{"id":288,"date":"2021-06-22T13:28:29","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T17:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/?p=288"},"modified":"2021-06-22T13:28:30","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T17:28:30","slug":"dont-blink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/2021\/06\/dont-blink\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Blink"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fellow Ag Dawgs,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As graduation photos have filled my news feeds on social media the past two weeks, Kenney Chesney\u2019s 2007 hit song \u201cDon\u2019t Blink\u201d began to play in my head as memories as a student in the red and black surfaced. Ten years have passed since I first earned the right to walk under the sacred arch on Broad Street. When I\u2019ve been warned in the past that \u2018time flies\u2019, I\u2019m not sure that I always believed the statement. However, when I reflect on the past decade, much less the past 18 months, \u2018don\u2019t blink\u2019 rings true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of time flying, we have blinked and our 2020-2021 Alumni Board year is preparing to finish a resilient chapter. Last July when my year as alumni president began, we (I) was hopeful that the first month or two of fall would just be an epilogue to the spring\u2019s pandemic. Unfortunately, we know otherwise, and most of our alumni activities for the year were ultimately punted down the road. I don\u2019t like to use the word \u2018canceled\u2019 because I know our alumni activities will eventually take place. Our college and 20,000+ alumni base are resilient<\/em>. We bounce back and recover quickly from difficulties. Ag Dawgs are tough. Despite all of the challenges this year has presented, your alumni association has rallied and continued thinking of creative ways to connect, engage and celebrate our college, alumni and friends. Activities including Ag Dawg Kickoff \u2018to-go\u2019, CAES Chats and Giving Weeks have allowed us to further our mission. Fellow Ag Dawgs, give yourself a pat on the back. I am Ag Dawg proud of our alumni team and it has been an honor to work and dream with the CAES Office of Development and Alumni Relations as your \u201820-\u201921 alumni president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phrase \u2018don\u2019t blink\u2019 has also encouraged me during the past year. It provided a sense of hope that time would pass and we could all be together again. We\u2019ve blinked and just like that we are beginning to see signs of \u2018normalcy\u2019 and rumors of a full stadium this fall (Can I get a Go Dawgs!?)<\/em>. Hopefully this will give us a chance to welcome students to campus this fall in person at an alumni hosted Ag Dawg Kickoff in addition to celebrating our alumni award winners at a fall banquet. I should note: details forth coming on these opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our university\u2019s alma mater brings a smile to my face every time I hear even just the first few notes. Yes, I\u2019ve blinked quite a few times since I first learned these lyrics. But the further I get from my May 2011 commencement, the more the words mean to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the hills of Georgia\u2019s northland, Beams thy noble brow<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ag Dawgs \u2013 We have such a bright future beaming<\/em> on our beloved Ag Hill and in Griffin and Tifton. We have the finest, first class, noble<\/em> leaders and scientists teaching and researching to better agriculture and the environment. Celebrate that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the sons of Georgia rising, Pledge with sacred vow.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ag Dawgs \u2013 Our students are something special. And as an alumni I\u2019m not trying to build myself or you up, although I bet you\u2019re quite brilliant! At the end of the school year I was able to attend an in-person meeting (who knew we would ever celebrate in-person meetings?)<\/em> with the CAES Student Philanthropy Council, and I was absolutely blown away with their collegiate resumes, internship opportunities and plans for the future. The sons and daughters of our Georgia are certainly rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ag Dawgs \u2013 The chorus is one you may have heard me say at CAES commencement or when celebrating (or commiserating) the silver britches. Alumni and friends \u2013 for so much we can be grateful. Remember it is an honor<\/em> to be a graduate of the finest institution in the land. The dreams and goals set during 2, 4, 5 or 6+ years on campus are always worth remembering. I challenge you to let these young(er) aspirations drive us all to recommitting and\/or developing new dreams to better ourselves, our families, our state, our country and our leading industry. Don\u2019t blink<\/em> when you read these lines below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alma Mater, thee we\u2019ll honor,<\/em> True and loyal be, 
Ever crowned with praise and glory, Georgia, hail to thee.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ag Dawgs, thank you<\/em><\/strong> for being strong this year and for the opportunity to serve you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t blink \u2013 we\u2019ll be national football champions again, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Caroline with her dad, Gary Black (BSA \u201980) at her graduation.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fellow Ag Dawgs, As graduation photos have filled my news feeds on social media the past two weeks, Kenney Chesney\u2019s 2007 hit song \u201cDon\u2019t Blink\u201d began to play in my head as memories as a student in the red and black surfaced. Ten years have passed since I first earned the right to walk under […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":723,"featured_media":291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/723"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions\/290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}