Here’s another round of applause for individuals and organizations doing great things in the community.

Now a century old, Annie B. Marshall Rogers said she has lived a full life. “I’ve done everything I wanted,” she said. The 100-year-old celebrated her birthday with family and friends late Monday afternoon at the Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority’s multi-purpose room. The observance was the conclusion of a two-day celebration, which commenced Saturday, June 16, with family members re-enacting pivotal moments in Rogers’ life at a gathering. Partygoers shared memories of their time with Rogers, including her daughter, Emma Rogers Best. She shared the story of a time she visited Rogers, who valued her independence. Best said her mom had gotten suspicious after Rogers noticed her bringing multiple suitcases into the house and asked was she planning on moving into her home. “I said no mother,” Best said. “But I was here for about four weeks; about in the middle of that fourth week, she said, seems to me, every rat needs to be in its own hole.”

Pastor A.M. Anderson always said when the time came he would retire. The time has come. After 68 years of pastoring, spending 52 of those years as pastor of Good Hope Baptist Church, Anderson stepped away from the pulpit a few weeks ago, according to church members. At 3 p.m. Sunday, June 24, Good Hope Baptist Church will host a retirement ceremony for the 86-year-old Anderson, said Joyce Croft, who is in charge of music at the church. The church is located on Good Hope Road, off of Highway 84. A reception is scheduled to follow the ceremony. Anderson will be named pastor emeritus of the church and the congregation will give him a plaque, Croft said. John Page has been serving as the interim pastor at Good Hope Baptist. For Anderson, the pastor-church relationship started his first morning in the Good Hope pulpit in May 1966, he said in a 2016 interview. Good Hope Baptist Church offered Anderson the pulpit the same morning he was introduced to the congregation. He accepted the position of pastor at the church never realizing on that May morning of 1966 that he’d still be there more than 50 years later. He said he always took the job one day at a time so he could meet unexpected situations with the expected duties.

Valdosta State University exchange student Nicole Peckhaus has been named the June 2018 Participant of the Month for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program. CBYX allows German and American students to live, study and intern abroad for a year on full scholarships. The award was presented by the United States Department of State. Peckhaus, a native of Leverkusen, Germany, began studying at VSU in August 2017 through the CBYX for Young Professionals program, taking courses in mass media, public relations and sociology. She plans to pursue a degree in business administration after returning to Germany at the end of the summer. According to VSU, Peckhaus is active in the community. She has worked at the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce since January as the South Georgia Military Affairs Council assistant. In that role she helped organize South Georgia Loves Moody Week, which helped earn South Georgia recognition from the Association of Defense Communities as one of five 2018 Great American Defense Communities nationwide. She is also coordinating meetings and travel plans for the 2018 Defense Communities National Summit in Washington, D.C., which she and other chamber staff will attend at the end of June. She is also finalizing a website geared toward the South Georgia community. “Nicole has been a perfect fit for her role at the chamber,” said Myrna Ballard, president of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce. “She is confident, conscientious, and goal-oriented. She knows how to get the job done.”