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Wednesday, December 7,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
Little Tiger Theatre Co. puts on ‘Elf the Musical Jr’
Erica Jones Dawson County News
Dawson County second through eighth graders in the Little
TigerTheatre Co. practice their roles during a dress rehears
al of "Elf the Musical Jr" which they performed this past
weekend.
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
This past weekend, local sec
ond through eighth graders put
on a production of “Elf the
Musical Jr.” at Dawson County
Middle School.
The production was based off
of the 2003 movie “Elf’ and
featured the story of Buddy the
Elf, a human who was raised by
elves in the North Pole and
embarks on an expedition to
New York to find his birth
father.
The play was put on by 56
members of the Little Tiger
Theatre Co., who ranged in age
from second to eighth grade and
represented Riverview
Elementary School, Blacks Mill
Elementary School, Dawson
County Middle School and
Dawson County Junior High
School.
Mac McGriff, who is in eighth
grade at Dawson County Junior
High School and played Buddy
in the production, said that he
and his fellow actors in the Little
Tiger Theatre Co. had been
rehearsing and working hard on
the musical since about August.
“We’ve been working just
about every day and we’ve really
put a lot of work into it, so we’re
very proud of it,” McGriff said.
In the production, Buddy
meets Jovie, a New Yorker who
he immediately develops a crush
on. Annabella Berry, who is in
eighth grade at Dawson County
Junior High School and played
Jovie in the production, said that
acting has always been a huge
passion for her.
“This will be something like
my 18th play; I’ve done a lot of
plays and acting is my passion,”
Berry said. “I think that every
body puts in a lot of effort; we
all work very hard on our lines
and it takes a lot to remember
everything — I’m really excit
ed.”
McGriff and Berry’s fellow
student actors echoed their
excitement about the musical
finally opening after so much
hard work being put into it.
“We’ve practiced forever now;
it feels like we’ve come so far
from when we started,” Anna
Leigh Kinney, who is in fifth
grade at Black’s Mill
Elementary School and played
Charlotte Dennon, a Macy’s
employee and a New Yorker in
the production, said. “It’s just a
good, family-friendly show.”
“I’m so excited about it,”
Riverview Elementary School
fifth grader Brody Smith, who
played Walt, said.
Elbe Wilson, who is in second
grade at Blacks Mill and played
an elf in the production, said that
Elf was first musical she’s per
formed in.
“I’m excited and kind of ner
vous too; it sounded like a good
play to be in and it’ll be a good
show,” Wilson said.
Riverview third grader
Catherine Jenkins, who played
an elf and a reindeer, said that
this was her second production
and that she was excited for
members of the community to
see her and her fellow actors in
the play.
“It’s a great children’s show
and a family show and it’s good
for little kids to come see too,”
Jenkins said.
“It really helps support the arts
in our community and we’re
going to put on a really great
show,” Berry added.
The play was co-directed by
Jordan LeFevre and Becca
Johnsen, with assistance from
Jeremy Lavender. Johnsen said
that coming to see the play was a
great way for community mem
bers to not only support the
young actors but to also get into
the holiday spirit.
“It’ll put you in the Christmas
spirit,” Johnsen said. “The kids
are really excited, their energy is
high and these are our future
performers of Dawson County
so we’ll see them on the stage
for many years to come.”
UNG announces first Rhodes Scholarship finalist, Moller
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
The University of North
Georgia has announced that
Anna Mpller is the university’s
first Rhodes Scholarship finalist.
According to a press release
by the universi
ty, Mpller is
UNG’s Student
Government
Association
(SGA) presi
dent and a
senior
International
student pursu
ing a degree in psychology with
a minor in organizational leader
ship.
The Rhodes Scholarship is a
national postgraduate award for
students to study at England’s
University of Oxford and is the
oldest and most prestigious
international graduate scholar
ship in the world. According to
the release, Mpller, who is a
Danish citizen, applied to the
Global Rhodes Scholarship,
which is an exceedingly com
petitive international scholar
ship.
“The entire University of
North Georgia community is
incredibly proud of Anna and
this achievement,” UNG
President Bonita Jacobs said in
the release. “Her drive and lead
ership skills have been evident
throughout her time at UNG,
and this accomplishment will
propel her to further success.”
Anastasia Lin, UNG’s assis
tant vice president for Academic
Affairs, nominated Moller for
the scholarship. Lin, who also
directs UNG’s Nationally
Competitive Scholarships office,
mentored Mpller through the
extended application process
along with several other faculty
and staff members.
“Anna is unstoppable. She
possesses a unique blend of aca
demic excellence, leadership
savvy and a genuine commit
ment to making the world a bet
ter place,” Lin said in the
release. “She has honed her
skills relentlessly through her
work on sustainability issues,
Student Government and the
Honors Program.”
Finalists for the Rhodes
Scholarship are chosen for their
outstanding scholarly achieve
ments, their character, commit
ment to others and to the com
mon good and for their potential
for leadership in whatever
domains their careers may lead,
the release said.
“Anna is also the kind of lead
er our world needs,” Lin said.
“She creates consensus through
intelligent, informed and highly
skilled dialogue and then takes
effective action that leads to
lasting change informed by
community collaboration.”
The Rhodes Trust, a British
charity established in honor of
Cecil J. Rhodes, provides full
financial support for Rhodes
Scholars to pursue their degree
or degrees at the University of
Oxford.
After applying for the scholar
ship, Moller passed a rigorous
interview process and then par
ticipated in a virtual social.
“The social engagement
event brings all candidates
together. I got to know who I
was competing against and the
panelists in an informal setting,
but it’s still part of the process,”
Moller said in the release. “It’s
been a tradition that the final
ists form a camaraderie, a com
munity.”
After the social event, Moller
and the other finalists participat
ed in individual interviews
before learning who the winners
of the scholarship were.
“It’s so difficult to become a
Rhodes finalist that reaching
that status in itself is something
that companies and universities
will recognize,” Moller said in
the release. “I’m still very happy
with the process, and when ask
ing what I could have done bet
ter, they could not pinpoint any
thing. I simply wasn’t the best
match available.”
During her time at UNG,
Mpller has been a student leader
on the university’s sustainability
committee, and she plans to
become an environmental scien
tist and leader.
“I’m unique because I bring a
psychological perspective into it
in terms of how can we make
these environmental solutions
actually work out within com
munities in countries in terms of
what are the psychological bar
riers between that collaboration
being successful,” Mpller said in
the release.
Mailer
Chamber holds ribbon cutting for Gl North
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
On Tuesday Nov. 29, the Dawson
County Chamber of Commerce held a
ribbon cutting for GI North, located at
200 Dawson Commons Circle Suite
230.
GI North is a practice that specializes
in treating diseases of the digestive sys
tem and focusing on delivering person
alized care for better health. The prac
tice utilizes the latest diagnostic tech
nology for colonoscopies, upper endos
copies and other colon cancer screening
procedures, and doctors and staff in the
practice are dedicated to patient-focused
care to make every patient as comfort
able as possible.
The practice has offices in Dawson,
Cumming and Alpharetta, as well as an
endoscopy center in Cumming.
According to Chief Operating Officer
Jason W. Miller, having the endoscopy
center allows the practice to make pro
cedures easier on patients than it would
be if they had to go to a hospital.
“Our endoscopy center in Cumming is
a three-room endoscopy center, so we’re
able to accommodate patients there ver
sus a hospital experience for them,”
Miller said, “so it’s typically a lot lower
cost for the patient, much more efficient
than the hospital setting and a lot quick
er room turnover.”
Miller said that expanding into
Dawson is an exciting step forward for
the practice.
“We’re expanding our footprint so
we’re very excited to make our way to
Dawson County and Dawsonville,”
Miller said. “A lot of patients already
were traveling from this area and north
to Cumming so we’re really pleased to
be able to be here and offer our great
service here. We’re really excited to be
here.”
Before cutting the ribbon, Dawson
County Chamber of Commerce
President and CEO Mandy Power wel
comed Miller and all of the office staff
to the county, expressing her excitement
for having the practice now open in its
Dawson location.
“We’re so excited about the services
that you’re able to provide our citizens
here in Dawson County and super excit
ed that y’all are here,” Power said.
For more information about GI North,
go to https://gi-north.com/.
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