The Hillbilly Hilton has fallen silent all of a sudden. Sadly, the end of the summer has come, and with it, the end of the ACE/VUS survey program. No more days by the lake, long drives through the hills and mountains, no more angry boaters racing home to watch Georgia football. As they say, all good things must come to an end.
As the project leader of this fine group of young man, and women, I am very proud of the accomplishments of our crew this season. We have done a fine job surveying, yes. But more importantly I saw each and every member of the crew grow through this experience, through good times and even the bad ones. Talking to multiple strangers on the daily may sound easy, but it really requires a lot of confidence. My crew stepped up to the plate, especially those of us who may normally ere on the shy side. Everybody learned something new, whether that be cooking lobster tail, to grow food, to hustle across a lake on a kayak, to Leave No Trace, or best of all, how to embrace an opportunity when it presents itself.
The crew embraced the opportunity to live in North Georgia, really explored it, sought out things to do, places to go, and projects to work on. And they made a difference here. That’s what this program is all about.
Thanks to everybody who has supported us throughout this season. It has been a great experience, and we have all been priveleged to take part in it.
With that, all the best to my crew, who have scattered to the four winds to go and make the world all the better for simply being in it. You’ve been awesome. Stay classy.
Clayton
