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The ADVANCE, March 29, 2023/Page 13A
Forge Holds First Graduation
FIRST FORGE GRADUATION - Forge Men's Recovery Center held their first graduation
ceremony on Saturday, March 18, where 5 men celebrated their completion of the
program. L to R: Mike Erwin, James Thevenin, Michael Podlesny, Tim Fowler, and An
drew Lillard.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Forge Men’s Recovery
Center celebrated another
milestone on March 18, as
the first graduation service
for men who have complet
ed the program was held.
In the past 5 years,
Forge has moved from be
ing a dream in the mind of
a recovering addict, Craig
George, to now having
helped over 30 men, hous
ing almost 30 more, and
even obtaining an apart
ment building to provide
men with housing upon
their departure from the in
patient facility
“We’ve been waiting to
be here a long time, so I just
want to thank God - this
is very clearly His work. If
you know me well enough,
you know how reckless I
am as an individual, and
you know how bullheaded I
can be, and you know there
is no way something like
this could be pulled off by
me alone and some good
luck,” George remarked on
the growth. “I never will be
able to express my gratitude
to each of you who have
believed in us, each of you
who have been praying for
us, [and] each of you who
have come alongside us on
this journey.”
During the March 18
ceremony, five men - Mike
Erwin, James Thevenin, An
drew Lillard, Tim Fowler,
and Michael Podlesny -
were all honored as they
began their transition back
into everyday life. Each of
the men received a plaque
to recognize their success
in the program and spoke
about their experience.
Mike Erwin
After receiving his
plaque, Erwin first ad
dressed his guidance from
God throughout his time
at Forge. “God has just kind
of guided me through this
whole process,” he began.
“About 7 years ago, I was in
Richmond Hill, and I told
Craig I was going to come
see him — he was actually
locked up. God has a funny
way of doing things, and
I did meet Craig — I was
behind a holding cell in jail
with him. Fast forward a
little bit more, and Craig ac
tually came and got me out
of jail in Tennessee, and he
asked me to go on a mission
with him — he was opening
up a rehab. I thought, ‘Why
not? I had the time.’”
He continued, “Craig
has always had a good heart,
so when he told me about it
and asked if I wanted to go
get my bags, I said, ‘No, let’s
just go.’”
According to Erwin,
the pair traveled to a house
in Vidalia, where men in
recovery were staying. “We
pulled up to this house
and there was 9 guys in the
house, and I thought ‘What
did I get myself into?’ It’s
come a long way and I’m
thankful for the program,
the community, and the
guys that are here. You have
helped me, and I’m just
grateful for that.”
James Thevenin
Thevenin explained
that he came to Forge less
than a year into the pro
gram’s establishment. “I
didn’t know what I was get
ting myself into, and I didn’t
have the entry fee to get in
to this program [upon my
first arrival],” he recalled. “I
put in an application [pre
viously], and I look at it as
God worked for me and it
worked out right because
Craig had never gotten my
application; he just came
and talked to me one day.
But the night he came to
visit me, he sponsored me
for the program, and I left
jail that night.”
Thevenin said that
his time at Forge had al
lowed him to witness a lot
of growth in both the facil
ity and the people around
him. “I’ve gotten to see a
lot of changes in people and
myself. I’ve been through a
lot here [and] it’s been safe.
I really don’t want to leave,
but every good thing must
come to an end. I’m going
to make some more memo
ries and will be working for
[Forge] shortly,” he con
cluded.
Andrew Lillard
“I first met Craig in
March 2021 in the court
house,” Lillard began. “I was
stoned out of my mind and
couldn’t even look at him.
That wasn’t the right time
for me to get here.”
According to Lillard,
he did not join the recov
ery program until the fol
lowing September. “God
made a way for me to be
blessed enough to join this
organization,” he remarked.
“I have a lot of disabilities,
being [that I am] a disabled
veteran, and I’m thankful
and grateful that Craig took
me in, gave me a chance,
showed me how to live, and
gave me the tools I need to
make it through.”
He gave the men still
residing at Forge a word of
advice. “To the guys: make
connections. Talk to your
sponsor every day. Get
numbers. Network. That
will help you in your pro
cess as you grow.”
Tim Fowler
Fowler began his
speech by asking the audi
ence to applaud his fellow
graduates and the men cur
rently residing at Forge. “I
am so proud of every one of
you,” he told the men. “You
guys have carried me when
I couldn’t deal with myself.
When I couldn’t hear God
or anything, you guys car
ried me, and I am so thank
ful and grateful for that.”
He told the audience,
“When I came to Forge, it
was the weakest moment of
my life — the lowest part of
my life — but at that time,
I was able to say those two
hardest words to say, and
that’s ‘Help me.’ At that
time, God showed up in my
life, and He began to work
in my life. Any credit for me
being here today is owed to
my Higher Power. He car
ried me when I couldn’t do
it.”
Fowler thanked George
for being his sponsor and
for guiding him through the
12 steps of recovery. “He’s
been an example of what
it means to be in recovery
and he’s shown me what it
means to walk like a man in
recovery.”
Fowler concluded his
speech with a quote which
he said Forge often reminds
the men. “There’s a saying
we use in this program: ‘A
grateful addict will never
use.’ So today, I like to share
my gratitude. I’d like to put
insurance on my clean day,
protection on my clean day
— September 27, 2021
— so that it never has to
change. Today, I stand here
in gratitude, so thankful for
my sponsor, so thankful for
my Higher Power, so thank
ful to these guys at Forge, so
thankful to the community,
so thankful to the Board of
Directors — all you guys
that have helped us. I’m
here because of you guys,”
he emphasized.
Michael Podlesny
“It’s an honor to be
here,” Podlesny reflected. “I
remember when you picked
me up, Craig. I swore I
would have never made it.
I didn’t believe in myself,
but you believed in me, and
everybody here believed in
me. Really, I didn’t do any
thing — all I did was not
give up when I wanted to
give up. God did the rest.”
He spent the remain
der of his address thank
ing Forge staff, residents,
and community figures for
their impact on his recov
ery. “ Y’all are my family. I’m
not from here, but y’all have
loved me before I could
love myself. The opposite
of addiction is connection,”
Podlesny explained.
He spoke first to Forge
Board of Directors Member
Glen Williamson. “Glen, I
look up to you. You are an
inspiration and a good role
model,” he said.
He thanked his boss
for allowing him to work.
“Y’all love me and give me
anything I need, and it is a
honor to work with you,”
Podlesny shared.
“To the guys at the
Forge, you are my brothers
and my family,” he contin
ued. “It’s been a journey,
y’all, and if I can do it, you
can do it. My compass never
pointed North. It took a lot
of consequences and look
ing at myself before I got it
right.”
He added, “To the guys
I’m graduating with - Mike
E., man, you’re an example.
You’re an inspiration, and
I love you, man. James, we
started this together, [and
you were] my first friend
here. Tim, we got stuck to
gether for every project,
and I grew with you — I be
came a part of the commu
nity with you, I completed
projects with you, it was
something I had never done
before — you’re my broth
er, dude. We did it. Andrew,
you taught me a lot about
myself; we’ve been through
our ups and downs, but you
taught me about compas
sion, you taught me about
ego, and you taught me
about friendship.”
Podlesny continued
throughout the remainder
of his speech to thank peo
ple like Toombs County
Family Connection and
Zen Den Owner Paige Wil
liamson, his Connection
Church Small Group, his
mother, and more.
Reflections
Current Forge resi
dents, Forge Board of Di
rectors, and friends and
family of the graduates were
invited to speak throughout
the ceremony to share their
perspectives on the pro
gram and the men. Many
praised Forge for its com
munity involvement and
tight-knit brotherhood, as
others shared their desire
to see many more of these
graduations in the future.
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continued from page 1A
Board of Equalization, an
appointed position. She is
past Chair of the Repub
lican Party of Wheeler
County, and a past poll su
pervisor for local elections.
In other business, the
Council approved a new
contract for 2023 health in
surance premiums for city
employees. The Council
deferred voting on a mea
sure for a 2024 SPLOST
referendum, but approved
acquiring bids for con
struction of a new City
Hall. The project would
involve renovation of an
existing, city-owned struc
ture on Main Street.
The Council also ap
proved going forward with
an ordinance, which would
involve amending the city
charter, to redistribute su
pervisory responsibilities
between the Mayor and the
City Administrator. The
proposed measure would
allocate to the mayor su
pervision ofbilling finance,
budgeting, banking, bill
pay, accounts receivable,
utility and city clerk, and
office management. Under
the new plan, the City Ad
ministrator would super
vise the police department,
city workers, and capital
outlay project budgets and
construction.