The admonition "It's far better to light a candle than to curse the darkness" might well be brought to mind as the Georgia Heritage Coalition continues its campaign to improve the image of our Southern heritage.

Under the leadership of our Director for Public Relations, Norman Black, several very favorable stories have appeared in four media sources, newspapers, radio coverage, TV commentaries and our GHC website which is continuing a very successful growth in audience reach.

When the coalition was reinvigorated about a year ago, one of our primary goals was to place emphasis on improving the public image of pro-Southern activities.

We have all witnessed our most earnest devotees and supporters of our heritage frustrated and regularly complaining about the poor treatment we receive from the media. To a large extent, this is still true, but, we're also beginning to see some light from candles we have carefully been lighting in all the media.

It's a teamwork type strategy. Often the ones who are highlighted in the quotes and the pictorial images are placed there by P.R. folks working behind the scenes. The TV rebuttal (to Perdue's flag distortions) in central Georgia by Steve Scroggins and the excellent radio and newspaper coverage of the birthday of an SCV Real Son, in North Georgia, by Stan McDaniel, are just a few examples of GHC efforts coming to fruition.

Every little bit of positive media coverage is another step in the long battle we have to develop parity, or better, restore the dignity of our ancestors and the Cause which they served.

GHC stands ready to assist in any way to gain positive publicity for all members and Southern organizations including developing stories, polishing a better PR image in your own locale, arranging contacts and interviews and relaying stories to those who can get the word out. We're dedicated to lighting more candles so there may be light everywhere in Georgia.

It's easy to complain. It's easy to curse the darkness. We understand, and we're not being critical for we're all guilty. What we are doing is taking a more positive and proactive approach that we can do something to turn the tide of public opinion in a much more favorable light. Just think what a great improvement we can have if we all join in unison, throughout Georgia, to improve this one important element of our offensive.

Light some candles, illuminate where the darkness used to be. The short-term and long-term benefits of positive media converage are just one more reason why we all need to be working together for a very common cause.