The Area Children's Theatre will present "Tinker Bell" on the following dates:
Thursday, May 11, 2023 and Friday, May 12, 2023 at 7:00 PM, Saturday May 13, 2023 at 5:00 PM, and Sunday, May 14, 2023 at 3:00 PM. 

The performance will be held at the Cultural Center, 226 South Gibson St. Warrenton, GA.  Tickets for adults are $10.00, students $5.00.

You may get your tickets online at AreaChildrensTheatre.org.  
For more information, visit our facebook or website or contact the Warren County Chamber of Commerce at 706-465-9604.

See You there!!

Warren County Farm Bureau (WCFB) Board Secretary Rita Johnson recently presented a copy of the children's ag book "I Love Strawberries" to Thora Peebles at the Warren County Public Library.  The donation was made on behalf of the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture and Georgia EMC.  
The Georgia Foundation for Agriculture and Georgia Electric Membership Corporation are jointly promoting agricultural literacy by donating copies of the children's book "I Love Strawberries" to nearly 400 libraries in Georgia Public Library Service.  "I Love Strawberries," written by Shannon Anderson and illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett, follows Jolie and her faithful rabbit, Munchy, as together they find out just how delicious, rewarding and complicated it can be to grow your own food.  Through Jolie's scrapbook-style journal entries, young readers learn how strawberries grow, what pests to look out for in a garden, why ladybugs are helpful and much more.  The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture selected the book as its 2023 Book of the Year for its accurate and positive portrayal of  agriculture.

Heart Wood Products was honored as Business of the Year during the recent Warren County Chamber Banquet.
Josh Stephens, managing partner at Heart Wood Products, said the company and its employees were honored to receive the award.
"We were very honored to be chosen as Business of the Year," Stephens said.  "We love it here.  We don't plan to go anywhere.  We plan to keep growing."  
Starting with about 10 employees in 2019, the company employs 70 people that reside primarily in Warren, Hancock, McDuffie, and Glascock Counties.  "We operate two shifts,  Monday through Friday," Stephens said.  "We build 30,000 pallets per week.  We ship roughly 50 truck-loads of pallets weekly."
The managing partners said they chose Warren County because of the workforce, the facility that they found, and because Warren County is easy to do business with.  The company's leadership team noted that O.B. McCorkle and John Graham have helped Heart Wood Products throughout their local development.  Stephens said they plan to continue Heart Wood's growth.

In partnership with the local legal community, Golden Harvest Food Bank is collecting donations for the 12th annual Georgia Legal Food Frenzy competition and local law groups are needed to assist with collection efforts.  The goal of the contest is to help feed children during the summer months when schools are closed.  
Each year, the Georgia Attorney General, the State Bar, and the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar collaborate with Feeding Georgia, the network of food banks in the state, to raise funds to help feed children in need in the community.  In 2022, the local legal community collectively raised $33,056 for Golden Harvest Food Bank, which equates to over 99,000 meals.
The Georgia Legal Food Frenzy contest runs for two weeks from April 17-28 and all monetary donations collected locally are donated directly to Golden Harvest Food  Bank to provide food for children located in the organization's 11,000 square mile service area during the summer months.
"1 in 5 children in our area are struggling with hunger, and we couldn't be more appreciative of the collective efforts of our legal partners in the CSRA for coming together to help us with our mission of making sure that no child goes hungry" says Amy Breitmann, President & CEO, Golden Harvest Food Bank.
For more information on how to sign up, contact Amy Graci, Corporate Development Officer, at agraci@goldenharvest.org. 

By Erin Burditt
eburditt@mcduffieprogress.com

Srinivas Akella, a teacher with the Warren County School District, is a part of Georgia State Superintendents' Teacher Advisory Council who had the opportunitiy to attend a legislative session at the state Senate in January.

Akella said the TAC is comprised of teachers from all over the state representing all grade levels.
He said the group acts as a connection between the teachers throughout the state and the Department of Education.
"Georgia Teacher of the Year finalists and teachers nominated due to their outstanding educational service qualities, ability to articulate teacher issues, and engagement in positive problem-solving collaborative discussions, act as liaisons between the Department of Education and the teachers of Georgia," Akella said.  The TAC meets with the state school superintendent twice during each school year to discuss how decisions that were made at the state level affect teachers in Georgia classrooms.

Akella has been a part of the TAC for five years, and this year they got to visit the Capitol and attend a legislative session at the senate on January 31.

Akella said he's in his 15th year in Warren County Schools, where he teaches the high school math, including Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, College Readiness Math, and College Algebra.
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Originally from India, he taught in his home country for 11 years before coming to the United States.
Akella said he came to Warren County because he wanted to teach high school and his interest was piqued by it being a rural school district.
"When I saw that it was a rural school it attracted me actually," Akella said, who said he hoped he could serve students in a rural school district.
Akellla said serving on the TAC has been a great opportunity for him to advocate for the Warren County School District at the state level.