Perspective Online

UWG COSS Teaches Importance of Honoring Community

by Joy Esiemokhai

Serving humanity and doing public good. That is the mission of the College of Social Sciences at the University of West Georgia and the intention behind the second annual “Community Leaders-Honoring Community” event organized by the college. This year’s event took place on the 2014 UWG Honor’s Day, a day set aside by the university to celebrate students, faculty and staff.

UWG COSS Teaches Importance of Honoring Community

Marina Rogers, victim advocate and volunteer coordinator at the West Georgia Rape Crisis Center, spoke at the event.

Six Carrollton community figures, four of whom are UWG alumni, gave 10-minute TED Talks-style presentations to the audience of students, faculty, staff and visitors about various ways to honor the community. Bill Bolling, a UWG alumnus of the class of 1976 and the founder and executive director of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, spoke about honoring community “by making a broader impact.” He gave a brief synopsis of the origins and accomplishments of ACFB and how students and other members of the Carrollton community can contribute time and resources to food banks in and around Carrollton. On a similar note, Cynthia Langley, UWG alumna of the class of 1991 and the executive director of Communities in Schools of Carrollton City and Carroll County, spoke about “role modeling and mentoring in the community.” She encouraged the audience to consider connecting with and mentoring a high school student in their journey to accomplish their goals.

Vietnam War veteran and UWG alumnus, Bill Liggin, spoke to the audience about the importance of “just listening to veterans.” Bill is one of the founders of Veteran’s Heart Georgia, a non-profit organization dedicated to healing the effects of war on veterans, their families and communities. He told the audience about his work with veterans from various wars and how simply listening to them tell their stories and personal experiences goes a long way in helping them heal and lead productive lives. In the same vein, Marina Rogers, the victim advocate and volunteer coordinator at the West Georgia Rape Crisis Center, spoke about how to honor community “by knowing how to help a survivor” of sexual assault. She told the audience about the services offered by WGRCC, including the 24-hour hotline. “Sometimes victims and survivors just want someone to listen to their stories and tell them that what happened to them wasn’t their fault,” says Marina.

Jonathan Dorsey, an alumnus of the class of 1990 and the executive director of the Carrollton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, talked about honoring community “by having fun and lending your expertise.” He told the audience about the growth of Carroll County and how to have fun without going all the way to Atlanta. He also spoke about the importance of “economic tourism” – when visitors and residents spend money and support local businesses – and how that contributes to the city’s economic growth. The final speaker of the event was Jonathan Dockery, the founder of the beloved website The Carrollton Menu. He reflected Dorsey’s idea in his talk about honoring community “by responding to the heart of community,” encouraging the audience to follow news concerning local businesses and support these businesses as much as possible.

The messages of the six presentations all reflected the same concept of community support. The speakers encouraged community members to honor the city of Carrollton by giving time, effort and finances so as to make it the best community it can be for residents and visitors.


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