Georgia Magazine - July 2012 - (Page 5)

BY PAUL WOOD President/CEO, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation www.georgiamagazine.org (800) 544-4362, in Georgia; (770) 270-6500 GEORGIA Magazine, the largest-circulation monthly magazine in the state, is published by Georgia Electric Membership Corp. (GEMC), the trade association for Georgia’s 42 consumer-owned electric utilities. On average, more than 500,000 members welcome the magazine into their homes each month. Georgia’s notfor-proﬁt electric cooperatives provide reliable, safe and affordable electric service to more than 73 percent of the state’s land area serving 4.5 million residents. For more information, visit www.georgiaemc.com. EDITOR Ann Orowski, CCC MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Hewett, CCC ASSOCIATE EDITOR Victoria Scharf DeCastro PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Steve Jacobs ASSISTANT EDITOR Kevin Braun ASSISTANT EDITOR Jim Jess EDITORIAL INTERN Bobbi Otis CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John Bruce, Lynn Coulter, Gale Cutler, Dana Clark Felty, Deborah Geering, Bret Love, Ann McCleary, Donna Rypel, Alan Shedd CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Brittany Bearden, Greg Brooks, Branch Carter Photography, James Corbett, Kelly Hester, Jim Jess, Mary Johnson, Phil Jones, Ann Orowski ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Images from the past N Laurel George, (404) 541-0628; Laine Kirby Wood, (770) 289-5700 Country Market, (800) 626-1181 National NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE DESIGNERS Trudie Thibodeaux, Kerstin Weis Mary Wellman, (770) 270-6981 SUBSCRIPTIONS 2012 ADVISORY BOARD Matthew Akins, Gale Cutler, Ren Davis, Nicole Dover, Hinson Mosley, Steve Mullice, Amy Orr, Jane Perfect, Rodney Reese, Angela Shipp, Brad Thomas, Louis Tonsmeire, Neal Trice GEORGIA EMC OFFICERS CHAIRMAN Alice Mallory, Coweta-Fayette EMC VICE CHAIRMAN G. Anthony Norton, Snapping SEC.-TREASURER Randy Crenshaw, Irwin PRESIDENT/CEO, GEMC A. Paul Wood Shoals EMC EMC GEORGIA Magazine (USPS-473120, ISSN 10615822) is published monthly by Georgia Electric Membership Corp., P.O. Box 1707, 2100 East Exchange Place, Tucker, GA 30085. Periodicals postage paid at Thomaston, GA, and additional mailing ofﬁces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GEORGIA Magazine, P.O. Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085. Printed in Georgia by Quad/ Graphics. Acceptance of advertising by GEORGIA Magazine does not imply endorsement by the publisher or Georgia’s electric membership corporations of the product or services advertised. GEORGIA Magazine’s LIABILITY FOR ERRORS IN, OR OMISSIONS OF, ADVERTISEMENTS, WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR IN TORT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES TO THE ADVERTISER’S BUSINESS, SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF CHARGES FOR THE ADVERTISEMENT THAT WAS OMITTED OR IN WHICH THE ERROR OCCURRED. ot long ago, I came across a couple of rolls of undated 8 mm ﬁlm in the back of a closet. Excitedly, I opened the canister, but was immediately overwhelmed by a strong chemical odor that told me the ﬁlm was deteriorating. Some of it was so brittle, it broke off when I tried to unroll a few frames. The only thing to do was send it off to one of those specialty houses that converts old family movies to a modern DVD. I couldn’t wait to see what had been captured on the ﬁlm. I knew it had been there awhile because it was in a shirt box I bought in New Orleans in 1965. When the DVD arrived, I sat back to watch, as excited as a high-schooler on his ﬁrst prom date. The company had included a note to explain the great pains they had taken to save as much of the ﬁlm as possible. Some of the ﬁlm’s life had not started well, they explained. There was plenty of “fogging” and “light leaks,” which occurred, no doubt, when someone took the exposed ﬁlm from the camera. But part of the problem they attributed to “poor storage methods.” Properly chastised, I watched as the ﬁrst images ﬂickered by. There I was, riding down the street in my ’63 Corvair, the rearengine car that Ralph Nader claimed was “unsafe at any speed.” Later, in the same ﬁlm, I can be seen jumping into an old Mercury convertible, probably from the early 1950s. Unfortunately, there was no sound, but, of course, no one captured sound on home movies in those days. We didn’t mind the absence of sound. Most of us felt fortunate to see any image—blurry, choppy or even out (Contined from front flap) of focus. Most of the ﬁlm showed me playing tennis and racquetball with a good friend. He was a never-say-die kind of fellow and ultimately led the two of us to a state championship. He had the will to win at all cost, and that was evident in the ﬁlm. For some reason, the last images were of several kids sitting in front of a TV watching episodes of “Bonanza,” one of the ﬁrst television programs to be broadcast in color. The whole experience made me an instant time traveler. It was all so different from the sterile world of digital images we share with one another today—images that are ﬁne, but do not hold as much power over us as the memories resurrected by fuzzy images of yesteryear with their gauzy, yellow glow. Faded movies from the past, I have found, cannot compare to those in our memory. The gray matter of our brains holds the best of times and, thankfully, erases the worst of times—if that is our wish. And the experiences we shared with friends and loved ones in those yellow, gauzy ﬁlms can even be enhanced in our tucked-away memories. Wrap .375 Spine .8125 PAUL WOOD is the president and CEO of Georgia Electric Membership Corp., headquartere d in Tucker. Georgia EMC represents Georgia’s 42 electric membership corporations (EMCs), Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp., providing electricity to more than 4.5 million residents and businesses in Georgia. Prior to his move to Georgia, Wood was executive director of the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives . Today, he has become one of Georgia’s most fervent promoters through his service to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, 4-H Foundation, FDR Warm Springs Memorial Advisory Committee and KidsPeace. In 2004, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue tapped Wood to serve as co-chairman of the Governor’s Conference on Tourism, and, in 2007, Wood to chair the Commission Perdue also asked for a New Georgia Service Delivery Taskforce. Not long after Gov. Nathan Deal was inaugurated in 2011, he appointed Wood to serve on his newly formed Georgia Competitiven ess Initiative. During his nearly half-century of service to electric membership cooperatives, Wood has held many leadership positions, including president of the Rural Electric Statewide Managers’ Association. It’s My View If you enjoy reading It’s Paul Wood’s “ViewMy point” columns, visit View www.georgiamag azine.org to order “It’s My View,” a hardbound book By Paul Wood featuring 100 of the magazine readers’ favorite columns from past years. What readers asked for … ' It’s My View GEORGIA Magazine readers have loved Paul Wood’s monthly most 15 years; response columns for alto the magazine points of every issue. After numerous readers suggestedto this being the most-read page columns in a book, that Wood put his “Viewpoint he did. This book is ” the result. ' “Viewpoint,” the monthly column of Paul Wood: “A new decade begins” was just chock-full of wisdom that many on both sides of the of our leaders aisle seem to lack. I’d like to shake your hand tell you how much I think of you.” one day and —Dave K., Townsend, inspirational in his common-sense What readers say about “Mr. Wood … is so Ga. “Paul, keep up the good work. I always approach to everything! ” —Jamie W., Richmond Hill, Ga. enjoy your articles.” —Larry W., Perry, Ga. “I am thrilled about this book. Paul Wood’s ‘Viewpoint’ is the first the magazine.” thing I read in —Jeanette G., Cleveland, Ga. “My GEORGIA Magazine arrived yesterday. … Wood’s. His words My first article is always ring true to me. Please Paul pass along my applause.” —Angela S., Blairsville, Ga. “Paul Wood always gives us something to think about.” —Vickie H., Thomson, Ga. IT’S MY VIEW 2011 —Anita J., West Point, Ga. “Thank you very much for the ‘Viewpoint’ article, ‘Growing older? This is a splendid article Who, me?’ on aging. We always enjoy Paul’s articles …” JACKET DESIGN BY TRUDIE THIBODEAU JACKET PHOTOGRAP X HY BY LOUIS TONSMEIRE PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. © 2011 GEMC GEORGIA MAGAZINE A collection of reader s’ favorite ‘Viewpoint’ columns from GEOR GIA Magazine President/CEO, Georgia Electric Membership Corp. hen Paul Wood write in his monthly “View GEORGIA Magazin reflections are often laced lessons he learned while gr town of Natchitoches , La. One has only to read a gain an appreciation for a l faith and education. Small towns in the 195 The character of the town’s shaped by adults who accep in life, putting every child o and successful citizenship. It “Remember who you are” w small-town mother, a cautio on your best behavior when door to meet the world. A te that anyone in the communit report.” In Wood’s column, “Goo remember growing up when r born, perhaps with parents w understand it. In “My mother raise,” you’ll discover Paul’s p humor. In “The parade of our it all about,” he waxes philoso meaning of life. In “Good frien times,” you’ll think of someone when the going was rough. He advice for graduates looking fo celebrating the Fourth of July a a more meaningful Christmas f There is also considerable comm officials could make governmen levels. Hardly any subject escap opinion of Paul Wood. This collection of readers’ f is more than a nostalgic look at reminder that many of those learned are just as applicable ear tod in mid-20th-century America. Wo every person possesses a unique g discovered and cultivated, has the change the world. At the very leas is apt to find Wood’s insights a he for understanding the problems th complicated world in early 21st-ce W ' By Paul Wood ( July 2012 More online at www.georgiamagazine.org 5 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiaemc.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

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

Georgia Magazine - July 2012
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Liberty Notes
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
Unveiling a Healthier Georgia
A Soldier’s Wish
Around Georgia
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Snapshot

Georgia Magazine - July 2012