Thank You, Sandra Deal

Georgia's First Lady Sandra Deal stresses reading.

Thank you, Sandra Deal. Thank you for coming to Dahlonega to talk about your love of reading and your and Governor Nathan Deal's passion for education.

Thank you for helping us send a strong message to the 'movers and shakers' of Lumpkin county and for pointing out that when a business can't find properly trained employees, they go elsewhere. Those words resonated throughout the audience.

Unemployment in Lumpkin, hovering around 9%, is higher than the state and the national averages. Lumpkin wants to bring new business to the county and expand the businesses we have, but we can't do that until we improve the education skills of our workforce.

Over 3,000 people in Lumpkin over 25 years old can not read. That's a lot of people, especially when you consider that illiteracy costs the U.S. approximately $240 billion a year in lost productivity, law enforcement, and unrealized tax revenues. (Source Washington County Illiteracy Council.)

"Education is the best gift we can give our children and the people of our state," said Mrs. Deal. And she is right. Now we must focus on educating our children and helping those who missed out, those who need to learn to read, who need a GED, and who can improve their quality of life.

Again, thank you Sandra Deal. Because you took time to speak to the Adult Learning in Lumpkin (ALL) Summit on Oct. 10, people are talking about illiteracy in Lumpkin and how it impacts our economy.

Ga. Senator Steve Gooch (left) with NGCSU's President Bonita Jacobs with Sandra Deal (right.)