CONTRIBUTED CONTRIBUTED
Nathanael Greene Academy: Melissa Demaray, Ayla Phillips, Faith Wiggins, Scott Lake Oconee Academy: Matt Fulton, Ashley Goodroe, Mandy Lipscomb, Ridge
Phillips, Dr. Tyler Franks. Sardella, Tony Sardella.
Rotary recognizes April Students of the Month
The Rotary Club of Greene
and Putnam Counties has
announced its Students of the
Month for April 2025: Sherry
Huckaby of Putnam County
High School, Abbie Mixon at
Gatewood Schools, TreVeon
Jackson at Greene County High
School, Ridge Sardella at Lake
Oconee Academy, and Ayla
Phillips of Nathanael Greene
Academy.
Sherry Huckaby is a senior at
Putnam County High School
and her parents are Nikki
Huckaby and Matt Herring. An
AP student, Sherry is an editor
of the yearbook, and the senior
intern for her guidance coun
selor. She enjoys reading, Photo
shop, and ceramics.
After high school, Sherry
plans to attend Georgia Military
College to pursue a degree in
psychology. In 10 years, Sherry
sees herself as a therapist with a
doctorate in psychology. Susan
Arrington is Sherry’s chosen
Putnam County High School
teacher of the month.
Gatewood High School senior
Abbie Mixon is the daughter of
Mike and Susan Mixon. Abbie is
a member of the National Honor
Society, involved in Young Life,
East Central chairperson for
Anchor Club, One Act Play, is
on the Farmers & Merchants
Bank junior board of directors,
is secretary of her class, a Gate-
wood Ambassador, and partici
pates in community service.
Abbie has made highest
honors throughout high school
while being involved in competi
tion cheer, sideline cheer, volley
ball, and track. Her favorite high
school memory is winning the
state championship in compe
tition cheer, and she received
the honor of making the 2024
All-Star Cheer team.
On afternoons and week
ends, Abbie works at Tanning
Supreme at Lake Oconee.
After high school, Abbie plans
CONTRIBUTED
Greene County High School: Angela Ross, Tashe Jackson,
Patricia Randolph, Dr. Tyler Franks. TreVeon Jackson's mother,
Tashe, accepted the award on his behalf.
to attend Georgia Southern
University to major in Biology.
Beth Moss, her English teacher,
is Abbie’s chosen Gatewood
High School teacher of the
month.
Greene County High School
Student of the Month TreVeon
Jackson is a senior and the son
of Skylar and Tashe Jackson.
TreVeon is a dedicated student
known for his positive outlook.
He has successfully completed
the Welding CTAE course
and currently is finishing his
final class in the Automotive
CTAE program. TreVeon has
recently been involved in various
community initiatives, including
My Father’s Kitchen, a canned
food drive for a local food
pantry, donations to Hurricane
Helene victims, and participa
tion in community Halloween
festivals, among others. TreVeon
is caring, kind, and respectful to
everyone he meets.
After high school, TreVeon
plans to attend North Georgia
Technical College to pursue
commercial truck driving. He
is looking forward to traveling
long distances and enjoying
different sights. For providing
guidance throughout TreVeon’s
high school years, he named
Didi Davis as his Greene County
High School teacher of the
month.
Ridge Sardella is a senior at
Lake Oconee Academy. His
parents are Tony and Shelley
Sardella, and Ashley and Matt
Fulton. A straight-A student,
Ridge is a member of the LOA
Beta Club and an executive
board member of the SGA. He
also volunteers at Lake Oconee
Church every other Sunday.
He said his parents are who
he respects most, as they make
him who he is. After graduating
from high school, Ridge plans to
attend the University of Georgia
to study engineering. He named
Mandy Lipscomb as his Lake
Oconee Academy teacher of the
month.
Ayla Phillips is the daughter of
Faith Wiggins and Scott Phillips
and has attended Nathanael
Greene Academy since 2021.
Upon graduating, she
is considering a career in
psychology and currently is
taking career academy classes
at Greene County High School,
along with dual enrollment
classes at Athens Technical
College this summer.
Ayla enjoys writing short
stories, making jewelry,
CONTRIBUTED
Gatewood: Beth Moss, Abbie Mixon, Susan Mixon, Mike Mixon.
CONTRIBUTED
Putnam County High School: Susan Arrington, Sherry Huckaby,
Nikki Huckaby, Dr. Tyler Franks.
and spending time with her
family and friends. She has
won multiple awards at NGA,
including being invited to
the Rotary Youth Leadership
Awards camp. Melissa Demaray
is Ayla’s chosen Nathanael
Greene Academy teacher of the
month.
“The Rotary Club of Greene
and Putnam Counties is proud
to honor its Rotary Students
of the Month,” Rotary leaders
said. “Each of these exceptional
students has demonstrated
exemplary leadership, dedica
tion to service, and commit
ment to their communities
that truly embody the spirit of
Rotary. Their achievements
and character remind us of a
bright future ahead, and we are
inspired by their contributions.”
— Contributed
PUTNAM COUNTY
OSHM presents ‘Print in the Digital Age’
IAN TOCHER/Staff
Eric NeSmith gestures on stage Sunday afternoon
at The Plaza during his talk on "Publishing Print in a
Digital Age."
The Old School History
Museum (OSHM)
presented an engaging
talk, “Publishing Print in a
Digital Age,” at The Plaza
Arts Center on Sunday as
part of its Sunday at the
Museum lecture series.
OSHM Director Sandra
Rosseter opened the
event by introducing Matt
Smith, general manager
of Smith Communica
tions, publisher of the
Lake Oconee News, who
in turn introduced special
guests William “Dink”
NeSmith and his son, Eric
NeSmith.
Before introducing the
NeSmiths, though, Smith
provided a brief history of
the news printing process,
including personal stories
and memories from when
he started out helping in
the family business, still
led by his father, Mark
Smith.
Dink NeSmith then
described his own lengthy
history in the newspaper
world, beginning with
his love for news at age 10
until advancing to being
involved in the ownership
of more than 60 news
papers across the South.
Currently, he is co-owner
William "Dink" NeSmith
of Athens-based Commu
nity Newspapers and
publisher of more than
two dozen newspapers
in Georgia, Florida, and
North Carolina.
Dink NeSmith shared
the story of how The
Oglethorpe Echo was on
the cusp of shutting down
in 2021 when he stepped
in with an offer to extend
its run.
“[The paper] went from
2,000 subscribers and
readers to 4,000,” Dink
NeSmith shared, while
many changes were made
to adapt The Echo to the
digital age, including a
new online edition and
social media accounts to
help satisfy the needs of
readers of all ages.
He also described a
unique arrangement
reached with UGA’s
journalism school to help
economically staff The
Echo while providing
much-needed, real-world
journalism experience to
students. Nearly 200 UGA
students have already
been involved with
The Echo so far, Dink
NeSmith proudly stated.
Next, Eric NeSmith,
current president of the
Georgia Press Associa
tion and publisher of The
Bitter Southerner, gave
the keynote speech. The
Bitter Southerner is an
Athens-based indepen
dent media company that
celebrates and highlights
the diversity and strength
of the South. The company
is an online publisher
dbittersoutherner.coml),
publishes books and
three BS print magazines
annually, and operates a
successful Southern-fo
cused podcast.
“Our publication’s
mission from the start 12
years ago has been about
telling stories of a better
Southerner, working
toward a better South,”
Eric NeSmith said. “At
the time we looked at the
media landscape and we
saw a gap. We saw a South
not properly represented.
“It’s been our mission
to show this place, our
home, in all its complex
ities, publishing stories
that celebrate the things
we love about the place
we call home, while
also staring at the hard
truths,” he continued.
Eric NeSmith’s love for
the South and for story
telling shone throughout
his talk, as he discussed
how he has adapted to
the digital age as well by
building an “eco-system”
for publication through
the sale of tea towels,
shirts, prints, and more.
Clearly, a passion for
sharing stories fueled
both father and son to
update and adapt their
strategies to work in the
digital age, where the
online world is always
growing.
Following the lectures,
guests were invited to
browse and take home
various Bitter Southerner
publications and enjoy
refreshments with both
Dink and Eric NeSmith,
served inside the OSHM.
OSHM posts updates
regarding future
programs on its Facebook
page as well as in the
community calendar of
this newspaper.
— Contributed
