VOLUME LIII ISSUE 12 November 6, 2017

A Day for First Ladies at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of AgricultureSandra Deal (right), wife of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, and Kim

Bridges (left), wife of ABAC President David Bridges, watch first graders from G.O. Bailey Primary School participate in the Destination Ag program at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village on Tuesday. Deal and Bridges spent some time with the children as well as with ABAC students, who serve as instructors for the program. The Harley Langdale, Jr. Foundation has committed $1 million over the next four years to continue Destination Ag, a program which offers hands-on field trip experiences for young learners. These trips focus on the value of agriculture and natural resources with an emphasis on careers in those fields.

The First Tuesday Concert Series performance on Tues. will feature “A Night of Jazz Featuring ABAC Alumni” at 7 p.m. in the Chapel of All Faiths. This concert is open to the public at no charge.

Dr. Thomas Heflin, ABAC Assistant Professor of Jazz, will headline the concert on trumpet. Heflin directs the much acclaimed ABAC Jazz Ensemble. He will be joined by two ABAC Jazz Ensemble alumni, Kenyon Carter on saxophone and Andrew Hill on trombone.

The rhythm section will be comprised of Mason Margut on piano, Rodney Jordan on bass, and Rowan Cowan on drums. Current jazz ensemble students will also be included in the performance. Heflin and company will perform a mixture of jazz standards and originals during the evening’s event.

The First Tuesday series, now in its 16th year, features regional professional artists on the first Tuesdays of five months during the year. Dr. Susan Roe, Head of

the ABAC Department of Fine Arts, is the First Tuesday Program Director.

Carter is a musician who performs in the Atlanta area; Hill serves as assistant director of bands and jazz ensemble director at Valdosta High School; Jordan is associate professor of jazz studies at Florida State University (FSU); and Margut and Cowan are FSU students and musicians from the Tallahassee area.

For more information on the First Tuesday Concert Series, interested persons can contact Roe at sroe@abac.edu.

‘A Night of Jazz’ at ABAC First Tuesday Concert on Tuesday

Free Admission for Military at the Museum SaturdayThe ABAC Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village will offer free admission

to all active duty military and veterans of the Armed Services on Veterans Day Saturday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Active and retired military must present their military ID at the Country Store for free admittance.

Museum Director Garrett Boone said the Museum is a national Blue Star Museum that is proud to honor the brave men and women who serve our country. For more information, contact the Country Store at (229) 391-5205.

Stallion Day is Saturday! For more information, contact Brooke Jernigan at bjernigan@abac.edu

The Concert Band at ABAC will present its annual fall concert on Nov. 13-14 at 7 p.m. each night at Howard Auditorium. The performance will feature Dan Bray, the official bagpiper for the Georgia State Patrol. He will perform Jay Dawson’s beautiful arrangement of “Amazing Grace.”

The public is invited to attend either night of the concert at no charge. Seating is limited so guests are encouraged to arrive early. The same program will be presented each night. Johnny Folsom conducts the ABAC Concert Band.

In addition to “Amazing Grace,” the concert will feature Richard

Saucedo’s stirring tribute to an American thoroughbred racehorse titled “Fanfare and Call to the Post.” Since hurricanes have been a part of the local news this year, the ABAC Band will perform the consummate storm work “Hurricane,” written for the St. Petersburg High School Band by the dean of American band composers, Paul Yoder.

Composer Samuel Hazo will have the audience hanging on tight with an exciting trip in a fast car on a winding country road with his composition, “Ride.” Then the band will slow things down a bit with

Albert Perfect’s music written to accompany a 1911 silent film about horse versus horseless carriages titled “Alkali Ike Rag, A North Dakota Misunderstanding.”

The concert continues with Robert W. Smith’s work, “The Star of Dreams,” that paints a history of Texas, complete with cowboys, mission bells, mariachi bands, and a stampede. The ABAC Band closes the concert with famed Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra Conductor Carmen Dragon’s “America the Beautiful.”

For more information, contact Folsom at (229) 391-4944.

Bagpiper to be Featured at ABAC Band Concert November 13-14

Local flavor will be on display during the fourth annual Harvest to Table seated dinner hosted by the Wiregrass Farmers Market on Thurs. at 7 p.m. at the Spring Hill Country Club in Tifton.

The Market is open from 9 a.m.-noon on Saturdays from April through November at the ABAC Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village.

Tickets for the Harvest to Table

dinner are $50 each. The price includes the meal and beverages. Sponsorship levels include two tickets to the dinner for a $250 donation and four tickets for a

donation of $500. Entertainment for the dinner will be provided by Scout.

Throughout the dinner, guests will have an opportunity to find out more about the Market’s

farmers and their products while sitting at a table hosted by one of the Market’s board members.

The proceeds from this special meal will be used to continue the great services provided by the Wiregrass Farmers Market to the community including the Market itself, weekly children’s activities, educational classes, and skills demonstrations.

For more information on Harvest to Table or to purchase tickets, interested persons can call (229) 238-0600.

Wiregrass Market at the Museum Sets Dinner for Thursday

Open Enrollment for Insurance Benefits Ends FridayUniversity of Georgia and ABAC Open Enrollment for benefit changes will occur through Friday (November 10) this year.

To choose your benefits, log into your new OneUSG Connect website. By doing this, you will verify that your coverage options and information is accurate and to make any needed changes in your benefit elections. For more information, contact Human Resources at 229.391.4890. The link for the OneUSG website is https://leplb0910.portal.hewitt.com/web/oneusg/login?forkPage=false

Hay Bale Decorating Contest Twenty-two ABAC clubs and organizations

participated in the Horticulture Club’s annual Hay Bale Decorating Contest. The top three are pictured (l-r): First Place, ABAC Ambassadors; Second Place, Dairy Science Club; Third Place, Young Farmers.

Children of all ages can ride the North Pole Express to see Santa Claus from 5-8 p.m. on Dec. 13-16 at the ABAC Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village. Tickets for the North Pole Express will be available for sale to the public beginning on Nov. 6 at 9 a.m.

All tickets for the North Pole Express are $10 per person and must be purchased in advance at the Country Store. Tickets will not be sold at the event. Children one year of age and under are free, children age two and older must have a ticket. The Museum’s 1917 Vulcan steam locomotive will depart for the North Pole every 20

minutes and will run in all kinds of weather.

Guests will be able to listen to Mrs. Claus read the holiday classic, “The Polar Express,” in the Clyatt Cabin before boarding the North Pole Express to visit Santa Claus and enjoy the movie version of “The Polar Express.”

Parents should bring their cameras for some great photo opportunities of their children with Santa. It is recommended that groups arrive a few minutes before their scheduled session for the best experience possible.

For more information, interested persons can contact

Museum personnel at (229) 391-5205 or visit the web site at www.abac.edu/museum.

North Pole Express at the Museum December 13-16

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Collecting Items for VeteransThe Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society at ABAC will collect

personal care items, snacks, puzzles/books, and winter weather accessories for the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) as part of a community service project through the University System of Georgia. Dr. Charlotte Klesman, the PTK advisor, said donations will be

accepted until Nov. 30. A donation box will be in the Baldwin Library. The Georgia Summit conference extended the invitation to ABAC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa to participate in this cause. The Medical Center needs personal items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo and crème rinse, deodorant, powder, lip balm and other products. For more information on donating or the items needed, interested persons can contact Klesman at cklesman@abac.edu.

Rural Studies Student Receives Award During Annual ConferenceDr. Jewrell Rivers and three Rural Community Development students attended the Georgia Sociological Association Conference held on November 2 - 4 at the Lake Blackshear Resort and Golf Club in Cordele. Deidra Green, a native of Sylvester, was awarded first place in the undergraduate student paper competition for her research on “The Societal Effects on the Educational Attainment of Minority Students at ABAC.” Rivers served as faculty advisor and research mentor. He and the students also attended the Presidential Dinner and toured the Global Village and Discovery Center in Americus. This engaged research opportunity for students was sponsored by the Helping Professions Association (HPA).Pictured (l-r): Allison Brock, Amanda Mohammed, Green and Rivers

Alumni House Builds New Patio AreaThe Alumni House has gotten a face lift. The brand new patio is

now open and is a beautiful addition to our already lovely campus. A grand opening ceremony held on October 27 was attended by members of the Alumni Association. Thank you to all the alumni, students, and Sodexo staff who worked to helped make this possible. Feel free to enjoy your lunch on the patio anytime!

7 Deborah Drummonds 7 Kathy Moreno 8 Tim Marshall 10 Robert CarpenterABAC Birthdays

ABAC receives POD Network Educational Development Internship Grant ABAC was awarded a 2017 Professional Organizational Development Network (POD)

Educational Development Internship Grant. The grant, written by Dr. Jordan Cofer, funds a paid internship for ABAC’s Center for Teaching and Learning. Furthermore, the grant funds an intern’s travel and conference registration. Dr. Cofer and grant recipient, Remberto Rosales, traveled to Montreal, Canada where they received the grant and were honored at an awards

ceremony. ABAC was one of seven grant recipients and the only baccalaureate-only institution to receive the grant. Other winners include: Florida International University, University of Rhode Island, University of Tennessee, University of Chicago, University of British Columbia, and Michigan State University. Last year’s winners included Harvard University, UC Berkley, Boston College, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Update From the Center for Teaching and Learning at ABACUpcoming Events:• Tuesday, at 4 p.m. in Carlton 217 - A Closer Look at a Funded Grant Proposal. Come see the guidelines of a

request for proposal, then see a successfully submitted/funded proposal. Light refreshments will be served.• Monday, November 13 at 1 p.m. in Carlton 217 - Ethics Awareness. Dr. Ryan Currie from the Stafford School of

Business talk about the importance of Ethics Awareness. Upcoming Opportunities:• The USG Teaching and Learning Conference (April 4 - 6, 2018) is now accepting proposals. For more information

about the conference visit http://www.usg.edu/facultydevelopment/teaching_learning_conference• Interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning?. Consider applying for the USG’s SoTL Teaching Fellows

program. Contact Dr. Jordan Cofer at jcofer@abac.edu for more information• Gordon State College’s is now accepting proposals for their 16th annual “Teaching Matters” conference (March 8-9,

2018). For more info or to apply visit http://www.gordonstate.edu/teachingmatters/homeFaculty Resources:• Jordan Cofer presented “Taking it on the Road: Cross-Institutional Collaborative Faculty Development” and received

the Educational Development Internship Grant at the POD Network Conference in Montreal, Canada. If you have any announcements, please email ctl@abac.edu

University System of Georgia Participates in International Fraud Awareness WeekThe University System of Georgia (USG) and ABAC are proud participants of International Fraud Awareness Week, Nov.

12-18, 2017. In support of this effort, ABAC will be taking steps to remind employees of our commitment to the highest ethical and professional standards of conduct in pursuit of our mission to create a more educated Georgia. Efforts during this week will bring awareness to fraud prevention, reinforce the USG’s principles of recognizing the hard

work of all employees, and promoting our shared values of integrity, excellence, accountability and respect.This week’s emphasis will include, stewardship, prevention, integrity, responsibility, inspiration, and trust.The awareness program is part of a comprehensive Ethics and Compliance Program which includes a system-level

ethics policy and code of conduct, on-board ethics training, periodic ethics refresher training, assurance audits, consulting engagements, and an ethics and compliance reporting hot line.Additional communications will take place in support of this special ethics awareness week.