The Tifton Gazette extends a round of applause to the following groups, individuals and organizations doing good things in our community.

Choc It Up organizers and winner

The annual Choc-It-Up for Literacy fundraiser recognized some of Tifton’s best chocolatiers while raising money for Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County Feb. 6.

First time competitor Nakia McCoggle with K&K Custom Creations was the crowd favorite, taking Best Taste, Best Presentation and Best in Show.

Maggie Torres, pastry chef with Fresco Italiano, won Most Original with tasty crème brulee, tiramisu and other unique desserts.

Hilton Garden Inn Employees, a longtime competitor, won Greatest Variety.

Literacy Volunteers helps adults improve their reading and math skills and prepare for the GED test.

It also supports Southern Regional Technical College in its Adult Education program and English Language Learners classes and has scholarships to help eligible students pay for GED test fees.

We congratulate the winner, the volunteers and the supporters who make Literacy Volunteers possible.

Sock it To Em With love

The sixth annual “Sock It To ‘Em With Love” sock drive distributed socks to approximately 75 people Saturday.

Organized by commissioner Melissa Hughes, the annual sock drive gave each kid 10 pairs of socks.

Hughes reported that she had sock donations left over and planned to give them out throughout the year.

Our hat is off to Hughes for organizing the event, as well as the sponsors and volunteers who made it happen.

Blue Devils baseball

The Tift County Blue Devils opened the regular season with a win Monday, defeating Pierce County 3-1.

Pitcher Trey Barfield threw five shutout innings to start the game off.

“I like the way this team fights,” said Tift head coach Kyle Kirk, in an interview with sports editor Becky Taylor.

Kirk credited his team as a whole, saying that they fit well together.

We agree.

20th Century Library Club

Formed in 1905, the 20th Century Library Club was started to establish a local library.

Since then, the club has sponsored a scholarship to ABAC, donated books and school supplies to students, promoted adult literacy through the Literacy Volunteers, donated to the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage, worked with the Georgia Museum of Agriculture on exhibits, supported water conservation and recycling, recently made and donated animal beds to the local animal shelter, donated to the soup kitchen, Tiftarea House of Hope and are heavily involved in the Toys for Tots program.

The club meets once a month and club president Shirene Daniell is seeking new members.

For more information, contact Daniell at (229) 392-4060, (229) 382-7525 or bishidan@mchsi.com.

Lady Panthers

The Tiftarea Academy Lady Panthers are heading to state next week, but before they get there they’re tackling regional playoffs.

The Lady Panthers were set to play Deerfield-Windsor at Georgia Southwestern State Thursday.

The Panthers beat Deerfield-Windsor twice before this season by a slim, 2-point margin each time, but Tiftarea Panthers Head Coach Amy Strenth told sports editor Becky Taylor that she was ready for them a third in an interview earlier this week.

The Thursday game will determine if the Lady Panthers play a championship or consolation game tonight.

Either way, next week they’ll start the bracket by bracket climb of the state tournament.

We’re rooting them on all the way.