Erk Russell was more than a football coach that developed a collegiate program that won four national championships in Division I-AA.  He became an icon that changed a small Georgia college and the surrounding community.  Come celebrate this giant of a legend! 

Directed by Dr. Rebecca Kennerly.

August 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 2008 at the Emma Kelly Theater

Sponsored by Wachovia Securities

There is another reason you should mark your calendar to see this wonderful community play - other than being an Erk fan.  DeWayne has been cast to play Dr. Bill Perry, the former pastor of First Baptist Church of Statesboro, and the pastor who married us.  No, this is not a joke - DeWayne is really playing a pastor in the play.  I know what your thinking - but they had a read through this weekend and I must admit he makes a pretty good pastor.  This play will be a must see for lots of reasons.  Hope to see you there!

Call 912.212.ARTS for tickets

Sunday, Believers Church put together a very special surprise party to honor our pastor on his 50th birthday.  Seven years ago God gave Scott and his wife Janet the vision to start Believers church in Statesboro.  From its humble beginning God has really blessed our church.  Now with over 500 regular attendees, it is one of the fastest growing churches in our area.  I grew up Baptist.  Was Baptist in a Baptist church, got married in a Baptist church and christened Edie Grace in a Baptist church.  Never in a million years did I ever feel God would lead me to be part of a non-denominational church - but he did, and I am thrilled.   With a real evangelistic mission, our church reaches our community like no other church could or would.  No matter if you’re in a church or are             un-churched, I would encourage you to visit us one Sunday.  It is an experience you will not soon forget!

Scott deserves the recognition he received tonight and so much more.  He is very special to me and our family.  I wish him much more success in the future.

Learning more about Savannah has become my hobby lately.  Boy, there is so much history, art and culture!

This past Saturday night I enjoyed Art Squared’s Palette to Palate Gallery Hop.  Four trolleys traveled around 15 different art galleries in downtown Savannah.  I especially enjoyed seeing the Mapplethorpe and Annie Leibovitz images at SCAD’s Art Museum and the Bird Girl from the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil at the Telfair.   All evening local musicians serenaded us while we enjoyed food and beverages and took in the art.  What a great evening!

Savannah has become a mecca of art…come take it in!

  Some sessions are much more difficult than others.  For the next few weeks I am working on  a project that requires - no, demands -  that I photograph VERY good looking young men.  I have been shooting a good bit at Tybee and downtown Savannah the last couple of weeks.  My last model for this project was C BUZZ.  I am not sure what that means - hopefully it is not too risque.  He was a lot of fun and, believe it or not, surprisingly shy.   He certainly attracts attention -  especially shirtless - even on the beach.  But I will let you judge for yourself.  I have hand picked an interesting group of guys for this project.  Just think Christmas Present for you and every lady on your Christmas list.  I predict even your great grandmother will enjoy this gift! 

I know it is a very difficult job - but someone must do it - right?  

I hope you are having a wonderful, restful 4th of July holiday weekend.  Tonight, we made our annual pilgrimage to the Mill Creek Park to see the annual fireworks.  Of course we had to eat a few hot dogs, some popcorn and lots of other great, heart-healthy food.  Every year, I always say that there is no way the fireworks could be better.  But again this year they were magical.  Edie Grace is pictured here with her friend Shaye.  Fireworks are always better when you watch them with a great friend right?  Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope you are pausing to reflect on how fortunate we are - even when we are being inundated with bad news about the economy and high gas prices.  On our worse day, as Americans, we are SO much more blessed than countless others not so fortunate to live in here.  So, if you have great health and a great family - then you have all that you need!

Have a Safe and Happy 4th!

Today I want to grant a very special birthday wish to a wonderful & special person Lee Johnson.  DeWayne never met or had a relationship with his biological father.  He was raised by his grandfather and name sake, Herschel Grice.  Along the way, DeWayne has had many wonderful father influences in his life including a super great step dad - Bob.

For those of you who know DeWayne and I understand the special relationship DeWayne and I have with his self described “Godfather” Lee.  It was actually because of Lee that DeWayne and I met.  (Long story for another blog).  His wife Sharon actually worked for us at the studio part time years ago…before she went home to heaven.

Every year it seems I get to hear a new Lee story around his birthday.  Since Edie Grace has really began to swim like a fish - this years stories are all about Lee teaching him to swim.  Obviously Lee is a patient man!

There are lots of things Lee taught DeWayne and most of them we can even talk about in public.  The one thing I appreciate the most is how Lee instilled in him the importance of making the two women in your life the most important.  He enjoyed spoiling his wife and now his daughter and grandchildren.  DeWayne certainly has followed in his foot steps.

DeWayne certainly gets his entrepreneurial spirit, love of politics and understanding that every one can do better if they work hard and stay focused - traits from Lee.  Not a day goes by that we do not think of Lee and the wonderful influence he has had on our lives and the contributions he makes to our community.  We are fortunate to have him in our lives and hope that the birthday fairy brings him everything he desires today!

Happy Birthday LEE!

I am so proud of Erica and Emily.  I can’t remember how long I have known them now, but they are amazing success stories!  They are twin sisters and have both just graduated from GSU.  Erica is going to be teaching in Evans County this year and Emily is a journalist.  You will may have even seen Emily’s by-lines in the Statesboro Herald.   I wonder how many times twins graduate college together, on-time?  More girl-power!!!

Every now and then a car passes by with a bumper sticker that catches your eye.  One that we laugh about often - we saw on the interstate.  In our rear view mirror this old, beat up car came up on us fast.  Black smoke was pouring out of the car.  Every part of the car was a different color and it was missing one entire fender.  As the car zoomed passed us we read its’ bumper sticker - “Honk if Parts Fall OFF”  Now that guy had a great sense of humor.

DeWayne and I are VERY passionate people.  We are passionate about things we care greatly about.  Maybe you just become more passionate when you stare death in the face and cheat it.  Things seem to take a little different meaning to us than it does to others.  Often we wonder why we see things and understand things that effect us greatly - but no one else seems to care.

This week we saw this bumper sticker and it brought it all into perspective for us.  Why do we care?  Why do we speak out?  Why do we try so hard to make a difference in our downtown, community, state and nation?  Because when Good People Do NOTHING - Evil Thrives.

So we are calling Good People everywhere - keep pushing, keep asking why, keep figuring out a way to say yes - when everyone else says no and together we will stomp out evil - one person at a time.

Thursday night, the Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce hosted Business After Hours at Statesboro’s brand new Holiday Inn.  I think everyone in town was curious to see it because the crowd was wall-to-wall! 

Our client’s and friends, Doug and Karen Lambert, and the group of local investors , have really raised the bar in Statesboro with this property!  Beautiful, comfortable rooms, conference facility space and of course, “EMMA’s” - Chef Jason Scarborough’s newest creation in fine dining.  I think they have really hit the target with this place!

In addition to mingling and enjoying appetizers prepared by Chef Jason and his team, we also got to tour three of the rooms on the fourth floor.  I toured with three other girls and we were all trying to think of logical reasons to stay in a hotel in the same town we live in.  It just is THAT inviting!!!

Welcome to Heath, Dr. Lisa and Hannah their 8 month old daughter.  Heath is the general manager of the Holiday Inn and his wife, Dr. Lisa is Dr. Cichelli’s new partner/pulmonologist.  You all know what a fan of “girl power” I am…Lisa finished her fellowship in pulmonology, had a baby and moved to the ‘Boro with Hannah now only being eight months old.  That IS impressive!!!

It was great to catch up with Senator Jack Hill and his beautiful wife, Ruth Ann.  We owe a big THANK YOU for much of Statesboro’s economic development on the state level to Senator Hill’s leadership and vision. Serving since 1990, Senator Hill has really seen us through an amazing amount of growth and prosperity here in Statesboro and south Georgia.  Senator Hill calls Reidsville home, but I think Statesboro is always in his heart.

We will give a gift certificate for $10 to EMMA’s for the first comment we receive from this BLOG. 

If you don’t win, eat there anyway…you will be glad you did!        

DeWayne and I traveled to Boston to conduct a one day seminar as a favor for our great friend Mark Till.  Mark is one of the countries’ leading photography consultants and the author of the best selling book, “The Lucrative Photographer“   Few people inspire us more or have impacted our business and personal life than our friendship and mentorship with Mark.  We met Mark over ten years ago when he was one of the top speakers on the circuit.  We became instant friends and have stayed close all of these years. The last few years have been tremendously challenging for Mark –  being diagnosed with prostrate cancer and having his home burn all within a few months.  Even with all of his business and personal challenges - he remains one of the most positive and inspiring people I know.  When people call me or email me and tell me that they are thinking about getting into the photography business he is the first name I give them.  His book has become the “other bible” in our studio and hundreds other successful studios around the world.

We have had the opportunity to work with and get to know lots of tremendous authors including Mark.  I will never forget a lunch meeting with had with best selling author and motivational speaker Dr. John Maxwell.  John shared with us his story regarding a rare opportunity he shared with Billy Graham.  Billy had invited him to one of his crusades as his personal guest.  He tells about going to this huge football stadium and seeing thousands of people there to hear Billy Graham.  When John arrived, he was told to go to a special area in the arena.  He describes entering a small room where Billy and a few folks were.  He tells about how powerful it was to be one on one with a person that has inspired so many.  Later DeWayne and I were guests in Dr. Maxwell and his wife Margaret’s home in Atlanta.  I remember seeing the picture of Dr. Maxwell with Billy Graham walking down a corridor that opened up to the stadium with thousands of people waiting.  It was then that I had a real appreciation of how powerful this experience was for John.

Shortly after that John, created the same powerful opportunity for us.  He was speaking at a huge conference in Atlanta and invited us as his guest.  We arrived and registered and went into the arena to hear him speak.  Shortly before lunch his executive assistant, Linda Eggers, sought us out and led us to a small room where a catered lunch had been prepared.  In this room was John’s wife Margaret, his parents, Dr. Johnny Hunt of Atlanta and his wife and kids and DeWayne and I.  Outside that room were a huge number of people any of whom would have paid huge sums of money to be in that room.  It was a humbling and powerful experience for DeWayne and I.

The next comparable experience was earlier this year when we were invited guests of Senator Hillary Clinton at an event in Atlanta.  Again there were thousands of people at the world congress center that had paid lots of money to “have dinner” with her.  While they were waiting she summoned us to a small room to visit with her.  The room had a glass wall that looked down all all those people waiting to hear her speak.  She created an incredible experience for us.

The third was this weekend with Mark Till.  Mark writes in his book about a unique furniture store called Jordan’s Furniture.  He uses this as an example of a store where the founders had stepped out of the norm and created an incredible shopping experience.  Their stores include Disney style shows, store fronts and themes.  The one he took us to has a New Orleans theme complete with an IMAX theater.  It is easy to forget you are actually in a furniture store.  Mark and his beautiful wife Laura took us to this store and walked through it with us pointing out marketing points that he had discussed in his book. 

How often do you get to meet an author of a best selling book?  Compound that by actually walking through the book with him like we did this weekend. 

It is an experience that we will not soon forget!  Thanks Mark and Laura!