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On the June 12 edition: Thousands turn out for yesterday’s opening of a FIFA fan festival in downtown Atlanta; A Savannah homeless shelter is expanding its services; And the 1996 Olympic torch is moving downtown, which upsets residents of one Atlanta neighborhood.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today’s episode, thousands turn out for yesterday’s opening of a FIFA fan festival in downtown Atlanta. The Savannah homeless shelter is expanding its services and the 1996 Olympic torch is moving downtown, which upsets residents of one Atlanta neighborhood.
Phil Olaleye: You would not move forward with this move if you understood fully the significance and the attachment that people have in this part of town to the torch.
Peter Biello: Today is Friday, June 12. I’m Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.
Peter Biello: Thousands of soccer fans turned out for yesterday’s opening of a FIFA fan festival in downtown Atlanta. The venue promises concerts, activities and watch parties as the city hosts eight matches in the World Cup. Gov. Brian Kemp spoke at the opening yesterday.
Brian Kemp: We have put in the work. We have made the necessary preparations. And now FIFA World Cup 2026 is here. Let’s kick off the celebration that we’ll never forget.
Peter Biello: And as the excitement builds towards the first match in Atlanta on Monday, GPB’s Amanda Andrews spoke to the Atlanta team selected to open the game as flag bearers.
Amanda Andrews: Coca-Cola and the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital selected a team of youth ambassadors to kick off the opening matches in the U.S., including 12 kids in Atlanta. Each flag bearer has overcome significant injuries or health challenges. 13-year-old Collier Bainbridge has had two open heart surgeries. Now he’s a soccer player himself. Bainridge says he’s excited to be a flagbearer and see his favorite Spanish players. I mean…
Collier Bainbridge: Can’t wait to see like Pedri and all that. But I’m kind of devastated that Levine Yamal is injured for the group stage. So, but he will be back on if they make it to the round of 16, which they will.
Amanda Andrews: Spain will play Cabo Verde in the first Atlanta World Cup match. Kickoff is at noon. For GPB News, I’m Amanda Andrews.
Peter Biello: Leaders in one Atlanta neighborhood are upset about the planned relocation of a monument dating to the 1996 Olympic Games. The city’s Olympic torch is set to move from its longtime home in Summerhill to downtown Centennial Olympic Park. GPB’s Sarah Kallis reports.
Sarah Kallis: The Summerhill neighborhood, south of downtown Atlanta, was developed on land surrounding the original Olympic Stadium for the 1996 Games. It’s now home to the Georgia State University Panthers. Residents say moving the torch prioritizes tourists over residents. Rep. Phil Olaleye, who represents Summerhill in the state House of Representatives, says the torch is embedded in the community as a symbol of pride and resiliency.
Phil Olaleye: You would not move forward with this move if you understood fully the significance and the attachment that people have in this part of town to the torch.
Sarah Kallis: Olaleye says leaders in Summerhill will explore every option to stop the move. For GPB News, I’m Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.
Peter Biello: A Savannah Homeless Shelter is expanding its services. Union Mission today celebrated the opening of its $5 million Emmaus House Resource Center made possible by community fundraising. Shelter CEO Michael Traynor called the new facility a multi-organization partnership to help people end their homelessness.
Michael Traynor: Medical care from J.C. Lewis Health Care, workforce development through Goodwill and Savannah Tech. Actually, a barbershop is in the building where we can do hair and shampoo, get people ready for an interview. Food, case management for housing, and also mental health counseling.
Peter Biello: It’ll begin serving clients on Wednesday.
Peter Biello: In Macon, a homeless shelter serving mostly families is adding two houses to its portfolio. GPB’s Grant Blankenship reports they were made possible by a local affordable housing fund.
Grant Blankenship: Macon’s Brookdale Resource Center shelters entire families experiencing homelessness and converted classrooms of what was once an elementary school in a neighborhood where over a third of households live below the poverty line. Now, money from Macon Bibb County’s Revolving Affordable Housing Fund will be used to renovate and construct two homes nearby in the Payne City neighborhood to use as supportive housing for families. Brookdale Center Executive Director Alison Bender:
Alison Bender: Housing means children can remain in the same schools, ride the same bus routes, and maintain friendships and relationships with teachers and classmates. Adults can stay connected to their jobs, healthcare providers, faith communities, and support networks.
Grant Blankenship: In a typical year, Bibb County spends all of its federal funding allocated for rehousing families. For GPB News, I’m Grant Blankenship in Macon.
Peter Biello: Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed a Superior Court judge who lost her re-election bid to serve on the Georgia Court of Appeals. Fulton County Judge Paige Reese Whitaker narrowly was defeated at the polls by Nikia Smith Sellers last month. Kemp today named Whitaker to the 15-member appeals court, creating the possibility that Sellers’ election to the lower court could be voided. That’s because Georgia law allows the governor to appoint a successor in judicial vacancies, and those successors can serve until the next general election held more than six months after the appointment. Kemp’s office did not respond when asked if he would appoint Sellers to the vacancy created by Whitaker’s appointment. Whitaker presided over several notable cases, including the long-running gang and racketeering case against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and others. Sellers ran for election based partly on her experience as an assistant district attorney in Fulton County.
Peter Biello: A Middle Georgia man is facing federal mail fraud charges after prosecutors say he used a scheme to avoid paying for thousands of dollars worth of rare collectible coins. According to a federal indictment, Scott Hardwick bought two coins valued at more than $29,000 from dealers in New Hampshire and Texas between 2022 and 2024. Prosecutors say he later reported the credit card transactions as fraudulent but never returned the coins. The coins were shipped to the Macon area. Hardwick faces two counts of mail fraud. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison on each count.
Peter Biello: There is a new, potentially money-saving parking option if you plan to visit one of Georgia’s most popular beach destinations this summer. The city of Tybee Island this week announced that it’s now selling $25 a day passes for parking. Until now, visitor parking was available only at the rate of $4 per hour. That means if you planned to stay on the island for a little more than six hours, it’s cheaper to use the daypass. Available online or by using the Park TYB app whenever you head for the surf, sand, restaurants, and other attractions on Tybee Island.
Peter Biello: The Georgia Hi-Lo Trail is opening a 3-mile trail at the Forest Grove Preserve in Washington County tomorrow. It’s the nonprofit’s first completed trail in Washington County and will serve as a primary venue for a kids’ bike league program. The Georgia Hi-Lo Trail is a nonprofit aiming to connect communities across eight Georgia counties from North Georgia’s Greene County to coastal Chatham County with more than 200 miles of paved trail.
Peter Biello: Freddie Hendrix has accumulated an impressive resume and is nearly half century in the arts and entertainment industry. He’s an accomplished actor, singer, writer, director, and producer. Twice he was honored with a Distinguished Teacher of America Award by President Bill Clinton and now he can add that he’s a Tony Award winner. Last weekend, Hendrix was honored with the Tony Award for Excellence in Teaching. And he’s with me now to talk about his work. Welcome and congrats on the award.
Freddie Hendrix: Hey, thank you so very much.
Peter Biello: What would you say is the approach to teaching that earned you not just this Tony Award, but multiple accolades throughout the years?
Freddie Hendricks: Well, I think the key to that is honesty, love, as much passion as you can give to the kids, to your students. Acceptance. When you’re free and you give all of those things, it allows them to be free like that, especially in theater, because theater teaches so much. My hope is that my teaching changes their lives the way theater has changed mine.
Peter Biello: How has it changed yours?
Freddie Hendricks: It just made me a, a better person. It makes me understand focus. When I was younger, I had no idea what focus was. I didn’t know what I had to focus on. I didn’t know. Even when I went to college. I went see my first play, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. This was fall quarter, my first weekend on campus. And it just blew my mind. I was like: “I finally found my people. This is what I need to do.” So the next— Maybe if that was on the Friday, that Monday I went and changed my major from sociology to speech and theater arts, a minor in musical theater and I never looked back after that.
Peter Biello: So when you saw The Glass Menagerie, did you want to act? Did you want direct? Or did you just want to jump into theater whatever role might be available to you?
Freddie Hendricks: I just wanted to be a part of whatever that was, whatever made them that free to get up there in front of a theater full of people and express themselves and take on different characters and to live in it, you know what I mean? Because I had never seen live theater before in my life, and it seemed so real to me. It was just like, “Oh wow, look at this.” I had heard of Tennessee Williams before, but I don’t think I had ever heard of The Glass Menagerie, but it just changed my life to the point as to where when I — my last year at Tri-Cities, high school for the visual and performing arts in East Point — I directed that show and it was extremely successful and it brought back so many great memories. Because I had always told myself, I was like, “When I become a director, I’m gonna direct The Glass Menagerie because it changed my life.” And I finally did.
Peter Biello: You mentioned that you brought love and passion to your teaching. And I think a lot of us have had teachers who I guess we could describe as having love and passion for the job that they did. And it manifested, at least in my experience, with teachers who were willing to stay late with me and work on the stuff that I was really struggling with. How did that love and passion manifest for you, for your students?
Freddie Hendricks: One thing, what I did, what love made me do, was accept who they were. Whatever they gave me, I accepted that, you know? Because they’re all different. And as a teacher, what I’ve learned is that I have to hone in to each and every one of my students and find out their needs. Because all the students need something different. And at first, I didn’t know that. And I think that’s what makes teaching so challenging. Because, well, at least for me, because I try to relate to each and every one of my kids. Yeah, man, teaching, that’s my calling. I think everybody should try to find what it is specifically that they’re called to do on Earth. And I think that’s what I’m called to on Earth, and I have a Tony to prove it.
Peter Biello: You teach at Utopian Academy for the Arts in Ellenwood, southeast of Atlanta.
Freddie Hendricks: Yes. Yes.
Peter Biello: You could probably teach anywhere you wanted to. Why choose to teach at Utopian Academy?
Freddie Hendricks: Well, one of my kids who I taught founded all of those schools. I think there’s like four locations, four charter school locations in the Atlanta metropolitan area. And when I found out he was there, I said, “Yes, let’s do this.” Because I was so proud of him, man. Just think: One your kids that you’ve taught started all of these four or five schools and then asked you to come and teach. I’m like, I couldn’t turn that down.
Peter Biello: As part of the Tony Award, your school gets $10,000, if I’m understanding correctly. Do you have an idea of how the school might use that money?
Freddie Hendricks: I think the school goes to my department, to the theater arts department, and what I want to do is just expose them to more things, more field trips, better sets for whatever productions we do, better costumes, props, everything. I just want to take everything to another level, because last year was quite wonderful. I really wasn’t surprised that it came ,that last year came out so well, but I wanted I want to be better. Not “want to,” it will be better this year because of the Tonys, I’m sure
Peter Biello: The students will also receive a visiting master class taught by Carnegie Mellon drama professors. So what can you tell us about that experience? Do you know anything about it yet?
Freddie Hendricks: Not too much, I just know what’s happening. And from what I heard from this past, last year’s winner of the Tony for Excellence in Theater Education, that the kids are gonna love it.
Peter Biello: What are your students saying to you about the Tony award?
Freddie Hendricks: It’s, “Hey man, that is so wild,” because they didn’t know what a Tony Award was. I had to say like, “Do you know what the Grammy is?” “Yeah, music, yeah.” “This is kind of the same thing, but it’s in my field. It’s in like, it’s in theater. Have you ever heard of Broadway?” “I think so. Is that where they do plays?” I said, “Absolutely, absolutely.” So everything is a learning experience for my kids right now. And I have so much to share with them when I get back to school, y’know, about the wonderful time I had in New York, about the people that I’ve met. Most importantly is about the things that I learned about myself.
Peter Biello: What have you learned about yourself?
Freddie Hendricks: That I’m great.
Peter Biello: Say more about that.
Freddie Hendricks: I’m great — well, I always thought that I was great, but I never let, you know, admitted it to myself. Yeah, I do this, yeah. “Oh Freddie, you’re good, you great, man!” “Uhh, uh, thank you. Eh.” Now I’m like, “Yes, thank you. I am. I am.” And I wanna, hopefully I can influence everybody else around me to believe that they are, too. Because like I tell everybody, this is like my, I guess I might say mantra, I don’t know. But it’s like, I think we’re all born great. I think that’s the gift, we’re born great and when we find our passion and we begin to practice that and live in it, we’re living in our greatness. So now the only thing to do is to be greater and that’s where I am in my life. I just wanna be greater. I just want to give more. I just wanted to love more and I just to appreciate everything around me. So, yeah, so that’s the kinda — so that’s the kinda cat I am. You know, I just appreciate everything, man. Like being here with you today, I was looking so forward to this, you know? I just think as human beings, we need to embrace every single thing, every moment, because life is so beautiful.
Peter Biello: Freddy Hendricks, thank you so much for speaking with me and congrats again on the Tony.
Freddie Hendrix: Amen. Thank you so very much and it was an honor and a pleasure to to speak with you today.
Peter Biello: And in honor of National Fishing and Boating Week, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is offering a free fishing day tomorrow. Georgia residents can fish public waters without a fishing license, trout license, or lands pass.
Peter Biello: That is a wrap on a busy week of news, thank you so much for choosing Georgia Today as your way to stay informed. We’ll be back on Monday so make sure you subscribe and check GPB.org/news for any updates to the stories you heard on the podcast today. Your feedback is welcome and the best way to get it to us is by email. Send your note to Georgiatoday@gpb.org. I’m Peter Biello, thanks again for listening, we will see you on Monday.
For more on these stories and more, go to gpb.org/news.
Peter Biello is the host of All Things Considered on GPB.
His interviews and stories can be heard every weekday from 4 to 6 p.m. on GPB.
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