Music - Sports - Trauma

Georgia Music Hall of Fame

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

Georgia's Proposed Trauma Care Network

I suspect that by now you my dear readers are wondering why I am posting a Blog Entry about Music - Sports - Trauma!!!   Well it is fairly simple. Please take the time to read this complete Post.

" The Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon is the state's official music museum." This lovely facility celebrated the official opening on September 21, 1996 after a long planning process that involved many state wide elected officials.  The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was located in Macon, Georgia for a variety of reasons.

" The Hall of Fame serves to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of sports in Georgia "  The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame opened on April 24, 1999.  In addition to being a Hall of Fame it is also the Museum of Sport featuring athletics with a special Georgia connection.

I hope that everyone is still reading this post.  Please make special note that both of these Halls are known as "The Georgia........... Hall of Fame."  When each of these fine facilities were conceived by our States Lawmakers and other interested parties the focus was and still is to represent the Music and Sport in the State of Georgia.

Now that funds from income taxes and other sources such as sales taxes have decreased our Lawmakers have determined that one way to save State money is to defund each of these fine Halls of Fame.  Pressure from our lawmakers to have local City and County funding has been growing for at least a year.  In fact the future location/s of these Halls is now up for bid.  The City/Area that can provide the most funds will be able to have these Halls in their location.  What a shame.

Locally a group of concerned citizens has founded a "Save The Halls" non-profit to lobby our local governments to fund these fine Halls.  It is reported that if one million dollars is raised that the Halls can be saved.  This will allow the retention of these Halls in Macon for the next three years until the Halls can develop a fund basis to continue to remain in Macon.  Sounds great. 

I would suggest that each of these facilities, which have been in Macon for over ten years have had ample time to develop a fund basis to insure that they could remain here.  However, that is an aside.  Both of these Halls are State of Georgia facilities and as such I remain confident that our State can continue their funding.  Sure, it will be difficult; but history has clearly demonstrated that a Society that does not honor the past will decline in the future.  Here we have a rich legacy, a coveted heritage that many States in the United States of America envy and we desire to defund because we do not have the ability to make some hard choices.

So what does the current history regarding our Halls of Fame in Georgia have to do with Trauma?  I would suggest that the Voters in the State of Georgia saw through the proposal to require a $10.00 fee for auto tags to fund a State Wide Trauma Care Network as a sham.  In a few years when the Trauma Care Network is in a dire financial situation our duly elected lawmakers will put the Trauma Care Network out for bids just as they are currently doing with the Halls of Fame.

We The People have been fooled twice and I suspect that we do not desire to be fooled three times.  While the concept of a State Wide Trauma Care Network is appreciated I as one citizen of the State of Georgia do not look forward to any potential defunding of a State Wide System as a positive situation.

Therefore, before we in the City of Macon and the County of Bibb take on major funding of State Facilities we have to ask ourselves this question:  "What future programs/schemes enacted by our Lawmakers will we be asked to fund in the future?"

I would suggest that we all consider our Lawmakers as our servants.  Recently a local Senator was queried about why our General Assembly was messing up education, or juvenile justice his reply was words in this manner:  "You are sending the wrong people to Atlanta to represent you."

Enough said.  I would have to agree.  Just maybe we are sending the wrong people to Atlanta.