Student Life hosted the 2021 Rabbit Run at the Cartersville campus on Saturday, April 17. The run was originally set to be held on March 27, but due to severe weather, it was delayed.

“I think it was a great idea,” said Assistant Professor of Mathematics Maurice Wilson, who runs in the Peachtree Road Race yearly. “It is always a good idea to encourage people to stay healthy.”

Wilson commented on the low participation number compared to other races that were being held near Cartersville recently. Wilson said, “I would like to see more faculty involved. I was a little disappointed that there were only two of us here.”

Wilson suggested that future races could be separated into divisions or by campus to better student and faculty engagement.

“More people, more hype and a little bit more [distance],” said Floyd student, Carrola Paulo, who came from Rome to participate in the race.

Clifton Puckett, the Student Life Coordinator, managed the race. Before it started, he handed out T-shirts for the participants and explained the course they would be taking. He said, “I think that it was good that we were back out here doing this, because obviously last year we couldn’t do it, and we couldn’t do the turkey trot.”

“I wish we had better participation,” Puckett said, “We had 75 sign up initially, but we had to postpone that date… but it was good to be back out. Next year, we’re going to try to really flesh these out more. We’ll go back to the Turkey Trot in November. That’s always a fun one because we break things into age groups and the winner of each group gets a frozen turkey.

“We’re going to try and make it more involved. We’re going to try to include the sports management classes — let them get involved in the organization, the running and the planning. It’s just good to be back doing it now.”

President Don Green participated in the run before going to see the softball team. “I think it’s great,” Green said, I love it. I wish we could have more. It’s a little difficult because we have to be spread out. I think that health is the first wealth. It is always great to see all our faculty, students and staff out and exercising. I really appreciate student life out here organizing
and allowing us to be here.”

Puckett and the rest of Student Life are open to suggestions for future races and events. Send ideas to cpuckett@highlands.edu.

First place winners of the Charger Innovation Challenge are Blake Andrew and Zackary Hacker. The final presentation for the Charger Innovation Challenge was, April 21.
The Charger Innovation program seeks to offer young entrepreneurs an opportunity in proposing a business idea, gathering contacts, creating a business model and being provided with a modest startup bonus for winning the competition.
This year’s finalists were teams Biodegradable Shotgun She, Clamp Sheet, M.I.A, Perfect Pair and Skoolies. Each participant took home a commemorative coin for their participation, but only the first and second teams won a cash prize. Team Clamp Sheet won first place and eight-hundred dollars, and M.I.A won second and two-hundred dollars.
Winning first place, Blake Andrew and Zackary Hacker composed Team Clamp Sheet. The Clamp Sheet is a hydraulic attachment for forklifts. This device combines a push-pull attachment with a hydraulic clamp attachment. By combining these two attachments, the forklift gains the ability to extend and retract its loads.
Following with second place, Amaya Ayona Marie McFadden, Thompson Makayla G. Rivers and Idraiah Elyse composed Melanated in America, or M.I.A. This business is a subscription-based, beauty and fashion service tailored to black women. The business model plans to focus on giving back to the black community by donating 5 percent of its proceeds back into the community. Sourcing materials from black owned businesses and holding entrepreneur workshops for single mothers are two ways the M.I.A plans of giving back.

It has been a record-breaking season for the GHC baseball team and Head Coach Dash O’Neill. As of April 17, the Chargers had a 36-6 record, the best record through their first 42 games in program history. 25 of those wins came at home while the other seven came on the road.

Though the Chargers were ranked nationally earlier in the season, as of April 17, they are no longer nationally ranked. But they are right on the outside looking in. They had the second most receiving votes of a team that did not get into the top 20.
O’Neill said, “As far as getting higher ranks and staying ranked, we have to make some noise in the postseason and have sustained success.

“If you’re not from Florida, Texas or Kansas — the three conferences regarded by the national office as the strongest — it can be difficult to get the respect you deserve until you can get into the JUCO World Series and show them in person how good you are.”

As of April 17, the Chargers were highly ranked in multiple categories, ranking third in stolen bases, 135, and third in shutouts with nine. The Chargers were in the top 15 in multiple categories. Their .361 batting average ranked eighth in the nation and their 19 triples ranked 10th. They ranked 11th in the nation in extra base hits, 149, on base percentage, .463, and doubles, 89. They ranked 12th in runs batted in, 323, 13th in total bases, 680, and sacrifice flies, 22, 14th in hits, 430, and 15th in runs scored, 359.

O’Neill said, “…rankings don’t matter once you are out on the field playing the game, and we’ve got a very good team right now at GHC. There isn’t another group in the country I would trade them for.”

The Chargers have a high-ranking offense, scoring 8.5 runs per game as of April 17. Freshman outfielder, Connor Todaro, led the team in batting average at .469. He is also tied with sophomore infielder, Palmer Sapp, for the most triples on the team, both sitting at four. Todaro also leads the team in hits with 67 and runs with 50.

Sapp leads the team in runs batted in, with 50, and slugging percentage, .717. He was also second on the team in batting average, .442, hits, 53, and on base percentage, .517.

David Smith led the team in home runs and is second on the team in runs batted in, with 46, while being tied with freshman infielder, Joe Sutton, for second on the team in runs, with both players having 41. Sutton is also third on the team in hits.
The Chargers have seen multiple pitchers have good seasons. Johnny Dow threw GHC’s first-ever no-hitter earlier this year on February 7, against Snead State.

As of April 17, Dow led the nation in shutouts this season with three. His 1.39 ERA ranked seventh in the nation, while his five complete games rank third. Dow was 7-0 as of April 17, with his seven wins ranking 14th in the nation.

“I could not be more proud of Johnny Dow and the rest of our athletes. What these guys have done in the circumstances we have been faced with is remarkable, and I am just humbled and proud to get to go to work with them every day. This is one of the most resilient, mentally tough teams I have ever been a part of,” said O’Neill.

Freshman pitcher, Chase Townsend, has started the most games for the Chargers this season, with 10. His 52.2 inning pitched is good for the second most on the team, only trailing Dow. Townsend, Dow, and freshman pitcher, Connor Perry, are all tied for the team lead in wins, with seven apiece. Perry’s 3.2 era is good enough for second on the team, trailing only Dow.

As of April 17, the Chargers were in a prominent position to make a run in the GCAA tournament and possibly a deep playoff run in their path to the JUCO World Series.

Most University System of Georgia employees will find a $1,000 bonus in their March 26 and 30 paychecks. Those eligible for the $1,000 bonus are full-time employees that make less than $80,000 a year and have a standard workweek of 30 hours or more. 

This payment is to match the state’s mandate to provide a one-time bonus to K-12 full-time employees. Governor Brian Kemp and his governmental constituents wish to thank the employees of the USG with the bonus for what they have done during this year of COVID-19. 

“I think it’s a good morale booster. Just like with the students, it’s been a challenging time,” said Co-curricular and Transition Programs Coordinator Clifton Puckett. 

“I wish it was just a flat thousand-dollar check. Ours is just built into our paychecks… but it’s still a thousand dollars more than we would have,” said Puckett. The payments will be subject to FICA and required withholdings. 

Floyd student, Brittany Sheetz, said, “I did not know they were [getting a bonus], but that’s pretty amazing and shows they care about their employees.”

Although the bonus was to match the initiative by the state for K-12 employees, this was not a collaborative effort between the two education systems of Georgia. It was done after Kemp’s order in January.

Cartersville librarian, Betsy Flemming, said, “I think a lot of people at our school need it. I am happy that we are getting a little help.” 

The bonus for USG employees was announced after that of the K-12 educators.

Fleming said, “The [K-12] public schools got hit very hard. I think they had a lot more problems [than university educators]. They [K-12] had to be in those classrooms.” 

Fleming has recently bought a house and plans to use this bonus to help cover it.

Another GHC employee agrees with Fleming that the delayed bonus announcement for university employees was appropriate. 

Campus officer, Clayton Buckler, said, “I think it’s good to evaluate… not move too quickly. So, I think it was good on their part.”

Green Highlands is hosting its first meeting this year on Tuesday, Feb. 16. The meeting will be hosted online through Zoom. Green Highlands is a club open to all students and advocates for healthy lifestyle choices, environmental awareness and community service.

The club is student-run with Professor of Biology Brandy Rogers acting as its faculty advisor. Green Highlands operates at every GHC campus. The president of the club, Mary Stevenson, said, “Green Highlands offers students the unique experience of working with the community directly through local partnerships, clean-ups and gardening.

“These kinds of recreational activities are also useful for students looking to become involved in community service.”

Cartersville club member, Disney Smith, said, “It is a group to preserve the biodiversity at this campus and to work on recycling.” Smith said, “It’s really simple and easy. Just a lot of talking and it’s nothing serious. There are a lot of officer positions offerings so you could join one of those and do social media stuff, or hands-on stuff with plants or you could do planning with recycling.”

The club is looking for students interested in officer positions, such as vice president, treasurer and secretary.

Stevenson also wanted to remind students of the greenhouse and pollinator garden that is on the Cartersville campus. The club will soon begin to garden in the greenhouse. For those who may be apprehensive about gardening due to inexperience, Stevenson had this to say, “Even if you have never planted a thing in your life, don’t worry gardening really grows on you!”

Clubs at GHC have had a hard time dealing with the pandemic. They have had to find ways to reclaim the experiences they once had, and as such, many of the clubs took a hiatus last year to plan: Green Highlands being one of them. Smith said, “We were going to do a smoothie event before COVID, and we were going to do a crafts thing in the library.”

Stevenson explained that the club has been working to develop a solid club experience for students. “We have spent the last year planning and preparing to make this semester productive, safe and fun for all students who wish to become more involved in their school and communities,” said Stevenson

Smith said, “I think it’s really interesting. The type of people who join are very different, but we have the same motive.”

The Zoom URL and the passcode
https://highlands.zoom.us/j/92008814714
Meeting ID: 920 0881 4714
Passcode: GoGreen

Georgia Highlands College welcomed its new Chief Information Officer, Rob Laltrello, on February 1. Laltrello has worked at GHC for nearly 25 years in several technology based roles, most recently as the Assistant CIO.

“I am excited for the challenge and I appreciate the opportunity,” Laltrello said, ”I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I am honored to get to lead an incredibly talented group of individuals that make up our Information Technology Division.”

Latrello succeeds recent retiree, Jeff Patty, who has served as Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer and been employed by GHC since 1990.

In an email to the GHC community, President Don Green, said, “I am pleased to announce Rob Laltrello’s appointment as GHC’s new Chief Information Officer. Rob has been at GHC for almost 25 years serving in a variety of technology-related roles and he most recently served as Chief Technology Officer and Assistant CIO. I look forward to working closely with Rob as he begins his new role today. Please join me in congratulating him on this new leadership opportunity.”

Cartersville student, Jalen Caldwell, said, “I would say congratulations to him. It is well deserved after 25 years.”