The ADVANCE, November 24, 2021/Page 4A
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Patriot’s Pen, Voice of Democracy Winners Announced
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Photo by Makaylee Randolph
VOICE OF DEMOCRACY WINNERS — The future of America was the topic for this high
school speech scholarship competition. Here, the winners pose with the local directors
of the competition. L to R: Local Contest Assistant Director Deborah Pressler, 3rd Place
Winner John D. Williams, 2nd Place Winner Dorothy "Dottie" McDaniel, 1 st Place Winner
Mikkelle Peters, and Local Contest Director Shirley Curl,
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
PATRIOT'S PEN WINNERS — Participants in the Patriot's Pen Essay Competition focused
their pieces around "How to be a Good American." Here, the winners stand with the
local directors of the competition. L to R: Local Contest Assistant Director Deborah
Pressler, 3rd Place Winner Camden Lee, 2nd Place Winner Summer Ward, 1st Place
Winner Rilyn Rodgers, and Local Contest Director Shirley Curl.
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By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Patriotism was in the
air as representatives from
the Auxiliary of the J. Barry
Jones Veterans of Foreign
Wars presented awards
to winners of the middle
school Patriot’s Pen essay
and high school Voice of
Democracy speech con
tests.
The themes of this
year’s speeches were to
center around the future of
America and good citizen
ship. Middle school par
ticipants were instructed to
develop an essay discussing
the ways in which they may
be a good American in to
day’s society. Meanwhile,
high school students fo
cused their speeches on a
singular question: “Amer
ica, where do we go from
here?”
The local competition
featured participants from
Vidalia High School, Vida-
lia Heritage Academy, and
Toombs County Middle
School. The middle school
division was swept by
participants from Vidalia
Heritage Academy, while
the high school contest
winners represented both
Vidalia Heritage Academy
and Vidalia High School.
First place for the Pa
triot’s Pen was awarded
to Rilyn Rodgers, an 8th
grade student at Vidalia
Heritage Academy. Sum
mer Ward was the contest’s
runner-up, and Camden
Lee took home the third
place prize.
Mikkelle Peters came
out victorious in the Voice
of Democracy competi
tion, as she represented
Vidalia High School. The
runner-up placement was
awarded to Peters’s class
mate, Dorothy “Dottie”
McDaniel, while Vidalia
Heritage Academy student
John D. Williams came
in third place. All three of
these students received
scholarships based on their
placement.
“It doesn’t really mat
ter where we go as long
as we are progressing for
ward,” Peters explained
when asked about the fu
ture of America.
Both Rodgers and Pe
ters will continue to com
pete with their essay and
speech as it continues to
district competitions.
Other participants in
the Patriot’s Pen contest in
cluded Anna Nally (VHA);
Jake Michael (VHA);
Teagan Carney (VHA);
Piedad P. Hernandez III
(TCMS); Emily Arianna
Bryant (TCMS); Jazmine
J. Easton (TCMS); Ezarria
Walton (TCMS); Layasia
Johnson (TCMS); Adam
Bell (TCMS); Cali M.
Driggers (TCMS); Tyler
J. Reese (TCMS); Sarah
E. Walker (TCMS); Emily
G. Carter (TCMS); Jordan
C. Brannen (TCMS); and
Gabrielle Nicole Vinson
(TCMS).
Participants in the
Voice of Democracy com
petition were Seth D. Mac
Gregor (VHS); Ryleigh
Ellis (VHS); Aleah Ajohda
(VHS); Rebecca Proenza
(VHA); Caroline L. Page
(VHA); Josey Joy Harrell
(VHA); Riley A. Sanders
(VHA); Mallie B. Braddy
(VHA); and Owen Luke
Moxley (VHA).
Meadows Marks ER
Wait Time Milestone
Memorial Health
Meadows Hospital re
cently celebrated a mile
stone achieved through
teamwork and operational
improvements. The emer
gency and trauma team
has sustained its average
ER wait times below 15
minutes for the past 90
days.
“In an emergency,
every second matters. If
you or your child is ill or
injured, waiting even min
utes for help can feel like
an eternity,” said Memori
al Health Meadows Hospi
tal CEO Matt Hasbrouck.
“That’s why we’ve focused
so hard to ensure that
when you come to Mead
ows, your medical care is
started very quickly.”
The wait time is de
fined as the amount of
time it takes from when a
person walks through the
door of the emergency
room to the time their
medical care is started by
a medical provider. “Our
emergency department
sees more than 30,000
visits each year and many
of these patients are seri
ously ill and need to be
seen right away,” said Has
brouck. “Our team has
worked hard to improve
our processes and we’re re
ally proud that we’re now
consistently providing
care in under 15 minutes.”
To hold itself to this
high standard and ensure
the community has con
fidence in the hospital’s
commitment to care, Me
morial Health Meadows
Hospital will show its ER
wait times very transpar
ently - via their website
(MemorialHealthMead-
ows.com) and digital bill
board on its campus. In
addition, the community
can text “ER” to 32222 for
the current average wait
time.
“High-quality care
will always remain our
No. 1 priority,” said Has
brouck. “We are respond
ing to what we know our
families want — the best
emergency care, deliv
ered quickly. As a Level IV
trauma center, we know
there will be times that
our ER wait times climb
a bit higher due to delays
when critical patients have
to be seen first. However,
ROBOTIC "TEST DRIVE"
Dr, Allahna Coggins, Women's Care Physician at Memorial
HANDLE
WITH
%
due to strong operational
processes, we are able to
see patients much more
quickly, helping them on
the road to recovery or
home more quickly, too.”
Health Meadows Hospital, above, shows a young child how the hospital's new Da
Vinci XI robotic surgical equipment works, An open house was held last week to intro
duce the public to the new equipment and the team that will use it, Meadows CEO
Matt Hasbrouck explained how the $2 million robot will be used for minimally invasive
surgical procedures. CNO Jeffrey Harden introduced the surgical team and surgeons
Dr. Kendrix Evans - General Surgery; Dr, Henry Ferland - General Surgery; Dr. Allahna
Coggins - Women's Care; Dr, Ashlee Nicole Tillery - Women's Care,
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At Vidalia Federal we are truly thankful for
all of our customers, employees and our
community. We appreciate the trust you place
in us, and it is our honor to serve you.
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