Good News, Bad News

The good news is that the drought in Georgia should officially be over. We've had a lot of rain, including today.

Which leads to the bad news: the golf tournament had to be postponed again.

The good news is that we've been able to reschedule it for Thursday, April 16. Tee times are 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The tourney will still be held at the Overlook.

Anyone interested in having a team on the new date should call Page Estes at 706-884-8671 or e-mail her at pestes@lagrangechamber.com. The deadline to register is April 9.

Sister City-bound

Two high school girls have been chosen to represent the youth of Troup County this summer at the Sister Cities International Convention in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Haley Batchelor (in video) and Hannah Howard, both home-schooled, submitted the winning essays to the LaGrange International Friendship Exchange (L.I.F.E.) contest on “How I Can Initiate Peace in my Community.”

Both young ladies espoused love and understanding as steps toward peace between people and then peace among nations.

L.I.F.E. has a Sister-City relationship with Craigavon, Northern Ireland, where the delegation from LaGrange will stay during the convention.

New Leadership Program

Leadership Troup, a training program for adults, has announced a second class will be chosen in 2009. The current class is finishing their sessions on youth issues, economic development, and the environment. A second class will be chosen to begin training in September. Nomination forms will be sent out in May. See the outline of the program and more information at http://www.lagrangechamber.com/resources/pdf.

The current class recently visited New Ventures, where Rick Brock of D.B. Green was "blinded" and put to work capping batteries. He'll tell you it wasn't easy.

New Ventures is a local facility to train and place the handicapped in jobs.

American Red Cross ribbon cutting

The American Red Cross has moved from Main Street to 900 Dallis Street in LaGrange. Your chamber of commerce was on hand to help celebrate the event. Cutting the ribbon were Red Cross Board Chair Jolene Davidson (left) and Executive Director Connie Hensler.

You may call the Red Cross at (706) 884-5818, e-mail them at lagrangeredcross@mindspring.com, or visit their website at www.redcross.org.

The local Red Cross is a United Way Agency. Visit the U.W. site at www.unitedwaywga.org or call them at (706) 884-8292. They can also be reached by e-mail at patty.youngblood@unitedway.org.

Golf deadline

The deadline to register for the chamber's annual golf tournament is today (March 30). The event will be held on Thursday, April 2, at the Overlook. Call Page to register at 706-884-8671.

Golf Game is On

Rain has made the greens greener and play is set for next week for the annual chamber of commerce golf tournament. Teams will compete on April 2, at the Overlook Golf Links to compete for prizes.

Golf tournament committee members recently reviewed the goodies to be given away.

From left: Jay Butts, A-Com Security; Page Estes, LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce; and Matt Mallory & Libby Willingham, the Mallory Agency.

Networking Works

The two networking groups were hard at work in adjacent rooms at the chamber of commerce early this morning. The forum allows a person to educate others on their business, so the networking friends are familiar enough to recommend one another to prospective clients.

Today Robby Burch of Hutchinson-Traylor Insurance Agency (standing left) explained the myriad of business coverage available, while at right Jerry Johnson of ERA First Realty (in the blue shirt and red tie) highlighted how the housing market is doing right now.