Excitement of Kentucky Derby coming to Newnan May 7!

The excitement of the Kentucky Derby will be coming to Newnan on May 7 with our annual Hats and Hooves Derby Affair!

This year's Hats and Hooves Derby Affair will be May 7, 2016, from 5-10 p.m. at the McRitchie-Hollis Museum, 74 Jackson St., Newnan. Tickets are $75 each, and you may order them now by visiting our website. Those attending will get to watch the Kentucky Derby live on big screens while enjoying food and beverages, a live band, silent auction, door prizes and lots of Derby-themed fun! Dress is Derby attire or business casual.

Click here to register online now, or for more information, contact Executive Director Gina Weathersby at 770-710-9540.

It's time to get our hats for Hats and Hooves!

Ladies, it's time to start shopping for hats! Our Hats and Hooves Derby Affair is set for Saturday, May 7, 2016, and the parade of hat fashions is always a highly anticipated feature of this event!

Our Hats and Hooves Derby Affair will be May 7, 2016, from 5-10 p.m. at the McRitchie-Hollis Museum, 74 Jackson St., Newnan. Tickets are $75 each, and you may order them now by visiting our website. Those attending will get to watch the Kentucky Derby live on big screens while enjoying food and beverages, a live band, silent auction, door prizes and lots of Derby-themed fun! Dress is Derby attire or business casual.

Click here to register online now, or for more information, contact Executive Director Gina Weathersby at 770-710-9540.

Tickets are now on sale for Hats and Hooves!

Our Hats and Hooves Derby Affair is set for Saturday, May 7, 2016, and we'd love for you to help us spread the word to all of your friends!

Our Hats and Hooves Derby Affair will be May 7, 2016, from 5-10 p.m. at the McRitchie-Hollis Museum, 74 Jackson St., Newnan. Tickets are $75 each, and you may order them now by visiting our website. Those attending will get to watch the Kentucky Derby live on big screens while enjoying food and beverages, a live band, silent auction, door prizes and lots of Derby-themed fun! Dress is Derby attire or business casual.

Click here to register online now, or for more information, contact Executive Director Gina Weathersby at 770-710-9540.

Hats and Hooves committee gearing up for 2016 fundraiser!

Members of the Hats and Hooves committee of Communities In Schools of Coweta County have already begun planning for the 2016 Hats and Hooves fundraiser. Above from left are Donna Brooks, Sally Hensley, Tony Ferguson, Carole Ann Fields, Jac Counts, Gina Weathersby, Gerald Kemp and Mary Ann Bell.

Last year’s Hats and Hooves Derby Affair fundraiser to benefit CIS of Coweta County was a huge success, raising over $73,000. Those funds—in addition to generous support from Coweta businesses and service organizations—have already enabled CIS of Coweta County to hire three new Site Coordinators and begin serving students at Ruth Hill School. CIS of Coweta County started serving students at East Coweta High in the fall of the 2014-15 school year. It is hoped at least one more school will be added to the program in 2016.

The 2016 fundraiser is the third annual Hats and Hooves event to benefit CIS and will again be held at the McRitchie-Hollis Museum at 74 Jackson St. in Newnan, this year on Saturday, May 7, 2016 from 5-10 p.m. The day will include food, beverages and live music. The Kentucky Derby will be shown on several big screen TVs. One of the main attractions is the silent auction, which last year offered everything from autographed sports memorabilia to world-class artwork donated by renowned artists—including many from Coweta County.

Tickets for the event are $75. Registration is now open, and anyone wanting to purchase tickets or make a donation may visit www.ciscoweta.org and follow registration instructions on the website.

“After last year’s Hats and Hooves, people were saying this was one of the best fundraisers they had ever attended,” said Weathersby. “We plan to make the 2016 event even bigger and better. And with the type of support people have already shown for CIS of Coweta, we have no doubt we will succeed.”

CIS releases Fall 2015 National Impact Report

In response to growing student poverty, Communities In Schools has released a new Impact Report detailing the practical, cost-effective solutions CIS has been implementing to help nearly 1.5 million students stay in school and succeed in life.

The report, “Changing the Picture of Education Across America,” features data explaining how CIS is serving some of the one in five students in our country who are living in poverty. The report also contains results of a recent national survey which found that 88 percent of U.S. teachers believe student poverty is the number one barrier to effective learning in the classroom.

According to the new report, 1.2 million students drop out every year. Each of these students will cost taxpayers roughly $292,000, as they’re more likely to need community assistance. Alternatively, the annual cost per student served by CIS in 2013-14 was only $159, and every dollar invested in CIS resulted in $11.60 in economic benefit for the community. Click here to read the full report.

CIS has a great time at Taste of Home Cooking School!

Once again, local cooks filled the auditorium at The Centre for Performing and Visual Arts of Coweta County to attend the annual fall Taste of Home Cooking School! Sponsored by Newnan Utilities, this year's cooking school, held on November 12, 2015, benefited Communities In Schools! Above are members of our own "Team CIS," consisting of Denise Buchanan, Executive Director Gina Weathersby, and Jessie Foreman.

Taste of Home is America’s #1 cooking school program, providing entertaining and relatable cooking instruction for audiences nationwide. Attendees received a gift bag filled with goodies from national and local sponsors, Taste of Home magazines, money saving coupons and much more. Taste of Home’s Culinary Specialist Michelle “Red” Roberts, a longtime favorite of the local audience, shared home cooking tips and tricks while demonstrating step-by-step recipes for the season’s best dishes. Above are Michelle and Joni Scarbrough of Newnan Utilities.

And here are Newnan Utilities General Manager Dennis McEntire and Denise Buchanan. Thank you to Newnan Utilities for sponsoring this great event, and thanks, too, to our local sponsors for the cooking school: CTCA, Infiniti of South Atlanta, Progressive Heating and Air, and Wells Fargo!

Taste of Home Cooking School tickets still available!

It's not too late to get your tickets to this Thursday's popular Taste of Home Cooking School being sponsored by Newnan Utilities at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts. And remember, this year's event will benefit Communities In Schools!

Taste of Home is America’s #1 cooking school program, providing entertaining and relatable cooking instruction for audiences nationwide. Attendees receive a gift bag filled with goodies from national and local sponsors, Taste of Home magazines, money saving coupons and much more!

Taste of Home’s Culinary Specialist Michelle “Red” Roberts will be at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts on Thursday, November 12, to share home cooking tips and tricks while demonstrating step-by-step recipes for the season’s best dishes.

Newnan Utilities and CIS are excited to announce Cooks Who Care as part of this season's cooking show. Cooks Who Care unites compassionate, real people across the country who give back through food and donations. Attendees who bring canned goods or school supplies will be entered to win a special door prize.

Tickets are $10.  Doors open at 5 p.m., and the show starts at 6:30. Tickets are available online at NewnanUtilities.org or at the following locations:  Newnan Utilities (Sewell Road and Bypass location), The Centre for Performing and Visual Arts, The Newnan Times-Herald, Bank of North Georgia (Thomas Crossroads only) and Ace Growlers in downtown Newnan.