Newspaper Page Text
Page 8A
September 28, 2022
sEeporter
Pennington a Forsyth Everyday Hero
By Steve Reece
stevereece@gmail.com
N ot only is she
a life-long
Monroe County
resident, but
Juanita Pennington also
comes from a long line of
Monroe Countians. Her
parents, Lillian and Oscar
Pennington were also
born in Monroe County
as well as her grandpar
ents on both sides, Elijah
and Beulah Crawford and
Ed and Mary Penning
ton. Juanita said even her
great-grandmother, Tilda
McDowell, came from
Monroe County Her father
was a pulpwooder and her
mother worked in a textile
mill.
Juanita was one of six
children and graduated
from Mary Persons High
School in 1982. After high
school she immediately
furthered her education at
Gordon College, studying
business administration.
Later she transferred to
Georgia College in Milled-
geville where she received
her Bachelor of Arts
degree.
Her first full-time job
went to work at the giant
retailer to gain experience
and after six years she felt
she was ready to go into
business.
She then opened her
music store on East John
Twenty-eight years later,
Juanita says the years have
been good with a lot of ups
and downs. She said the
store did extremely well
when it first opened but
then sales went down when
bootlegging became
widespread, and
people were recording
songs directly off the
radio onto cassettes.
Now people get their
music off their phones,
so Junita said she had
to diversify and add
other items to her in
ventory, such as selling
music players and cell
phones. She became a
home and cell phone
agent and can correct
some small problems
that people have with
their devices. She also
sells music books.
Juanita loves to read in
her spare time and is a
member of the St. Peter's
Rock Missionary Baptist
Church in Juliette.
Juanita Pennington
was working at Walmart
in Forsyth starting out as
a cashier and becoming a
department manager. She
ston Street. She is now the
owner of Juanita's House
of Words and Music at 42
East Main Street.
When asked what advice
she would _
like to
pass on
to young
people,
Juanita
said,
"Think
about what
you want
to do in life. I don't feel
like college is for every-
body, but it doesn't hurt. It
helps. And
once you
decide on
what you
want to do,
don't give
up. If you
come to a
stumbling
block, don't
give up. Use it as a stepping
stone."
BAY Hlv
MORGAN VIEW
FARM
Horseback Riding
• Camps
•Lessons
•Showing
•Sales/Lease
Oil
.MorganViewFarm.com
Tandem bike rally held in Juliette
By Steve Reece
stevereece@gmail.com
It was a perfect weekend
for a group of twenty tandem
bicycle riders who gathered on
McCracken Street in Juliette
at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept.
9 to take part in day one of
the Georgia Tandem Rally
(GTR). An off-road excursion
on gravel roads that loop the
famous movie set town. Riders
had the option of a long trip
of 38 miles or a less strenuous
choice of just 26 miles.
After they pedaled back
to town, the bikers had lunch at the
Whistle Stop Cafe and of course
enjoyed the fried green tomatoes. Later
they went to Forsyth and again had
fried green tomatoes at Grits Cafe. For
dessert, Scoops on the Square was the
choice. In the evening group enjoyed
sampling locally brewed beer at Fox
Strauss is also a ride director.
The following day, there were eight
remaining couples who rode 28 miles
and although they never
ran into any rain, there
were a bunch of dirty riders
on dirty fat-wheeled bikes
at the end of the day. On
Sunday there were seven
teams remaining who did a
20-mile trek before check
ing out of their Forsyth
hotel.
Gilda Stanbery, Execu
tive Director/CEO of the
Forsyth Convention and
Georgia Tandem Rally riders in Juliette Vis r itors , B , ureau said that
the rally infused about $10,000 into
the local economy over a three-day
City Brewing Company. Ride director,
Eve Kofsky said Scoops was the special
star of the day and the group really
lapped it up. Kofsky s husband, Roger
period.
For more details, visit www.geor-
giatandemrally.com.
Northwestern Mutual
== Wealth Management Company®
Mark Holloway, Financial Advisor
478.365.0382
mark.holloway@nm.com
www. ma rkhol loway. nm .com
® Monroe County’s Vietnam
lfets Need Your Help
Vietnam Veterans of America
is starting our annual fund raising,
and we need your help.
In order to meet our goals, we need your support.
TOGETHER...WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE
We took an oath when very young to serve. We continue to serve our
community and our brothers and sisters. All donations are used to
support veterans and their families, active and reserve. We also give
back to the community, by using and supporting local business.
SOME OF OUR PROJECTS INCLUDE:
1. Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Care Cottage
2. Pine Point Hospice, Macon
3. Scholarship in honor of Monroe Countians who made the ultimate sacrifice
4. Homeport home for homeless and transition veterans
5. Lady Veterans at Milledgeville Veterans Home
6. Freedom Fidos service providing no cost service dogs to veterans and first responders
7. Run for the Fallen
8. Georgia State Patrol Forsyth stuffed animals for children
9. Chair of Honor in public places
10. Local brothers and sisters who are deployed
11. Wreaths Across America at Veterans Memorial Cemetery
12. Mary Persons High School JROTC UUA Medal & Ribbon Program
13. Monroe County Back to School Bash
SEND DONATIONS TO
Central Georgia Chapter Number 946 of the
Vietnam Veterans of America
Tax ID # 4-3147159, GA Non-Profit Corporation # 0468311
Vietnam Veterans of America
Central Georgia 946
P.O. Box 1144 • Forsyth, GA31029
MC Sheriffs Office Care Cottage Check Presentation Jordan Reynolds
2022 Scholarship Recipient
Cooking Team GA National Guard Predeployment Meal WAAWA/Living Word
Back to School Bash 2022