The Chamber of Commerce hosted its last Power Lunch of 2015 on Monday Dec. 7. New members were announced at the lunch, including Brantley Steel Company, Pallet One, Krystal, Sky Blue Videography, and Action Air Conditioning and Heating. Alyn Scholarship Fund sponsored the lunch, and Jeff Weems, a representative for the scholarship, spoke about the fund and how it benefits the community.
The Alyn Scholarship Fund benefits students at CCA and First Academy in Douglas, directly helping local children. Donations to the Alyn Scholarship Fund are matched, dollar for dollar, in your state tax returns, meaning it costs you nothing to donate. This is one of two reasons that Jeff Weems lists as an incentive to donate to the fund. The second reason, Weems pointed out, is that through assisting the educational efforts of the community, the work force and economy improves and benefits everyone. Job development is driven by education, as education not only helps to prepare students to work in already existing fields but also occasionally helps create entirely new fields through innovation and discoveries. There are many great benefits to donating to the Alyn Scholarship Fund. For more information go to AlynFund.org.
Emerging drone technology has shown promise for many applications and purposes, but restrictions and licensing as well as expense can make it difficult for individuals to obtain and take advantage of the benefits drones have to offer. Luckily, SkyBlue Videography is able to provide drone and aerial photography services to the Coffee County area. Kit Carson of SkyBlue Videography explained that drone technology can be a great asset to many different businesses, but they specialize in business marketing, realty, agriculture, and industry. They have been approved by the FAA and know all the rules and regulations regarding drone usage, providing a legal, safe, and legitimate videography service. They have examples of their services available on their website skybluevideography.com. Anyone in the Coffee County or surrounding areas that have a necessity for drone videography can contact Kit Carson at 912-592-9501 or Keith Douglas at 912-337-6621.
Coffee Alliance for the Arts spokeswomen Lisa Tierney and Julie Lord spoke at the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce lunch to bring a growing problem to attention. As Lisa Tierney put it, “Coffee County is culture-poor.” Compared to neighboring counties who have community theater groups and other more developed arts outlets, Coffee County is falling behind. Tierney stressed the importance of being involved in arts, especially for the children of Coffee County. To see children partaking in the arts and seeing first-hand the reactions on those children’s faces, “it does your heart good,” stated Tierney.
Tierney and Lord described the work that Coffee Alliance for the Arts does. They fund and organize Missoula Children’s Theater, which is an annual event where 1st-12th grade students get to “participate in a week-long professionally-directed show.” Each year, CAA brings 1st graders to a live theater production conducted by Valdosta State University at South Georgia State College. There is also a week dedicated to the arts at CHS every year, during which students interact with professionals in all different arts fields and a scholarship is awarded to a student pursuing an arts-related degree. Each Wednesday of April 2016 local artists will perform at Emma Ward Park for Munch and Music, an event hosted by CAA for 20 years.
Rockin’ 8 Cinemas shows classic movies once a month for the Classic Movie Nights event presented by CAA. The Coffee Alliance for the Arts has received a grant, but the grant was miniscule compared to the costs of the wonderful services they provide. Their vision to expose more children, and adults, of Coffee County to the arts and to bring the arts to those who may never get to travel out of town to experience them will be costly, but valuable. Not only are donations accepted by the group, events such as the Classic Movies Nights help bring in revenue for the group. Help support the arts and bring culture to our community by supporting the Coffee Alliance for the Arts.
Mayor James Dennis announced that a Downtown Development consultant had entered into discussions with downtown vendors as part of the Downtown Development process which is ongoing. He extended well wishes to the members of the Chamber of Commerce as well as the community as his term as mayor comes to an end. He has served as mayor of Douglas for four years, and will be stepping down to allow Mayor-Elect Tony Paulk to begin his term in January.
Barry Bloom of Coffee Regional Medical Center stated that the hospital recently passed an accreditation maintenance inspection, which means CRMC remains accredited with the outside organization. A Christmas Tree Ceremony will take place December 10th at 6 pm at the front lobby of CRMC. Also, all during the Christmas Season, the Blood Mobile will be located at CRMC for donations each day at 10:45 am to 1:45 pm.
Payment deadline for Spring Semester at SGSC is Jan 6. Registration for Spring Semester is Monday Jan 11. More information as well as press releases and news for the school can be found on their website, sgsc.edu.
The graduation rate for Coffee High School is at an all-time high, according to Superintendent Morris Leis. For the 2014 year, the graduation rate was 80%. For the Career Academy, the graduation rate was 73% and for CHS it was 87%, averaging out to 80% for the all graduates. Leis also congratulated several students for recent accomplishments. Students Anup Patel, Nihdi Patel, Mefuza Patel, and Parth Patel are state champions for a Health IT App they created at a Telemasters event. Their Adviser is Deborah Patton. Kara Vaughn of CHS was also recognized, as she is a State Champion in Floral Design. Her adviser is Joshua Rogers.
The Toys for Tots Drive is ongoing and new and unwrapped toys can be dropped off at locations at Southwire, the City of Douglas Fire Department, and the Police Department. There is currently more of a demand for girls’ toys than boys’ toys.