Fireworks show, kids’ activities, multiple bands set for music park

LIVE OAK, Fla. – Labor Day is the last holiday of the summer and time to enjoy a spectacular fireworks display, kids’ activities such as scavenger hunt, candy bar bingo, wet tram, best campsite contest and more as well as rest, relaxation, good food, good friends and music at The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (SOSMP). This Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-5, will feature karaoke with Ted “Teddy Mac Elvis” McMullen, Chris Tyler Band, Justin Partin and his band and Stir It Up Duo. Not to mention golf carting, swimming, canoeing, hiking, bicycling, watching a half million bats take flight each night at dusk from the Bat House, a Country Store, local honey to sweeten your day and so much more. Ted McMullen will kick off the weekend Thursday evening from 7 – 10 p.m. in the Music Hall with karaoke. One of America’s best Elvis tribute artists, McMullen will sing and also introduce many local artists to the stage for karaoke. Chris Tyler and his band of Jacksonville, Fla. will own the Music Hall Stage all evening with great dancing and listening Southern rock, country, blues, originals and other music genres Friday, Sept. 2. Saturday, Sept. 3, it’s Justin Lee and his band on stage. This band has played such venues as Mavericks in Jacksonville, Napolatano’s in Gainesville, SOSMP and more. The band will take a break at dusk for the huge fireworks show outside sponsored by Busy Bee. Sunday evening, Sept. 4, in the Music Hall will be Stir It Up Duo of Gainesville for guest’s dancing and listening delight. Music Hall opens 5 p.m., music from 8 p.m. – midnight Friday – Sunday Labor Day weekend. For additional info, please call the SOSMP at 386-364-1683, email spirit@musicliveshere.com or go to www.musicliveshere.com.

 

Table set for Taste of Thomasville

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — The Taste of Thomasville tour is a month in of tours every Saturday.. The tours on every Saturday began on July 2, and will continue until June 24, 2016. The tour takes participants through some of Thomasville’s notable eateries. The tour is 1.4 miles, which lasts up to three hours. The start at 10:30 a.m. and last until 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $40, plus a handling fee and have to be purchased in advance. For more information or to purchase  tickets, visit www.TasteOfThomasvilleFoodTour.com. 

 

Heart Ball honors late Dalton athlete

DALTON, Ga. — The American Heart Association hosts its 31st annual Dalton Heart Ball on Saturday, March 18, 2017, at The Farm Golf Club in memory of local fallen athlete John Bruner. Bruner, a Dalton High School graduate, collapsed on Aug. 4, 2007, near the end of the Missionary Ridge Road Race in Chattanooga and later died due to a rare coronary artery anomaly. For information on the Dalton Heart Ball, contact Brooke Fontana at (423) 763-4409 or Brooke.Fontana@heart.org.

 

State school superintendent to honor Creekside Elementary

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — State school superintendent Richard Woods will pay a visit to Creekside Elementary on Thursday to recognize for its outstanding video submission highlighting parental engagement in the lives of children. The video was part of a contest sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) last school year. Woods planned on making an appearance at Creekside before the end of the 2015-16 school year, but scheduling conflicts forced the ceremony to be rescheduled for a later date. Woods will join Baldwin County School Superintendent Dr. Noris Price as well as Creekside faculty, staff, parents and students for the ceremony to be held at 9 a.m. Creekside’s entry was one of 10 finalists chosen by the GaDOE. After the choices were narrowed, voting was turned over to school districts across the state. The video features real parents sharing ways they are involved with their children’s school life such as reading together, helping with homework, or even just talking about how their day went. Creekside’s submission was produced by the school’s former music teacher Kathryn Poff, who lost her life in a tragic car accident earlier this year. Parents are invited to attend the ceremony at Creekside Thursday morning, as this achievement is one to be shared among the school’s stakeholders.

 

Tift Regional receives award for reducing employee turnover

TIFTON, Ga.  – The Studer Group presented Tift Regional Health System (TRHS) with an Excellence in Patient Care Award for achieving significant reductions in employee turnover.   TRHS Chief Nursing Officer Carol Smith, R.N. and Director of Service Excellence Beth Ryther accepted the award on behalf of the hospital system at the Studer Group’s What’s Right in Health Care conference held Aug. 2-4 in Chicago.  This annual event attracts administrative and clinical health care professionals from the U.S., Canada and Australia. Excellence in Patient Care awards are presented annually to a select group of organizations from Studer Group’s partner-base of hospitals, health systems and physician organizations. To be eligible for an award, an organization must demonstrate outstanding performance and achievement in patient care, employee engagement or physician engagement.   TRHS has been a Studer Group partner since 2014.   Employee turnover refers to the percentage of workers who leave an organization and are replaced by new employees.  Measuring employee turnover is helpful to employers for examining reasons for turnover and estimating the cost-to-hire for budget purposes.   TRHS has more than 2,231 employees, which includes Tift Regional Medical Center (TRMC) and the TRMC West Campus in Tifton, Cook Medical Center and Cook Senior Living Center in Adel and Tift Regional Physician Group, with clinics located throughout South Central Georgia.   Recruiting and retaining staff in the competitive health care landscape, especially with allied health professionals, can be challenging for hospitals.

 

Labor Day gospel concert scheduled 

VALDOSTA, Ga. — The Colbert Croft Memorial Labor Day Gospel Sing returns Monday to Mathis City Auditorium.  Croft was posthumously named to the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame nearly two years ago. Croft and his widow, Joyce Croft, started the Labor Day gospel sings 28 years ago. They have become a Valdosta tradition. Joyce Croft added memorial to the sing’s title in recent years following Colbert Croft’s death. He was 72. The Crofts penned more than 5,000 gospel songs together. The songs include “I Can’t Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand),” “Flow Through Me,” “I Believe He Died For Me,” “Come Into the Presence,” “Almost Home,” “First Million Years,” “Is That Footsteps That I Hear.” Colbert Croft was inducted into the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame ceremony during the National Quartet Convention at Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The gospel sing will likely feature several classic Croft songs from the past. Featured performers are the Williams Two, the Sammy Glass Family, the Backwood Boys, the Johnson Two, New Tradition, Archie Watkins & Smoky Mountain Reunion.