Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Head Start Expansion Project

On April 25, 2024, the City of Douglas, action pact, Coffee County Commission, Coffee County Board of Education (CCBOE), and Douglas-Coffee County Economic Development Authority (EDA) jointly held a groundbreaking ceremony for the HeadStart and Early HeadStart expansion project. The project aims to add new classrooms and a kitchen to the existing Head Start facility.

The event began with a warm welcome from Mayor Paulk, followed by an invocation by Commissioner Edwin Taylor. The attendees were then presented with a brief project overview by Mr. Michael Jacobs, with the Southern Georgia Regional Commission. In December 2021, the leadership of action pact recognized the need for four additional classrooms and a kitchen at the Head Start facility. After recognizing the need for this community project, a partnership was formed with action pact, City of Douglas, Coffee County, CCBOE, and EDA. The city applied for and was awarded the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in the amount of $1,000,000 to help with the project, with additional funding coming from the partnership.

Mr. Leonard Burse (Chairman of the action pact Board & Ware County Commissioner), made remarks about the project and its impact on educating youth in the community. Dr. Morris Leis (Superintendent of Coffee County Schools), Jimmy Kitchens (Chairman of the Coffee County Commission), and Matt Seale (CEO of Douglas-Coffee County Economic Development Authority) also remarked on the impact of working together to address community needs. City Manager Charlie Davis and Mayor Tony Paulk made closing remarks.

"We have the ability to make an impact on a younger generation, and it is important to us," stated Mayor Paulk. "By working together, we are changing the lives of children with this valuable educational resource in the community, and that's why we work together-to provide for our citizens because they deserve the best."

J. Glen Gregory & Associates, an architecture firm based in Valdosta, is the architect for the project. The engineering firm for the project is Statewide Engineering. The Southern Georgia Regional Commission is administering the grant for this project, and Charles Lewis Construction is the contractor responsible for the construction work.

For more information about the project, please contact Georgia Henderson, Community Development Director, at (912) 383-0277.

Photo: L-R: Diane Rogers (Executive Director for Action Pact), Gene Wade (Bd. Of Education), Morris Leis (Coffee County Schools Superintendent), Jimmy Kitchens (County Commission Chairman), Cindy McNeill (City Commissioner), Mayor Tony Paulk, Leonard Burse (Chairman Action Pact Board & Ware County Commissioner), Leola Johnson (Bd. Of Education), Glenn Gregory (Architect with J. Glenn Gregory and Associates, Valdosta), Charles Davis (City Manager), Edwin Taylor (City Commissioner), Angela Carr (Director of Head Start Program), Ron Lewis (Project Manager, Charles E. Lewis Construction), Matt Seale (CEO Douglas Coffee County EDA)