Georgia HOBY Newsletter:
Twenty-Ninth Edition, February 27, 2015

Featured Alumna: Sarah Marie Tonsmeire '04

Even though it's been nearly eleven years since I was an ambassador with HOBY, I can vividly remember my time as an ambassador, and some of the important takeaways HOBY provided. As for most, HOBY was a life-changing experience for me, and truly helped shape the person I am today. From learning to speak in front of others, to adapting to different personality styles, to respecting the differences in others, HOBY provided insights to life that I continue to use each and every day. Since my ambassador days, I have been a steady volunteer with HOBY, serving in many different roles. It perhaps eventually led me to my career today. Currently, I serve as the Development and Volunteer Coordinator at The Center for Family Resources, a non-profit organization in Marietta that works to prevent homelessness, and serve those who have fallen victim to homelessness by working with them to become self-sufficient. Every day is like a new HOBY service project. Even though time passes quicker than we’d all like, HOBY is something that stays around a lifetime. Recently, I attended an event with over 5000 attendees. Through Twitter, I was able to connect with a HOBY alum who happened to be sitting across the room. Once we talked, it was like we had been lifetime friends because of the HOBY connection. It’s definitely a small world out there. To sum it up, I’ll leave you with a favorite quote that came to me through HOBY. "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." -John Quincy Adams I am a 2009 alum of Berry College with a B.S. Degree in Marketing and Psychology. Aside from working, I can be found volunteering with Ducks Unlimited, traveling, visiting NASCAR tracks, or spending time on the family farm.

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-Eighth Edition, February 10, 2015

Featured Alumna: Caroline Freeman '14

My name is Caroline Freeman and I’m a junior at Mount de Sales Academy in Macon, Ga. This past semester I had the opportunity of a lifetime to serve as a United States Senate Page in Washington, D.C.. Each semester 30 high school juniors from all over the country are appointed by their Senators to serve in the U.S. Senate for nearly 5 months as Pages. I lived in a dorm on Capitol Hill with the other pages, attended the United States Page School which started promptly at 6:15 a.m. every morning and proved to be very rigorous at times, then I would make my way over to the Senate to start my day at work, the day of work ended when the Majority Leader of the Senate decided to adjourn, and then when I got back I would start on my large amount of homework that sometimes seemed like too much to handle. (This making for some very late nights) It was at work and living with 29 other teenagers, without parents, and far away from my home that I would catch myself stepping back and being thankful for all that I learned when I went through HOBY. I am an owl and while working with the other pages, as well as the Senators, I was surrounded by all kinds of “birds” from all over America. When I took this in to consideration it made working with other much easier because I was able to use my strengths to help others get the job done faster and more efficiently and vice versa. HOBY also taught me that I’m best at being a leader when I’m 100 %  true to myself and I took that to heart always being truthful to myself and my fellow pages. I was voted Student Council Vice President by my Page class and I know that my HOBY experience played a key role in preparing me for being able to take on all the challenges and great opportunities I encountered while serving and representing Georgia as a U.S. Senate Page. 

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-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

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