Newspaper Page Text
blackboard
The Upson Beacon
Wednesday,
May 29, 2024
Page 4B
This page and subscriptions provided to the Upson-Lee
The Peoples Bank
^IVFGriff
of Georgia
"The way Banking used to be"
Member 943 N. Church Street • Thomaston (£}
fdic 706-646-1462 ™
v
Insurance Services
517 N. Church Street
Thomaston, GA 30286
706-647-8121
School System by these generous partners in education...
U-L’s Mackey, Mitchell Accepted
to DCI’s Memphis Blues Marching Band
Need Upson Support to Get There
Alex Mackey (left) and Mazon Mitchell (right) at the Upson-Lee High School band room.
Andrew Carroll
Sports Editor
acarroll@upsonbeacon.com
Two Upson-Lee
Marching Knights are set
to perform on one of the
biggest stages in marching
band as Alex Mackey and
Mazon Mitchell prepare to
join with the Memphis
Blues.
The Memphis Blues are
a competitive marching
band that take part in
Drum Corps International,
which is essentially the
major leagues of marching
band.
ULHS Band Director
Cameron Born spoke with
the Upson Beacon.
“I’m thrilled for them.
They’re going to learn a
ton while they’re on tour.
They get to eat, sleep, and
breathe band for a month
and a half straight, and I
can’t wait to see what kind
of progress they make over
the summer.”
Both Mackey and Mit
chell play tuba for U-L and
are underclassmen.
For Mitchell, that
youth equate to some
nerves, commenting, “I’m
nervous, but excited.
We’re going to be learning
a lot of new techniques.
It’s a new learning pro
cess.”
Mackey said that hav
ing Mitchell on the trip
will help ease the nerves a
bit.
“With us both going,
we’re doing it together. We
know each other. We’ve
marched before with each
other.”
The opportunity for
both is an accidental hap
penstance that occurred
following a change for the
low brass directed by Born
in 2023. The Knights
swapped from the old sou-
saphones to new contras
for marching season,
which lined up perfectly
with what the Memphis
Blues use on the field for
tubas.
Born commented that
he made the swap due to a
better tone quality from
the contras over the sousa-
phones.
Born said there will be
some adjustments that
have to be made for the
pair. Mackey and Mitchell
are used to performing in
a band where they are two
of three tubas. The Mem
phis Blues marches with
no less than 12 and, ac
cording to Born, the Blues
will likely have more than
150 members on the field
including percussion and
guard.
The season for the pair
of Knights begins with
training camp on June 22,
and the Blues will travel to
Sevierville, Tenn., Atlanta,
Muscle Shoals, Ala., and
will end on July 13 in Little
Rock, Ark.
Mitchell was accepted
first, and it spurred Mac-
key to audition as well.
Mackey commented that
when he was accepted, the
first person he reached out
to was Mitchell with a text,
stating, “You’re not going
to believe this.”
The acceptance into the
Memphis Blues is not all
sunshine and rainbows,
however, as both Knights
will have to come up with
$1,300 just to perform
with the band.
Born stated that the
money does not include
traveling to Memphis, nor
does it include laundry.
Should members of the
community and readers
wish to help both
members of the Marching
Knights make the trip to
Memphis, both Mackey
and Mitchell have Go-
FundMe accounts setup
for donations. Those links
are at
https://gofund.me/3e9b6
182 and
https://gofund.me/ededc
89L
South Receives GFA Scholarship
Upson County student Macey
South has been named a recipient of
a Georgia Foundation for Agricul
ture Scholarship.
South is one of eight graduating
seniors statewide selected to receive
a $3,000 GFA scholarship. Two
other graduating seniors were
awarded $4,500 scholarships.
GFA scholarships recognize de
serving and outstanding college stu
dents pursuing agriculture or
ag-related degrees at a college in the
University System of Georgia, Berry
College or Emmanuel College, or a
school in the Technical College Sys
tem of Georgia.
“Georgia Farm Bureau is proud
to support the Georgia Foundation
for Agriculture’s programs,” said
GFA Board Chairman and GFB Pres
ident Tom McCall. “The foundation
offers these scholarships as an in
vestment in the future of Georgia
farming, and we’re excited to see
what these students can do as they
move into their agricultural careers.”
South, a graduating senior at
Upson-Lee High School, is the
daughter of Marcus and Neely South
of Thomaston. She plans to attend
Fort Valley State University and
study animal science beginning this
fall.
South has served as president of
the ULHS Future Farmers of Amer
ica chapter the past two years, and
she is a member of the Junior Cat
tlemen’s Association. Through FFA
she has shown livestock and won
multiple grand champion titles.
As a ninth grader, she was ac
cepted into the local Youth Leader
ship Upson program, learning about
Courtesy of GFB
Macey South
Upson County history and indus
tries, as well as visiting state repre
sentatives at the Capitol in Atlanta.
U-l Golf Rounds Out Sports Year at State
Andrew Carroll
Sports Editor
acarroll@upsonbeacon.com
Upson-Lee golf trav
eled to Lafayette Munici
pal Golf Course for the
GHSA AAA State Cham
pionship match on May
19 with play on May 20.
The Knights picked up
the AAA area one cham
pionship in early May at
Raintree Golf Club, but
things did not go quite as
smoothly for the Knights
in North Georgia.
Cason Blakely led the
way for the Knights in the
opening round, scoring
78 on the day. Whitaker
Hawkins finished out his
high school career with a
score of 81 over 18. Nick
Davis likewise played his
final tournament for the
Knights with a score of
88. Trent Coker tabbed
93, Jackson Moore 95,
and Hudson Chastain fin
ished the day with an
even too.
The overall score for
the team came in at 340
in round one.
Day two for the
Knights did not fare
much better, except for
Moore and Chastain,
which both improved
their scores down to 92
each. The 346 team score
on day two placed the
Knights 10th overall in
AAA.
The Lady Knights
ended 11th at state to fin
ish out the season.
Courtesy of GSC
Local graduate Madison Walker, front row, smiling, during Gor
don State College's spring 2024 commencement ceremony.
Area Student
Achievement
Local students continue to achieve excellence while con
tinuing their education:
Local students recently graduating from Gordon State
College include Brooke Byers, Carlie Collins, Caylee Daniel,
Hannah Dunnahoo, Maggie Ellington, Pedro Gaspardo,
Hannah Glover, Colton Greene, Maribeth Hardeman, Me
lissa Heredia-Chegue, Desiree Herring, Kristy Huang,
Donna Joiner, Quienyetta Martin, Annie Pasley, Raeann
Swails, Chikeyva Tomlin, and Madison Walker.
Isabella Jacobs recently graduated from Shorter Uni
versity with a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Ravikanth Kaithalapuram recently graduated from
Trine University with a master’s degree in information
studies.
Sabryna Lay was recently featured as a Canes Spotlight
at Georgia Southwestern State University, which highlights
students who hold leadership roles, are involved in extra
curricular activities, and excel academically on campus.
Lay recently graduated with a degree in English.
Kezari Weston Submitted
Three-Year-Old Weston
Catches Albino Catfish
Three-year-old Kezari
Weston of Thomaston se
cured the catch of the day
when he reeled in a rare al
bino catfish while fishing
with his grandparents in
Lizella earlier this month.
Joey and Necole Wes
ton, affectionately known
to Kezari as Pop and Lol-
lie, told the Upson Beacon
that he secured the fish on
his fourth catch of the day.
“We were all shocked
and excited when we real
ized it was this beautifully
unique and rare albino
catfish,” Necole said. “Ke
zari loves to fish but would
run off when he reels them
in... He told his Pop that
we have to come back soon
and catch too more catfish
(his favorite).”
According to online
sources, albino or leucistic
catfish are caught periodi
cally around the country,
but for fishermen, “It is
somewhat similar to hit
ting the lottery.” While
some may catfish for the
rest of their lives, it is
likely they will never catch,
or even see, another fish of
the like.
Necole was filming the
catch, and Kezari was
nearly shaking with joy as
they reeled in the fish.
Kezari is the son of Ja-
Kordney Weston and Ja-
niya Bentley.
