12.24.2014

Georgia HOBY Newsletter:
Twenty-Fifth Edition, December 24, 2014

Featured Alumnus: Blake Phillips '11


"HOBY is life!" That is my answer when people ask me "What is HOBY?" Of course after I say "HOBY is life!" and they laugh I proceed to tell them about the seminar and how HOBY continues to change lives year after year. I was nominated by my school to attend HOBY as an ambassador in 2011. My life changed that weekend. I came back home confident in ability to be a leader and make a difference. That is what HOBY is about: making a difference. The first step in making a difference in the life of another person is taking a step back and realizing that person is different from you. I believe that in order to make a difference and live a life that impacts the lives of others, one must not only acknowledge diversity, but also celebrate the diversity that defines us as individuals. HOBY has helped shape this philosophy of mine and has greatly affected the ways I perceived, accept, and respect those who are different from me. HOBY blends kids with varying backgrounds, religious beliefs, ethnicities, and sexualities and shows them that these differences do not equal divisions. HOBY builds friendships that last a lifetime. Several of my best friends are from HOBY. I talk to them literally everyday. These are the friends I talk to when I need encouragement or when they need someone to remind how outstanding they are! It may sound biased, but I believe HOBY provides the best friendships because these relationships are not built around convenience. My HOBY friends are spread all through out Georgia. These friendships require work and love and because of the struggle of distance the bonds grow stronger. I am forever thankful for HOBY and the amazing friends and opportunities I have been blessed with because of HOBY.

HOBY Info:
Kroger Community Rewards Program
  • If you have a Kroger Plus Card, send some dollars to HOBY through this program!
  • Keep it up, all the funds ensure the best seminars possible!

Social Networking!!!
  • Find us on Facebook: GA HOBY Alumni
  • Follow us on Twitter: @HOBY_GEORGIA  
  • Follow us on Instagram: HOBY_GEORGIA
  • Follow us on Vine: Georgia HOBY
  • Feel free to send quotes to lutzofun@gmail.com to be put onto the Twitter page
  • Check out http://hobycheers.wikidot.com/list-of-hoby-cheers for awesome cheers

Hours
  • Keep logging them! Can you accomplish the 100 Hour Challenge? Georgia HOBY knows that you can. Here is the place to do so: https://reg.hoby.org/HOBYL4S/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fHOBYL4S%2fdefault.aspx
  • Need ideas for Volunteering projects? Email lutzofun@gmail.com, check the HOBY website: hoby.org, and/or research into what your community needs!
  •  How is far has your Chain Reaction of Kindness reached?

This Blog
  • If you would like a "My Favorite HOBY Experience" Blog Post to be posted in the future on this blog then, email lutzofun@gmail.com also with your response!
  • Be on the lookout for the next Newsletter or My Favorite HOBY Experience Post

12.15.2014

Georgia HOBY Newsletter:
Twenty-Fourth Edition, December 15, 2014

Featured Alumna: Amanda Murray, '04


We came for salvation, We came for family, We came for all that's good that's how we'll walk away.
We came to break the bad, We came to cheer the sad, We came to leave behind the world a better way.”
-T.A.B.

I was nominated by my high school to attend HOBY in the spring of ‘04. From the moment my car was attacked, I knew I was about the “drink some Kool-aid” if you will. My team leader was Tim Joyner, and the Chiefs in charge were Vicki, Rod & Corey! Being a Peacock, it didn’t take long for me to introduce myself and to bond with some of my very best friends to date, like Javier Johnson. I still thank my lucky stars for all the friends that I made at Georgia HOBY and WLC, and that we have stayed in touch creating a lasting bond! One thing to sum up what I learned that year was “Decide what to be, and go be it!” a theme that resonates throughout the program. 
Since my ambassador year, I graduated from Southland Academy, and went on to study Marketing at Georgia Southwestern State University. I worked as a Digital Media Advertising Rep for WALB-10, until last year when I decided to move to Atlanta after taking another sales job. Currently I am back in school for round two, pursuing a degree in nursing, hoping to eventually become a recruiter. I am involved in the Junior League, as well as various efforts to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research. I was able to be a facilitator for WLC 2012 and it reignited my light and brought back so many OUTSTANDING memories from my 2 weeks in D.C. The speakers and sights that were heard and seen impact you far beyond your ambassador year. That’s right y’all adults gain so much from HOBY too! 
I don’t think there are enough words to fully describe my experiences with the HOBY Program. An array of
emotions, have come from the year I first began as an ambassador to today. My ambassador year, 2004, was filled with so many fond memories from Georgia’s A seminar to WLC in Washington D.C.! I have made lifelong friends, as well as have had some of the greatest experiences, being involved with the program. Even though my involvement has been far less over the past 3 years, one can never lose the light of HOBY. The things that I learned throughout the program and from my fellow HOBYers will stay with me forever! And It Spread…..

HOBY Info:
Kroger Community Rewards Program
  • If you have a Kroger Plus Card, send some dollars to HOBY through this program!
  • Keep it up, all the funds ensure the best seminars possible!

Social Networking!!!
  • Find us on Facebook: GA HOBY Alumni
  • Follow us on Twitter: @HOBY_GEORGIA  
  • Follow us on Instagram: HOBY_GEORGIA
  • Follow us on Vine: Georgia HOBY
  • Feel free to send quotes to lutzofun@gmail.com to be put onto the Twitter page
  • Check out http://hobycheers.wikidot.com/list-of-hoby-cheers for awesome cheers

Hours
  • Keep logging them! Can you accomplish the 100 Hour Challenge? Georgia HOBY knows that you can. Here is the place to do so: https://reg.hoby.org/HOBYL4S/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fHOBYL4S%2fdefault.aspx
  • Need ideas for Volunteering projects? Email lutzofun@gmail.com, check the HOBY website: hoby.org, and/or research into what your community needs!
  •  How is far has your Chain Reaction of Kindness reached?

This Blog
  • If you would like a "My Favorite HOBY Experience" Blog Post to be posted in the future on this blog then, email lutzofun@gmail.com also with your response!
  • Be on the lookout for the next Newsletter or My Favorite HOBY Experience Post