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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JULY 28. 2016 — PAGE 3B
Madison County July Mentor
Spotlight — Tara Thomas
Tara Thomas is the
Madison County Mentor
Program's July Mentor
Spotlight.
She is a school coun
selor at Hull-Sanford
Elementary School and is
married to Kip Thomas,
sheriff of Madison County.
They have two children
in the Madison County
School System.
“I have been working
for this school system for
the past 17 years,” said
Thomas. “Along with
being a school counselor, I
am also a mentor with the
Madison County Mentor
Program. Over the past six
years, I have been an offi
cial mentor to some of our
students along with trying
to somewhat fill that role
for those students still on a
‘waiting list' for a mentor.
School staffs do a won
derful job getting to know
our students and wearing
the hats of teacher, school
mom/dad, nurse, counsel
or, etc., but many times
there are children that need
even more individual atten
tion from an adult. Our
school is very thankful for
TARA THOMAS
our mentors who step in
to help our students. Just
a little extra attention from
an adult can make a big
difference in a child’s day.”
Thomas remembers
helping a past mentee wrap
presents for his family at
Christmas.
“This student was 11
years old and had never
experienced wrapping
a gift for someone.”
said Thomas. “The look
of pride on his face will
always stand out in my
mind, and that student will
always hold a special place
in my heart. You see, men
tors are people that have
the opportunity to be a part
of a child's life to sup
port them in whatever way
that they can. Some of the
mentors at Hull-Sanford
come and read with their
student, some work on
projects, others teach their
mentee how to play board
games, or just simply eat
lunch with their mentee.
You would be surprised at
how excited and special a
child feels just to have their
mentor come eat lunch and
spend time talking with
them!”
Thomas encourages oth
ers to consider mentoring.
“As we get geared up
for another school year. I
encourage our citizens to
consider giving two hours
a month to a child in one
of our county’s schools.”
said Thomas. “If you think
you wouldn’t know what
to do or how to help, Ms.
Aaron (director of Mentor
Program) and the school
counselors are there to
help you along the way. It
only takes a willing heart
to make a difference in the
life of a child!”
Logan Mize attends
‘Hospitality Careers Academy’
LOGAN MIZE
Logan Mize, a 2016 grad
uate of Madison County
High School, recent
ly attended The Classic
Center's Annual Hospitality
Careers Academy.
Fourteen students from
around the state met at The
Classic Center July 11. The
group was comprised of
students who aspire to be
chefs, event planners, and
work in the business side
of hospitality and tourism.
Students of the academy
were given the real world
task of creating an event.
The event showcased the
apparel of a local athlet
ic business. The business
has had sufficient sales of
their athletic shoes but the
sales of apparel have been
extremely underwhelm
ing. After brainstorming,
students created a fashion
show idea that would bring
attention to the often-over-
looked apparel.
The week was then spent,
bringing their brainstorm
ing ideas to life and culmi
nated with an event Friday,
July 15. While planning
their event, academy stu
dents were housed at both
Ritz-Carlton Reynolds and
Hotel Indigo, allowing
them to view the hospitality
industry up close.
The week also provided
students the opportunity
to job shadow, work on
resume building, practice
job interview skills, and
network with business
owners in the community.
After spending the week
sharpening job skills, net
working and planning, stu
dents of the academy host
ed the fashion show event.
Mize was the banquet
manager. It was her respon
sibility to ensure the room
was prepared for the event.
Other students prepared the
food, some created the pre
sentation for the event, and
others produced a business
plan for showcasing athlet
ic apparel.
During the event, stu
dents were able to speak
about the experience and
received certificates for
their work. The academy
presented Mize with “The
Best Attitude and Character
Award.”
“This was an awesome
experience and I am so
grateful to have had the
opportunity to participate
in the academy,” said Mize.
“I have learned so much
in a short amount of time.
I would like to return to
my culinary classes and tell
them all about this oppor
tunity and the benefits of
participating.”
Library to exhibit ‘Ocean Bound’
“OceanBound: Upstream
and Downstream.” an artist
exhibit, will be on display
at the Madison County
Library in August, with an
opening and artist talk by
Beth Thompson set from
3 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug.
6.
“The Broad River and
its tributaries define the
Madison County land
scape,” a press release
about the exhibit states.
“William Bartram wrote
about the Broad River in
his Travels, published in
1792. Off Wildcat Bridge
Road in Madison County
today stands a Bartram
Trail marker. Thus the
exhibit dives deep into the
riparian forests along the
Broad River, then ‘Ocean
Bound’ catches the Broad
flowing to the Savannah
River, and finally mean
ders through coastal
marshes around Savannah,
Georgia.”
“We all live down
stream,” remarked
Cherokee Elder Tom Belt
addressing the Bartram
Trail Society. To illustrate,
“Ocean Bound” includes
Possible Perceptions from
William Bartram’s “Piles
of Mountains” to a dip in
the sea off Jekyll Island.
“With my art, I intend
explore ocean bound
waters, both upstream and
downstream, as Bartram
described years ago. and
as I perceived them today,”
said Thompson. “William
Bartram and his book
Travels inspire me. I use
modern tools (computer,
camera) and old-fash
ioned tools (writing) to
explore and compare the
Southeastern landscape
to Bartram’s observations
from 250 years ago. In so
doing, not only do I see
how much ecological loss
there is, I have also discov
ered how much flora and
fauna still remain in the
landscape.”
See more about the
exhibit at www.beth-
thompsonphotography.
com/oceanbound/
ROTARY CONSTRUCTS RAMP FOR REED
The Rotary Club of Madison County ventured into Oconee County to construct a
24-foot ramp for Berry Reed, who lives just off Highway 441. Reed is 64 and lost
his left leg due to diabetes. The right leg is scheduled to be removed if it does not
get better. He is just getting used to using a wheelchair, and steps were impossible
for him to navigate. His neighbor contacted Becky Hutchins, who has been very
active in the Rotary Club’s onion sales that help fund the Rotary ramp project, so
the ramp crew traveled into Oconee County in accordance with her request. Reed
has been in law enforcement for over 26 years. He served as police chief in Comer
from 2000 to 2003 and retired from the police force in Jackson County. He made
a donation to the club to help cover the materials for the ramp. He also warmly
thanked the crew for the ramp. Workers on the ramp included Matt Berryman,
Johnny Fitpatrick, David McGinnis, Artry Bishop, Johnny Minish, Jerry Bond,
Roy Seagreaves, Pat Quinn, Roy Gandy, Ed Brown, Anthony Dove, Jim Jeffer and
Phil Munro.
Cancer Foundation set to give $ 1 million
in financial assistance to NE Ga patients
Local nonprofit, The
Cancer Foundation (TCF),
is expected to pay for one
million dollars in basic liv
ing expenses for local cancer
patients by the end of 2016.
TCF is the only nonprofit in
the eastern United States that
pays for patient housing, util
ities, medication, food, and
transportation. In Madison
County, TCF has helped
over 159 cancer patients with
more than $78,000 in finan
cial assistance.
“Our mission is unique and
we are proud to say we have
never denied a patient who
qualifies for financial assis
tance,” said TCF executive
director, Kimberly Liebowitz.
“Recently, we interviewed
Robert Bielicki, a Madison
County resident who is also
a prostate cancer patient and
he said, ‘I don’t want to exag
gerate but my stress was 10+.
Even with gas prices coming
down, it’s still very expen
sive going back and forth.
Taking away that stress can
only help my health. It has
meant so much.’”
The Cancer Foundation
kicked off its “March to a
Million” endowment cam
paign June 16. This cam
paign will be a match cam
paign endeavor to raise a
million dollars to help TCF
continue to provide access
to treatment and a hope for
healing.
Learn more about TCF at
www.cfnega.org.
ARE YOUR KIDS READY
FOR BACK TO SCHOOL?
Don’t Forget About
Immunization Requirements!
Madison County
O HEALTH
DEPARTMENT
706.795.2131