Georgia Magazine - June 2012 - (Page 17)

The Rock Ranch and WinShape Foundation hold the keys BY LYNN COULTER M The Rock Ranch Something’s always growing at The Rock Ranch. Summer ushers in buckets of berries and tomatoes, sweet corn and other produce, while year-round, this working ranch raises beef cattle. But the folks at The Rock Ranch say that healthy families are what they really want to grow. “Anybody with goats and acres can have a wonderful agritourism destination,” says Adam Pugh, marketing and special events manager for the ranch. “But we’re trying to offer something bigger than a fun experience in a farm setting. “Many kids come out on ﬁeld trips and don’t know where milk comes from or that a tomato grows on a plant. So reconnecting people with the land is a big part of what we do.” June 2012 S. Truett Cathy, right, founder of Chick-ﬁl-A, strolls with a young visitor at The Rock Ranch. Cathy has invested a lifetime in inﬂuencing children from all walks of life. Several years after Cathy and his wife, Jeannette, opened their ranch to the public in 1989, they decided to also try to help parents and children reconnect. By age 18, Cathy says, there’s only a 50-percent chance that a young person will be living at home with both parents. “We want to give back to the community” and raise that percentage, he says, by encouraging families to play together, create memories and build strong relationships. Every year, some 90,000 visitors come to the ranch to do just that. Corporate groups also visit for picnics and meetings, and there’s a fulltime chef available to cater to them. Those events help fund the ranch’s ministry outreach, which includes a yearly “Easter Eggstravaganza,” when kids hunt for more than 20,000 More online at www.georgiamagazine.org colorful hidden eggs. During the Christmas season, the ranch hosts “Journey to the Manger,” a live re-enactment of the Christmas story, complete with holiday music. Both events are free and open to the public. The Rock Ranch is closed during the winter and on Sundays, but it reopens each spring for ﬁeld trips and other activities. By summer, the fun is in full swing, with festivals, musical performances, and attractions and rides. “Families love the miniature train ride,” Pugh says, as well as a giant outdoor jumping pillow that “is like jumping on your mama’s bed. It’s an oversized inﬂatable, with no age or weight limit, so adults can jump too.” One of the most popular attractions is the miniature locomotive ride, which takes 12 minutes to run along 17 COURTESY OF THE ROCK RANCH ost people know that Eatonton native S. Truett Cathy built a billion-dollar restaurant empire from his original Dwarf Grill (later renamed the Dwarf House), which opened in Hapeville in 1964. Today, the Chick-ﬁl-A chain Cathy launched in 1967, near Greenbriar Mall in southwest Atlanta, has become the second-largest “quick service” chicken restaurant chain in the U.S. But fewer people know that Cathy has always been a man with a mission, dedicating his life to helping others. His WinShape Foundation, which began in 1984 as a scholarship program on the campus of Berry College, in Rome, has grown to include foster homes for children, kids’ camps, wilderness adventures, college scholarships for Chick-ﬁl-A employees and other qualiﬁed students, international Christian leadership programs, and family and group retreats. Cathy, now 91, and his children and adult grandchildren, focus on encouraging strong marriages and family relationships. The Rock Ranch, their beautiful 1,250-acre spread in Upson County, opens to visitors every spring, who come to ride horses and paddleboats, go cane-pole ﬁshing, pick fresh produce and much more, as they play together and create memories. http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - June 2012

Georgia Magazine - June 2012
Table of Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Liberty Notes
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
Wholesome Fun and Shaping Winners
Where to Stay and Eat When Visiting the Rock Ranch in the Rock, and Winshape Retreat in Rome
Take to the Road
Travel Guide
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Second Helping: Fish
Snapshot
Bonus Snapshot Submissions
Plant of the Month; Liberty Notes
Energy-efficiency Tips
June’s Online Trivia Contest

Georgia Magazine - June 2012