Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6A
a •
Chris Kfemas
Columnist
When the stock market is tur
bulent, many investors “redis
cover” bonds. After all, the
thinking goes, bonds are fixed
rate investments, so they must
be more secure than stocks. And
even if a bond’s rate isn’t partic
ularly high right now, at least
it’s predictable. But are bonds
really that solid and stable? Yes
- and no.
Let’s look at the “yes” side
first. When you invest in bonds,
you will receive a regular
stream of interest payments.
And, if you hold the bond until
it matures, you will get the full
value of your principal back,
provided the issuer doesn’t
default. And there’s not even
much chance of that, as long as
you purchase a government
bond or a high-quality, “invest
ment-grade” corporate bond.
But what happens if you don’t
hold your bonds until maturity?
To begin with, keep in mind
that bond prices rise and fall all
the time. For example, if you
have a bond that pays five per
cent interest, and market rates
rise to six percent, then no one
will want to buy your bond at
full value, so, if you want to sell
it, you’ll have to offer it at a
lower price. Conversely, if mar
ket rates fall to four percent,
then your five-percent bond will
look pretty good to other
investors, so they’ll pay you a
premium over and above the
face value.
Consequently, if you buy a
bond -with the intention of sell
ing it before it matures, you
need to be prepared for the ups
and downs of the bond market.
The only way you can be sure
that you won’t lose any princi
pal on your bond is to hold it
until maturity. One way to do
that is to match a bond’s matu
rity with your needs. If you
think you’ll need proceeds from
a bond in five years to help pay
for a child’s college education,
you won’t want to buy a 10-year
bond. In five years, interest
rates could have risen higher
than what your ten-year bond is
paying - so, if you want to sell it,
you’d have to take a loss. But if
you bought a five-year govern
ment bond, or a high-quality
corporate bond, you can be rea
sonably certain of having the
money you need in time for col
lege.
Be aware that bonds with
longer maturities usually - but
not always - pay higher interest
rates than shorter-term bonds.
And long-term bonds carry a
higher degree of interest-rate
risk; the longer you hold your
bonds, the more susceptible you
are to interest-rate fluctuations
and their impact on bond prices.
You’ll also need to be cog
nizant of the fact that your bond
may be “called” at any time.
Bond issuers may pay off princi
pal early - or “call” their bonds -
when interest rates have fallen.
They can then reissue bonds at
a lower rate. Some bonds, how
ever, can’t be paid off early, so,
before buying a bond, find out if
it offers this type of “call protec
tion.”
Since you usually don’t know
exactly when you might need to
sell a bond, you might want to
consider a long-term strategy of
building a “bond ladder” con
taining bonds of varying matu
rities. Bond ladders also offer a
degree of income protection:
When market rates are low,
you’ll always have some higher
rate long bonds, and when mar
ket rates are high, you’ll have
short-term bonds coming due to
reinvest.
Bonds may not be the perfect
safe and sound haven you seek
from the stormy stock market -
but they still offer some good
benefits, such as diversification
and regular income. So, if
they’re appropriate for your
needs, consider adding bonds to
your portfolio.
Robins Air Logistics Confer and
Rockwell Colins sign agreement
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Photo by Judy Hall
Signing the agreement are (l-r) Harry Gregory, Maj. Gen. Donald Wetekam and Gregory Churchill.
By Judy Hall
Staff Writer
Maj. General Donald
Wetekam, Commander of
Warner Robins Air Logistics
Center (WR-ALC) met Monday
with Harry Gregory and
Gregory Churchill of Rockwell
Collins to sign a Strategic
Partnership Agreement.
Rockwell Collins, a leader in
aviation electronics and com
munications, has been in busi
ness for more than 70 years.
The company provides aviation
electronics for many of the
world’s aircraft manufacturers
and airline customers, as well as
a major share of the world’s mil
itary forces.
Harry L. Gregory is Vice
President and General Manager
of Rockwell Collins Aviation
Services. Gregory is responsible
for a global network of Collins
service centers providing repair
Weyerhaeuser gets into the spirit
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Weyerhaeuser’s employee force donated over 100 gifts to deserving youth in the Houston,
Macon, Sumter and Peach county areas. Shown above are (l-r) Kelly Mayou, HOD AC children’s
coordinator; Tone Iverson, Weyerhaeuser Angel Tree volunteer; Christy Bradberry, HODAC after
care coordinator; Cynthia Paster and Betty Bellamy, Weyerhaeuser Angel Tree volunteer.
Camellia beauty grows at Massee Lane
New camellia beauty is
quickly developing at Massee
Lane Gardens in Fort Valley.
Through the generosity of Mrs.
Clare Dodd of Marshallville,
Georgia, the American
Camellia Society, which has its
national headquarters at the
gardens, is propagating the pri
vate camellia seedling collec
tion of Mrs. Dodd’s husband,
the late Richard E. Dodd.
Known to his friends as
“Dick”, the Marshallville,
Georgia, resident spent most of
his life planting camellia seeds
under several acres of pines on
his property. The new camellia
varieties he developed were,
until recently, seen only by
family members and close
friends.
“This collection consists of
thousands of new camellia
varieties, and more than 2,000
could be show winners” states
Tom Johnson, horticulturist
for the American Camellia
Society. “This collection goes
far beyond anything I ever
Business
and overhaul of avionics for
commercial, business and mili
tary aircraft worldwide
Gregory Churchill is
Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer of
Government Systems for
Rockwell Collins. Additionally,
he is a corporate officer of
Rockwell Collins. Churchill pro
vides leadership for all
Government Systems business
es.
The Strategic Partnership
Agreement will form an innova
tive and strategic relationship
between Robins ALC and
Rockwell Collins which will aid
them in jointly identifying, eval
uating and implementing more
affordable and effective support
solutions for communications
and navigation systems used by
Robins ALC.
The agreement will help to
identify common objectives and
expected to see in my lifetime
... much less be in charge of its
propagation and cataloging for
the future. When considering
the fact that it can take up to
20 years for a camellia seedling
to bloom for the first time, and
that only one camellia seed in a
thousand produces a flower
good enough to register, it is
easy to understand the magni
tude of this collection. At
Massee Lane over 1,000 vari
eties of Mr. Dodd’s camellias
qre already propagated, with
each one chosen for its unique
beauty and capability of being
an award winner”, Johnson
states with enthusiasm.
“Thanks to Dick Dodd’s
efforts, the public will be enjoy
ing his new camellia varieties
for years to come.”
Mrs. Dodd has donated a
new hybridization greenhouse
for the gardens in honor of her
late husband. This new green
house, in addition to housing
the Dodd seedlings, is used as a
classroom to teach hybridiza
ptnuaton Pirate
establish a framework and
structure to harmonize logistics
initiatives between the ALC and
Rockwell Collins. This will aid
in providing superior support to
the war fighters flown by
Robins.
This agreement supports the
ALC’s objective of sharing gov
ernment and industry technical
and managerial capabilities to
provide the best hardware and
services for the best prices.
WR-ALC is responsible for
worldwide logistics support for
the C-130, C-5, C-141 transport
aircraft, F-15 fighters, U-2
reconnaissance aircraft, as well
as support for remotely piloted
vehicles, all Air Force helicop
ters, air-to-air missiles, surface
motor vehicles, high-technology
airborne electronics, and avion
ics and electronic warfare
requirements.
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tion classes, grafting, and
other aspects of camellia prop
agation. To date the new green
house houses some four thou
sand three-gallon plants propa
gated from the Dodd collection,
with several thousand more
expected in the next few years.
As the horticulturist contin
ues to propagate the Dodd
seedlings at Massee Lane
Gardens, the collection will be
preserved for the future. It will
be located in a special area of
the garden, providing a wel
come addition for visitors to
enjoy. The gardens are located
a short distance from 1-75 on
Georgia Highway 49, five south
of Fort Valley.
“A horticulturist could spend
a lifetime just working on this
collection,” the horticulturist
muses.
“The American Camellia
Society is indeed fortunate to
be able to carry on Dick Dodd’s
legacy, and his love of camel
lias, into the future” states
Johnson.
snaring God's Gift of Grace
It’s Christmas! Tomorrow is a day of celebration around the
world because a special baby was bom twenty centuries ago.
God loved us so much that He came in human form to show by
example and through His
teachings how we might live
an abundant life. Born in
humble circumstances, Jesus
walked with us only a few
years, voluntarily sacrificing
His life on earth for your self
ishness and mine,
“The law was given through
Moses; grace and truth came
through Jesus Christ.” (John
1:17) So when we celebrate
Christmas, we are also cele
brating the transform a t ion of
God’s agreement with humans
from one of legalism to one of
grace.
Grace.. We’ve all heard the word many times, but do we
understand what it means?
Unfliterlted fteror is the definition I learned years ago. But
even those are words I rarely use. Oh, I understand the “unmer
ited” part pretty easily. That means, “You don’t deserve it,
Dennis, and you can’t do anything to earn it!” But what about
the “favor” part? That’s the unconditional love and abundance
of blessings God provides to us rebellious, self-centered human
beings!
God created us to fellowship with Him, to love Him, and to
give honor to His greatness. However, many of us focus our love
and adoration on possessions, or other people (such as sports
heroes or entertainment superstars), or on pursuing worldly
wealth. Despite our misplaced attention, God blesses us with
His favor anyway. Christmas gives us a fresh opportunity to rec
ognise God’s amazing grace, express our appreciation for it, and
reconsider our own behaviors relative to sharing “unmerited
favor” with others.
Enabling poww is a description Jerry Bridges uses in his
book Transforming Grace. When Jesus left the earth, God sent
the Holy Spirit to live in us, a “Counselor to be with you forev
er.” (John 14:16). “The Holy Spirit strengthens us and enables
uS to meet in a godly fashion whatever circumstances cross our
paths. God’s grace-that is, the enabling power of the Holy
Spirit-is given to help us respond in such a way.”
We realize the sufficiency of God’s grace as we become more
aware of our human insufficiencies. As we mature, we see more
clearly our frailty, our weakness, and our dependence on God
and on others. And we appreciate more clearly God’s enabling
power to help us choose and execute actions that honor Him.
relationship is another description of grace,
found in Hiding from Love by John Townsend. God never with
holds His relationship from us. He is always reaching out, invit
ing us to draw close to Him. Townsend explains that our behav
iors, however, sometimes liave the effect of isolating us, hiding
from the love of other human beings and even from God. “As we
accept God through Christ, we receive the grace that He bestows
through forgiveness. Along with this unmerited acceptance and
restoration, He also provides people of grace who can come
alongside us and enflesh for us the reality of His forgiveness.”
Oh, how many times have you and I missed an occasion to
serve as just such a person of grace? Too many for me, I assure
you!
This column is normally devoted to topics of personal and
leadership development. Today I chose to address “grace”
because each of us has many opportunities to share God’s grape
with family, colleagues, customers, suppliers, and community
members! People mess up, and sometimes we are too swift to
judge and too slow to forgive. God gives grace, and we can, too.
God delivers grace to us through Christ’s birth, life, instruc
tion, death, resurrection, and subsequent gift, the Holy Spirit.
As you and I celebrate a Merry Christmas, let’s reflect on our
willingness to share God’s gift of grace with those whom we
influence.
Serving the Lord
-and His people
with gladness.
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F. Dennis Hooper
Personal Coach and Collaborator
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Larry Walker
(478) 987-8000