Show your ABAC Pride!

VOLUME XLVIII
ISSUE 35
MARCH 29, 2010
Kovacs Speaking At 3 p.m. Today
Dr. Zoltan Kovacs, a
visiting exchange professor from the University of Pannonia in Veszprem, Hungary will be
speaking today at 3 p.m.
Faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend his presentation in
Bowen 100.
Kovacs is an Economics faculty member at
the University of Pannonia. He will discuss competition across borders,
especially in the European Union, as
well as the Hungarian educational system, and agribusiness in Hungary. He
will also provide insights on Hungarian
and European business practices, as well as other fields
within his expertise including
logistics, supply chain management and production.
Kovacs also advises Hungarian
municipalities on economic
development.
The University of Pannonia
has the leading agricultural
college in Hungary at its campus in Keszthely. Kovacs is
interested in the possibility of
a faculty or student exchange
that might involve its College
of Agriculture. The town of Keszthely is
one of the leading resort areas on the
banks of Lake Balaton – the largest fresh
-water lake in Central Europe.
Science Career Leaders
Forum at ABAC Tuesday
A Science Career Leaders Forum will
be held at ABAC on March 30. The forum will take place in Bowen Hall,
Room 100 from 5 – 6 p.m. The event is
sponsored by the
Student Development
Center.
Everyone is welcome to attend. Free
food and door prizes will
be given away during the event.
Career professionals in the areas of
veterinary medicine, physical therapy,
pharmacy, and engineering will be on
the campus to talk to students.
For more information, contact Annie
Sims at (229) 391-5135.
Show your ABAC Pride!
Sign up today for your ABAC License
Plate. Visit www.abac.edu/tag for
more information.
Prospective Students Get Early
Start on College Search Process
Two hundred and twenty Pre-K students
from the Tift County Pre-K Center visited ABAC Tuesday and Wednesday.
Shelley Fandel coordinated the visit with
the help of the students in the ABAC
Ambassadors, Collegiate FFA, SPAGE,
the Physical Education club, and Donna
Sledge. The children played games in
the Meadows, made pictures with Thunder, learned first aid and tractor safety
and toured several areas on campus.
Baseball, Tennis at
Home This Week
Coach Alan Kramer’s Fillies’
tennis team will host Young
Harris for a 1:30 p.m. matchup
on Wednesday at the Red Hill Athletic
Center. The men’s tennis team will host
Georgia Southwestern at 2:30 p.m. on
Thursday.
In baseball action, the Golden Stallions will take on South Georgia at Stallion Field at 6 p.m. on Thursday for a
single game and then host the Tigers
again for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on
Saturday. Come out and enjoy spring
sports at ABAC.
Bailey to be Honored
on Wednesday
The Business Office will host a reception honoring Brenda Bailey on
Wednesday from 2-4 p.m. in Evans
Hall. Stop by and wish Brenda well in
her retirement.
Stallion Day April 17
Mark Your Calendars for
Spring 2010 Stallion Day on
April 17. There will be a
Stallion Marketplace where
all schools of study and
clubs will be able to exhibit.
Contact Carlos Howard at
[email protected] to reserve a table for the
Marketplace.
George Scott Day, Jazz Festival April 22
George
Scott Day, an
annual Celebration of the
Arts, and the
32nd annual
ABAC Jazz
Festival will
take place on
April 22 on the
campus of
ABAC.
The event, sponsored by the ABAC
School of Liberal Arts and the ABAC
music program, is held each year as a
tribute to George Scott, an associate
professor of English at ABAC, who
passed away in 1994.
The George Scott Day festivities will
feature performances by high school
jazz bands from throughout Georgia
from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. in an area near the
ABAC dining hall. All these performances are free of charge to ABAC students and the public.
Screven County High School kicks off
the day at 10 a.m. followed by Tift
County High School at 10:30 a.m.,
Northside (Warner Robins) at 11 a.m.,
Colquitt County High School at 11:30
a.m., Valdosta at noon, Thomas County
Central at 12:30 p.m., Lanier County at 1
p.m., Savannah Country Day School at
1:30 p.m., Henry County at 2 p.m.,
Peach County at 2:30 p.m., Riverdale
High School at 3 p.m., Crisp County at
3:30 p.m.; and Lowndes High at 4 p.m.
In addition to the excellent performances, there will be giveaways, spotlights on club activities, art displays,
and great
food. Bring
your own
lunch or
purchase
one from
Sodexho
dining services. In
the event
of rain, the
Jazz Festival will take place in the
Donaldson Dining Hall on the ABAC
campus.
Other events will kick off in the Music
Building at 10 a.m. with the Pegasus
awards, poetry readings, and art exhibit. Short story and poetry readings
by ABAC faculty and staff will also be
held in the same location from 11:30
a.m. - noon. An ABAC art exhibit will be
in The Meadows next to the dining hall
from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
To culminate the Jazz Festival, a special Arts and Entertainment Series performance by the ABAC Jazz Ensemble
with guest jazz artists Michael Philip
Mossman, trumpet; Kenyon Carter,
tenor saxophone; and Andrew Hill on
trombone will take place at Howard
Auditorium at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the performance are $15
for adults and $10 for students. ABAC
students will be admitted free. In the
event of rain, the Jazz Festival activities
will take place in the dining Hall. For
additional information, call the ABAC
music program office at (229) 391-4945.
Did The Census Miss You?
If you did not get a census form in
the mail by now and you have a P.O.
Box, the U.S. Census Bureau says
that you more than likely will not get
a form. P.O. Boxes are not included
in the mailings, only residential
homes with mail receptacles.
Questionnaire assistance centers
are located at the YMCA, the
Coastal Plain Regional Library, the
Leroy Rogers Senior Center, and the
Mell Baptist Association. Personnel
at these places can answer questions and provide forms. Forms are
also available at the Tifton-Tift
County Public Library, City Hall Customer Service, and Our Divine Savior Catholic Church.
Gospel Fest April 3 at 6 p.m. in Howard
The ABAC Christian Student Fellowship will present Gospel Fest on April 3 at 6
p.m. Gospel Fest will feature the ABAC Gospel Choir and area church groups.
The event will be held in Howard Auditorium. Tickets are $4 in advance and $5
at the door. For more information, contact Holly Lawrence at 229-391-5145.
Sophomore Music Recital Tuesday
Three sophomore students at
ABAC will showcase their vocal talents at a recital on Tuesday at 7
p.m. in the Chapel of All Faiths.
The three students include Erlencia Denise Mumphery from Albany,
Michael Johnson from Ashburn, and
Kody Jones from Tifton. The performance is open to anyone who
would like to attend at no charge.
Mumphery is a graduate of
Dougherty Comprehensive High
School where she participated in
the Chorale. She joined the music
program at ABAC in the fall of 2006
and began studying voice with Dr.
Susan Roe.
Mumphery added vocal jazz studies with ABAC music program director Don Coates last fall and has
been the featured soloist for the
ABAC Jazz Ensemble this year. She
will be performing with the ABAC
Jazz Ensemble in May at the National Jazz Educators Conference in
St. Louis.
Mumphery is an integral member
of the ABAC Concert Choir, the
ABAC Chamber Singers, and the
ABAC Jazz Choir. She toured with
these groups in New York City
where she sang at Ground Zero, St.
John’s Episcopal Church and St.
Francis of Assisi Cathedral.
Johnson graduated from Turner
County High School in 2006 where
he was active in both the band and
choir. He served as Band President
and Drum Major. He also participated in many performing groups
such as the Marching Rebels where
he served as trumpet section
leader. Johnson was also an AllState Choir member in the all male
chorus and received the Georgia
seal for having a top notch performance in his audition.
Johnson has been an integral
member of the ABAC Concert
Band, the ABAC Jazz Ensemble, the
ABAC Brass Quintet, the ABAC
Concert Choir and the ABAC
Chamber singers. He had the opportunity to tour in Europe and performed at the Tour de France’s
opening ceremony in London, the
North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotter-
dam, Netherlands, and Montreux in
Switzerland. He will graduate this
summer.
Jones graduated from Tift County
High School in 2007 where he was
active in the Blue Devil Brigade,
Concert Band, as well as the Drama
Club. Jones joined the music program at ABAC in the fall of 2008 and
has been an integral member of the
ABAC Concert Choir, Jazz Choir,
and Chamber Singers.
Jones is the current president of
the Concert Choir and has toured
with these groups in New York
City.
Jones will graduate in May with an
Associate of Arts degree and plans
to continue his studies in vocal performance and conducting at Mercer
University on a voice scholarship.
Donaldson Nominations
Due by Noon April 9
The George P. Donaldson Award
is presented by the ABAC Alumni
Association with funding from the
ABAC Ag Alumni Council to the most
outstanding graduate in both the fall
and spring graduations. The award
recognizes students who have distinguished themselves through scholarship, leadership and citizenship.
A completed Statement of Activities form and Resume must be submitted by qualified applicants and
received by Dr. Amy P. Willis at
ABAC Box 31 or Conger Hall 207 by
5 p.m. on Friday, April 9.
For more information on the
award criteria, visit the website at
abac.edu/alumni/donaldsonaward.
The FOCUS is a weekly electronic
publication produced by the ABAC
Public Relations Office .
Ashley Williamson
Writer and Layout
Mike Chason
Writer &Editor
Please submit any information to
Ashley Williamson at [email protected] by Thursday at noon
for inclusion in the next FOCUS.
Employees Must Complete
Ethics Course By Wednesday
The University System of Georgia
Ethics Course must be completed by all
employees, full and part time, by March
31. If employees need help completing
it, visit www.abac.edu/col, scroll down
to miscellaneous, click on Ethics and
select a PDF file of step-by-step directions or a demo video.
ABAC Job Opportunities
Part-time Credentialed
Faculty
 Full Time Faculty
 Director of Human
Resources
 Comptroller
Visit the HR webpage,
www.abac.edu/hr for more
information.

ABAC Birthdays
30
30
30
30
31
Shannon Hawsey
Annie Sims
Charles Sneed
Kali Wasdin
Don Coates
April
2 Ruth Jackson
3 Joe Johnson
3 Melvin Merrill
3 Niles Reddick
3 Pamela Morrow
Dr. David Bridges was the
guest speaker at the Tifton
Kiwanis Club on March 26.
Jimmy Ballenger received his five
year service award and Donna
Campbell received her 15 year
service award for their work with
Georgia Junior College Athletic
Association. The awards were
presented during their annual
meeting in Colorado Springs,
Colo.