GNTC’S HANNON, RUSSELL TO SPEAK AT TEDX PROGRAM IN CARTERSVILLE

(Media release from Georgia Northwestern Technical College):

Tickets are now on sale for a TEDx presentation featuring two speakers from Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) on Saturday, Aug. 20, in Cartersville.

In “Would that work here?” Lauretta Hannon, GNTC Foundation executive director, and Lisa Russell, assistant dean of Dual Enrollment at GNTC and an English instructor at the Gordon County Campus in Calhoun, will be among nine speakers sharing how other people and communities have tackled the same issues today’s communities face and what they have learned from those experiences. The TEDx program will prompt attendees to consider whether those strategies would work in their own communities.

Hannon said her topic will be how one sentence can transform your life for the better while Russell’s presentation will cover how saving stories preserves history.

Called the Funniest Woman in Georgia by “Southern Living Magazine,” Hannon is the author of “The Cracker Queen—A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life,” which the Georgia Center for the Book named one of the Top 25 books all Georgians should read. She has also been a commentator on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

In addition to her role at GNTC, Russell is part-time professor of communication at Kennesaw State University and has appeared as a guest on several podcasts, radio and television programs, including History Channel’s “The UnXplained.” She has written three history books about the north Georgia region: “Lost Towns of North Georgia,” “Underwater Ghost Towns of North Georgia” and “Lost Mill Towns of North Georgia.”

Other speakers at the presentation will include Tim Conway, vice president of Sustainability at Shaw Industries; Aimee Copeland, a licensed clinical social worker, owner/operator of Grant Park Counseling group, director of the Aimee Copeland Foundation (ACF) and founder of All Terrain Georgia, an initiative of ACF in partnership with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources; Carmen Deedy, author of 13 books for children and host of the Emmy-winning children’s program “Love that Book!”; Ryan Gravel, urban thinker, designer, author and entrepreneur; Jackie Killings, community leader, consultant and president/co-founder of K&M Technologies; Amanda Reed Meyers, chief strategy officer for HealthOne and Alliant Health Plans and president/CEO of Live4It; Anne Quantrano, restauranteur, chef and recipient of numerous James Beard nominations and awards; and Josh Rifkind, musician and executive director of Songs for Kids Foundation.

The presentation will take place Saturday, Aug. 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Savoy Automobile Museum, 3 Savoy Lane, Cartersville. To order tickets or for more information, go to https://www.tedxcartersville.com/.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) is a non-profit, global community known for its popular TED Talks which feature internationally renowned speakers sharing knowledge and research through short talks and presentations.

TEDx is a grassroots initiative based on the TED format. TEDx presentations are organized independently under a free license to provide a TED-style experience at the local level.

Photo courtesy of Georgia Northwestern Technical College