Newspaper Page Text
8A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, May 10,2023
Dawsonville veteran opens mobile coffee shop
Photos submitted to DCN
IGY6 Coffee owner Chris Sheets' friend Nate Belche, right,
drove all the way from Maysville, Ga., to be the first person
to pay cash for his coffee during the shop's April debut.
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
For Dawsonville resident Chris
Sheets, the decision to open his
business and call it IGY6 Coffee
was deeply personal.
IGY6 or “I got your six” is a
common saying among military
and first responders that means “I
got your back.”
Sheets previously served for
about five years as a U.S. Army
13 th Bravo field artillery soldier
before getting injured.
What followed was a series of
hardships where Sheets became
addicted to opioid drugs and later
methamphetamine, which even
tually landed him in prison.
“Through all of that, I found
God,” said Sheets, “so not only is
this to glorify veterans, but to glo
rify God, too.”
And as it turns out, faith can go
really well with a cup of Joe.
“Coffee came in because in
recovery, you’re always drinking
coffee in the [recovery] meet
ings,” Sheets said.
He also became active in
groups like Celebrate Recovery
and relished the comradery. IGY6
Coffee’s logo incorporates a well-
known Bible verse, Proverbs
27:17. “As iron sharpens iron, so
one person sharpens another.”
A portion of the coffee shop’s
proceeds go back to the aptly-
named IGY6; Foundation. This
organization likewise aims to cre
ate a supportive social environ
ment for first responders by offer
ing its members thrill-seeking
events modeled after the bonds
Resources
• The Veterans Crisis
Line: Dial 9-8-8 and
pressing 1. For more
information, go to the
988 Suicide & Crisis
Lifeline website at
988lifeline.org.
• IGY6; Foundation:
To learn more about
the organization
Sheets helps support
with a portion of his
proceeds, go to
https://www.theigy-
6foundation.org/.
present in law enforcement, fire
fighter, military and frontline
medical communities, according
to the foundation’s website.
Like the foundation, Sheets
wants his business to help fill a
gap in support for veterans and
first responders by bringing more
awareness about mental health
conditions like depression, anxi
ety and PTSD.
Although veteran suicide
deaths decreased from 2019 to
2020, the rate of veteran suicides
was still 57.3% higher than non
veterans, and suicide was listed as
the second-leading cause of death
among veterans ages 18-44,
according to a 2022 report from
the U.S. Department of Veteran
Affairs.
Sheets pointed out that many
iterations of IGY6, like on
T-shirts or tattoos, have a semico
lon next to the acronym.
“It means [to] pause or rest.
That’s what the semicolon in
IGY6 is supposed to be about,
helping people that are suicidal
and bring more awareness to
that,” Sheets said.
As he regained control of his
life through his faith and sobriety,
Sheets knew he wanted to start a
veteran-supportive business-he
just didn’t know what type of
business.
But drawing on his now-well
established habits with coffee,
Sheets put two and two together
three years ago.
“I thought, ‘What’s the best
way to start up a coffee shop?’ I
knew I didn’t really have the cap
ital to start up a brick-and-mortar
store, so what’s the next best step
from that?”’, he said.
He’d learned other people who
started coffee stores from a trailer
before moving to a brick-and-
mortar shop, so he began looking
up specifications for building out
a trailer.
Then in 2021, he and his wife,
Melissa, moved from Colorado to
Dawsonville.
Last year, Sheets firmly com
mitted to his idea, and after
months of preparation, he
debuted the weekend of April
22-23, 2023, at Dawson County’s
Atlanta Motorsports Park.
“A lot of stuff had been worry
ing me about opening it up, [like]
the way the economy’s going
right now and stuff like that, but I
knew I had to keep on going with
it. I couldn’t stop,” he said.
For now, Sheets is doing his
HVAC job during the day and
selling coffee on the weekends,
but he hopes to build up his busi
ness more over time.
So far, he’s been grateful for
the support of businesses like
AMP or Ruby’s Recipes that
have allowed him to set up his
mobile shop on their premises.
“It’s been a great customer
response,” Sheets said. “Folks
here are very supportive of our
military and very supportive of
our deputies and the fire depart
ment, too.”
Despite the business having an
acronym as a name, he added that
more people than he thought
picked up on its meaning “right
away.”
Sheets looks forward to more
events and possibly setting up
closer to places like the sheriff’s
office or one of the local schools
so he can serve deputies and
teachers.
And as Dawsonville residents,
he and Melissa are hopeful that
the business could grow into
something more in the downtown
area.
“One of the things we’ve said
is, “Let’s try to be the first brick-
and-mortar [one] here. I would
love to be the first brick-and-mor-
tar coffee store here in
Dawsonville.”
For now though, Sheets appre
ciates the flexibility of the coffee
trailer and being able to go to
events and meet people.
“I want to be a part of the com
munity,” he said. “I want to be
able to help out, especially our
local community here in
Dawsonville.”
Residents can get free admission to racing museum
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
Residents of Dawson County
can now receive free admission to
the local racing museum, thanks
to a new initiative by museum
leadership to let locals learn more
about their hometown and its deep
roots in racing.
According to museum director
Cindy Elliott, anyone who pres
ents an I.D. with a Dawson
County address or a proof of resi
dency at the museum will receive
free admission during the muse
um’s normal business hours.
“So many times we hear ‘we
didn’t know you were here’, ‘I
didn’t know you had all this in
here’ or ‘this is so cool’, so this is
trying to encourage local resi
dents to come and see what we
have to offer,” Elliott said. “We
want them to have the time to go
through and really enjoy the
experience.”
The free admission will apply
to any day during the museum’s
normal business hours, and
admission will continue to be
charged as normal for all people
regardless of residency during
special events.
The goal of offering free admis
sion to the museum, she added, is
to allow local residents the chance
to get to know more about their
hometown by exploring not only
the careers and success of some of
Dawson County’s best known rac
ers but also the county’s rich his
tory and heritage as the birthplace
of stock car racing.
The Georgia Racing Hall of
Fame is located at 415 Highway
53 East, next to Dawsonville City
Hall. For more information
including museum hours and
upcoming events, go to https://
georgiaracinghof.com/.
DCN file photo
FROM 1A
Teens
A weapon allegedly used in the inci
dent was listed as “unknown,” the
report stated.
In a follow-up call on May 4,
Johnson confirmed that the teen victim
suffered a broken tooth as a result of the
fight.
Though the fight was close to the
junior high school, local land records
show the property at the listed address
is owned by the city of Dawsonville.
Multiple parents use the farmers mar
ket parking lot area as a pick-up spot
for their junior high students after
school.
Since the incident occurred on city
property, DCN contacted City Manager
Bob Bolz on May 3 for clarification
about surveillance camera footage of
the farmers market area.
“The sheriff’s office already has [sur
veillance camera] access in cases like
this, so we don’t have to wait for stuff
like this to give them access,” Bolz said.
“We’re all trying to help people be safe
and secure as best we can.”
Johnson confirmed that deputies have
seen the camera footage and that the
misdemeanor charges for the two teens
were appropriate since one of the vic
tim’s teeth was broken rather than a
bone.
DCN contacted Dawson County
Schools Superintendent Nicole LeCave
for comment to clarify if there would be
any possible disciplinary action for the
students charged.
“The student code of conduct is
enforceable at bus stops, on school
buses, or other vehicles provided for
student transportation by the school dis
trict, at school on school property at any
time, and off school grounds at any
school or school-related activity, func
tion, or event,” LeCave said in a May 5
email.
“Any off-campus behavior of a stu
dent which could result in the student
being criminally charged with a felony
may also be subject to disciplinary
actions per the student code of conduct.”
DCN will continue following this
story.
MAY 17, 2023 | 6:00PM
BOWEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS
334 Highway 9 N., Dawsonville 30534
Help us celebrate the county's top athletes! Event will
begin at 6 p.m. May 17 at the Bowen Center for the Arts.
Former Dawson County High School Basketball Coach
Steve Sweat will be the keynote speaker.
Tickets are $12 per person.
SPACE IS LIMITED / TICKETS MUST BE PRE-PURCHASED
Contact Megan Smarz to purchase your tickets today at
msmarz@gainesvilletimes.com or 770-535-6371.
Start earning
today with
BankOZK!
<4.40%>
7-MONTH CD OR IRA CD** SPECIAL
<5.00°/°>
13-MONTH CD OR IRA CD * SPECIAL
Visit our Dawsonville location or open an
account online at ozk.com**
<> BankOZK
Greater awaits"
ozk.com I Member FDIC
*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective as of the publication date. Offer applies to new CDs only. $1,000
minimum deposit to open and is required to earn stated APY. Penalty for early withdrawal. IRA CD is subject
to eligibility requirements. Offer not available to Public Funds, brokers, dealers and other financial institutions.
Fees could reduce earnings. Offer subject to change without notice. Offer good at locations in Dawsonville,
GA only.
**IRA CD must be opened in person and cannot be opened online.
