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Betty Bush signs and discusses
latest book at Laney Museum
The Lucy Craft Laney Museum will
host a book signing and conversation
with the author of Expect Sunshine, a
novel by Betty L. Bush, on Saturday,
November 18, 2000, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Expect Sunshine was written with a
purpose — to shine a light on the life of
the African-American farmer.
A novel inspired by the Black Farm
ers Settlement Suit, Betty L. Bush tells
a suspenseful story of modern day is
sues, with a love story twist. This book
offers something different in the world
of African American and southern lit
erature.
Readers meet a third generation Afri
can-American farmer Sonny, his faith
ful bachelor son Kent, and Ellie, the
woman who broke Kent’s heart, but
could ultimately save his family’s land.
In the aftermath of the Black Farm
ers Settlement Suit, Expect Sunshine
encourages the beginningofthe healing
in its theme of love and forgiveness.
Thisstory of triumph provides the farm
ers abit of sunshine and courage to pick
up their cross and bear ‘witness to an
incredible history.
“At the turn of the 20* century, the
African-American farmers were 900,000
strong,” says Monica Armster, former
director of the Federation of Southern
Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund.
“But sadly, on the eve of the 21% cen
tury, they are fewer than 18,000.”
Betty has created a story that gives
the world a strong African-American
man who has proven he can take care of
his fam#ly and settle his inner conflict
by conquering the pain of the past.
Betty is also a lawyer with a passion
and humble appreciation for life on the
land. By writing this story, Betty L.
Bush has tackled the nuances of south
ern culture-and legal issues with grace
and style.
Patterson Entertainment will present its Third Annual
Model of the Year Competition on Sunday, November 19,
2000 at the Augusta State University Maxwell Performing
Arts Theatre. The teen show will be held at 3 p.m. with
the adult show following at 6 p.m. Tickets: $lO adults
- and $6 under age 12,
Portions of the proceeds will be donated to the S.C. State
. University Alumni Scholarship Fund.
For more information, call (706) 724-3220.
GAPEX 2000
By Lillian Wan
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
The24th Annual Augusta Stamp
Show, GAPEX 2000, was held No
vember 4-5, 2000 at the St. Joseph
Hospital Home Health Care Cen
ter. What did this reporter find
there besides pieces of paper used
for postage on cardsand envelopes?
Plenty.
Augusta State University (ASU)
was chosen as the honoree of this
year’s show which meant that first
day covers consisting of a special
commemorative cachet (decorative
design) bearing the logo of the 75th
anniversary of ASU were printed
on envelopes, plus a show cancella
tion stamper used with the words
“T'he University for Augusta... The
University for You! Commemorat
ing 75 Years of Service.” First day
covers are envelopes with a combi
nation of specific stamps, specially
created cancellation marks and/or
cachets used in combination to
honor a person, landmark or event
at a post office or a special postal
substation set up at events. For
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Bettyßush
A lover of the land herself, she grows
an herb garden with her favorites: pine
applemint and lemon basil. Her newest
farming adventure is growing shiitake
mushrooms. Betty lives in historic
Jefferson Park in the Atlanta suburbs
wit her cat, Diego.
Expect Sunshine is a 2000 release
hardcover 240-page book by Museum
Charity Publishing that will likely be a
trailblazer of fine literary works for the
well read and those interested in seri
ous African-American reading.
It will be available for purchase at the
book signing and author’s conversation
at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of
Black History on Saturday, November
18, 2000, from 2 to 4 p.m. For a sample
chapter, visit the author’s web site at
www.expectsunshinebooks.com and
becomeacquainted with one of the most
endearing and engaging new writßgsin
fiction.
show honors ASU’s 75th anniversary
people cherishing souvenirs and
keepsakes of special placeslike ASU,
itwasauniqueitem for sale foronly
$1.50 each.
There was also a display board of
each of the other first day covers
printed for previous GAPEX stamp
shows honoring somelocal event or
person or landmark. For example,
TheNational Science Center’s Fort
Discovery was featured for the 1997
show, during Fort Discovery’s in
augural year.
The weekend event alsoconsisted
of stamp exhibits, abourse of stamp
dealers, a special postal sub station
and stamp collecting information
fromvery friendly and helpful stamp
o ccue | M RTRITE |
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Y 5 o el i RRS S R e Y S
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4 2 IY/ 4 * Kid Scape ® Paul S. Simon Discovery Theater
‘5 ~lsc/n“env ¢ Power Station ® Science Store
vf«a}”“ e Great place for Company Meetings and Events, Receptions,
e Birthday Parties, & Family Reunions
www.Nalil)llalscienl:ecemel'.fll‘u One Seventh Street on Riverwalk ¢ 706.821.0200 ¢ 1.800.325.5445
I Publix.
SUPER MARKETS
Where shopping is a pleasure.
Neil QOth I
Augusta news anchorman brings “home
grown” perspective to repotting the news
By Timothy Cox
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
“Still, in peaceful dreams I see, the road
leads back to you.” is an excerpt from the
classic song, “Georgia (On My Mind).”
The above lyric could also be called Neil
Gordon’s theme song. Although he’s a
product of upstate New York, for the
talented TV news anchorman, Georgia—
especially Augusta — represents home,
nomatter where his career road hastaken
him.
While he’s worked for Augusta TV sta
tions on two different occasions, Neil
found himselfleaving the Garden City for
career development. After briefly work
ing in Macon and Augusta, Neil eventu
ally headed north to work as a news
anchor in Elmira, N.Y. and later, took a
gigin Spokane, Wash. He soon discovered
it was something about the Georgia pines
that makes him feel right at home. Today,
he’s considered one of Augusta’s premier
news talents on NBC-affiliate WAGT-TV
Channel 26. _
But what’ssoappealing about the Peach
State? “Really, Inever felt likea Yankee,”
said the broadcast communications gradu
ate of Buffalo State College (N.Y.). “People
have always treated me very warmly and
I like the down-home environment,” he
said. After college, the young man who
considers veteran announcers Bob Costas
(NBC) and Ted Koppel fABC) as infhu
ences, started his career at Macon’s
WMAZ-TV as a part-time weekend re
porter and made “extracash” sellingshoes
at Macon Mall.
A few months later, he landed a job at
WRDW-TV Channel 12 in Augusta, but
after a few months, headed back home to
Elmira to become an 11 p.m. anchor at
WETM-TV. Neil considers his early ca
reer asa “learning experience” and stayed
up north for a couple years until coming
back to Channel 12 in spring 1992.
“It was like the Man upstairs told me
I’d meet a Southern belle and have kids.”
Gordon’s intuitions were on point, after
he realized an Evans High School gradu
ate named Minty was “the one.”
collectors of the Greater Augusta
Stamp Club.
Everyonehasseenand used stamps
as little pieces of postage to mail off
letters, postcards and other items
across the United States and around
theworld. Stamps are notjust pretty
pictures, they are educational and/or
historical in what they depict. Can
cellation marks are also sometimes
meaningful in that they may honora
specificdate, historical figureorevent.
Cachet designs feature a person, par
ticulareventorspecial location. Com
bined with certain stampsand cancel
lation marks, they are collector’s
items. At the stamp show, teachers
weresearchingfor particular themed
cachetsonenvelopestoinspire =~
classes to study the people or = ]
events detailed on the cachets = !
in pen and ink drawings, color- |
ful printed pictures or evenin =
silk pictures attached to the =
front. An envelope with the |
cachetof Booker T. Washington, =
specially cancelled in commemo
ration ofhis 100thbirthdayin his
hometown of Hardy, Va., can in
spire one to study about this fa
mousAfrican-Americanearlyedu-
cator. A Centennial Observanceof
the Emancipation Proclamation
honored on August 16, 1963 in
See STAMPS, page 4B
AUGUSTA FOCUS
Neil Gordon, 26 ACTION
NEWS. Photo by Timothy Cox
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Viewers appreciate Neil’s gonversational approach for telling the
news. Photo by Timothy Cox
Subsequently, Neil garnered a solid
reputation for pioneering morning news
casts and consumer TV reports on Au
gusta TV while revealing scams and sid
ing with the common consumer. His ca
reer soon took off and Neil found himself
being courted for a better-paying job in
Washington state. With a growing family
which now included two sons, Neil ac
cepted the job at KREM-TV in Spokane.
The family left town in January 1995 but
returned to Augusta before Christmas of
the same year.
Neil’s timing was impeccable and he
was available tohelp WAGT-TV’s maiden
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was used on April 5, 1956 in honor of Washington’s
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voyage into news programming. “I really
missed Augusta and so did my family,”
said Neil, in telling why he left Spokane.
Augustahasa “northern feel” for aSouth
ern town, he added.
Since October 1999, the Gordons are
one big, happy family here in Augusta —
and Neil Gordon is equally satisfied in his
co-anchor position with Mechelle Jordan.
The Colonie High grad (‘81) also won
statewide broadcastingawards (GABBY)
and recently earned a Society of Profes
sional Journalists award. Perhaps it’s
poetic justice that Neil’s hometown, Al
bany, has Georgia ties.
SHolt
O
DECEMBER 18 - 22
Take-Home Projects & Hands-On Science Activities
Holiday Games & Loads of Fun
Members: For Complete Details
S2O/day or $75/week :
Non-Members: Contact Lisa Golden
. 706-821-0646
$25/day or SBS/week
1B