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Steve Paysen of Toccoa was one of three honorees at the American Values Dinner last week. With him is his wife, Julie.
BY MATTHEW OSBORNE
THE NORTHEAST GEORGIAN
Local Scouting leaders celebrated a record amount of $74,290 raised for local youths at the American Values Dinner at Piedmont University on March 3.
The event was last done in person in 2020, nearly at the same moment that schools and workplaces were shut down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Values Dinner celebrates the values that the Scouting program teaches young people.
Troop 217 (Toccoa) Scoutmaster Dr. Rex Patterson spoke about the joy they have in learning those values.
“There are certain things that Scouting teaches that are not found as often in other places, and one of those is patriotism,” Patterson said.
“There is a lack of that today, but in Scouts, we teach about the flag, respect for the flag and the rights and responsibilities you have as a United States citizen. We also talk about the beauty of nature. Month after month, we are out there, and because of that, conservation becomes important to them,”he said.
Cornelia Mayor John Borrow was the master of ceremonies for the event.
Community Newspapers Inc. chairman Alan NeSmith was one of three honorees as Distinguished Citizens. NeSmith was the publisher of The Northeast Georgian for more than 11 years.
NeSmith was presented by Partnership Habersham director Charlie Fiveash.
“Nobody loves and adores the state of Georgia more than Alan NeSmith,” Fiveash said. “The love he has for his state is something he takes with him in his service to the community. … His purpose in life is to give back to his family, his community and this state.”
Fiveash worked with NeSmith through the economic development council in Habersham County and is a fellow Rotarian.
NeSmith has been president of the Georgia Press Association, coached youth sports and contributed to the community in dozens of other capacities in his role as the leader of Habersham County’s newspaper.
“Alan exemplifies what all of us would aspire to be as a leader,” Fiveash said. “He is a great dad, great husband, a man of faith who is great to his community as well. But for all his attributes and outdoor skills he has, I would say humility and a desire to lead are the most admirable.”
Rick Phillips, who grew up in Boy Scouts, introduced Distinguished Citizen honoree Steve Paysen of Toccoa, who has spoken to more than 250,000 teenagers in 12 different countries as a youth minister leading the P230 Foundation.
“He has a burning desire to help people’s souls,” Phillips said. “I can’t tell you the impact that he has had on our community.”
Paysen’s foundation founded the Hope Center in Toccoa, which Phillips said feeds 4,000 homeless people per month and provides other services for them.
Phillips recounted that large cities like Atlanta put homeless people on trains, and when Paysen found out about that, he started picking them up off the train and providing housing for them.
“He transitions them and finds out their problems, and through this foundation, he has sent people back to the west coast to reunite with their families,” Phillips said. “This is a man I am proud to call my friend as a servant of the people and a servant of God.”
The final honoree presented was Cornelia native Stewart Swanson, who was presented by his sister-in-law Kelly Herrin.
Swanson, who now lives in Alpharetta, is chairman of the board of trustees of the Folk Art Museum of Northeast Georgia and is an advisor to the Habersham County Historical Society.
“Stewart’s work experience may have taken him all over the U.S. and the world, but he always stayed close to activity in his hometown,” Herrin said. “He is spending time in Cornelia supporting many charities, churches, universities and other development initiatives benefiting our whole community.”
Swanson is working on a documentary film about the train depot in Cornelia.
“Stewart always says, ‘How could a boy not enjoy playing with trains, even at the age of 60,” Herrin said.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black was the keynote speaker for the evening. He shared several lessons with value to young people, including conservation, respecting boundaries and the dangers of “predators,” a category in which he included cell phones and their impact on their lives.
“It’s a useful tool, but it’s a pathway to predators,” Black warned. “It can itself be a predator. It gobbles up our time, it contributes to what I call ‘Keyboard Courage,’ meaning people are willing to do something with their phones that they aren’t willing to do with their mouth and their eyes.