During 2003, the Southside Council supported the Teacher Supply Depot, continued a newspaper recycling project, and established a partnership with the Bethlehem Center to promote economic development in the Southside area.

Council President Bob Stone says the Council's major achievement was arranging for Top Flight to donate a tractor trailer load of school supplies to the Teacher Supply Depot for its opening day in August of 2003. The Depot is a project of the Hamilton County Schools Council of PTAs that provides teachers with paper, pencils, and other classroom supplies free of charge.

"Supporting the schools in Southside is a top priority for the Council," Stone says. "Nothing is more important than providing our young people with a first-rate education and producing a well-prepared workforce for the future."

In other education-related activities, the Council made a $1,000 donation to Southside elementary schools and assisted with Reality Check programs at Lookout Valley High and Howard High. Reality Check is a program that familiarizes ninth graders with the challenges of budgeting for a household and the connection between education and income.

The Council presented its 2003 Distinguished Citizen Award to Ann G. Weeks, general manager of Ivan Allen Workspace (see story on page 31), and honored Ivan Allen with its Beautification Award.

Stone says the Council attempts to offer substantial programs for its members at the regular monthly meetings. Congressman Zach Wamp, County Mayor Claude Ramsey, and Chamber Board Director Tom Kinser were among the speakers for the 2003 meetings.

The Southside Council meets the first Thursday of every month at noon in the South Chattanooga Recreation Center at 1151 W. 40th Street.