Tuesday, November 29, 2011

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Governor’s Mansion Christmas Tours

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and Tour

Sunday, December 4, 2011

6:30 pm

Christmas Tours

December 5-16, 2011

Monday - Friday

9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Saturday

10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Sunday

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Open to the Public

Please call for Reservations for Groups of 10 or more people.

404-261-1776

Toys for Tots

The Governor’s Mansion is a collection site

Salvation Army

First Lady Sandra Deal is the honorary chair of the
“Be a Shield” Christmas Campaign.

There will be a red kettle available for donations.

Click here to learn more about Georgia's Governor's Mansion

A Conversation with Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal. She's Made the Fight Against Child Sex Trafficking One of Her Priorities

ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal has decided to make the fight against child sex trafficking one of her priorities during her time in the Governor's Mansion. One reason: her own experiences with children at risk, during her days as a school teacher. As part of WABE's continuing coverage of the issue, Denis O'Hayer spoke with the First Lady at the Mansion. © Copyright 2011, WABE

CLICK HERE TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW WITH WABE'S Denis O'Hayer

Lions and tigers and BEES! Oh my!

First Lady Sandra Deal discusses passion

Posted: Sunday, August 14, 2011

ATLANTA -- Married to Gov. Nathan Deal, first lady Sandra Deal reflects on growing up in Gainesville, the daughter of George Dunagan, an avid beekeeper. She also discusses the two beehives recently installed on the governor's mansion grounds, which are home to 40,000 honeybees.

Associated Press

"My daddy was a schoolteacher in North Georgia. All throughout my childhood, he always had a big garden; it was enough to feed us and all the neighbors, too. Of course, bees were important to have for the garden, and he kept bees all along when I was growing up. From the time I was 10 or 12, we had beehives.
"After he retired, it became such a hobby that people would call him and say, 'We've got a beehive in the corner of our house,' or 'We've got a beehive in a tree that's in a bad place, would you come see if you can get them?' And he would go get them.

CLICK HERE TO READ FROM ONLINE ATHENS...

Monday, November 28, 2011

First Lady Sandra Deal and NFL Great Warrick Dunn Team Up To Promote Child Care Hotline

Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal and former NFL All-Star turned philanthropist Warrick Dunn have something in common. They both want to make it easier for Georgia parents to find quality child care.

The First Lady and the former Atlanta Falcon recently teamed up for a new public service announcement
touting 877-ALL GA KIDS, a telephone hotline and online service that helps parents find quality child care
anywhere in the state.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE BLANK FOUNDATION

First Lady visits Childcare Network in Savannah, GA

First Lady of Georgia, Sandra Deal, visited Childcare Network #21 in Savannah, Georgia. During her visit, the First Lady read a story to two of our Pre-K classrooms. She also talked to our students about the importance of voting and believing in themselves. The Pre-K students made the First Lady a book entitled “Welcome to our School.” The students also presented the First Lady with a card and flowers. She stated that she was going to plant the flowers at the Governor’s mansion in honor of her new friends at Childcare Network.

Click here to read more!

Visit to Georgia Tech

Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal, in her first visit to Georgia Tech since Gov. Nathan Deal took office, learns about “Georgia Computes!,” a statewide initiative led by Georgia Tech and funded through the National Science Foundation to increase computing education in K-12 and colleges. (L to R) Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal, College of Computing Dean Zvi Galil, Professor Mark Guzdial, School of Interactive Computing, and Barbara Ericson, Director of Computing Outreach for the Georgia Tech Institute for Computing Education (ICE).

GVU faculty and Ph.D. candidates whose research is currently being deployed in Georgia’s school systems and industry shared details of these initiatives with Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal on Nov. 10 in her first visit to Georgia Tech since her husband Gov. Nathan Deal took office.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM GA TECH.EDU

First Lady of Georgia Mrs. Sandra Deal visits Christian City

First Lady of Georgia Mrs. Sandra Deal recently visited the Christian City campus for a tour and lunch.
After attending Christian City’s Hopes and Dreams Luncheon featuring Former First Lady Laura Bush, Deal became interested in the ministries for abandoned and abused children and seniors Christian City offers. As an advocate for volunteerism and serving the community, Deal was impressed by all the opportunities Christian City offers, both for those in need and for those who want to help others.

Click here to read more from The Citizen...

Georgia’s first lady and school chief visit Ringgold schools

Georgia first lady Sandra Deal and state superintendent John Barge kicked off a day of “school tours” early Tuesday, beginning with the newly rebuilt Ringgold High School.

Small groups of athletes, band and art students, and JROTC students were present to greet them.

Stations were set up around the gymnasium, giving the visitors a chance to view aerial storm damage photos of different areas taken after the April tornado and speak directly with students and faculty who were affected by the storm and had a part in the rebuilding.

Neither Deal nor Barge were able to visit the area immediately after the storm so this was their first glimpse of the damages.

Marcus Autism Center

First Lady Sandra Deal and members of her staff visited Marcus Autism Center today to learn about issues facing families affected by autism and the challenges that autism presents for the state of Georgia, as well as the entire country. The staff at Marcus was on-hand to educate her about the unique resources provided by our cutting-edge, research and treatment facility, right here in Atlanta. Children from the center were excited by the visit from the First Lady and presented her with a special work of art.

Click here to see more photos from the Marcus Autism Facebook page.

Georgia first lady Sandra Deal touts 92-year-old’s book

MARIETTA — When then-90-year-old Elizabeth Brown finished writing the last line of her first and only children’s book two years ago, she said she never dreamed it would land in the hands of Georgia’s first lady and become a tool to promote literacy across the state.

“I wanted to impress upon children that they need to be able to read, write and draw, just as they learn to do in school,” said Sandra Deal, wife of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. “And I insisted upon finding a Georgia author’s book to read to the school children because I wanted them to start thinking that Georgia’s people could write just as well as people from California and New Jersey. If you don’t plant a seed, you won’t get a plant.”

Read more: Cherokee Tribune - Georgia first lady Sandra Deal touts 92 year old’s book

Celebrate Blue Ribbon Success!

Fulton Science Academy students and teachers were applauded for the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence honor the 10-year-old charter school received.

Click here to read more from Roswell Patch

First Lady and State School Superintendent visit Atlanta Public School

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
The First Lady of Georgia, Sandra Deal, and State School Superintendent, Dr. John Barge, will tour several metro-Atlanta schools Wednesday. The visit follows Tuesday's announcement that Atlanta Public Schools will not lose accreditation.

Early Wednesday morning they visited students from Benjamin E. Mays High School. The purpose of the visits is to tour the facilities and interact with teachers and students.
Barge said he was thrilled the district had been taken off of probation. He offered this advice to keep the momentum going.

"I think they continue to embrace the openness they have and the willingness to address the issues," said Barge.

Sandra Deal named honorary Red Kettle Campaign chair

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
The Salvation Army Georgia Division named First Lady Sandra Deal as the honorary chair of the 2011 Georgia Red Kettle Campaign and the "Be A Shield Campaign."
Mrs. Deal will advocate for the needs of Georgians who have fallen on hard times and who need the assistance of others to start a better life for themselves.

"We could not be happier to have such a compassionate advocate as Mrs. Deal support the mission and work of The Salvation Army. She reminds us that she has a personal history of volunteering as a bell ringer for The Salvation Army and now encourages citizens from all walks of life to volunteer to meet the needs of others in our state," said Major Jim Arrowood, Divisional Commander of the Georgia Division of The Salvation Army.

Read more from CBSAtlanta here

First Lady & State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge visit area schools

First Lady of Georgia Sandra Deal was joined by State School Superintendent John Barge for a visit to Johnson Elementary School and Model High School on Tuesday.

At their first stop at Johnson Elementary School, Deal was able to sit down and read a children’s book to a class of kindergarten students. She said she enjoys any opportunity she can for such occasions.

“I have fun seeing the young children. They’re so excited and so happy and they love for you to read to them. And they love to interact, and I just enjoy that so much,” said Deal.

First Lady of Georgia Visits Houston County

Click here to read the story

First Lady Sandra Deal