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Summit Networking Day BY
NAJA WILLIAMSON AND LAURIE SEARLE Angela Westra, chair of the Family Connection Peer-to-Peer Advisory Council brought greetings from the 12 Family Connection regions in Georgia, then introduced Representative Jay Neal, who gave the invocation.
After Albert Wright, Board chair of Family Connection Partnership (FCP), acknowledged Board members, legislators, and distinguished guests, FCP Executive Director Gaye Smith introduced keynote speaker Commissioner Michael A. Beatty from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. "Our vision is for Georgia to be a place where dreams come true," said Beatty. "It starts with a burden for families and a passion to achieve this vision. Family Connection has this burden and passion and a game plan for achieving it." According to Beatty, if Georgia is going to reach new heights, it will take families and communities united to save our children from a life of despair. "The number one cause of poverty in Georgia is lack of education," Beatty said. To illustrate his point, he challenged the audience to consider the difference between earning $10 and $30 an hour. "If you ask high school kids if making $10 an hour is good, they'll say, 'yeah.' But that only amounts to $400 a week. What if we told them they could earn $30 an hour? That's $1,200 a week. Would it be worth it to them to attend another eight months of training?" he asked. Beatty says providing opportunities for youth and communities will take inter-agency cooperation. The Department of Community Affairs is working together with Family Connection and other agencies like never before to serve Georgia's communities and spur their economic development." Kenneth Cutts, who spoke for Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., picked up on Beatty's acknowledgement of Family Connection's vital role in serving Georgia's communities.
"Congressman Bishop has said on many occasions that Family Connection is one of the most effective organizations to work with in Georgia, and he thanks you for your service," said Cutts, district director for the office of Congressman Bishop. "Today in this country our conversations around family values issues are contentious. Intense national attention and competing special interests bring a whole lot of talk and not much action. But Congressman Bishop sees hope in organizations like Family Connection, which mend the fabric of our nation's family values one stitch at a time. And they do it quietly, and without much fanfare, at the grassroots." Cutts pointed out that our future is based on what happens in today's families... and what happens to our children. "Solving the pressing problems of today is fundamentally rooted in how we educate, engage and inspire today's children," he said. "Congressman Bishop is working on the tough issues, like PeachCare, and keeps striving to help Family Connection programs despite restrictions." "If everyone put forward the same level of commitment to children as those involved with Family Connection, I can only imagine the kind of world we would live in. To quote Robert Kennedy, 'The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of bold projects and new ideas. Rather, it will belong to those who can blend passion, reason and courage in a personal commitment to American society.' " Cutts closed acknowledging the passion and courage in the room, and challenge to "please keep up the good fight." Note: Georgia Family Connection Partnership thanks Georgia's legislators, senators, and commissioners for continuing to support the work of Family Connection in strengthening Georgia's communities.
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