Metro Albany delegation honored at chamber Legislative Appreciation Luncheon

ALBANY — Several of Albany’s business and civic leaders offered praise Thursday to members of the local state legislative delegation during the annual Albany Area Chamber of Commerce Legislative Appreciation Luncheon, held this year at the Welcome Center in downtown Albany.

The annual luncheon provides opportunities for the chamber and its Legislative Affairs Committee to honor members of the local delegation, which includes state Reps. Winfred Dukes, D-Albany; Darrel Ealum, D-Albany; Gerald Green, R-Cuthbert, and Ed Rynders, R-Leesburg, and state Sen. Freddie Powell Sims, D-Dawson, for the work they do on the area’s behalf.

“This is one of my favorite days of the year, because we get to thank our local delegation,” said Cynthia George, chairwoman of the chamber’s Legislative Affairs Committee. “This is all about giving them a really big thank you.”

After her welcome, George introduced Sims, who was the first to note how well the entire delegation works together, before focusing her remarks on the delegation’s commitment to education in the region.

Sims told a story about a young woman who had attended Westover High School and Albany Technical College and recently received an associate’s degree in pharmacy technology, all thanks to the Move On When Ready program, which she said is very important for the region.

“My speech to (a group in Buena Vista) was about Move on When Ready,” said Sims. “You’re going to hear a lot about that in the next few weeks locally. (Several) institutions are ready to educate our public, especially our parents, about Move on When Ready.”

Sims explained that through that program and the county’s soon to be developed college and career academy, area residents will not only be better educated, they will also have better job opportunities as businesses looked to enter the area.

Ealum, who is nearing the end of his first term representing Albany, also praised the college and career academy, saying he is convinced that in the near future the program will draw new industry to Southwest Georgia.

“We all started working so hard to bring the college and career academy to Dougherty County,” said Ealum. “It came to fruition. We were all there this year when the lieutenant governor delivered the $4.3 million check to start a college and career academy. The stars are aligned. It’s all going to be one huge pipeline that’s going to be created. Business are going to be clamoring to come here. That is so exciting.”

In addition to praising the college and career academy, Ealum also shared other success stories, including the approval of funding to move the local National Guard armory to Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany, which Ealum called one of his top priorities of the past year.

In fact, Ealum gave praise to the entire delegation for being able to work together to achieve what the community wanted.

Togetherness was also a part of Dukes’ remarks, as he gave thanks to his colleagues while also thanking the community for allowing him the opportunity to serve.

“I would be remiss not to thank those of you who live in House District 154 for giving me an opportunity, again, to represent you in the Georgia General Assembly,” Dukes said before turning praise to the other legislators. “I also would like to thank the hard-working individuals that serve with me in the Georgia General Assembly. These people gave a miraculous effort this year. They made some sausage this year.”

Dukes also touched on the many things the delegation was able to achieve during the legislative session, including securing funding for the National Guard armory, funding for furniture and fixtures at Albany State University, as well as finding funding for the college and career academy.

“We meet every year in November and December and you all gave us marching orders as to what it is you desired,” said Dukes. “I’m truly honored to serve you. I really am. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, black or white, man or woman, when it came to representing the people of Albany, the people of Southwest Georgia, we answered the bell.”

Group achievement was also on Greene’s mind as he covered the litany of delegation achievements, including some of the lower profile items that didn’t capture headlines, like securing raises for teachers and cost-of-living pay increases for state workers.

“Good year for us at the legislature,” Greene said. “We were able to come back with a lot of good things for the community. And they’re not just for Albany, they were regional things. There are things that you don’t really hear about that we’re doing.

“I want to tell you your delegation to Atlanta worked very hard for you. I would say that this is probably the best delegation that you have ever had, because of our concern for the same things. We work together.”

Rynders pointed out that the delegation’s collective effort was even more impressive considering the fact that each member also had to fairly represent the needs of each district.

“What I like, and I tell people, at the end of the day, I vote how my district votes,” said Rynders. “And Winfred’s going to vote how his district does. And the politics of south Albany, probably, and I’m going to guess, are not the same as Lee County. And you know what, that’s OK. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. That’s a representative democracy.

“Georgia’s not supposed to vote like Massachusetts, and that’s OK. But it’s being able to roll up your sleeves and do what’s right for the community and the region is what matters. When it comes to the big picture, when it comes to the picture of what can we do to help South Georgia stay on the radar, stay relevant, what we don’t do is we don’t divide. We know how to have that united front when it matters.”