VOLUME XLVIII ISSUE 19 NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Spring Application Deadline Dec. 1

The application deadline for the spring term at ABAC is Dec. 1. Classes will begin Jan. 11, 2010.

“Prospective students shouldn’t de-lay in submitting the admissions appli-cation,” said Donna Webb, Director of Enrollment Services. “The Enrollment Services office is dedicated to assisting students through the entire enrollment process and will continue working with students throughout their ABAC ca-reer.”

Webb said there is an application fee of $20 to apply for admission to

ABAC. “We encourage all prospective stu-

dents to apply online,” Webb said. “The site, www.abac.edu, gives step-by-step procedures on how to apply for admissions, as well as financial aid and other services.”

All information and fees required for entry into ABAC must be completed by Dec.1 to ensure that the Enrollment Ser-vice office has time to process the appli-cation. Applications received after Dec. 1 will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Over 500 classes are being offered at ABAC for the spring term including ac-counting, algebra, biology, computer applications, economics, history, music, and more.

An easy to follow application guide is available online at www.abac.edu/

steps. For more information on ABAC, con-

tact the Office of Enrollment Service at (229) 391-5004 or go to the website at www.abac.edu/admissions.

as a Second Language (ESL) certification from the State University of West Georgia and an education certification in Spanish Education K-12 from Georgia Southwest-ern State University. “I came to understand that education is the great equalizer, that a diploma at any level, from a GED to a Ph. D, can provide the same

opportunities for success to anyone regardless of their background,” Gon-

zalez said. “It is my hope that my words will

inspire the graduates to utilize their earned diploma to confidently face the next phase of their educational or per-sonal journey and take pride in their accomplishment.”

Javier Gonzalez, Director of the Col-lege Assistance Migrant Program and the High School Equivalency Program at ABAC, will be the featured speaker at the ABAC fall commencement cere-mony at 6 p.m. on Dec. 11 in Gressette Gym.

“I feel extremely honored to have the opportunity to address the graduating class,” Gonzalez said. “Having come from a humble background, where earning a college degree was a very rare exception, I learned the value of education at very early age.”

Gonzalez has been a member of the ABAC staff since 2003. In recent weeks, he has been selected to attend the Uni-versity System of Georgia Executive Leadership Institute. The institute ad-dresses the need for succession plan-

ning by identifying and developing high potential employees to equip them to become the next genera-tion of exemplary leaders.

He has been involved in the education field for 18 years. He served as a Re-source Specialist for the Marion County Board of Education and an Adoles-cent Outreach Specialist at the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Education Service

Agency (RESA) before join-ing the ABAC staff.

Gonzalez earned a Gen-eral Educational Development (GED) diploma from Heart of Georgia Techni-cal College. He received his bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Georgia South-ern University and a Master’s in Educa-tion Leadership degree from Columbus State University. He earned an English

Gonzalez To Speak at Commencement December 11

ABAC Ambassadors

are selling

Boston Butts $25 Tickets can be purchased from an Ambassador or by contacting Ashley Williamson at 391-5057. Pick-up will be Nov. 24. Please support the Ambassadors!

Second Annual Chili Cook-off Tonight at 6 p.m. The Forestry-Wildlife Club and the

Cattlemen's Club are having their sec-ond Annual Chili Cook-off tonight at 6 p.m. in the Ag Sciences foyer area. Tickets purchased early are $5.

Tickets at the door are $7 for all you can eat chili.

Gonzalez

Cofer Named Emerging

Scholar at Virginia Tech Dr. Jordan Cofer, assistant professor

in the School of Liberal Arts, was re-cently honored as the Emerging Scholar for the 2009 fall semester from his alma ma-ter, Virginia Tech.

“This is an award given to alumni in higher education,” Cofer said. “It is like a visiting scholar.”

As part of the

honor, Cofer trav-eled back to the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., to do a key-note lecture on Nov. 5. He talked to students about higher education as well as giving a presentation entitled “Flannery O’ Conner and the Gospel of Irony”, which was part of his disserta-tion.

Cofer received his B.A. in English in 2003 from Southwest Baptist University; his M.A. in English from Virginia Tech in 2006; and his Ph.D. in English in 2009 from Texas Tech University. While at Texas Tech, he won the Outstanding Dissertation award.

Besides his teaching duties, Cofer is the ABAC faculty advisor to the Rural Studies Club. He is married to Rebecca Cofer, a student development specialist at ABAC.

Donate Now for the

Tom Turkey Auction The annual Tom Turkey Auction will

be held from noon today until noon on Friday. Anyone may donate a food item or service to the auction.

In order to donate an item, contact committee members

Theresa Clemens, Tonia Carpenter, Brenda Doss, Shirley Wilson, or Alma Young by 11 a.m. this morning. An e-mail will be sent out with a link to the auction page where the items will be

listed along with a photograph and the per-

son donating the item. To bid in the Tom Turkey auction,

send an e-mail to Clemens with the item and the bid in whole dollar amounts. The web page will be up-dated regularly throughout the auction, and winners will be announced after the auction closes at noon Friday.

Services being offered this year in-clude yoga lessons for two, carpet cleaning, and a new item of an Italian

dinner for four cooked and served by the ABAC vice presidents at the Alumni house. Proceeds for this auction will go to the Staff Forum Scholarship Fund and the Roy Jackson, Sr., Staff Award for Excellence.

Agriculture Career Day

Tuesday in Ag Sciences An Agriculture Career Day at Abra-

ham Baldwin Agricultural College will be held Tuesday in the Agricultural Sci-ences building on the north end of the ABAC campus. Set up will take place from 9 – 10 a.m., and the event will run from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The purpose of this job fair is to facili-tate the development of relationships between employers and the ABAC fac-ulty, staff, and students; recruit future interns and employees; enhance expo-sure to and increase visibility of the school’s programs; and promote agri-business and green industry issues and opportunities to ABAC students.

The event is open to all ABAC stu-dents, not just students in the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

For more information, contact Dr. Tim Marshall at (229) 391-4790 or via e-mail at tmarshall@abac.edu.

The ABAC Concert Band, under the di-rection of Woody Leo-nard, will pre-sent an eve-ning of music on Thursday at 7 p.m. in How-ard Audito-rium. The public is invited to attend this very spe-cial concert at no charge.

A variety of music will be performed, including the premier performance of a new arrangement for concert band. Ed Barr from Valdosta will serve as guest conductor.

The 90-member group will begin the night’s program with “The Star Span-gled Banner” followed by an exciting tune titled “Full Tilt” from contemporary composer Richard L. Saucedo. Its rhyth-mic energy, complex mixed meter, and syncopated phrasings will provide a thrill ride for performance and audience members alike.

“Canticle of the Creatures”, by com-poser/arranger Jim Curnow, will be the next piece performed at the concert. Written in 1984 in homage to the writ-ings of Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), founder of the Franciscan order of the Roman Catholic Church, this six movement symphonic suite sings praises to many of God’s creations and was originally sung by the friars as part of their preaching exercises.

Barr, the guest conductor for the eve-ning’s program, will direct John Philip

Sousa’s stirring march, “On the Cam-pus”. Composed after World War I, it was dedicated to the hundreds of thou-sands of soldiers who returned home and subsequently entered college.

Barr, a music educator for over 40 years, is a retired professor of music from Valdosta State University where he directed the concert band and jazz en-semble. He is a published composer and studied composition with Egbert Ennulat and John Corina. He maintains an active performing schedule playing piano with his trio, small band, and 18-piece dance orchestra. In retirement, Barr continues to work in instrumental music with adjudication and clinic ap-pearances.

“Castle Rock”, originally written for the famed Auburn Knights Orchestra by tenor saxophonist Rick Bell, is an up-tempo, swing-style composition filled

with opportunities for blues improvisa-tion and rousing big-band riffs. This ad-aptation, arranged by Leonard and pre-miered by the ABAC Concert Band, will feature several stu-dent members as soloists. The evening will

conclude with “La Sorella”, a march on Spanish Themes for Symphonic Band

written in 1906 by French composer Charles Borel-Clerc. The title means “the sister” in Italian and is based on a Brazilian dance as expressed in the mo-tives of the celebrated song “Ma Peau d`Espagne” (My Skin of Spain).

Concert Band Performing Thursday

The Abraham Bald-win Agricultural Col-lege Foundation, Inc., received a $48,297 grant from AT&T* Georgia to expand the use of video instruction and communications to ABAC on Nov. 9. AT&T Regional Manager for External and Legisla-tive Affairs Courtney Brinson made the pres-entation to ABAC Presi-

dent David Bridges. “Our vision of con-

necting people helps shape our role as a corporate citizen,” Brinson said. “For us, corporate citizenship begins by sup-porting the communities where we live and work”, said Courtney Brinson, Re-gional Manager, External and Legisla-tive Affairs. “Companies, like AT&T, are able to invest in innovative pro-grams like the one being supported today because of the public policy posi-tions our legislature takes on business issues.”

Evening, off-campus, and online courses furnish educational opportuni-ties for individuals who are unable to attend classes in the traditional set-ting. The College provides administra-tive services and facilities that enable community and state organizations, as well as other units of the University Sys-tem of Georgia, to bring seminars,

AT&T Awards Grant to ABAC Foundation meetings, and upper-level and graduate instruc-tion to the re-gion. In addition to vid-eos of class work or lectures, fac-ulty can also send emails. Different videos are also used to direct students for re-view if a particu-

lar topic is not understood. This allows students who understand to move ahead and students who

are struggling an opportunity to review. “I would like to commend our local

legislators for helping to create an envi-ronment that recognizes the importance of investing in our communities and in education,” Brinson said.

Legislators at the presentation in-cluded State Senator John Crosby, State Representative Austin Scott and State Representative Jay Roberts.

Those persons at the AT&T grant presentation to ABAC were (l-r): ABAC faculty mem-ber Melanie Partlow, Senator John Crosby, ABAC Chief Information Officer Chrystle Ross; AT&T Regional Manager Courtney Brinson; ABAC President David Bridges, ABAC Grants and Development Director Betty McCorvey, Rep. Austin Scott, Rep. Jay Roberts, and Jody Redding from U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson’s office.

Nominations are now being ac-cepted for the Athletics Hall of Fame at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 1, 2009.

Any individual, living or deceased, may be considered for induction into the ABAC Athletics Hall of Fame. Individuals are nominated in

one of three categories: Athlete, Coach, or Contributor.

“With the rich athletics history of our college, it’s going to be exciting to see the selections for this next group,” Athletics Director Alan Kramer said.

The inaugural Hall of Fame class included Thomas Cheney, Bruce V. Gressette, Norman “Red” Hill, Orion Mitchell, Philip Simpson, and Milena Stanoytcheva.

The Hall of Fame class of 2009 honored the 1984 national championship men’s tennis team, Ellen Vickers, Dor-sey Brooks, Cook Holliday, P.W. Bryan, Jr., and Newell “Sarge” Dorsey. Kramer said athletic achievement as well as integrity, sports-manship, and charac-

ter will be considered.

ABAC Now Taking Hall of Fame Nominations He said the college is also looking for individuals who may have been good athletes while at ABAC, but who went on to coach high school or college teams to state or national titles.

Alumni as well as the general public are encouraged to nominate individuals for this honor. Athletics Hall of Fame criteria and a nomination form can be found at www.abac.edu/halloffame. ion, interested persons can contact Kramer at (229) 391-4928.

Take a Glow in the Dark Adventure Tuesday Corbian: A Glow in the Dark Adventure will be

performed on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Tift County High

School. Single tickets are $20 for adults and $2 for

students. Tickets also can be purchased as a part of the

Arts and Entertainment Flex Pass for $55 for adults and

$15 for students. For tickets, call the ABAC Arts

Connection at 391-4820 or go to www.southgaarts.com

ABAC Job Opportunities

•ABAC Police Officer •Part-time Clinical Instruc-tor, School of Nursing and Health Sciences •Part-time Credentialed Faculty

Dr. David Bridges gave an ABAC Update to the Tifton

Kiwanis Club on Nov. 6.

Dr. Susan Roe talked about the Fall Choral Concert on the WTIF

Morning Show on Nov. 9.

The FOCUS is a weekly electronic publication produced by the Abra-ham Baldwin Agricultural College Public Relations Office .

Ashley Williamson Mike Chason Ashley Williamson Mike Chason Ashley Williamson Mike Chason Ashley Williamson Mike Chason

Writer and Layout Writer &Editor Please submit any information to Ashley at awilliamson@abac.edu by Thursday at noon for inclusion in the next FOCUS. The next FOCUS The next FOCUS The next FOCUS The next FOCUS will be on November 30. will be on November 30. will be on November 30. will be on November 30.

ABAC Birthdays

16 Ashley Williamson

18 Jules Haywood, Jr.

19 James Lewis

19 Lonnie Gibson

21 Gary Dicks

23 Lisa Collins

24 Gwynda Shields

25 Brenda Graham

26 Keith Barber

27 Doug Hicks

27 Eric Cash

28 Billy Purcell

Veterans Ceremony Rescheduled for Thursday Due to inclement weather, the Veter-

ans Day ceremony has been resched-uled for Nov. 19 at 11 a.m. in the Mead-ows between Bowen and King Halls. Please come out to help recognize the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve in the armed forces. The ceremony is sponsored by WPLH.

Nominations are now being accepted for the awards to be presented by the ABAC Alumni Association at the Celebrate ABAC weekend on March 6, 2010. Nominations are due by Jan. 15, 2010.

All awards are based on professional achievement, community service, and service to the college. Any-one who has attended ABAC for one full year and has 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours of credit is eligible for nomination.

Nomination forms may be obtained by contacting the Office of College Ad-vancement at (229) 391-4900 or by log-ging onto www.abac.edu/alumni and clicking on the “Alumni Awards ” link. Completed nominations can be mailed to the ABAC Alumni Office, ABAC 13, 2802 Moore Highway, Tifton, GA 31793-2601, or returned as an e-mail attach-ment to kbarber@abac.edu no later than Jan. 15.

Nominations should provide specific details about the person being nomi-nated. Nominations may be made by alumni, friends, family members, or ABAC faculty and staff.

For more information about the nomi-nation process, contact ABAC Vice President for External Affairs and Ad-

vancement Keith Barber at 391-4900, or e-mail him at kbar-ber@abac.edu. A brief descrip-tion of each alumni award follows: The Master Farmer Award rec-

ognizes individuals who earn at least two-thirds of their income from some area of farming.

The J. Lamar Branch Award for Out-standing Leadership in Agriculture

recognizes individuals who are en-gaged in some area of agriculture other than farming, which includes, but is not limited to, research, extension, educa-

tion, and sales. The Outstanding Educator Award

honors people who have dedicated their lives to some area of education on any level. Recipients may be active or retired.

The Outstanding Health Care Pro-fessional Award is presented to indi-

viduals in any area of health care, in-cluding physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, dentists, and other health care professionals.

The Outstanding Business Leader Award recognizes people who have

excelled in some area of business. The Distinguished Alumnus Award,

the highest honor presented by the Alumni Association, recognizes indi-viduals who have made significant con-

tributions to society, regardless of their professions.

The Outstanding Young Alumnus Award is presented to alumni 35 years

of age and under who show potential for making exceptional contributions in their careers and communities.

The Helen Brown Sasser Award (formerly known as the Master Home-maker Award) recognizes individuals

who are making significant contribu-tions to promoting home and family, either personally or professionally. This award is not restricted to full-time

homemakers or to those who majored in family and consumer sciences (home economics).

The Honorary Alumnus Award hon-

ors individuals who did not attend ABAC, but who have made profound contributions to the success of the col-lege. Past recipients have included fac-ulty and staff, donors who have made significant financial contributions, and government officials.

The ABAC Family Legacy Award

honors a family that epitomizes the fam-ily spirit ABAC is famous for, had two or more generations (five or more family members) attend ABAC, and made con-tributions for the betterment of the col-lege, Alumni Association, or ABAC Foundation.

ABAC Alumni Awards Nominations Due January 15