Georgia HOBY Newsletter:
Twenty-Seventh Edition, January 24, 2015

Featured Alumnus: Johnelle Simpson II '10

When most Georgia HOBY alumni think back on their HOBY experience, their first thought may be the mini heart attacks they were given upon their arrival. Interestingly enough, when I pulled up to HOBY at Georgia Southwestern State University in 2010, I was mistaken for a college student and had to get back in my car and drive up again. At this time I didn’t know that this weekend would be so OUTSTANDING and provide me with friendships, strength, and a place to call home. After introducing the other students to the South Georgia gnats and heat, we ended up singing in the rain, going fishing on a bright sunny day, and grieving over the moose.

It did not take long for my peacock type personality to take flight. During the talent portion of HOBY, I practiced my speech for a national competition that would follow a few weeks later. The support and encouragement I received from HOBY is what I believe propelled me to place first in the nation. With a greater sense of community service, I went back to my school and community and began to give back even more. No one could stop me. It was my mission to make sure I was giving back every time I had the opportunity. 

I am currently attending the University of Georgia where I study Risk Management & Insurance and Political Science. I have been very involved on the UGA campus. My affiliations with groups such as the Student Government Association and the Arch Society allow me to give back to my college and the Athens-Clarke County community. It is always great to see a friendly HOBY face succeeding and living out their visions.

I am thankful for the contributions that HOBY has made to my life. I make it my mission to attend a seminar every year to volunteer and give back to a program that has given so much to me. Each year I attend HOBY I am embraced with love and I leave being a better person each year. From an ambassador to a Jr. Staff Member to a Jr. Facilitator to hopefully, this year, a facilitator, HOBY continues to enrich my life and make me a better leader. I plan to give, lead, inspire, and grow until one day I am like the moose, the moose and no longer here.

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

Georgia HOBY Newsletter:
Twenty-Sixth Edition, January 10, 2015

Featured Alumna: Annie Dempsey '14

Since I was little, I knew I had a different perspective on changing the world. But now, every time I talk about HOBY, I show it. I mean, how can you forget bonding and singing with people you met about 48 hours ago while they were attacking your car? 

Beginning high school, circumstances were a bit abnormal. While my friends went to football games and parties, I was running not only a business, but choosing to follow my passion. I became a part of a national non-profit organization called Miss Amazing Inc. The mission of Miss Amazing is to provide an opportunity for girls and young women with mental and physical disabilities to build confidence and self-esteem in a supportive environment. As the youngest state director in the nation at the time, a team of volunteers and I organized the 2013 Georgia Miss Amazing Pageant in Marietta, Georgia for girls and women with disabilities. It was a complete success story. I’ll never forget watching each girl grab her crown with pride and rejoice, “Mommy, I’m a princess!” I am currently organizing the third annual Georgia Miss Amazing Pageant, and wow, what a journey it’s been! Not only is Miss Amazing aiming to teach girls to have confidence, but we are truly redefining what beauty is. Women benefitting from Miss Amazing programs have the tools to become their own community leaders and to support their beliefs on the public stage. After all, they are strong, they are able, they are AMAZING.

How refreshing it was to be in a place where everyone around you shares the same vigor to change the world as you. HOBY changed my life. The energy at the seminar is actually palpable. Not only was the seminar itself the best weekend ever, but my passion for what I do grew stronger, and I am forever grateful for friends that will last a lifetime. I still laugh at my HOBY group text. Just last August, two of my absolute best HOBY friends and I traveled across the country to Omaha, Nebraska to volunteer at the National Miss Amazing Pageant. That’s what HOBY is all about. Not only do my new OUTSTANDING *HOBY cheer reference* friends support the organization I have built, but they whole-heartedly believed enough in its mission to help spread it to girls with disabilities far and wide.

As the 2015 Georgia Miss Amazing Pageant grows nearer, along with the 2015 Georgia HOBY Seminar, I am more excited than ever to continue living out my dream of assisting the realm of female empowerment in the community of those with disabilities. I cannot wait to see what is in store for all HOBY alumni (I know their futures are bright ones!) and for each of my Miss Amazing participants. I’ve placed myself in the epicenter of two of the most powerful movements sweeping the nation right now, Miss Amazing and HOBY. And I don’t think we are slowing down anytime soon! You do not just “forget” HOBY. It stays with you like a tradition you’ve practiced for years. Thank you HOBY, for allowing me to hone my leadership skills, and make some pretty AMAZING friends in the process. I certainly won’t be forgetting a single moment.

P.S. If you are interested in learning more about the national mission of Miss Amazing, please visit our website at www.missamazingpageant.com or contact me through Facebook!

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