Year after year, Esther Porter's dedication to the environment remains strong, the executive director says.
Over 51 billion pieces of litter end up on U.S. roadways each year. According to Keep America Beautiful, the 6,729 litter items per mile cost the U.S. almost $11.5 billion each year in litter cleanup costs. The Keep Oconee County Beautiful Commission (KOCBC) is working to reduce the litter statistic in the community and was recently honored for its efforts. The organization was presented with a second place award in the Litter Prevention category at the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation Awards Luncheon. Members Kate McDaniel, Monica Ali and former executive director Esther Porter traveled to Atlanta to accept the award on Nov. 14. Keep America Beautiful is a national network of more than 1,200 local affiliates across the country devoted to…
As director of Extra Special People, Inc., a non-profit in northeast Georgia with a mission to enhance the lives of children and young adults with developmental disabilities, Laura Whitaker finds joy in her job.
When Laura Whitaker was just 20 years old and pursuing a degree in special education at the University of Georgia, she assumed an enormous responsibility: She took over the full-time position as executive director of Extra Special People, Inc. (ESP) in Watkinsville. ESP is a nonprofit, established in 1987, with a mission to enhance the lives of children and young adults with developmental disabilities. Since 2006, Whitaker has been instrumental in the expansion of ESP from a summer camp program to a year-round provider of after-school care and family counseling for over 150 children from eight northeast Georgia counties. Whitaker had served as a summer camp counselor for ESP at 19, but when the organization’s founder, Martha Wylie, died of…
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Dr. Joel Jenkins recently took home the community involvement award for his work in Georgia and abroad.
If you're reading these words through glasses or contact lenses, thank an optometrist. If you're reading them without vision correction, you may have good genes to thank. But if you're one of the thousands of people who have been helped all over the world – often free of charge – by the 2011 Beacon of Hope award winner, thank Dr. Joel Jenkins. Jenkins was awarded earlier this month by the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, an organization that helps low income Georgians get the vision correction they need. The award goes to one optometrist who goes above and beyond to be a community leader and “who just is very interested about access to health care for all the people in his community and abroad,” said Christina Lennon, executive …
Lee Becker
10:15 am on Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Very nice story about a great group of people and a wonderful service to the community. more ›