Toccoa Rotary Club Honors Two Toccoa Women

 

 

The Toccoa Rotary Club resumed club meetings in person on Tuesday at Rotary Park and honored two women for their work in the community.

Agnes Oglesby and Melissa Plaisted were honored as “Rotary Women of the Year”. Oglesby and Plaisted are not members of the Toccoa Rotary Club, but were nominated for the new award in 2019.

Billy Chism, the producer of the WNEG Tuesday Commentary, was invited to introduce the two ladies.

Chism said that Oglesby has reared 6 children of her own, and fostered another 24. Oglesby had a long career at Coats and Clark, was the first black employee in 1963, and retired in the year 2000. She currently serves on the boards of: the Toccoa Literacy Council, Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, Neighbors4Neighbors, and the Northeast Georgia Housing Authority. Oglesby served for 30 years and recently resigned from the Stephens County Elections Board, and in 2017 won the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award.

Oglesby said she appreciated the honor from the Rotary Club. “It was great. I just appreciate people thinking about the small things that I do. I don’t do it for recognition, I do it for other people, and someday I will get my reward for that.”

(L-R Oglesby, Toccoa Rotary Pres. Leon Womack, Plaisted)

Plaisted was an educator for almost 30 years, most of those in the Stephens County School System including being recognized as the system “Teacher of the Year”. Chism told the club that he was recently having a conversation with his daughter and asked who was her favorite teacher growing up and without hesitation she said “Mrs. Plaisted”.

Plaisted also appreciated the recognition from the club “I was very honored and I appreciate the Rotary Club and all they do for the community.”

In retirement, Plaisted has been involved as an advocate with CASA, the Paul Anderson Memorial Park, the Currahee Military Museum, the City of Toccoa ABC Board, and active at the Toccoa First United Methodist Church.