Georgia Magazine - June 2018 - 15

Another Bright Idea:

Short takes CONTINUED

Hardcover books for
school library

goal was to replace some of the most
popular paperbacks with sturdier
hardcover books.
On Feb. 7, the school posted this
photo collage on its Facebook page
and noted: "The books have arrived!
Fifteen have already been checked
out before we could get them on the
shelf. We are grateful!"

Agriculture leaders visit Georgia EMC

June 2018

LAUREN GRIFFETH

taff members from Tucker-based
Georgia Electric Membership
Corp. (EMC) helped facilitate a
session of Advancing Georgia's Leaders in Agriculture and Forestry (AGL),
the University of Georgia's (UGA)
ag-leadership program for adults, at
the co-op's Midtown Atlanta office
Feb. 6-8.
Participants broadened their
knowledge of electric cooperatives,
government, economic development
and innovation in the agriculture and
forestry industries.
Georgia EMC President and CEO
Dennis Chastain welcomed the 25
participants, who learned about the
economic-development process from
Georgia EMC's Carrie Barnes and
Shaun Dodson. Georgia EMC's Jenna
Saxon organized a Capitol tour and
visits with state representatives, and
Georgia EMC's Bill Verner participated in a lobbyist panel focused on

Georgia EMC's Carrie Barnes delivers a
presentation on leadership development to
members of the Advancing Georgia's Leaders in Agriculture and Forestry class.

rural and agriculture issues.
The AGL is a joint program offered by UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. For more information
about the 22-month program, go to
agl.caes.uga.edu.
-Gale Cutler
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

* Help around the house: The Blake
House, a refuge for men struggling with
addiction in Bremen, purchased four new
washing machines and dryers with a
$4,900 Impact Grant from the Carrolltonbased Carroll EMC Foundation. The grants
are funded through Operation Round Up,
in which members round their monthly
bills to the nearest dollar, with the difference donated to worthy causes. These
donations support organizations and
projects that work to improve the quality
of life for residents in communities served
by the co-op.
* More kudos: The 72-megawatt Hazlehurst solar facility operated by Tuckerbased Green Power EMC and its partner,
Silicon Ranch Corp., has been honored
again. It earned the 2018 Construction
Risk Partners Build America Award in the
utility infrastructure (new) category. The
awards honor members of the Associated
General Contractors of America for the
nation's most impressive construction
projects. The Hazlehurst facility was built
by McCarthy Building Cos.
* Environmentally friendly: Cobb EMC
in Marietta hosted a free recycling event
on April 21 in
conjunction with
Earth Day (April
22). The cooperative recycled
14.8 tons of paper-enough to
save 251 trees-
and 20.5 tons of
metal and also
offered free
paper-shredding
for sensitive
documents.
COURTESY COBB EMC

ith a $1,000 Bright Ideas grant
from Carroll Electric Membership Corp. (EMC) in Carrollton,
Bay Springs Middle School in Villa
Rica bought new books for its school
library.
Jennifer Brewer, a media specialist at the school, sent in the application for the grant, in which she wrote
that the school's paperback books
were falling apart and that "middle
schoolers need better bindings." Her

COURTESY BAY SPRINGS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Several Georgia electric cooperatives
award Bright Ideas grants to teachers
in their service areas. These grants
provide classrooms with needed
materials or items from teachers'
"wish lists" to introduce innovative
learning experiences. Some of these
projects will be featured from time to
time in Currents.

* Learning the ropes: Cobb EMC in Marietta recently hosted 70 fifth-graders for
its 27th annual Career Day. The students
from eight elementary schools job-shadowed employees throughout the company
before joining their teachers and parents
for a luncheon hosted by the co-op.
Students qualified to attend the event by
submitting "job applications," and those
who were selected received ID badges
for their "first day on the job."

http://agl.caes.uga.edu http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - June 2018