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

Tyron Spearman

Tyron Spearman, executive director of the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association, was recently honored with the Tom Kilgore Lifetime Achievement Award recently at the 2018 Georgia Governor’s Tourism Conference in Atlanta. The award is the highest recognition given at the annual conference.

Spearman was instrumental in organizing Tift County’s tourism efforts when he began as the director of the Tourism Association in 1988 but has been promoting the area for much longer than that.  He served as the first public relations director for Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and his efforts led to the creation of the Georgia Agrirama (now known as the Georgia Museum of Agriculture) in 1976.

He also initiated the popular “Think Tifton” billboard campaign, a public-private partnership that markets the community along Interstate 75.

Spearman is also a former chairman of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce and received that organization’s Stafford Award for excellence in economic development in 2013.

We thank Spearman for his decades of support for Tifton and Tift County.

Omega Pepper Festival organizers

Our hats are off to the organizers of the annual Omega Pepper Festival.

The 2018 Omega Pepper Festival took place at Ponder Park in Omega on Sept. 7 and 8.

From the opening ceremonies and Friday night gospel sing, to the Saturday morning parade, events and live entertainment — none of that happens without months of planning and we, along with all the attendees who turned out for the festival, thank them.

UGA Tifton campus

If you’ve ran into the new bulldog statues downtown — or the one just installed at Chick-fil-A — and wondered what’s going on, the UGA Tifton campus is in the middle of celebrating its first century.

The campus will be having nine months of celebrations honoring the centennial.

Since starting up in May 1919, the agricultural research performed at the campus has benefitted our county, state, country and the entire world.

Now that’s worth celebrating.

Lamar Jackson

The Tiftarea YMCA honored long-time supporter Lamar Jackson on Sept. 6 at a ceremony naming the soccer fields at Hunt Park after him.

Tiftarea YMCA CEO Darian Peavy said that Jackson, who passed in March 2017, was instrumental in starting and growing the YMCA.

“Lamar Jackson had a vision to serve the youth in the community,” Peavy said in a recent article in The Tifton Gazette. “He always had a passion for youth.

Peavy said that Jackson worked hard to ensure that there was enough space for any child who wanted to play.

“The YMCA is one of my dad’s true loves, it was his passion,” said Jackson’s son, Bill, at the ceremony.

Jackson’s vision, effort and passion made it possible for Tift County kids to discover their own passions and we thank him for that.

Ruth’s Cottage and the Patticake House

A plan to build a new, safer facility for Ruth’s Cottage is being realized, thanks to a Community Development Block Grant.

The $750,000 CDBG will be used to construct an 11,200 square-foot building that would increase bed capacity and bring all of its various operations under one roof.

The total cost of the project has been estimated at $1.6 million.

Ruth’s Cottage and The Patticake House (RCPCH) Executive Director Nancy Bryan said that the grant only goes out to city and county governments and Tift County agreed to apply for the grant on behalf of RCPCH.

To qualify for the grant, Ruth’s Cottage had to show that if it got the grant, the rest of the costs could be covered.

Thanks to municipalities, businesses, organizations and individuals pledging their support, Ruth’s Cottage is well on its way

The capital campaign is still moving forward, according to Bryan, and there is a “Pave the Way for Victims” brick buying campaign as well.

The brick pathway that will lead from the parking lot to the new entrance will be paved with bricks that can be dedicated to or by individuals or clubs and organizations.

“While we have enough sources for the big things, and those are great and very much needed, that doesn’t mean we need to stop getting those other donations” Bryan said in a recent The Tifton Gazette article. “While our proposed budget is $1.6 million, we know in reality by the time we build this building that is going to change.”

They are looking for financial donations as well as partners. Those interested in donating can contact RCPCH at (229) 387-9663 or donate online at www.gofundme.com/pavethewayforvictims.