On Thursday, April 30, Macon-Bibb County will recognize and celebrate its inaugural Georgia Civic Awareness Program for Students (GCAPS) leadership cohort with an End of the Year Celebration. A reception and dinner program will be held for the students, their families, principals and headmasters, and local leaders at the Historic Terminal Station (200 Cherry Street) beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The program’s Keynote Speaker will be Alisha Thomas Morgan, who represented the 39th District in the Georgia House of Representatives. The Master of Ceremonies will be Skyler Henry from 41WMGT, and awards will be presented to the Student of the Year, Counselor of the Year, Partner of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year. Special guests will include leadership from Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) and representatives from Dougherty County GCAPS and Fulton County GCAPS.
Also, during the event, Macon-Bibb will recognize Mayor Pro Tem Bert Bivins, who was named by the ACCG at its annual conference in Savannah as the 2015 Civic and Community Engagement Advocate of the Year. Bivins was recognized for his dedication to and active involvement with the Macon-Bibb GCAPS cohort. A retired educator, he personally championed the acceptance of a GCAPS program since 2012 in his Bibb County and has been a primary supporter of it in the new consolidated government.
“I was honored to present Commissioner Bivins with the civic and community engagement advocate of the year award,” said ACCG Executive Director Ross King. “Engaging our youth in their county government is of extreme significance to ACCG and we are fortunate to have a veteran public servant such as Commissioner Bivins to undertake this significant initiative.”
“Our students deserve recognition for their dedication to the program this year and for what they will give back to our community in the future,” says Assistance County Manager Charles Coney. “They have learned a great deal in their time with us, and we have heard nothing but accolades from the people they have met around the state. They are great representatives of our community, and we look forward to great things from them in the future.”
This End of the Year Celebration is sponsored by Macon-Bibb County, the Bibb County School District, Mercer University, State Bank & Trust Company, Warren Associates, Inc, Macon Water Authority, and Macon Transit Authority.
About Macon-Bibb GCAPS
For the past two years, Bibb County (and now Macon-Bibb County) has participated in the Association County Commissioners of Georgia’s (ACCG) Georgia Civic Awareness Program for Students (GCAPS). More than 100 students from Bibb County public and private schools applied for this year’s cohort, and 33 students were selected through a rigorous application and interview process to participate.
Students in this year’s cohort saw how government works, what’s changing through consolidation, and how they can be involved with and improve the community now and in the future. Throughout the course of the year, students took part in team-building exercises, attended Commission meetings, toured county facilities, visited the State Capitol twice, attended the ACCG Conference in Savannah, and interacted with local and state leaders.
Click here to watch a feature video from MaconBibbTV about the cohort’s Leadership Summit.
About Alisha Thomas Morgan
A native of Miami, Florida, Alisha began her call to leadership organizing with the youth division of the NAACP during her teenage years, and eventually rose through the ranks to become Georgia’s State Youth/College Division President. Alisha went on to attend Spelman College, where she led the campus NAACP Chapter and earned degrees in Sociology & Theatre Arts. Years of social justice activism culminated in a historic moment when, at the age of 23, Alisha answered the call for public service and became the first African-American to rep-resent Cobb County in the Georgia state legislature. Known for her passion for getting people involved in the political process, throughout her career Alisha hosted over 100 community town hall meetings and welcomed over 1,000 public school students, community members and emerging leaders to the State Capitol for policy briefings and advocacy trainings. After serving the people of Cobb County for twelve diligent years, Alisha retired her seat in the legislature earlier this year, passing the torch to a young woman she mentored for two years.
Alisha became a force of principled leadership and leader in education during her time in the House of Representatives, working across the aisle to play pivotal roles in ushering through some of the boldest reforms in Georgia’s re-cent history. Alisha’s crowning achievements were inspired by her passion for young people and her belief that providing a high quality public education to every child, regardless of their zip code, is the civil rights issue of our time. Education remains her deepest passion and primary focus. Since leaving the legislature, Alisha has remained active in education, besting thousands of applicants to become one of only eleven chosen for the highly-competitive and prestigious Broad Superintendents’ Academy, a coveted training fellow-ship for the nation’s most promising education leaders.
Outside of the legislature, Alisha is admired for working to share her wisdom and passion with motivated young people and professionals looking to make a positive impact on society. Alisha’s immutable grace, style and class have landed profiles of her leadership on the pages of The New York Times, AOL Black Voices, and Essence, Marie Claire & Ebony magazines. Alisha owns and manages A. T. Morgan Enterprises, a boutique Atlanta-based consulting firm offering dynamic community and advocacy-fueled solutions to not-for-profit organizations, government entities, school systems and private enterprises. Alisha is the author of No Apologies: Powerful Lessons in Life, Love & Politics, an acclaimed, semi-autobiographical volume of inspiration that leverages her myriad of experiences as a young black woman in politics to offer readers a fresh perspective on the keys to living life “unapologetically.”
In both elected office and as a concerned citizen, Alisha stands as a model of courage for anyone who has been called to serve and lead. Alisha serves on several boards, including the Joseph & Evelyn Lowery Center for Human Rights. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a life member of the NAACP. Alisha resides in Austell, Georgia with the light of her life, her seven-year-old daughter Lailah.
About Skyler Henry
Skyler joined the 41 NBC News Team in April 2013. He anchors the news at 6 p.m. and also covers stories going on throughout the day. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb right outside of Atlanta.
Before heading to Middle Georgia, Skyler worked as a stage manager for WSB- TV in Atlanta. He graduated from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia in 2011 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Multimedia Communication. He went to school initially to be an architect, but one step inside of the student radio station changed every-thing.
While at Georgia Southern, he was exposed to radio and television and became the Program Director of the student radio station and was a part of a team that received a Southeast Regional student Emmy for their work on the program “Inside Georgia Southern Football.” Skyler anchored and reported for Georgia Southern University’s “Eagle News.” There he covered the 2010 midterm elections live as well as reported on stories in the community. In the Spring 2012, Skyler interned for Clear Channel in Los Angeles, California.
Skyler is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. In his free time, you can find Skyler watching the latest movies and reading up on all things in Hollywood. He also loves spending time with his family and friends and finding inspirational quotes. He loves telling stories about politics, tax dollars at work in the community, and highlighting people and business who don’t normally get the spotl