Eaton and Williamson speak to Kiwanis

The Kiwanis Club of Swainsboro held its weekly meeting Tuesday night, July 21, at the Franklin Memorial Library at 6:30 p.m. With President Dianna Wedincamp presiding, they had 14 in attendance including guests, Oskar Cerpovicz, Johnna Eaton, Jessica Williamson and Shari Watt. Jeff Palmer won the apple pie, and Johnna Eaton won the Domino’s pizza. The program for the evening was hosted by Cheryl Goodman who presented two members of the staff of the newly consolidated Georgia Southern University and East Georgia State College, Director of the Georgia Southern University – East Georgia (GSU-EG) Johnna Eaton and Associate Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success Jessica Williamson. They gave an update on the consolidation and indicated the final integration by the University System of Georgia will be completed at the end of July. GSU-EG branding and signage will be continuing. The projected enrollment of the GSU-EG sites in Swainsboro, Statesboro and online is 1,750+, with GSU expecting a record total enrollment of 32,500+ this fall. The Golden Eagles of GSU-EG have entered the NAIA Continental Atlantic Conference. They have begun to hire new staff for athletics (baseball and basketball), and for new sports offerings in cross country and esports. They currently have 177 student athletes with a few more expected to be coming. The Golden Eagle athletic facilities and materials will be rebranded and upgraded for this year. The USG has taken over the residence halls on campus and GSU-EG expects all the 405 beds to be filled by the beginning of the fall semester. Dianna noted some upcoming Kiwanis events. On August 1, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., the club will be supporting the Emanuel Arts Council with a Back-to-School Art Bash at the Pavilion at the Boneyard as part of Swainsboro’s Touch-a-Truck event. They will be cooking popcorn, presenting the next Little Free Library at Crossing-Green, and the 1st Fire Hydrant (Rapunzel) from the hydrant painting project. Shari Watt reported on the Keep Emanuel Beautiful meeting, and they are working on obtaining funding for city murals, the tire amnesty, a fence for the Dellwood dumpsters and trying to get a new cardboard recycling program off the ground.