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Honoring Hammerin’ Hank Georgia State University to Recognize Icon With New Stadium Atlanta’s Georgia State University has decided to build new baseball and softball facilities — both of which will carry heavy significance. The athletic fields are set to be constructed near the site of the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the site where Braves’ slugger “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron launched his record-breaking 715th career home run in 1974. The Signal, Georgia State’s independent student newspaper, noted that Aaron’s legacy transcends sports and is a symbol of civil rights and equality for all. Following his death in January, the university first announced its intention to build a museum in honor of his legacy. Now, Georgia State is closely working with Aaron’s widow, Billye Aaron, on the design for the stadium, the newspaper

reported in late June. His memorial will be erected directly between the baseball and softball facilities as a year-round tribute to the American icon. His legacy will be at the center of the new stadium to highlight the heritage of Aaron’s contribution to and impact on Atlanta. As a right fielder, Aaron played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1954 through 1976. All but two of those seasons were with the Braves, first in Milwaukee and, beginning with the team’s move south, in Atlanta from 1966 through 1974. In a game between the Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers on the night of April 8, 1974, before a huge national television audience and 54,000 people in attendance at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Aaron slammed his 715th career home run to break the long-standing home run record he shared with New Yankees’ legend Babe Ruth. He retired from the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1976 season with 755 home runs, a record that stood for 33 years. Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.

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Georgia State University rendering

A rendering of GSU’s plans for its baseball and softball fields. The Hank Aaron tribute would be at the main entrance to the facility

see AARON page 6

JCB Partners With Make-A-Wish Georgia to Help 11-Year-Old Boy

JCB team members from manufacturing, office staff, the demonstration team and the apprentice team, along with a few pieces of JCB equipment and Spider-Man, delivered some extra special surprises to Aidan on his Wish Day.

Aidan is an 11-year-old boy who lives in Savannah and was born with a heart defect requiring him to be on oxygen, impeding his ability to play outdoors for extended periods of time. Since he cannot go outside and play, his Make-A-Wish request was for a PS5 gaming system. On June 17, 2021, his Wish came true and JCB got to play a major role. JCB team members from manufacturing, office staff, the demonstration team and the apprentice team, along with a few pieces of JCB equipment and Spider-Man, delivered some extra special surprises to Aidan on his Wish Day. “Partnering with Make-A-Wish Georgia is such an honor for the entire team here at JCB,” said Tonya Poole, vice president of JCB North America. “It was great to have team members from across the business come out to make today so special, and the reaction from Aidan and his family makes it so easy to continue supporting the efforts of Make-A-Wish Georgia.” A fan of all things Avengers and robot related, Aidan’s Wish see WISH page 6

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Atlanta, GA 404.696.7210 Birmingham, AL 205.841.6666 Madison, AL 256.350.0006 Mobile, AL 251.633.4020 Montgomery, AL 334.262.6642 Oxford, AL 256.832.5053 Tuscaloosa, AL 205.848.4147 Pensacola, FL 850.479.3004

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Sean Larkin Joins Takeuchi Names Cobb County Tractor’s Yoder & Frey as Ga. Bill Smith Top Dealer Salesperson of ’20 Territory Manager Sean Larkin has joined the Yoder & Frey team. He will concentrate on the state of Georgia as well as other projects across the United States. Larkin joins Yoder & Frey with a broad background in the industry, having worked in construction in his early years after leaving college. A self-starter and a consummate deal maker, Larkin has worked for himself for most of his working life. He has been in the industry for 10 years and a licensed auctioneer in the state of Georgia since 2018, officiating at many varied sales, in addition to trading in his own right. Larkin has extensive experience in the equipment market, gained while working for Sunbelt Rentals in Georgia, with more than 900 locations throughout the United States and Canada, with over 15,000 employees. With a reputation for having a “make it happen” culture, Larkin worked as an events coordinator, responsible for a running a nationwide traveling road-show, crossing the entire United States from east to west. As part of his role with Sunbelt Rental, Larkin was the project manager supplying equipment to the power generation industry during the maintenance programmes of large power generating stations. Sunbelt would be on site for the full duration on the maintenance “outage” providing rentals to the contracting crews from a mobile trailer containing more than 4,000 tool assets, seven days a week. One such project was the Robert W. Scherer Power Plant (also known as Plant Scherer), the largest coal fired power station in the western hemisphere, where Larkin was in attendance for the entire 10-week maintenance shutdown, not leaving site until completion of the project. Seeking a new challenge, the advertised Yoder & Frey vacancy for a territory manager attracted Larkin, however, it was the link that Yoder & Frey has to the Euro Auctions Group that really piqued his interest. “Euro Auctions is based in Northern Ireland and while I was born in the U.S., I have Irish ancestry and as a boy returned on a regular basis to spend my summer vacations in Galway, on the family farm, on the West coast of Ireland. So, this struck a chord with me. Also, I’m a deal maker, and consider myself to be a hungry sales guy, so was looking for a hungry dynamic company to work with. That, together with a family culture and a ‘can do’ mentality, I found with Yoder & Frey as well as Euro Auctions. Too many larger organizations are run by the accountants. This is not the case in Yoder & Frey and Euro Auctions, who let their managers act on their own initiative giving the support required to do the best possible job. I’m looking forward to the challenge and cannot wait to get started.” For more information, visit www.yoderandfrey.com. 

Takeuchi-US has recognized Bill Smith of Cobb County Tractor in Marietta, Ga., as its top-performing dealer salesperson in North America for the year 2020. This marks the fourth time Smith has taken top honors as Takeuchi’s Salesperson of the Year after ranking number one again in retail sales for North America. “Bill is an outstanding salesperson, and no doubt, his efforts over the years have helped Cobb County Tractor and Takeuchi experience greater success in the Southeast region,” said Steve DePriest, Southeast regional business manager of Takeuchi. “He is a consummate professional who focuses on listening to his customers and helping them find just (L-R): John Vranches of Takeuchi presents Bill Smith of Cobb the right solution for their unique needs and situations. County Tractor with his award for being Takeuchi’s top When customers work with Bill, they can rest assured dealer salesperson in 2020 while Takeuchi’s Steve DePriest that he is going to do everything he can to make their and Austin Smith look on. experience with Cobb County Tractor the best it can “I’m incredibly honored to receive this award from possibly be. I speak for all of us at Takeuchi when I congratTakeuchi for the fourth time,” said Smith. “I truly enjoy what ulate Bill on yet another incredible performance in 2020.” Cobb County Tractor has served customers in Marietta I do and representing the Takeuchi line continues to be a and the surrounding Metro Atlanta area since 1955. The pleasure. Their broad range of high-quality equipment and dealer sells new and used equipment and provides parts, attachments makes it easy to provide customers with exactly service and rentals. For more than six decades, Cobb County what they need to do their jobs better, faster and easier. I sinTractor has focused on complete customer satisfaction, help- cerely thank Steve DePriest and everyone at Takeuchi for ing generations of customers find the right equipment to help their support.” For more information, visit www.takeuchi-us.com.  them improve their productivity and efficiency.

New Episcopal Dorm Under Construction Near University of Georgia Campus After a delay of more than a year, primarily due to the pandemic, construction crews are finally able to get construction underway on Wright House, a new residential facility in Athens, Ga., that has been in the planning stages for years. The building will sit University of Georgia property at the top of Lumpkin Street, kitty-corner from Myers Hall. Wright House will be a first for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and could be a bellwether for other campus ministry programs in Georgia. Securing permission from UGA to use University Court, followed by COVID-19, halted the project until its groundbreaking this past April. The facility is expected to be finished in June 2022, according to Flagpole, a local independent journalism outlet in Athens. Grahl Construction is building Wright House from a design by Studio BNA Architects. Both companies are based in Athens. Named for the Rev. Rob Wright, the Episcopal bishop of the Atlanta

Diocese who pushed for its creation, the Wright House will have one, two, three and four-bedroom pods accommodating 123 students, as well as a two-bedroom unit for the Rev. Clayton Harrington, who will serve as chaplain. Only UGA students — regardless of their beliefs — will be allowed to live there. “Right now, we’re doing balcony level planning and are considering what it’s going to look like,” Harrington said in remarks to Flagpole. Since the old St. Mary’s Chapel was demolished to make way for the new facility, UGA’s Episcopal students have been meeting at the Presbyterian Student Center. They will continue to do so during the fall and spring semesters, Harrington told the news source. In addition to residential rooms, the four-story Wright House will include on-site parking, a fitness center, a large, shared kitchen, a roof deck and retail space selling coffee and sandwiches on the bottom floor. There also will be a ground-level chapel doubling as a multi-purpose room that can be

rearranged for events other than a worship service. The monthly rent will be commensurate with Athens’ other private student housing complexes, noted the Rev. Canon Lang Lowrey, who directs Christian enterprise for the Atlanta Archdiocese of the Episcopal Church. “We understand there are a lot of capable students who can get tuition but who can’t get money for living,” Lowrey told Flagpole. “We’re trying to address that.” To that end, Lowery said the archdiocese has created the Wright Foundation to help cover the cost of housing for the Wright House. The Rev. Nikki Mathis, a priest at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, is chairing the foundation, which she said is a work in progress. It is expected to solicit funds from across many north Georgia churches. She said the money will help, “those who don’t have the same opportunities that affluent people do. We’re hoping to get people who may be the first in their families to attend college.” 

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Near Rome…

GSU Working With Aaron’s GDOT Awards Contracts to Widow On Stadium Design Resurface Road, Build Bridge AARON from page 1

A $4 million contract has been awarded by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to resurface a heavily traveled section of Martha Berry Highway/U.S. Highway 27 in Rome. North of that planned work, a $3.5 million bridge replacement effort on GA Highway 100 in Chattooga County also will be performed. The structure crosses Clarks Creek just south of Silver Hill Road. The two contracts were among the 30 awarded statewide from the GDOT’s May letting, totaling $102,133,925. The Rome News-Tribune reported that Northwest Georgia Paving in Cartersville will do the work on Martha Berry Highway/U.S. 27, a federally funded project. Plans call for the contractor to mill down and resurface just over 8 mi. of the highway between Turner McCall Boulevard in Rome and New Rosedale Road in Armuchee. The project was selected by the GDOT district maintenance office from roads with low ratings in the state’s Pavement Condition Evaluation System (PACES). Northwest Georgia Paving received its official notice to proceed on June 24 and is contracted to finish the Floyd County job by April 30, 2022. The Clarks Creek bridge on GA 100 will be replaced by Rossville’s Talley Construction Co., the Rome news source reported. A start date on that project has not been set but the work is scheduled to be completed by May 31, 2022. Once the contractor does begin its job at the site, a traffic control subcontractor will be on hand when construction begins to affect the roadway. The largest single contract from the GDOT’s most recent letting, worth approximately $32.2 million, went to E. R. Snell Contractor Inc., to widen and reconstruct 6.47 mi. of U.S. 1 in Jefferson County. The nearby Big Creek Bridge also will be

replaced as part of this project. Rome, Floyd County Explore Funding Options According to the News-Tribune, Jefferson County is in one of the four regions in Georgia that have passed 10-year, one-cent sales tax packages under the GDOT’s Transportation Investment Act (TIA). As a result, those counties have a funding edge since 75 percent of the revenue goes toward helping GDOT offset the cost of their regional projects. Under the law, those projects are not subject to Congressional District Balancing, which requires state road money to be evenly distributed across the districts. Regions that passed TIA also need only provide a 10 percent match for annual Local Maintenance Improvement Grants, instead of a 30 percent local match, the newspaper reported. Floyd County, however, is not among the regions benefiting from TIA funds. In 2011, Floyd was one of 15 counties in the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission district that developed a list of projects to fund through a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or T-SPLOST. Set for a vote in 2012 and projected to raise more than $1.4 billion, the move would have increased the local sales tax to eight percent, which led to the vote failing in every county except Dade. Since then, Rome and Floyd County leaders have tentatively raised the idea of a newer funding mechanism that allows a single-county T-SPLOST, although nothing concrete has emerged, the News-Tribune reported. Three other Georgia regions — River Valley, Central Savannah River Area and the Heart of Georgia Altamaha — approved a TSPLOST in 2012, followed by the Southern Georgia region in 2018. 

Georgia State estimates the cost of the memorial will be in the $10 million range and will be privately funded. The stadium will be much larger than the university’s current facilities in Panthersville that holds 2,500 fans and is located far from the downtown Atlanta campus. However, The Signal noted that the new combined fields also will keep parts of the old stadium intact to ensure that the history of Aaron is alive and thriving. Many people told the newspaper that the construction of a new stadium for Georgia State Panthers baseball and softball is long overdue. Both programs have been seeking to make a mark on their respective sports. In particular, the baseball program is coming off a season that saw impressive wins over the likes of Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt. “The new stadium will definitely help put GSU baseball on the map,” said Ben Moore of 247 Sports, an online college athletic recruiting service. “The program will get a boost playing in the downtown campus.”

Panthers head baseball coach Brad Stromdahl also told The Signal that he believes the new stadium will aid in bringing recruits to his program and add to its foundation while also cherishing Aaron’s legacy. “I’m looking forward to the new stadium and the Hank Aaron Museum,” he said. “[Aaron] is an iconic figure and to honor him at our new facility is great for our program and the city.” GSU Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb said in January that the baseball and softball stadiums are “the next piece of the puzzle” in Georgia State’s quest to create an athletic campus that included the repurposing of Turner Field (the Braves’ home immediately after Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was demolished in 1997) into the home of GSU’s football team. It has since been renamed Center Parc Stadium. There is no date to break ground on the new athletic facility and memorial, but Cobb told SaportaReport.com, an Atlanta news site, that estimates were that it would take 12 to 18 months to construct them once the money is raised. 

JCB Gives Nintendo Switch, Fastrac Ride to 11-Year-Old WISH from page 1

was for a PS5 gaming system, which was provided by Make-A-Wish Georgia along with several games and accessories for the system. JCB in turn provided Aidan with a Nintendo Switch, a drone, Lego games, a gaming chair and headset all items which he can play with safely in his home. After opening presents delivered by Spider-Man and the JCB Apprentice Team and enjoying custom made cookies, Aidan took a ride in the JCB Fastrac, a tractor capable of traveling at speeds up to 43 mph. “It’s because of partners like JCB that we can bring wishes to life for kids like Aidan,” said Meghan Lowe, southeast development director. “We are truly grateful for the community that JCB has created to help us make more wishes come true.” Since 1995, Make-A-Wish Georgia has been granting the wishes of local children facing critical illnesses. More than 20 years later, nearly 8,000 lives have experienced the impact of a life-changing wish. Make-AWish Georgia is a movement, powered by you, to renew families and communities whose lives have been disrupted. We all

have the power to make wishes comes true. To learn how you can bring wishes to life, visit www.georgia.wish.org. For more information about JCB, visit www.jcb.com. 

Aidan is an 11-year-old boy who lives in Savannah and was born with a heart defect requiring him to be on oxygen, impeding his ability to play outdoors for extended periods of time. His MakeA-Wish request was for a PS5 gaming system.

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