Georgia Night
The 5th annual “Georgia On My Mind” night hosted by the USAFA Georgia Parents Club was held on April 11, 2019 in the Arnold Hall ballroom. There were 163 Georgia cadets and with guests, they served approximately 330 cadets. Forty-one parent volunteers and family members made the trip to Colorado Springs in support of the event. This special night provided each of the Georgia cadets and a guest with an evening of fun, food, and fantastic prizes from back home. Their goal was to provide these outstanding young men and women with an evening that reminded them of their home state and how much they appreciate the commitment they have made to our country.
Waffle House, a Georgia company, provided all the food feeding 330 cadets, 41 parent volunteers and 20 additional guests. All of the food was prepared fresh on site and the menu included scrambled eggs with cheese, hash browns, grits, sausage, bacon, homemade biscuits and gravy and a waffle station with delicious toppings. Pearson Farms, another Georgia company, provided fresh buttermilk pecan pies for dessert. Cadets also had a selection of Josh & John’s Naturally Homemade Ice Cream to accompany the delicious pecan pies. Sweet tea, lemonade, bottled water and a variety of Coca-Cola products were the refreshments for the evening. Carol Hildebrand of Creative Cupcakes by Carol generously donated cupcakes for their dessert station.
Stevenson Everett, a Nashville based singer/songwriter and runner up on the hit show CMT Next Superstar provided the entertainment for the evening. Stevenson who is originally from Thomasville, Georgia played acoustic guitar and sang original hits from his Ballads & Blues and Born With It albums. He also performed many Georgia favorites such as Georgia On My Mind and The Dock Of The Bay along with Top 40 hits. His recently released single “Summer Nights In Georgia” was a crowd favorite. Stevenson has opened shows for Trace Atkins, Diamond Rio, Chris Young and Luke Bryan. With over 150 shows a year under his belt, Stevenson has become one of Nashville’s must-see independent artists.
Through the overwhelming generosity and kindness of many Georgia companies and parent members, the list of gifts given throughout the night was quite extensive.
Rayban aviator sunglasses
Rayban wayfarer sunglasses
G shock watch
Baby G shock watch
Official State of Georgia flags
Travel humidors with cigars
$250 Southwest Airlines gift card
$250 Delta Airlines gift card
Pandora earrings
Sterling silver AF cuff links
Party Shirts by Jill gift certificates
$500 gift certificate for 2 night stay at The Crowne Plaza Denver
$500 gift certificate for 2 night stay at The Staybridge Suites Lone Tree, Colorado
$175 Broadmoor Soaring Adventure gift certificate
Rtic tumblers, coffee mugs, and coolers
Yeti Roadie 20 cooler with State of Georgia flag lid kit
(2) Yeti Tundra 35 with State of Georgia flag lid kit
Medium Big Green Egg package with accessories valued at $985.00
(2) Bear butt hammocks with Kodiak straps
(2) Backpack purses
Atlanta Falcons, University of Georgia, Atlanta United, Atlanta Braves, and Atlanta Hawks Official T-shirts
(42) gift cards ranging from $25-$100 to include Subway, Jersey Mike’s, Domino’s pizza, Regal Cinema, Amazon, REI, Walmart, Loaf-n-Jug Gas Station, Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, and California Pizza Kitchen
Lenova Jedi Challenge Virtual Realty Game Cube
$500 worth of gift cards to Hog Heaven, a Lagrange, Georgia Barbeque Restaurant
(8) Share A Coke with a Georgia Cadet Coca-Cola 6 packs
Coca-Cola socks
Each Georgia cadet was given a “Georgia On My Mind” drawstring backpack filled with a 16 oz. AF Silipint insulated tumbler, Chick-Fil-A gift card, Oh Sugar chocolate chip cookies, Georgia peanuts from the Georgia Peanut Commission and a newly designed coyote brown short sleeve t-shirt with the state of Georgia and AF wings logo which can be worn under the new OCP’s.
Throughout the evening, cadets, guests and parent volunteers enjoyed a slide show showing each of the Georgia cadets doing something they love. The slideshow also honored and thanked each of their generous event sponsors and acknowledged their table sponsorships and donations.
The Georgia Parents Club would also like to extend a special thank you to CS-20, CS21, CS 22, CS 23, CS 27 and their leadership for allowing Waffle House use of their flat top grills to cook their famous hash browns and eggs.
To view all the photos from this event go to, Galleries > Extracurricular > Special Events or click the link below.