The Walton County Battle of the Bands was a HUGE success!  Attendance was over 400 people which helped raise $800!  A large amount of canned goods were also collected for Shephard's Staff Food Pantry in Loganville.

Thank you to all that attended and all the students that participated!  We hope to do it again real soon!

Rockin’ out for a cause

By Sharon Swanepoel
The Loganville Tribune

Published March 7, 2008

LOGANVILLE — Many of Walton County’s youth, their parents, grandparents and a few local officials turned out in force Friday to support the first annual Battle of the Bands at American Legion Post 233.

“We did not actually count people, but I would estimate about 400 people in attendance with teenagers, adults, younger siblings, etc.,” said Emily Gallman, youth development coordinator for The Partnership for Families, Children and Youth which co-hosted the event with the American Legion. “It was a really wonderful turnout. The Youth Advocacy Board members — high school students from Monroe, Loganville and Social Circle — had suggested holding the Battle of the Bands and they really knew what would interest their peers. The whole focus on the evening was on making healthy choices and realizing that you don’t need alcohol, drugs or violence to make an event like a concert enjoyable.”

Teens swayed to some of the music of their favorite local bands and, on occasion, held up their cell phones as lights as they swayed. For the most part, parents stayed on one side of the room and the kids hung out with their friends expected to tap their parents for funds for pizza or something to drink. But everyone agreed it was a great family event with many generations coming together for the good of the community.

Gallman said the three bands performing were comprised of high school students from Walton County. County Line and Sarudus were from Loganville and Blake Helman was from Monroe.

The entrance fee was either $5 or $2 with a donation of canned goods for the Shepherd’s Staff pantry in Loganville.

“We raised almost $1,000 from ticket sales and plan to donate a portion of it to charity,” Gallman said. “In addition, we collected tons of canned foods that we will be donating to Shepherd’s Staff.”

Gallman said the number of kids that came to support the effort shows teens want to be involved in the community.

“They want to help others by collecting canned foods or raising funds for charity. Also, they want their community to be interested in them and I think we clearly showed that on Friday night,” Gallman said.

Walton County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Tim Lull and Loganville City Councilman Chuck Bagley were some of the city and county leaders in attendance.

“I think this event really gave teens an opportunity to see their community cares about them and vice versa,” Gallman said. “We are definitely planning on holding the event next year. We will make a few adjustments, but overall try to include more bands and get even more teens involved. “

If anyone has any questions or wants information about youth development initiatives in Walton County, they can contact Gallman at 770-883-6881 or emily.gallman@gmail.com

By Robbie Schwartz
The Walton Tribune
Published January 27, 2008

LOGANVILLE — When it comes to the Internet, many parents can attest their children probably know a little more about the ins and outs of the World Wide Web.

The problem is, many teenagers today who are using the networking programs like MySpace and Facebook — which both boast more than 60 million users — aren’t fully aware of the ramifications of what they say and show on these sites, essentially showing their diaries to anyone who wants to read it.

On Thursday night, parents who were interested in learning more on how to protect their children from the potential harms of these social networking sites attended a forum entitled “Is MySpace Invading Your Space?” hosted by The Partnership for Families, Children and Youth and the Loganville High School Parent Teacher Student Organization.

“If you say it can’t happen to your child, you are wrong,” said Michael Davis, of Gwinnett United In Drug Education Inc., a guest speaker of the forum. “Victims of predators are not trying to be victims.”

While safety was certainly an undertone of the evening, a better part of the forum was spent just educating parents on social networking sites, lingo commonly used and ways to be proactive as a parent.

While lingo like “POS” — parents over shoulder — and “PIR” — parents in room — gave insight into a complete new language, it was tips like having the home computer in a shared space only, banning access to internet on cell phones, talking to kids about what is and is not allowed on the social networking sites and a parent asking for their child’s e-mail address as a means to monitor their respective sites which demanded attention.

Sgt. Mike Westbrooks, who works with the Loganville Police Department as part of its Internet predator unit, put a local spin on the dangers as he reported on the 15 arrests made since the unit was created in August of 2006. Highlighting the importance of parents being aware of their children’s computer usage, Westbrooks told the audience about an arrest made of a senior pastor of a Baptist church in South Carolina. One of the first interactions between the pastor and Westbrooks, who was undercover online as a 14-year-old girl, included the use of a Web cam in the church office where the pastor predator engaged in lewd and lascivious behavior.

“The best thing you can do as a parent is make sure that computer is not hidden behind a bedroom door,” Westbrooks said. “Don’t look at it as spying on your child. You are protecting your child. As parents, as long as you are paying the bills and providing for your child, you are in charge. You are allowed to look anywhere in your house. Don’t be afraid.”

And those in attendance, like Marie Frank of Loganville, who said the forum was good and very informative, took the first step in learning how to become more proactive to monitor their child’s use of the Internet. 

Special Thanks to the hosting location:
Monroe Paintball Works
320 South Madison Avenue|
Monroe, Georgia 30655

The event was brought to you by:
Youth Advocacy Board
The Partnership for Families, Children, and Youth
Walton County Sheriff’s Department

Enrique "Kiki" Camarena grew up in a dirt-floored house with hopes and dreams of making a  difference. 

Camarena worked his way through college, served in the Marines and became a police officer. When he decided to join the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out it.  "I can't not do this," he told her. "I'm only one person, but I want to make a difference." 

The DEA sent Camarena to work undercover in Mexico investigating a major drug cartel believed to include officers in the Mexican army, police and government. On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch.  Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found in a shallow grave. He had been tortured to death. 

In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents, sick of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, had begun forming coalitions. Some of these new coalitions took Camarena as their model and embraced his belief that one person can make a difference. These coalitions also adopted the symbol of Camarena's memory,  the red ribbon. 

The National Family Partnership organized the first Nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign in 1988. Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children.

In 1997, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse began committing resources to ensure the continuation of the Red Ribbon Campaign in Texas, as well as the hopes and beliefs behind this grassroots effort to protect children from the dangers of alcohol and other drugs.

Courtesy of http://www.tcada.state.tx.us/redribbon/history.html

They also held a "Black Out" day where students would create and write a story about how they "died" from a drug related incident.  The activity educated students on the possible results of drug use.
 

Black out activity

Not quite on the line

Walk the line