Circumstances change format of Education Celebration 2023

“The supplies provided by our event sponsors are a bit of a question because sponsorships have steadily declined since the pandemic,” Rahn, a longtime Griffin resident, said.

He also cited supply chain disruptions, raw materials sourcing, economic impacts and evolving Norcom customer demands that have made securing products and sponsorships for Norcom’s Education Celebration extraordinarily challenging.

He noted that moving the event from a 16-year tradition of Wednesday, that enabled out-of-town sponsor attendance, to a Monday created further obstacles for Norcom and its sponsors.

Rahn emphasized that the company believes it is important to minimize the impact of ending the event on the system’s educators.

Norcom met with GSCS leaders to discuss ways of easing the transition, Rahn said. The decision was made to deliver products that Norcom has available for donation to GSCS and the school system will determine how to allocate the items and deliver them to teachers.

Rahn pointed out that Norcom’s mission with the event was to lessen the financial burden on teachers who spend their own money to supply their students with basic school supplies. The event was developed to celebrate and motivate educators by showing appreciation for their hard work and their care for Spalding County students. The goal was to set aside a special time just for educators to be admired and thanked while providing the tools their students need for their schoolwork.

“It has been the honor and thrill of a lifetime to serve the teachers and students in Spalding County,” Rahn pointed out. “Norcom and our sponsors will all miss the excitement of being together with our dedicated educators every year at our event. It was truly amazing.”

Dee Andrews, Norcom director of community affairs, noted that Norcom and GSCS have revised their goals and priorities over 16 years.

According to Rahn, as GSCS has evolved, coordination and support of the Education Celebration has become more challenging.

“We don’t see that as a bad thing for the community,” Rahn said. “GSCS is focused on multiple initiatives to support their students through their new pillars of success. That is probably a good thing. I know the impact of time pressures and understand that GSCS can’t commit to or support the Education Celebration at past levels.”

The 16-year-old tradition has provided about $4.8 million dollars in free school supplies to GSCS teachers and students since the celebration’s inception in 2007 by Rahn.

Adam Pugh, executive director of communication and partnerships for GSCS said, “Norcom is an amazing Partner in Education. Griffin-Spalding County Schools looks forward to our continued partnership with Norcom and appreciates their positive influence. We are thankful that they will continue to support our teachers and staff by contributing free school supplies, and we will miss their physical presence at our annual gathering of all GSCS staff during the first week back from summer break.”

Pugh continued, “The decision to move the event to a Monday was prompted by staff feedback. The kick-off event will be held Monday, July 24, 2023, at Oak Hill Church to allow teachers to be celebrated on the first day back and then have time throughout the rest of the pre-planning week to focus on preparation for open house and the beginning of school. This year’s event will feature high-energy motivational speaker George Couros, author of “The Innovator’s Mindset” and “Innovate Inside the Box”. GSCS is so very grateful for Norcom and all Partners in Education, and we welcome community involvement.”