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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. TUNE 10, 2009
Chamber Members Get Lesson
On Living Within Their Incomes
Danny Kofke, a Gum Springs Elementary School special education teacher
and author of “How To Survive (and perhaps thrive) on a Teacher’s Salary,”
explained to chamber members last Wednesday how he and his wife achieved
financial security.
Photo by Mark Beardsley
By Mark Beardsley
You can call Danny
Kofke a visionary a man
way ahead of his time.
The Gum Springs
Elementary School special
education teacher wrote a
book two years ago about
managing money — basi
cally living thriftily some
thing he and his wife Tracy
practiced long before the
world entered the Great
Recession.
The author of “How To
Survive (and perhaps
thrive) On a Teacher’s
Salary" told the breakfast
meeting of the Jackson
County Area Chamber of
Commerce June 3 that the
book shows “how to get the
most out of paychecks."
The truth is, if all
Americans took Kofke’s
advice, the debt-driven
economy might never
recover, but his spend
thrift common-sense
approach to finance could
have saved millions of
Americans from the rav
ages of this recession. In
an economy begging for
consumer spending, Kofke
promotes thrift, a once
widespread virtue that
more recently was largely
forgotten in America.
Kofke’s comments sug
gested his financial prac
tices stemmed from want
ing to continue a job he
loves — teaching — while
raising two children who
are cared for by a stay-at-
home mom.
Noting that half of teach
ers get out of education in
five years, but that teach
ing is considered one of
the top 10 “most gratifying
jobs," Kofke, 33, said he
put his practices down on
paper “to help others who
do have a job that they
love so they won’t have to
quit."
He used a PowerPoint
presentation, flashing pic
tures of Ed McMann, Mike
Tyson and Michael Vick —
all of whom have entered
bankruptcy — to stress a
point.
“It really doesn’t matter
if you make $10,000 or $10
million," he warned. “If you
spend more than you have,
you’ll be in trouble."
He provided a math les
son on “compound inter
est," that works against
consumers who finance
life with credit cards and
other consumer debt but
works for those who save
and invest money. And he
showed how the average
person could find money
to invest by reducing dis
cretionary spending —
eating out less frequently,
foregoing that expensive
specialty coffee, advising
them to “put that money
where you won’t spend
it."
For example, Kofke
said, instead of buying a
soft drink from a vend
ing machine daily, he buys
them by the 12-pack on
sale — a savings of 72 cents
a day. Instead of eating
lunch out every day, brown-
bagging one day a week
nets another $5 per week
in savings. The coffee he
makes at home and carries
to work reflects yet anoth
er savings, while staying in
one weekend a month for
pizza and a rented movie
saves $35 over a restau
rant meal and tickets for
two to a theater.
Saving like that, invested,
will result in big money,
he promised, showing how
saving 10 percent of his
$2,215 monthly take-home
salary will turn into more
than $1 million by age 60
(assuming a 10-percent
annual return).
And now, he said, is a
great time to start.
“You can get mutual funds
right now on sale," he said,
referring to depressed
prices. “Now is actually a
good time to invest."
He and Tracy started the
process by recording every
expenditure for a month,
which enabled them to see
where their money went —
and how, with some disci
pline, a fair portion could
be recaptured.
A two-year teaching stint
in Poland taught the Kofkes
the prudence of economy
in housing. Seeing families
of five living in a one-
bedroom house, they real
ized they could make do
with a two-bedroom, two-
bath house and the smaller
mortgage it offered.
But the real key to finan
cial stability is placing
values in the right place,
Kofke indicated.
“When you like going to
work and like your job and
base your sense of worth
on what you do, not what
you wear or what you own,
you’re better off," he said,
while those who place a
premium on possessions
and a material lifestyle are
setting themselves up for
a fall.
It’s a lesson that comes
too late for some people.
“People are starting to
realize that the rainy days
their grandparents talk
ed about are here," he
said. As for the Kofkes,
their thrift serves them
well. “My wife gets to stay
home and raise my two
children. To me, that’s
worth a million bucks,"
Kofke observed.
Commerce News Brings Home 10 Awards From
Georgia Press Association Newspaper Contest
The Commerce News won
10 awards in the Georgia
Press Association’s 2009
Better Newspaper Contest
for newspapers published
in 2008.
The News won first place
in its circulation division
for editorial page, editorial
writing, headline writing,
local news coverage and
sports pages. Editor Mark
Beardsley won first place
for humorous columns.
The News won second
place for general excel
lence and page one, and
Beardsley captured third-
place awards for spot
news photo and feature
photograph.
Other MainStreet
Newspapers publications
also won awards.
The Jackson Herald won
three awards, including first
place for its editorial page
and third for editorial writ
ing. Features editor Jana
Mitcham won first place
for business coverage.
The Braselton News won
first-place awards for edito
rial writing, local news cov
erage and special issues.
Editor Kerri Testement
won first place for humor
ous columns.
Chris Bridges won a
third-place award for seri
ous columns for The Banks
County News.
The Madison County
Journal won six awards
including second places
for Ben Munro in sports
writing and education
coverage, second in life
style coverage and third
in religion coverage. Zach
Mitcham won third for edi
torial writing and Margie
Richards third for photo
essay.
Councilman
Massey Can't
Make Meeting
City councilman Richard
Massey was unable to attend
Monday night’s council meet
ing.
Massey, who is recovering
from a stroke, suffered a set
back over the weekend when
an infection forced him into
the intensive care unit at BJC
Hospital. He has since been
returned to a regular room
where he is recovering.
“He looks to be here in July,"
advised councilman Archie D.
Chaney Jr. “He wanted to be
here real bad.”
Massey represents Ward 5.
County Schools To
Be Upgraded
With SPLOST Money
By Kerri Testement
When Jackson County
students return to class
next school year, some of
them may notice a few
changes in their schools.
On Monday, the
Jackson County Board of
Education approved the
use of sales tax funds
for several maintenance
projects at five schools.
Overall, the school
board approved up to
$45,490 for the main
tenance projects, along
with up to $78,000
in sales tax funds ear
marked for technol
ogy to provide SMART
Boards at South Jackson
Elementary School.
The board also approved
up to $82,000 in sales
tax funds earmarked for
construction to retrofit
the existing fire alarm,
security and intercom
systems at North Jackson
Elementary School.
The maintenance proj
ects include removal of
carpet and installation of
tile in four classrooms
and one administrative
office at SJES (up to
$7,200); removal of car
pet and installation of
tile in four classrooms
and the computer lab
at Benton Elementary
School (up to $7,800);
replacement of 35 cafete
ria chairs at West Jackson
Middle School (up to
$1,000) and replacement
of media center furni
ture at Jackson County
Comprehensive High
School (up to $19,500).
Also, the school system
will complete the softball
fencing at West Jackson
Middle School and East
Jackson Middle School
for up to $4,995 for each
school.
Dennis Patrick, direc
tor of administrative
services, said the proj
ects initially arose from
budget requests from
each school. Some of the
schools asked for addi
tional work, but those
requests were trimmed
due to budget concerns.
All of the maintenance
projects will be complet
ed before school starts
Aug. 6, he said.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the
Jackson County Board of
Education:
•heard from superin
tendent Shannon Adams
on the preliminary
results for the school sys
tem's Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP) status.
Adams said there's every
reason to believe that all
schools made AYP this
year, including JCCHS,
which didn't make AYP
last year due to its gradu
ation rate. Adams said
improving the gradua
tion rate has been a top
goal for the school system
this year, and JCCHS has
significantly increased its
graduation rate.
• heard from Patrick,
who said a renovation
and addition construc
tion project at North
Jackson Elementary
School is expected to
start in early August. The
project should be com
pleted around Christmas,
he said. During the proj
ect, the school's cafete
ria will not be able to
prepare meals for a little
while and students may
be served bagged meals.
• heard from Patrick,
who said the improve
ment project at the
JCCHS gym will be
completed after the
school year starts. The
existing bleachers have
been removed, but the
new bleachers can't be
installed until Aug. 17,
he said. It will take one
week to install the bleach
ers. So far, painting has
started at the gym, along
with the installation of
several HVAC units.
• heard from Adams on
the school site audits. All
14 school sites received
a clean audit, he said.
The system-wide audit is
expected in July.
•heard from a couple
asking the school board
to allow their two chil
dren to remain at Gum
Springs Elementary
School. The family lives
on Old Swimming Pool
Road and their property
was recently annexed
into the City of Jefferson
without their request.
The couple said they
wanted the children to
remain in the county
school system, instead
of attending Jefferson
City Schools. The
Jackson County School
System will advise the
family on its decision
this week.
— Correction —
The story on local barber Bill Wood's service
in Vietnam — in particular in the battle for
"Hamburger Hill" — contained an error.
Hill was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division
not the 82nd Airborne Division.
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Saturday, June 13, 2009 • 3:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Sponsored by Davis Antiques
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GRAND OPENING
Lunch
11:30-3:00
"All You Can Eat"
Sushi & Roll Buffet
Dinner
3:00 - 10:00
Sushi & Roll • Fried Rice
• Teriyaki & More
Wal-Mart
Hwy. 441
Exit 149
Tanger
Outlet
Days Inn/NGB Bank
HERE
706-336-8789
Located across from Wal-Mart
152 Dallas Dr.
Commerce, GA 30529