VOLUME LII ISSUE 17 November 14, 2016

The Iron Horse Singers and Dancers will showcase an educational program of songs and dances of the American Indian from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. on Sat. at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village at ABAC.

GoNativeNow, a Native American tour company, will be back for a fifth visit to the Museum. The company travels the United States conducting reenactments, providing demonstrations, hosting campouts, and spotlighting The Iron Horse Singers and Dancers, who perform in full Native American regalia. The educational program includes live drumming and explanations for each of the dances.

GoNativeNow is led by Little Big Mountain, a fourth generation dancer, singer and educator on Native American culture. His father, Iron Horse Big Mountain,

was Comanche from Anadarko, Okla., and his mother, Wildflower Big Mountain, is Mohawk from Kahnawake, Canada. Little Big Mountain’s reservation is the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Canada.

A performer since childhood, Little Big Mountain has been traveling on the Pow-Wow Trail and educating others on Native American culture all over the United States for over 40 years. Beginning with Little Big Mountain’s great grandfather, the Big Mountain family performances started in the mid-1800s and continue today.

GoNativeNow has performed at venues including Disney World and Universal Studios,

the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Rank Leisure Dinner Shows, native festivals, history fairs, Pow-Wows, and at schools for children from kindergarten to college.

Visitors to the Museum on Nov. 19 can explore Native American culture through viewing

GoNativeNow’s encampment. They will see a comparison between Eastern and Western Tribes from both the male and female perspective. Little Big Mountain and Laura Alcorn will take guests on a journey through time from Primitive Lifestyle through the 1880s.

For more information, contact the Georgia Museum of Agriculture at (229) 391-5205.

American Indian Experience at the Museum on Saturday

The Concert Band at ABAC will present its fall concert at 7 p.m. on Mon. and Tues. in Howard Auditorium. Band Director Johnny Folsom said the concert is open to the public at no charge each night.

The concert begins with American composer Aaron Copeland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.” The band will follow this classic work with a new composition by Jay Dawson that salutes the real “salt of the earth” common man with his “Fanfare,

Mules & Roosters.”American aviation pioneer

Amelia Earhart is saluted in noted band composer Robert W. Smith’s “Earhart: Sounds of Courage,” followed by a stirring arrangement of the hymn “Abide with Me” that incorporates “To the Post,” the British equivalent of “Taps.”

The band’s performance will continue with Henry Fillmore’s rousing circus march, “Rolling Thunder,” and composer Richard

Brown’s “Chinese Folk Rhapsody.” Stephen Melillo’s dramatic piece, “America the Brave,” will close the performance featuring hauntingly reflective renditions of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “America the Beautiful,” and numerous snippets of other American folk music.

Seating is limited so attendees are encouraged to arrive early for a good seat. For more information on this performance, contact Folsom at (229) 391-4944.

Fall Band Concert on Monday and Tuesday Evening at ABAC

ABAC will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25 and will reopen for normal business hours on Monday, Nov. 28.

The Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Choir at ABAC will present an evening of jazz music on Thurs. at 7 p.m. in Howard Auditorium.

Sponsored by the ABAC Music Program in the School of Liberal Arts, this concert is open to the public at no charge. Dr. Thomas Heflin, Assistant Professor of Jazz, serves as director of the Jazz Ensemble.

The Jazz Ensemble’s performance will feature jazz standards “Easin’ It,” composed and arranged by Frank Foster;

“Maiden Voyage,” composed by Herbie Hancock and arranged by Mark Taylor; Duke Ellington’s “Cotton Tail;” “Peace,” composed by Horace Silver and arranged by Frank Mantooth; Heflin’s original piece, “Land of the Setting Sun;” “The Preacher” by Horace Silver; and “Hallelujah I Love Him So,” composed by Ray Charles and

featuring Asiaunnya Bryant, a music major from Albany, on vocals.

The ABAC Jazz Choir under the direction of Dr. Susan Roe will perform with the Jazz Ensemble on

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” by Fats Waller, Johnny Mercer’s ‘Something’s Gotta Give,” and a tribute piece to Cole Porter, “Let’s Fall in Love.” The ABAC Jazz Combo will join the Jazz Ensemble for Poncho Sanchez’s “Bien Sabroso.”

For more information on this concert, contact Heflin at (229) 391-5253.

ABAC Jazz Band Performs Fall Concert on Thursday

Enrollment Counselors Recognized at ConferenceMembers of the Georgia Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission

Officers met in Savannah during October for the 63rd annual meeting. Luke Ellis, Kristen McHugh, and Donna Webb were presenters during the conference. At the closing session of the conference, Luke Ellis graduated from the Georgia Institute of Strategic Enrollment Management and became a Registered Enrollment Professional. He was also honored with the Outstanding Young Professional Award. Donna Webb was recognized for her service on the Executive Committee for the past five years. Pictured (l-r) Webb and Ellis with their awards.

This Week is International Fraud Awareness Week The University System of Georgia (USG) is a proud participant of International

Fraud Awareness Week, Nov. 13-19. In support of this effort, ABAC will be hosting activities to bring awareness to further promote an ethical culture on campus. Activities will be communicated by email throughout the week.

As you know, no organization or institution is exempt from the potential for fraud and the resulting risk to institutional reputation and employees. Activities this week will help bring awareness to fraud prevention and reinforce the USG’s culture of recognizing the hard work of all employees, and promoting shared values of integrity, excellence, accountability and responsibility.

The theme for this week is “The SPIRIT of USG.” Stewardship, Prevention, Integrity, Responsibility, Inspiration, and Trust.

This awareness program is part of a comprehensive Ethics and Compliance Program which includes ethics training, mandatory compliance training, assurance audits, consulting engagements and an ethics and compliance reporting hot-line.

The FOCUS will not be published again until Monday, Nov. 28.

The ABAC Health Center has enrolled as a monitor for influenza surveillance with the State of Georgia, Department of Public Health (GDPH). In this capacity, the Health Center will become a member of the Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet).

The Health Center will report the number of patients presenting to the center with fever greater than 100 F with cough and/or sore throat on a weekly basis. ILINet then reports to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As a reporter, the Health Center becomes one of hundreds of health clinics across the nation to provide the data that eventually allows the CDC to form the national profile of the severity of yearly influenza epidemics.

In addition to reporting the number of patients with influenza-like illness, the Health Center will offer patients the opportunity to have their throats swabbed for specimens to submit to the Georgia Public Health Laboratory to determine the particular strain. In this manner, the prevalence of influenza strains can be determined by the public health system.

According to the Health Center’s Carmen Counts, RN, public health officials are particularly interested in enrolling college health centers into the surveillance network. This is largely because college students are highly mobile, live in crowded environments and, typically, have low immunization rates.

“Unfortunately, campuses are often disproportionately affected by flu despite our best efforts to immunize faculty, staff and students,” said Counts. “College students are among the first affected and tracking these cases gives public health an idea of how bad the flu season will be, as well as which strains are circulating.”

During influenza season, you can take precautions to keep you and your family healthy. Frequent hand washing is the number one way to prevent the spread of illness. If you get sick with fever, cough and sore throat medications can reduce sick time if started early. As always, vaccination is wise. The Health Center offers flu vaccines and these can be filed on all health insurance policies. For more information, contact the Health Center at 229. 391.5030

ABAC Health Center Monitors Influenza Cases and Other Illnesses

Guests can transport themselves back in time to experience the Christmas season in the 1880s with Victorian Village by Candlelight from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village at ABAC.

Tickets for this event are $15 per person and are available at the Country Store. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold on the day of the event. This event requires walking on foot for approximately one-half mile on unpaved terrain by lantern light.

The evening is limited to 100 visitors with 20 people in each of five groups for the Victorian Village tours. Groups will meet at the Country Store to leave on the Museum train every 30 minutes beginning at 5:30 p.m., with the last group leaving the train station at 7:30 p.m.

Guests will learn about two of the Victorian traditions that have become a part of the legend of Santa Claus during this spectacular

lantern-lit event. Visitors will get a taste of the community’s celebratory spirit as they stop in for a Christmas Eve visit in a Victorian-era village in South Georgia back when electricity was a luxury, humble gifts were made by hand, and Christmas Eve was spent cooking delicious treats on the open hearth of the fireplace.

Guests will arrive on train cars pulled by the 1917 Vulcan steam engine into the glowing Historic Village lit with lanterns and kerosene lamps, and will proceed on a walking tour for the rest of the evening. The first stop on the hour-long walking tour will be the Clyatt Cabin, where Father Christmas and Old Befana will greet guests with a folktale and a

keepsake. As guests follow the lantern

lit path on foot they will enjoy a trip into the past and how two Wiregrass Georgia families celebrated the holiday season. The Tift House will depict the Christmas of an affluent family. Carolers will be on the porch of the Tift House singing traditional 19th century carols for visitors. At the

Knight Cabin, guests can see what a typical Christmas might have been like for a sharecropper and his family.

A stop at the historic Cravey House will follow, where Farmhouse Beef Stew, cornbread, and hot apple cider will be available for visitors before heading out to warm up by the bonfire. The train will then depart to take visitors back to the Country Store. All visitors will receive a keepsake ornament hand-made in the Village and a guidebook to remember the evening.

For ticket information on this event, interested persons can contact the Country Store at (229) 391-5205. Other holiday events at the Museum include the North Pole Express on Dec. 14-16 from 5-8 p.m.

Victorian Village by Candlelight at Museum on December 4

Photographs and essays which depict rural life and rural culture in the state are now being accepted for the “Back Roads of Georgia 2” competition and exhibit at the Gallery of the Georgia Museum of Agriculture at ABAC. The Museum is sponsoring the exhibit for the second year in a row in conjunction with “Georgia Backroads Magazine” and the ABAC Rural Studies program.

Museum Assistant Director and Curator Polly Huff said the Museum will accept essays for the competition and exhibit until Dec. 12. Essays should be no longer than 4,000 words and should address the “Back Roads of Georgia” theme in some way. No previously published work is allowed.

Georgia writers 18 years of age and older are invited to submit an essay for $5 each. Participants may enter up to three submissions in separate emails. All essay submissions must be e-mailed to Huff at phuff@abac.edu. All submission fees must be paid by check and mailed to Polly Huff, GMA Gallery Curator, 1392

Whiddon Mill Road, Tifton, Ga., 31793. On the memo line of the check, the writer’s name and title of essay(s) should be included. Checks must be made out to the Georgia Museum of Agriculture (GMA). The submission process is not complete until the fee is paid.

For the photography contest on the same theme, Georgia photographers 18 years of age and older are invited to submit work to be juried for inclusion in the exhibit. The deadline for photo entries is Jan. 7, 2017. There is a $5 entry fee for each photo. Artists may enter up to five pieces to the competition and exhibit.

Artwork must be delivered to the GMA Gallery no later than 4 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2017 to be included in the jurying. The GMA Gallery can accept up to 100 total pieces for this exhibit. Payment must be made by cash or a check made out to GMA and submitted at the time the work is delivered to the Gallery.

The Tifton-Tift County Arts Council will provide cash awards totaling $2,000 for the

top finishers in the competition. Publication consideration by “Georgia Backroads Magazine” and annual passes to the Museum will be awarded to the top seven winners in the essay and photography categories.

An opening reception for the new exhibit and an awards ceremony for the winners of the literary and photo competitions will be hosted by the Wiregrass Farmers Market at 5 p.m. on Jan. 21, 2017. Guests to the reception will enjoy samples of local foods, “backroads tunes” by Dr. Jeff Newberry, gallery tours, and excerpts from the top three essay winners.

Renowned award-winning writer, poet, and educator Mary Jane Ryals of Tallahassee, Fla., will be the juror for the literary competition. Professor of Photography Dominick Gheesling of Valdosta, chair of photography at the Valdosta State University School of Art, will select the winners of the photography competition.

The “Back Roads of Georgia 2” exhibit will remain on display at the Museum Gallery until April 1, 2017. For more information, interested persons can contact Huff at phuff@abac.edu.

‘Back Roads of Georgia 2’ Exhibit Now Accepting Entries

Native American Event at ABAC on Wed.The ABAC Rural Studies Program will be hosting a symposium for Native Peoples of the Americas on Wed. There will be food, entertainment, and special guest speakers from the Native American Community. This event has been planned in conjunction with Tama Town, a local community of Lower Muskogee Creek Indians. Chief Marian McCormick and tribe historian Dr. Peggy Venable will be here for the day to share Native American culture with ABAC faculty and students. Those that attend will have to opportunity to do some genealogical investigation and set up a family tree that will allow them to see if they come from a Native American background. The event will begin Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in the Meadows and end at 4 p.m. The event is open to the public free of charge. For more information, contact Dr. Jess Usher at jusher@abac.edu. Pictured: A Rural Studies class visited Tama Town as research for the event.

The American Red Cross will host a blood drive on Wednesday. The drive will be held in the Nickelodeon from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. For more

information, contact Bernice Hughes at bhughes@abac.edu

19 Lonnie Gibson 20 George Lowerts 21 Gary Dicks 25 Brenda Graham 27 Doug Hicks 27 Jamie Powers

ABAC Birthdays

Children of all ages can ride the North Pole Express to see Santa Claus from 5-8 p.m. on Dec. 14-16 at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village at ABAC.

Tickets for the North Pole Express are now available for $7 per person and must be purchased in advance at the Country Store. Tickets will not be sold at the event. The North Pole Express will run in all kinds of weather. Children one year of age and under are free.

The Museum’s 1917 Vulcan steam locomotive will depart for the North Pole every 20 minutes. Guests will be able to listen to Mrs.

Claus read the holiday classic, “The Polar Express,” in the Clyatt Cabin before boarding the North Pole Express to visit with Santa Claus and enjoy the movie version of “The Polar Express” in a winter wonderland.

Bring along your camera for some great photo opportunities with Santa. It is recommended that your group arrive a few minutes before your scheduled session for the best experience possible.

For more information, contact the Museum at (229) 391-5205 or visit the web site at www.abac.edu/museum.

North Pole Express at Georgia Museum of Agriculture Dec. 14-16

Agriculture Career Connections On Tuesday in Ag ScienceSchool of Agriculture and Natural Resources is hosting the 8th Annual Career Connections on Tuesday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. in Ag. Science Building. This event is geared towards students pursuing careers and internships in the areas of agriculture and turfgrass. There are over 50 employers registered to attend this event. Additionally, some employers will be staying afterward to conduct interviews for internship and other open positions. Students majoring in Natural Resource Management will have a Career Connections event on February 1, 2017. For more information, contact Suzanne Bentley at sbentley@abac.edu

School of Agriculture Partners with Alltech to Prepare StudentsOn Tuesday, November 8 the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources partnered with Alltech to host a Professionalism Workshop. This interactive workshop covered professional dress, resumes, how to “work” a career fair, etc. Students participated in role playing situations preparing them for conversations with employers. On the next day, Wednesday, November 9 Alltech hosted an Interview Competition where six industry professionals served as judges. All of the students did a great job and the competition was tight. First place went to

Madison Lynn, second to Tabetha Duncan, and third to Olivia Evans. A special thank you to the dedicated judges: Hutch Smith, Keystone Foods; Ted LaDue, Furst McNess; Henry Jones, Zoetis; Whitney Murphy, Dow Chemical Company; Miles Drummond, UGA Extension; and Jessie Bland, Georgia Peanut Commission. Pictured: All of the students who participated in the interview competition.