About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2024)
PAGE 2A BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2024 Social News Georgia Foundation for Agriculture offers $65,000 in school scholarships The Georgia Foundation for Agriculture (GFA) is offering $65,000 in schol arships to Georgia students pursuing a degree in agri culture, veterinary medi cine, family and consumer sciences or a related field, Jimmy Morrison, Banks County Farm Bureau presi dent, recently announced. The GFA will award scholarships in the follow ing four categories. Scholarship for Agricul ture - This scholarship is for high school students who plan to enter a college that is part of the University System of Georgia, Berry College, Emmanuel College or any accredited college/ university in Georgia with an ag program during the 2024-25 academic year to pursue an undergraduate de gree in agricultural and en vironmental sciences, fami ly and consumer sciences or a related agricultural field. The GFA will award 10 scholarships of $3,000 each. The top two ranked appli cants will be eligible for an additional $1,500. Technical College Schol arship for Agriculture - This scholarship is for students who will be enrolled in a Georgia accredited tech nical college and major in an area of agriculture or an ag-related field of study, such as welding, mechanics, culinary arts, or commercial truck driving. The GFA will award four scholarships of $1,500 each. Visit https:// gfb. ag/gfatechscholarship- majors for a list of eligible schools and majors. Rising College Junior/ Senior Scholarship for Ag riculture - This scholarship is for college students who have at least two semesters of college remaining to re ceive an undergraduate de gree from a unit of The Uni versity System of Georgia, Berry College, Emmanuel College or any accredited college/university in Geor gia with an ag program. Applicants must be major ing in agriculture and envi ronmental sciences, family and consumer sciences or an ag-related field. The GFA will award eight scholar ships of $2,000 each. UGA College of Veteri nary Medicine Scholarship — This scholarship is for students currently enrolled in the UGA Veterinary Med icine program specializing in large animal/food ani mal practice. The GFA will award two $5,000 scholar ships. “I encourage any student who qualifies for one of the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture scholarships to apply,” said Morrison. “Agriculture offers many exciting career opportuni ties. Both farmers and con sumers depend on the many jobs agriculture creates such as mechanics, large animal veterinarians and food sci entists.” The Banks County Farm Bureau would like to offer a scholarship to students who live in Banks County and qualify any of the GFB Scholarship. Submit a copy of the GFB Scholarship to Julie Jackson at jajackson@gfbco.org or bring it by the Banks Coun ty office. Visit www.gafounda- tionag.org/scholarships for a list of eligible majors/ schools for all scholarships, applications, and instruc tions to apply. All applications must be submitted online by March 1, 2024. Transcripts and letters of recommendation must be submitted online with the application. The scholarship recipients will be announced in spring of 2024. Scholarship checks will be sent to the qualifying college/university the recip ient is attending and placed in their school account upon verification the student has met all qualifications for the scholarship. Scholar ships awarded to graduating high school seniors will be distributed for spring 2025 upon receipt of first semes ter college transcript indi cating the recipient is pursu ing an ag-related coruse of study and has at least a 3.0 GPA. The GFA is a non-profit 501 ©3 organization dedi cated to preparing the next generation of leaders for success in Georgia agricul ture. The GFA works with Georgia Farm Bureau and other Georgia agricultural and educational organiza tions to achieve its mission. The foundation offers schol arships to students pursuing agricultural careers, funds leadership development programs and projects that increase the public’s under standing of agriculture. It coordinates the Georgia Ag Experience, a mobile classroom that introduces third through fifth graders to Georgia’s top crops. To make a tax-deductible do nation or learn more about the foundation, visit www. gafoundationag.org or con tact GFA Executive Director Lily Baucom at 478-405- 3461 or info@gafounda- tion.org. Piedmont Athens: Consider donating blood during nationwide shortage The American Red Cross is experiencing an emergen cy blood shortage as the na tion faces the lowest num ber of people giving blood in 20 years. If you are eligible, your donation of blood will make a significant impact on the lives of others, Piedmont Athens leaders said. “Blood supply is critical to our ability to serve pa tients, and we partner with the American Red Cross for blood supplies,” said Geoffrey Marx, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center. He added, “All Piedmont hospitals are working with the Red Cross to make sure we are appropriately stocked and are taking steps to conserve blood where we can.” Piedmont is also encour aging all staff members and volunteers who are able, as well as citizens across Geor gia, to consider donating blood at an upcoming blood drive. Visit redcrossblood.org to find a blood drive. The Gilded Age homeschool day planned at the Northeast Georgia History Center New year, new budget? By SUSIE BURTON MEDINA Did you make any new year’s resolutions? Many people make resolutions about their spending and saving. Is this the year you will start saving for retire ment or stop spending so much on throw pillows? UGA Extension has re sources and information to help you check in on your financial life. Here are some of our top tips: Double check—are you spending more than you earn? The path to financial wellness begins with sav ing. You can’t save if you spend more than you earn. If you use credit cards to cover the gap between paychecks, you might be outspending your earnings. Use an app on your phone or a good old-fashioned pencil and paper to track your spending for a few weeks. Where is your mon ey going? Create a budget. It can be handwritten, on a spread sheet, or on an application. It can be a birds-eye view of your spending and sav ing, or it can be hyper-de tailed. What matters is that you have one. A budget is a plan for your money. Like in any other facet of life, you will do more and go farther with a good plan. Note that a budget is different than tracking. Tracking tells you where your money has gone in the past. A budget is a plan for where your money will go in the future. I am a big fan of the 50/30/20 budget frame work. In a nutshell, this framework suggests about 50% of your money should go towards essentials (hous ing, essential utilities, gro ceries, etc.). Another 20% goes to your financial future (retirement, emergency savings, saving for an investment like a home, paying off debt). The final 30% is for your discre tionary spending (meals out, Netflix, vacations, pizza parties, salon visits, clown college tuition—the choice MEDINA is truly yours). When you run your own numbers, you may find that your spend ing falls somewhere like 50/5/45 or 70/10/20. Don’t panic—you can find ways to cut in some areas so you can increase in others. Let your budget be adapt able. Yes, it’s a plan, and like with any other plan, things will change. When your transmission fails or Fido eats the remote and visits the emergency vet, you’ll need to move things around. That’s okay. Your budget should reflect your priorities, not anyone else’s. There’s a reason we call it “personal” finance. As long as your budget ad dresses your essentials and your financial future, spend discretionary income on what floats YOUR boat. I once heard, “You can buy anything you want, but you can’t buy everything you want.” Let your budget help you decide your priorities— what do you want the most, and what can you do with out? If you’d like more re sources about managing your money, Banks County Extension is here to help. Also, remember that we are offering 100 percent free federal and state income tax preparation in Homer, Demorest, and Clarkesville. Book your appointment by calling 706-677-6230. Di rect questions to susie.bur- ton@uga.edu. Susie Burton Medina is the UGA Family and Con sumer Sciences Agent for Banks and Habersham counties. Step back in time with the Northeast Georgia History Center during Homeschool Day: The Gilded Age on Wednesday, Jan. 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meet historic figures like Susan B. Anthony, learn about the fashions and danc es of the era, and torn the Worlds Fair Exhibit to ex plore inventions and prod ucts of the 1890s. Programs and activi ties include the following plans: • 10 a.m. — Meet Susan B. Anthony: An opportunity to interact with one of histo ry’s most influential figures in the fight for women’s suffrage. Susan B. Anthony will be portrayed by profes sional living history inter preter Cathy Kaemmerlen of Tattling Tales Produc tions Inc. • 12 p.m. — Fashion and Dances of the Gilded Age: Explore the elegance and etiquette of the era with his torically accurate costumes and dances with Kat Nagar, Director of Atlanta Historic Dance. • The World’s Fair Exhibit Hall — Ongoing: Wander through the inventions hall to learn about groundbreak ing inventions of the era from everyday appliances to marvels of technology. • Silhouette Portraiture Station ($5) — Have a sil houette portrait taken and printed as a souvenir. Homeschool Days are free for Members of the Northeast Georgia History Center and regular admis sion for non-Members. Be come a member at www. negahc.org/member. Online registration for this event is available at www.negahc.org/events. Kendall Garrison named Rotary Student of the Month The Rotary Student of the Month is Kendell Garrison from the Banks County Middle School. He was recognized at a recent meeting of the Banks County Rotary Club. After being introduced by school counselor Hannah Healan, Kendell shared a few words as to why he chose Mitchell McGhee to be the Teacher of the Month. “We are very proud of both Kendell and Mr. McGhee,” Rotary leaders state. “Keep up the great work. We wish you great success in the future.” Kendell Garrison (middle) was named the Rotary Club Stu dent of the Month. He selected Mitchell McGhee (left) as Teacher of the Month. School counselor Hannah Healan is also shown. Banks County Rotary Club president Doug Cheek presented the Rotary Student of the Club award to Kendell Garrison, a student at Banks County Middle School. T^ARNELLeu I If m DESIGNS Ask about jVIemorials \ the FREE gift with An MED Enterprises Co. purchase. Serving this community since 1962. Office located at 220 Hwy. 441 S. in Commerce, GA. 706-335-4066 Hours: Monday - Friday 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Saturday By appointment only • Closed Sunday **We accept M/C, Visa and offer a lay-a-way plan. Rotary Club sponsors Food 2 Kids Program The Banks County Rotary Club is sponsoring the Food 2 Kids Program in the county school system. “School isn’t just a place for learning,” organizers state. “For some of our most impoverished kids, it’s also the only reliable source of food in their lives. The sad truth is that from Friday afternoon until they return to school on Mon day morning, some of these children may not know if or how much they’ll get to eat.” Food 2 Kids is a program that helps bridge that gap for some of the community’s neediest kids. Sacks of kid-friendly food—enough for at least six meals—are handed out every week to children identified by school teachers, counselors and officials as being most in need. The disposable sacks will have approximately seven to 10 pounds of food—enough for two days of meals. The food is in easy-to-open packaging and doesn’t require any cooking. To donate or for more information, contact Becky Car- lan at 706-540-3828. Mail in contributions can be sent to: Food 2 Kids, PO. Box 54, Homer, Ga., 30547. Fun By The Numbers 3 9 4 7 3 6 2 9 2 7 6 3 5 7 8 2 4 6 8 3 1 7 9 4 7 6 2 1 8 9 1
