born in Belgium and, like Rio, originally trained with AMK9 professionals in Florida.

Max is a single purpose narcotic detection canine, certified through the state of Georgia K-9 Resource Team, and is trained to find marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and black tar heroin. He trains weekly and has assisted in more than 1,000 searches since being assigned to the Bulloch County Sheriff's Office.

“He did excellent; he has had very good training,” McGlamery said.

Max “goes with me 24/7.

He is like a pet, but you don’t really treat him like a pet.

“He loves hunting drugs” and gets upset when McGlamery has a court day and doesn’t take him to work, he said.

All three K-9 handlers said they consider their dogs partners as well as family members.

PRIDE PUBLIC SERVICE

statesboroherald.com | Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 – 5

City honors public servant after retirement J.R. Holloway promoted to chief five years after leaving force

By HOLLI DEAL SAXON hbragg@statesboroherald.com

When he retired after 31 years of service with the Statesboro Police Department, John Raymond “J.R.” Holloway had achieved the rank of commander.

However, in a move by the City of Statesboro in May 2016, Holloway was given the honor of being ranked as “chief,” in light of the true role he filled during his later years at the department.

The honor came five years after his retirement.

The Statesboro City Council issued a proclamation May 17 bestowing the rank to Holloway, who retired under the rank of “commander,” but had filled the role of police chief, said Statesboro Mayor Jan Moore.

The city eliminated the police and fire chief ranks in 2010, creating the title of public safety director to oversee both departments.

Soon thereafter, the position of fire chief was reinstated, but until earlier this year, the police chief position was not.

Today the city is seeking a candidate to fill the newlyreinstated chief position. The change came about when former public safety director Wendell Turner left for another position.

Holloway was the first black man to lead the Statesboro Police Department as commander, under Turner’s supervision.

City leaders and fellow police officers, however, this year decided Holloway deserved the rank of chief, and as a measure of respect and honor during National Police Week, bestowed the title in retrospect.

Moore credited Major Rob Bryan, currently serving

as interim chief, with the idea, but Bryan said it was a mutual suggestion between him, other officers, and city leaders.

“It was not solely my idea,” he said. “It was a very big and collaborative group effort.”

Holloway was touched by the honor.

“It means a great deal to me,” he said. “Commander means chief, but…not really chief.”

chief. It is very important to recognize his service.”

Holloway’s retirement and pay is not affected by the rank.

“I think it is something that honors J.R. the way he should be honored,” Bryan said. “He basically functioned in that position. He has tirelessly served the community and still serves it. He is a pillar of this community.”

Honors, training, and more

Holloway’s history Holloway retired Oct. 1.

2011 after 31 years with the Statesboro Police Department. A heartwarming reception at Luetta Moore Park drew a crowd of SCOTT BRYANT/staff local dignitaries, law enforceThen Bulloch County Sheriff Lynn Anderson gives Statesboro Public Safety Commander ment officers, and friends.

At the reception, former J.R. Holloway a bear hug during a 2011 retirement party for Holloway. After saying a few Statesboro city manager words and relating a story or two, Anderson said "I love him like a brother."

Carter Crawford said “J.R. leader.

Holloway is honest, full of named a lieutenant over the 1984.

Porter had committed a uniform division.

The promotion is of hisintegrity and a very ethical Twelve years later, robbery and rape in torical significance, but the individual. If you follow this man, you cannot go wrong.” Holloway was made lieuten- Statesboro, and while detec- Holloway is humble about June DiPolito, executive ant commander of the detec- tives were working the scene, the issue.

“I enjoy being a black director of Pineland Services, tive division, and little more Holloway spotted a suspitold him: "We know we could than a year afterward was cious man who refused to man, a black policeman, but always call on you 24 hours a named detective captain. In look at him as he drove down I have the same morals, same 2002, he was promoted to U.S. 80 West. spirituality as the white offiday, seven days a week.”

Holloway stopped the cers,” he said shortly after his Calling Holloway a “lead- major over the uniform divier in his field,” she praised sion, a role he kept until the man, who turned out to be promotion in 2010. “I’m him for support of awareness promotion in 2010 to com- Porter, and while Porter fled proud that God saw fit for on foot, Holloway secured me to be first in that posiin crisis prevention and the mander.

A significant event during his car and a purse contain- tion,” he said. “J.R. Holloway needs of mentally and emoHolloway’s service to the city ing jewelry and other evi- will be a name in history.” tionally challenged citizens.

As for the recent “promoFormer Statesboro city was the arrest of a highly dence from the scene. When Porter was captured in tion” to chief in retrospect, manager Frank Parker said sought rapist.

A scrapbook on a table at Alabama, Holloway’s keen he said he is proud and humduring the reception he the retirement reception dis- sense of policing helped con- bled. always considered Holloway “It feels like the real deal,” “not just a commander, but played several commenda- vict him of the crimes comtions and awards, but one mitted in Statesboro. he said. “Thank God the city commander in chief.” saw fit to do the right thing, Holloway was promoted stood out: a letter of commendation from former with no fussing and cussing Statesboro’s first black to detective within five years about it.” police chief after his being hired as a Statesboro police chief Merle Moore said “It is recognipatrol officer in 1980. The Clark, thanking Holloway First commander, and for playing a major role in tion of the title in which he following year he was pronow holding the official title moted to detective sergeant. capturing the notorious I-75 of chief, Holloway is the city’s was serving. During his tenTwo years later, he was stalker, Gary Owen Porter, in first black law enforcement ure, he functioned as police

SPD promotions

Holloway trained with the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy, the Georgia Chiefs of Police Command College, and GACP Chief’s program.

According to a previous column by Dr. Charles Bonds, published in the Statesboro Herald in 2014, Holloway also served as a member of the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Bulloch County, providing input for programs and activities; volunteered with Ogeechee Area Hospice as a member of the board of directors; and serves as a minister, deacon and Sunday school teacher at the Body of Christ Assembly in Brooklet.

Today, Holloway enjoys carpentry, a field in which he worked before becoming a police officer. He said he helped build many homes in the Country Club and Irongate area.

He also raises cattle on his small Bulloch County farm, and is “enjoying growing older,” he said.

But, he leaves behind a legacy, Bryan said, “He helped make a lot of (Statesboro Police Department) employees what they are today.

JAMES W. DEAL Bulloch County Tax Commissioner 113 North Main Street Suite 101 P.O. Box 245 Statesboro GA 30459 Telephone: 912-764-6285 Fax: 912-489-4108 Office Hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Monday – Friday APRIL 1, 2017 – MOBILE HOME DUE DATE (CHANGED BY LAW FROM MAY 1) DEADLINE TO FILE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FOR 2017 IS APRIL 1, 2017.

Contact the Bulloch County Tax Assessors office for more information. 912-764-2181

SPECIAL

Three Statesboro Police Department Advanced Patrol Officers were promoted to the rank of Corporal within the Uniformed Patrol Bureau. Corporals within the Uniformed Patrol Bureau perform as a first line supervisor. Shown from left are Statesboro Police Deputy Chief Rob Bryan, Cpl. Terrell Lewis, Cpl. Michael Clark, Cpl. Sneed Collins and Capt. Kaleb Moore.

These officers have dedicated much time and energy to advancing and bettering themselves as police officers in various aspects. Each of these officers possess unique skills and knowledge that will be valuable to the supervisory team at the Statesboro Police Department.

BCSO 2016 Deputy of the Year

REAL and PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX – You can pay your real, personal property, and mobile home taxes online by going to www.bullochtaxcommissioner.com and clicking “pay taxes online”. A convenience fee of 2.35% is charged by the company (not Bulloch County) that processes online tax payments. All 2016 and prior taxes owed should be paid NOW to avoid tax sale and the filing of a lien (FiFa) which will affect your credit for many years.

After March 30, 2017, a 5% penalty will be applied to the balance owed on that date and on each subsequent 120 days another 5% penalty will be applied up to a maximum of 20% on all 2016 real and personal property tax bills that were due on December 1, 2016. Penalty does not apply to property claiming homestead exemption where tax due is less than $500.00. Interest at the rate of .0056% per month or fraction thereof began the day after the due date of December 1, 2016.

EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2011 – Both Registration and Title for a newly purchased motor vehicle from a source other than a registered dealer must be applied for at the owner’s County Tag Office no later than seven (7) business days after the Date of Purchase. (O. C. G. A. 40-2-29).

VEHICLES – REMEMBER your registration EXPIRES ON YOUR BIRTHDAY for individuals.

INSURANCE on your vehicle must be submitted to the state insurance data base by your agent to enable the renewal of your tag/decal. Vehicles covered by a fleet policy are an exception to this rule and your fleet card must be provided. If there is a lapse in your insurance, lapse fees will be placed on the tag system by the state and must be paid within 30 days of lapse date with cash or certified funds to prevent further fees and possible suspension of your registration. Penalties on regular re-newals begin the day after your birthday and are by law added automatically by the computer.

Businesses renew according to the first letter of the title for their vehicle (A & B in January, C & D in February, etc.) and are due by the last day of your month. Late registrations will by law require that penalties be added. ***Title ad valorem tax (TAVT) replaced sales tax on vehicles in Georgia beginning March 1, 2013. TAVT also applies to persons moving to Georgia from another state and also applies to sales between individuals. 7.00% TAVT (applies to transactions dated in 2017) times the value of the vehicle must be paid to our office at time of transfer or purchase. Certain rules apply to transfers between immediate family members, military persons, and BuyHere/PayHere dealers.

MOBILE HOMES – Purchase your 2017 decal by April 1, 2017 to avoid interest and penalty.

Failure to display a current decal can result in a citation and fines through the Magistrate Court.

Our goal is to assist the taxpayers and citizens of Bulloch County with services rendered by our office in an efficient and professional manner while being governed by many laws, rules, and regulations.

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Law enforcement wasn’t the first career choice for Bulloch County sheriff’s Sr. Deputy Maurice Lester. In fact, he spent 22 years working for a local automobile dealership before a friend talked him into trying something new — and now, six years later, he finds himself the 2016 Bulloch County Sheriff’s Deputy of the Year.

PLEASE CALL US FOR ASSISTANCE AND QUESTIONS. Our website www.bullochtaxcommissioner.com pro¬vides information regarding taxes, exemptions, vehicle registrations, etc. Web site is currently being updated for new laws and regulations.

CREDIT CARDS NOW ACCEPTED IN OUR OFFICE FOR ALL TYPES OF PAYMENTS – 2.35% CONVENIENCE FEE CHARGED BY PROCESSOR (NOT OUR OFFICE)

PRIDE PUBLIC SERVICE

6 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 26, 2017 | statesboroherald.com

Statesboro Fire holds annual Awards Banquet

Statesboro Fire Chief Tim Grams presents the Firefighter of the Year Award to Ben Statesboro Fire Chief Tim Grams presents the Fire Officer of the Year Award to Division Adams.

Chief Bobby Duggar.

Special to the Herald

On Saturday, February 4th, 2017; the Statesboro Fire Department held its annual awards banquet to celebrate another successful year of service to the City of Statesboro and Bulloch County, as well as to honor

those within and outside the department who have gone above and beyond in the line of service.

Statesboro Fire members honored at this year’s banquet included those who have reached years of service milestones, the recipients of medals of achieve-

ments, the Ralph Deal Training Award, the Firefighter of the Year, and the Fire Officer of the Year.

A non-member of the department was also honored for her support with the American Red Cross, the Statesboro Fire Department, and the

Citizens Acting in Fire Emergencies (C.A.F.E.) Unit.

“It truly is an honor for me as the fire chief to stand up on the stage and to be able to recognize these hard-working individuals for their exceptional service to both the Statesboro Fire

Department and the citizens of Statesboro and Bulloch County throughout the course of last year.

They say being recognized by your own peers is one of the highest forms of recognition, especially in the fire service, and these individuals tonight are undoubtedly

2017 Awards ➤ Ralph Deal Training Award: Lieutenant Jamie ➤ Firefighter of the Year: Firefighter Ben Adams Strosnider Years of Service ➤ Fire Officer of the Year: Division Chief Bobby ➤ Battalion Chief Neal Lee (30) Duggar ➤ Battalion Chief Jason Baker (15) ➤ Volunteer of the Year: Shenna Chapman

deserving of that recognition.” said Statesboro Fire Chief Tim Grams.

Congratulations go out to all recipients and those honored, and the Statesboro Fire Department looks forward to another progressive year of protecting life and property since 1905.

➤ Captain Chris Moore (15) ➤ Fire Apparatus Operator Jason Barrs (15) ➤ Captain Merritt Kearns (10) ➤ Lieutenant Chris Applebee (5) ➤ Lieutenant Rabon Hutchinson (5)

Statesboro Fire Department heads up annual 9/11 ceremony From staff reports

Every year since Sept.

11, 2001, the Statesboro Fire Department has invited the public to attend the annual 9/11 Memorial Ceremony on the anniversary of the terrorist attack

that shook the nation.

The event is held at Bulloch Memor ial Gardens and includes representatives from various local public safety agencies.

Representatives from the Statesboro Fire

Department, Statesboro Police, Bulloch County Fire Departmenr, Bulloch County Sheriff 's Office and other agencies take part in ceremonies to “remember those that perished and honor those whose lives were so brave-

ly given in the service of others in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001," said Statesboro Fire Chief Tim Grams.

The presentation of colors and the remembrance wreath, the "striking of the fives," the

Bulloch County Magistrate Court

21-gun salute and other honored ceremonial practices are all observed in honor of the fallen, he said.

Officers and members of the participating agencies arrive in uniform and others in the community

join them in prayer and observance. The annual event is open to the public.

The event is hosted annually by JoinerAnderson Funeral Home and Bulloch Memorial Gardens.

City of Statesboro The city of Statesboro’s mission is to provide the most responsive and progressive public services so that our residents, businesses, and visitors can enjoy the highest quality of life Statesboro has to offer.

Left to right: Deputy Clerks Briana Jones and Becky Hart, Chief Magistrate June B. Braswell , Deputy Clerks Brittany Dyches and Linda Jones

Jan Moore, Mayor

Phil Boyum

Sam Lee Jones

Jeff Yawn

John Riggs

Travis Chance

City Councilman - District 1

Left to right: Deputy Clerk Lynn Sapp, Clerk of Court Brenda Cross, Magistrate Karen C. Jones, Deputy Clerks Maria Mock and Linda Sammons Harris

City Councilman - District 2

City Councilman - District 3

Left to right: Constable Jason Sapp, Chief Constable Ricky Stringer, Constable Louis Keith

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Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

101 Oak Street, P.O. Box 1004, Statesboro, GA 30459

912-764-6458 • Fax 912-489-6731

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