By Jeremy Gove, Information Systems Administrator,

All throughout history, November has been a month of great things. During its course, we exercise our freedom and right to vote, we celebrate the defense of freedom by honoring our veterans, and we celebrate the survival of the Pilgrims, men and women brave enough to leave England, the land they had always known, their families, friends, and hometowns in search of a place to worship freely. Freedom, freedom, freedom. All that and more happens every year during the 11th month. Over time, instances, circumstances, and situations have come and gone, leaving their marks upon history and milestones in our midst. This is particularly true in November. Some of these moments have been monumental. Some are funny. Others are harrowing and thought-provoking. Turning back the clock, here are a few milestones from history representing the past couple of days:
 

November 1st
1894 – Tsar Nicholas II began his reign.
1950 – President Truman survived an assassination attempt.

November 2nd
1889 – North and South Dakota were added to the Union.
1898 – Organized cheerleading began.

November 3rd
1783 – Tyburn public hangings ceased.
1957 – the Soviets sent a dog into outer space.

November 4th
1825 – The Eerie Canal was formed.
1847 – Chloroform’s anesthetic properties were discovered.
1899 – Sigmund Freud published “The Interpretation of Dreams.”

November 5th
1911 – The first US transcontinental flight ended.
1935 – The board game Monopoly first went on sale.

November 6th
1861 – Jefferson Davis was elected President of the CSA.

November 7th
1837 – Anti-slavery activist Elijah Lovejoy was killed protecting his home and printing press.

November 8th
1950 – The first jet-to-jet dogfight took place.

November 9th
1872 – The Great Boston Fire.
1939 – Nazi Germany began the systematic elimination of the Jewish people.
1967 – First issue of Rolling Stone hits the stands.
2004 – Mozilla Firefox (the first internet browser in competition Internet Explorer) was released.

November 10th
1969 – Sesame Street comes to PBS.

November 11th
1620 – The Mayflower Compact was signed.
1790 – Chrysanthemums introduced into England.
1918 – World War I ends.
1930 – Einstein’s refrigerator was patented.

November 12th
1859 – The first trapeze performance took place.
1912 – Frozen body of Arctic explorer, Robert Scott, was found.

November 13th
1833 – The Leonid meteor shower occurred.
1970 – The deadliest natural disaster of the 20th Century, the Bhola cyclone, hits land.

 
To be honest, all in all, most of these milestones seem to have little to nothing to do with us. Some do, but overall, our lives and histories have been insulated from majority of these events. But here in November we have another milestone, one that represents our community. On the 23rd, we have the the burying of a time capsule, the final Centennial Celebration Event for Evans County. 100 years from now, the future residents of Evans County will be able to catch a glimpse of what life was like in 2014. They’ll see physical artifacts, they’ll read captions and articles, they’ll turn back the clock and rewind to what I’m sure they will consider to be a simpler time. And while that impact is great, it causes me to pause and think. To stop, reflect, and ask myself, “What marks or milestones will I leave behind?”

Long ago, I made a personal commitment: “I want my life to count.” Milestones are great, but monumental milestones are better. We can make a list of happenings on a certain date, but what about the happenings that make a mark on us? The greatest investment a person can make isn’t to inscribe their name on a building or a road sign, it’s to inscribe the character–and the effects of said character–that stands behind that name upon people’s hearts and minds. Far outshining stocks, bonds, and IRA’s, people are the world’s greatest investment, and more often than not, they are the venture that reaps the best return. I hope the people of today’s Evans County are not strangers to the Evans County of 2114. Because if that’s the case, we’ve failed to leave our mark, not only on history, but on the hearts of those with whom we breathe, talk, hear, see, teach, learn, and live. Milestones, monuments and memorials are good, great, and greater, but to leave a positive mark, a lasting impression on a life and community is best. Evans County, let’s make our grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and their peers proud to have known us or to have at least known people who had. May we make our mark and impact on today, tomorrow, and the future.

By Jeremy Gove, Information Systems Administrator,

It all started standing in a Pharmacy line in Delaware this weekend. After our honeymoon in Lancaster, PA, my wife and I drove the 30 or so extra miles to visit with my family in my home state. Due to a series of events, I found myself filling a prescription outside of my home area. I stood there, card in-hand, hearing the words no person ever wants to hear: “I’m sorry, sir, but your card’s been denied.”   I knew it wasn’t for insufficient funds…or at least that’s what I hoped. Soon after, I received an email from my credit card company. My account had been flagged for fraud. They were aware of my trip to Pennsylvania, but not my pitstop to Delaware, and as a precaution, in case my card had been stolen, had stopped the transaction from going through. Yes, I admit it was inconvenient. Yes, it was a bit unnerving. Yes, it took me all of an extra 3 minutes to log into my online account and confirm the transaction was correct so I could free up my card. But at the end of the day, if my wallet HAD been stolen, I would have been very, very grateful.

But look at it from another perspective. Fraud protection wouldn’t have helped me one iota had my wallet been full of cash. When working in Marketing and Sales for Bank of America, the then-largest financial institution in the US, we had a motto: “Cash is King.” Even though we sold multiple products and services, the one we pushed the hardest was the Balance Transfer. It was a way to pay off credit cards, to consolidate debt, and even to pull cash off of a credit card without paying a massive (almost always over 20%) Cash-Advance fee. “Cash is King!”   is the mantra we heard one of our VP’s chant again and again. But then something happened. The mortgage bubble burst and the world began to rapidly change. Due to rapid reform, legislation, the CARD Act, and a mini-Wall Street collapse, Balance Transfers, and cash, moved to the back burner.

Cash was no longer king.

Cash, the king, had lost his crown. That point was illustrated to me anew this past weekend. In our world today, we are moving closer and closer, faster and faster, toward the reality of a cashless society. In the financial realm at large, cash is no longer king, and here are a few reasons why:
 

CLUTTERED SPACE
Cash is bulky and takes up more room in our wallets. It takes time to count. It causes lines to move slower and transactions to take longer.

CONVENIENTLY STOLEN
Cash is insecure. If a person steals a wallet full of cash that money is as good as spent. A person can’t call their bank and place a hold on their cash.

CREDIT SCORES
Cash has no bearing on a person’s credit score. In fact, NOT using your available credit can hurt your credit rating as much as OVERUSING your credit card.

CONSTRICTING SPACES
Cash is being phased out in several types of transactions. Most, if not all, car rental companies have a policy against paying in cash for a rental. It’s impossible to order an item over Amazon or anywhere else over the internet without a credit card, debit card, or some kind of online payment system like PayPal. Cash also can’t be (or definitely shouldn’t be) sent via mail because, as we mentioned before, it’s very easily stolen and misused.

CRIMINAL SUSPICION
I say this last one tongue-in-cheek, but it’s also very true. There’s nothing more suspicious than being paid with a pile of cash (worse yet, if it’s bankrolled and sealed in a plastic bag). Understanding the suspicion of an all-cash transaction, the government has processes in place for banks to separately record and report all cash transactions over a certain size. Why? Because all-cash is how the crooks do it.

 
I’ve said all that to say this: We can do better.   Will cash ever totally go away? No. I believe cash is here, for the most-part, to stay. But will cash always rule? No, I’d venture to say he’s already surrendered his crown. And with that in mind, here in our area–your area–we’re looking to take advantage of this change. Wouldn’t it be great to swipe your card every time you need to pay a fee at one of our court offices? Wouldn’t it be convenient to be able to pay a fee or ticket online? Wouldn’t it be easier to set up re-occurring charges on an auto-pay system where you could “set it and forget it”? Yes, cash may, in one way, shape, or form be here to stay, but credit, not cash, is the one who will ultimate sit on the financial throne. Why not prepare for it and place Evans County ahead of the curve? We are. Cash may not be king. He may have lost or be losing his crown. He may be going the way of the dinosaurs, but we refuse to let Evans County go down that path. We’re embracing our past and honoring where we’ve come from, but also looking toward the future and trying to make this area a great place to live, work, and raise a family…one small change and advance at a time.

By Jeremy Gove, Information Systems Administrator,

When it comes to months of celebration, October is a bit of an overachiever. While she may not compete with December when it comes to holidays and days off, she definitely holds her own. Other than candy and Columbus, from a societal standpoint, October has three other major focuses: Clergy, Cancer, and CyberSecurity. Ironically, all three of these things have something in common, the idea of vigilance.
 
October is something that is near and dear to my heart, Clergy Appreciation Month. I can’t help but think of the words of Peter, one of the most influential leaders of the Early Church, when he wrote: “Be sober, be vigilant…” (I Peter 5:8a). Another, more literal, way to put it is, “Be actively calm and actively alert.” That’s the over-arching attitude of October and it’s a healthy mindset to have.

October recognizes that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. It reminds us that when breast cancer is detected early, the 5-year survival rate is 98%. And even though there isn’t a standard, accepted cure, there’s one piece of advice that is chanted over and over again: “Be vigilant. Get yourself checked.”

October also recognizes that security threats exist. Just recently, Home Depot, JP Morgan, Kmart, Target, and TJ Maxx all had significant data breaches. And while we could use that information as an excuse to panic or use this post to list out several ways to keep your data secure, the solution to each comes down to a common mantra: “Be vigilant. Think before you act. Think before you click.”

Vigilance starts as an attitude. It starts with the words, “I care enough to                       .” Be mindful of your surroundings. Be mindful of your neighbor. Display pride in what you have, no matter how little or how much it may be. Be vigilant. Be actively calm and actively alert. Yes, there are personal benefits, but vigilance is practice where everybody wins. It’s a central part of building a strong community. And that’s important because that’s exactly what we are. Evans County is more than a center of local government, we’re a community, a group of people who not only live in the same area, but are striving to make it better.

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In the spirit of vigilance and in celebration of October, here are some resources to help protect your health and personal data:

Set Up An Early Detection Plan for Breast Cancer
Click Here To Learn How…

Stay Safe and Keep Your Online Information Secure
Click Here To Learn How…

By Jeremy Gove, Information Systems Administrator,

Funny as it seems, my introduction to Evans County came in the form of a cookbook. Yes, a cookbook. My first real, in-depth interaction with the citizens of Evans County was at the unveiling of the Centennial Celebration Cookbook, which happened to fall during one of my visits from Delaware. Little did I know that only a few short months later, I would be calling this area my home. But even then, I distinctly remember, as a (then) outsider looking in, I noticed something. Accompanying the speeches, the thank-you’s, the tables, and even the bite-sized samples of culinary excellence, there was something else on display that day in the Courthouse Annex…Pride.

It wasn’t about the food, the book, or the information inside. It was about celebrating the past and looking toward the future. Logically, to preserve the past, you must have ties to the past. In order to learn of the past, you have to know of the past. Archeology (the study of culture), History (the study of the past), and even Anthropology (the study of man) are all based on this idea.

On Monday, August 11th, 2014, Hancock County, GA learned that better than most. A little after 3:00am, a fire started at the county courthouse, boasting flames that could be seen from as far as 5 miles away. Property damages were estimated to be around $5 million. But the greatest loss, the most tragic loss, other than the building itself, were many of the historical documents stored inside. Due to the melting of the courthouse bell, investigators noted temperatures met, and probably exceeded, 1,700 degrees—the melting point for bronze. Paper records stored in the facility never had a chance. Several documents had been microfilmed in the 1950’s, but microfilm can be hard to read, must be viewed manually, and does not print clearly. Thankfully, some of the county’s newer records had been stored electronically. But all in all, several meaningful, historically-significant documents were lost.

As tragic as the loss may be, Hancock County’s situation shouldn’t stay in Hancock. Instead, it should cause us to look at our own county. We’ve been here for 100 years. We have 100 years of documents, archives, and history. One flame, one fire, one disaster and one of our greatest links to the past is broken. I’m not a doomsayer by any means, but I do think that we share the same chink in the armor that Hancock County discovered. Instead of doom and gloom, imagine being able to view old documents electronically. Imagine being able to investigate a 50-year-old land dispute at the press of a button. Imagine storing sacred, historical documents in a way they can be preserved, maybe even put on display…all the while knowing copies exist that we can access at any time, if needed, with the click of a mouse. Imagine being able to pull up all the references to one property or one business for auditing purposes in seconds. All of this and more is possible. And here, in Evans County, we’re working to make it happen.

Yes, we have pride in Evans County. We’re thankful for the 100 years we’ve had. But with that pride comes a responsibility: the preservation of that pride for future generations. It’s more than a cookbook. It’s more than a courthouse. It’s more than a deed. It’s a link to the past and a step toward the future.