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bits & pieces Dinner in the Orchard The Georgia Industrial Children's Home is trying to return to its roots. Its Dinner in the Orchard event (June 1, at the children's home, which is located on Mumford Road) will feature a five-course, farm-to-table meal with cocktails and wine pairings. Vendors for this year's event reflect the farm-to-table concept and include Rocking Chair Ranch, Flat Creek lodge, Vesterfield Farms, Babe and Sage Farms, The Little Farm, Cane River Winery, The Saucy Shallot, Cleveland organics, The Perfect Pear Catering and Southern Swiss dairy. Now in its second year, Dinner in the Orchard serves another purpose besides being a fund-raiser. "It was successful (last year). We learned a lot. We came out in the black," said Jeff Battcher, who serves on the committee planning the event. "The other thing is trying to reeducate the public and do an awareness campaign to let people know (the home is) a very well-run facility. The kids are great. I'm out there a lot, and the kids are fantastic. It's a different place than it was 10-15 years ago. Last year was more about making people aware of the children's home. Middle Georgia should be proud of that facility." Dinner in the Orchard was the brainchild of Joy Dyer, Battcher said. "The home's pecan trees are 125 years old and have just been sitting there," Battcher said. "Last year they were irrigat- ed so there could be a sustainable crop of pecans at the children's home. Part of this is to teach the kids what sustainability means. Besides pecans, there is a plan in place to do other sustainable crops. The facility's heritage was a working farm. That's how it sustained itself. We're trying to take it back to its original roots." This year's event also features former Georgia Tech and University of Alabama head football coach Bill Curry as guest speaker. Each ticketholder at the event will receive an autographed copy of Curry's book "Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle." The home is a campus of Twin Cedars Youth & Family Services Inc. It's located on 200 acres and offers residential care to male and female residents, ages 12 to 21, who are unable to live in their homes. The home's staff provides 24/7 supervision, focusing on daily living skills, behavior improvement strategies and social skills training. The home was chartered in 1899 and was the work of the Rev. William E. Mumford, who was a Methodist minister, and saw the need for a home for indigent children who had been rejected for placement by denominational and fraternal homes. For more information on the event, email events@twincedars.org, visit the website www.twincedars.org or call Lisa Wicker at 478-474-8220, ext. 1910. F S M, GA april/MAy 2013macon magazine I 19