From Staff Reports
AMERICUS — Sumter County Sheriff Pete Smith brought home two prestigious awards from the recent annual Georgia Sheriffs’ Association Inc. Summer Training Conference on July 25 at Lake Lanier Islands in Hall County.
The Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes presented Smith two awards — the Top Ten award and the $100,000 Club award, at the conference.
Smith said these awards belong to all involved: his staff and all the volunteers who help with the annual golf tournament and the sports clay tournament to raise money for the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes.
“We start work on the next year’s golf tournament the day after the tournament is held,” Smith said. “It takes a lot of work and we really appreciate all the help we get from local volunteers. We couldn’t do it without them.”
Smith stresses that the children who are housed in the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes are not troubled youth, that is, they have not been in trouble with the law. The children who live in the youth homes are from less than desirable home environments, which is no fault of their own. The programs at the youth homes provide stable residential living environments with staffers who “parent” the children, along with educational opportunities and fun activities such as sports and recreation.
Smith said that five students from the youth homes will soon be starting their post-secondary education at South Georgia Technical College. Another former youth home resident will be graduating from Georgia Southwestern State University in December with a teaching degree.
Smith plays a major role in fund raising, promoting and assisting the Sheriffs’ Youth Homes. The per capita amount raised in Sumter County for the Youth Homes equaled $3.42, raising over $113,000. The funds are used to provide quality full-time residential care for dependent, neglected and abused children of Georgia.
“The Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes is indeed fortunate to have sheriffs like Sheriff Smith who whole heartedly support our homes for Georgia’s abused, abandoned and dependent children. This award indicates that this sheriff is very interested and involved in support of Georgia’s deserving children,” said James A. Cody Sr. executive vice president.
There are five youth campuses sponsored by the sheriffs through the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association Inc. The Boys’ Ranch in Hahira is a full-time residential care facility for over 50 boys and girls. Cherokee Estate in Dalton is a residential and emergency care home for up to 48 girls. Pineland is an emergency care facility for 24 boys located in LaGrange. Herrington Homestead is home to 36 boys and girls located in Emanuel County. The newest campus, MountainView, is located in Murray County, home to 12 boys.
Founded in 1956, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes Inc. is a private non-profit children’s charity sponsored by the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association Inc. During the past year, more than 200 children were served in the five full-time residential care campuses. The Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes Inc., sponsored by the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association Inc., provides safe and wholesome residential care for dependent, neglected and abused children of Georgia.
Smith was modest about the awards, yet proud, pointing out that his office’s efforts are in competition with much larger sheriff’s offices such as Cobb and Henry counties. He pointed out that he receives assistance in the fund raising efforts from other sheriff’s offices such as Taylor and Schley counties.
“These awards speak well of our community, our citizens and all our volunteers,” the sheriff said. “I’m not taking credit for it, but I’m proud to be associated with it. There were between 300 and 400 at the conference. The joy I got was being able to see all those children and put my hands on them and let them know we care and are proud of their accomplishments.”
Smith thanked all the local volunteers, mentioning Dan Torbert, Les Smith, Taylor Nabors, Carla Cook as well as the Americus Scuba Club, headed by Richard Wisham, which annually raises money for the youth homes through its Treasure Hunt event.
