Georgia Magazine - January 2018 - 5

FROM THE EDITOR
For more than 50 years, Georgia's electric cooperatives have
been helping high school students
realize their potential by sending
them on the annual Washington
Youth Tour (WYT). This weeklong,
all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., is more than a journey to
our nation's capital; it's a lesson in
leadership.
WYT delegates get an up-close
view of the political process and
learn about American history and
the importance of their role as citizens. Turn to page 26A to find out
how the tour is helping to educate
and inspire a new generation of
leaders.
On page 16 we take a look at
a craft that dates back hundreds of
years but now utilizes the latest in
computer technology. Gone are the
days when quilts were made primarily out of necessity and entirely
by hand; today's quilts are as likely
to cover a wall as a bed, and quilters are more likely to use rotary
cutters and computerized designs
than scissors and paper patterns.
They say every quilt tells a story,
and "Stitching memories into art"
tells the tale of how Georgia quilters and the Southeastern Quilt and
Textile Museum are preserving the
traditions of quilting while embracing its future.
We continue the theme of
honoring the past while embracing
the future with a look at how the
Cherokee Nation is memorializing
the Trail of Tears. This year marks
the 180th anniversary of the Cherokee people's exodus from the South
to new lands west of the Mississippi
River. See "The Trail of Tears" on
page 20 to learn more about how
the Cherokee Nation is not just a
footnote in history but part of a
thriving, modern-day community.
Happy New Year!

Laurel George
Editor
January 2018

'Rounding up' can make a
difference!
I'm writing
to express our
gratitude for the
support provided
to our nonprofit by
several of your member EMCs in the
last year. Revved Up Kids is a small,
Atlanta-based nonprofit whose mission is to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. More than
one in 10 of our precious children is
sexually abused before turning 18;
it's a sickening statistic and a sad reality that we are working diligently to
prevent.
In the last year, we have been
fortunate to receive support in the
form of the locally targeted [Operation Round Up] grant funding from
Cobb EMC, Snapping Shoals EMC
and GreyStone Power Corp.
As an EMC customer, I don't often know about the impact that
"round up" dollars have in the community, and I wanted to share with
your readers that the impact is real.
Because EMC members choose to
round up their payments, Revved Up
Kids has been able to provide sexualabuse-prevention training workshops
for hundreds of children and teens
who would not otherwise have had
access to this vital training.
We are so grateful to the EMCs
that saw the importance of our work
and supported us, and we are so
grateful to their customers who understand the collective impact that
small donations can have in their
communities. Thank you!
-Alli Neal, co-founder, Revved
Up Kids Inc., Johns Creek
I would like to express my
appreciation to GreyStone Power
Foundation, Cobb EMC and all their
customers who participate in Operation Round Up.
I volunteer with Georgia SPOT, a
nonprofit group that helps families
spay and neuter their pets when they
can't afford it on their own.
Cobb EMC has awarded grants to
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

us on three occasions so we can help
people in Cobb, Cherokee, Fulton,
Paulding and Bartow counties. We
had a goal to try to help more people
in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas and Fayette counties and reached out to
GreyStone Power Foundation. They
awarded us a generous grant, and we
have put it to good use helping prevent the birth of unwanted puppies
and kittens.
The nonprofit organizations in
Georgia are blessed to have the support of GreyStone Power Foundation
and Cobb EMC, and I certainly appreciate all that they do!
-Janet Pratt, Marietta

Reconnecting with Georgia
After moving back to Atlanta after so many years, I was so glad that
GEORGIA Magazine was there to
help us get reconnected with the local community and get a sense of all
of the great events going on in Atlanta. Thank you for all of your great
articles!
-Shaheed Ahmedi, Johns Creek

Saw our band!
I'm writing to thank you for the
nice picture of our band, the Apostles
of Bluegrass, on page 18 of the October 2017 issue [see "Sunbelt Ag Expo:
North America's premier farm show
highlights latest technology and
more"; bit.ly/sbae17]. We were at the
Ag Expo again for our ninth year in
October. I am also a member of Snapping Shoals EMC.
-Johnny Roquemore, via email

Kudos for making a difference
I loved the story about the Suwanee teen and the toilet paper initiative. [See "Suwanee teen rolls out
program to assist homeless," Georgia
News, December 2017, page 9; bit.ly/
stpt12.] We take so much for granted!
-Terri Statham, Snellville
Share your thoughts. Email us at magazine@
georgiaemc.com. Please include your name,
address and phone number. Letters may be
edited for clarity and space.
5

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