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Community Wellness Spring 2019 Newsletter By: Taylor sikes

A Little Intro For You

Hey there! My name is Taylor Sikes. I am a senior at Georgia Gwinnett College and I'm studying Exercise Science with a focus in Health and Wellness Promotion. I have a passion for public health and helping my community flourish. A few things to note about me: I love my dogs (they are my fur babies), I prefer to be outdoors rather than indoors, and my family means the world to me. That's me, to the left! Below are my precious fur-children and above is me standing on Mt. Evans at 14,000 feet in Colorado!

Left to right: Charlie, Shiloh, & Buster

#BuildForDevon

A recount of my experience volunteering with Old Fountain Tavern and the Build For Devon Foundation

Photo to the right is Devon Gales and myself at an event for the Build For Devon Foundation.

Many of us are familiar with the Devon Gales story. It's one that rocked the college football world and its ripples are still felt across college campuses everywhere during football season - particularly UGA. Devon was a wide receiver for Southern University in Louisiana. In 2015, his team was visiting Georgia for a contest against the Dawgs when something happened that would change Devon's life forever. In the middle of a play, Devon collided with our kicker and suffered a spinal injury resulting in paralysis from the waist down. It's a rough clip to watch, looking back on it. The collision was so fast and it looked like many other collisions, a hard hit but the kicker moved on and Devon laid there on the ground unable to move his lower limbs. He was carted off and thus, his journey through recover began. Four years later, now 25 years old, Devon *almost* has a handicapped-accessible home to accommodate, thanks to numerous donations, and he recently landed a job offer as a coach for a high-school football team in Jefferson, Georgia!

The event I was able to be a part of was a fundraising event for the Build For Devon foundation, which benefits Devon and his family in building their handicapped-accessible home to make life here a little easier for Devon. Through meeting his family and talking to his mother as well as others close to him, I learned that this foundation has raised over $250,000 for Devon and his family to be able to build this home and begin an incredible new chapter in their lives. Former UGA players and coaches have taken a massive part in helping promote and support the foundation. One of those coaches is Bryant Gantt, the Director of Player Wellness at UGA. The house they've all been working so hard for is nearly complete, with just another couple of months to go! Myself, as well as MANY others, are incredibly happy to witness even a small part of Devon's story. He is inspiring and positive; Coach Gales has a nice ring to it, and I know he'll be an amazing coach and leader to the players at Jefferson High School.

The photo below is (left to right) my boss Melissa, Coach Gantt, and myself.

I work for a local tavern called Old Fountain Tavern. We were contacted by Devon's mom, Tish, regarding the fundraising event they were planning. She asked us to prepare food for roughly 250 people and be a part of the celebration and fundraising for the Build For Devon foundation. We prepared several food items, one of which was Devon's favorite - Boudin Balls!

The event had lots of live music, over 250 guests (some of which were recruited from a simple radio broadcast stating when and where the event would be held), great music, great food, a silent auction, and a photo booth (which our crew definitely took part in as you can see below)! My crew took part in providing the food and helping to collect cash donations throughout the evening. At one point, we actually danced through the crowd and bounced around to each table individually collecting cash donations while the live music played.

It was an incredible experience to be a witness the amount of love and care circulating around that event room. From Devon's family to the other volunteers, all the way to strangers that I met who said they heard the radio broadcast and decided to stop in and buy tickets to attend just because they thought it was an amazing cause! It's amazing to see our very own community come together! I hope that each and every one of you have the opportunity to be a part of something so pure and refreshing.

Take a look at some of my other posts about stuff I enjoy in relation to wellness and living life to the fullest!

Blog #1

What makes superfoods so "super"?

What are they? Superfoods are considered to be foods that have an immense amount of nutritional substance to them. They may contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein, and all sorts of other nutrients. A lot of health nuts (like me) believe that these superfoods are some sort of magical solution to some of life's most personal problems such as love life, fatigue or energy levels, and overall health and wellness. These foods also seem to have no limit (per research thus far). You can essentially be eating as much of these foods as you'd like and still reap all of the same benefits. None of these foods will make you “healthy” on their own, but the key is to consume a mix of various superfoods and healthier food options combined with regular physical activity to improve overall health and wellness.

Some of the most popular superfood choices I see are leafy greens (particularly the darker green ones such as Kale and Spinach), blueberries, chia seeds, avocados, salmon, and acai. Those are just a few! The coolest part about these foods is that they’re pretty easily accessible! You can find most of these at your local grocery store or market at any given time. Given the time of year, the item you’re looking for may be out of season so what’s in-store may not be the absolute best quality for that specific product. Some stores will still carry the product but in smaller amounts and others will simply not carry them until the season comes back around to ensure freshness and top-quality. Something to be careful with is the juices of some of the supers. Before buying the juiced version of the whole food, check its sugar content! Oftentimes, sugar will be added into the juiced version to add flavor since the solid version has a different taste. The added sugar might make it less super!

My favorite superfood? ... GUAC! I love guacamole! All you need is a couple of ripe and ready avocados, a pinch of salt and pepper for taste, a lime handy for some fresh lime juice, and maybe some diced tomatoes, onions and cilantro if you're feeling fancy. And voila! there you have a fantastic snack that satisfies your hunger AND may benefit your overall health!

Blog #2

What it's like to experience the serenity and completely organized chaos that is The Masters at Augusta National

It's a tradition like no other... that's for sure.

This year, I had the privilege of visiting one of the most pristine, manicured, and picturesque places I could ever imagine: Augusta National Golf Club - Home of The Masters. One week out of each year in April, professional golfers from all over flock to Augusta, Georgia to participate in a tournament that has become a beloved tradition truly unlike any other in the south. Some people go every single year, all seven days of the week! Others go once in a lifetime. Even if you don’t care about golf, this blog may still interest you! Let me explain.

Augusta National used to be a peach farm. A surprising number of people don’t know that. The trees, amongst other fruit plants, used to stretch miles and miles across the farmland that was called “Fruitland Nurseries.” Eventually Bobby Jones came along and declared the land to be quite perfect for his very own golf club. Now we have Augusta National Golf Club - Home to The Masters and some of the most incredibly manicured landscape I’ve ever laid eyes on. Rumor has it that the Azaleas are temperature-controlled in order to assure that they all bloom at the exact same time and with the same ferocity, ensuring their color and size is as impeccable as possible. The grass is cut with the finest blades to ensure it stays a brilliant green color and as healthy as possible. It appeared as though the crew cut the grass early, long before any play had occurred, as well as after the day is done. We caught a glimpse of them trimming the fairway on our way out of the course. The hole on each putting green is cut with SCISSORS, by hand, to ensure it is perfectly groomed for tournament play. I may sound repetitive but COME ON. How is it possible to not appreciate that level of care and precision?

Let's talk about the most organized and entirely thought-out chaos I've ever seen. I work in the customer service industry, so I’ve come to expect a certain level of customer service wherever I go. While I may be more lenient with mistakes and a rough customer service experience due to my level of understanding within the industry, I may also be more critical under other circumstances. I tend to notice the smaller pieces of the industry simply from working in it for so long.

With that being said, everyone working The Masters was as pleasant as can be and every single part of the process throughout the day was beautifully constructed to ensure a smooth operation amongst the chaos of the thousands of people bustling throughout the property. Food lines, drink lines, the clubhouse shop, bathrooms - OH the bathrooms. Let’s talk about that for a second. The Masters may be the only event on the planet where the men’s bathroom line was triple the size of the women’s. IT WAS GLORIOUS. There were employees directing bathroom traffic within the bathroom- “one open down there on the left, come forward, one over there to the right! Sinks are over there. Yes I can restock that. Thank you all for attending The Masters!” I probably looked like an idiot admiring the inside operation of the restroom while the Par 3 tournament was going on outside of the restroom walls, but I didn’t care! The ease and organization of all of the chaos from the restrooms to the tournament itself was mesmerizing. That’s just something I’ve never gotten anywhere else, sport venue or not.

Also...

No cell phones were allowed within the gates of Augusta National. No exceptions.

This is probably the most important detail of the entire experience for me. Our society is so focused on social media and posting pictures of where they are or what they’re doing so someone else can “like” it. No one really absorbs the moment anymore. Augusta National has put a foot down and has a “No Cell Phone” policy, and it is wonderful. Thousands of people all at once were simply absorbing the environment for what it was. No texting or snapchatting going on anywhere. It’s been a very long time since I’ve witnessed so many people immersed and focused on the same thing and truly cherishing that moment in time simply for what it is. There were complimentary phones on site for those who needed them, but they were sparse. The no-phone rule is in place for a few reasons: 1. If a ringtone were to go off during a tournament round, it could throw a player’s focus off every which way and it ends up being a distraction to many more than just the cell phone user. 2. You’re there to immerse yourself in the gorgeous environment that their groundskeepers have worked so hard to maintain, so immerse yourself! Focus on the beauty of it all! 3. In a world where social media is the black hole that we’ve all been sucked into here or there, this is the one place that’s combating that. No selfies, no snaps, none of it. Go over to Founders Circle on Magnolia Lane and get a photo taken by their on-site photographers. My photo at the top of this blog is the product of exactly that!

As I mentioned before, you may not care at all about golf, but hopefully you can appreciate the beauty of the landscape, the care and attitude of the staff members and volunteers who make the Masters possible, and the level of peace and serenity spreading across every square inch of Augusta National Golf Club property.

I urge you to experience the serenity for yourself if you have the opportunity to do so.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my newsletter!

Credits:

Created with images by Brooke Lark - "untitled image" • Juan Manuel Giraldo Grisales - "untitled image"

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