RINGGOLD, Ga. – Stacey Evans returned to her hometown to sell her plan of dedicating more scholarship money to low-income families.
Evans, a Democratic candidate for governor this year, told the Catoosa Retired Educators Association on Thursday that the Georgia HOPE program changed her life. Before she graduated from Ringgold High School in 1996, Gov. Zell Miller spoke at a National Honors Society banquet in the cafeteria, urging students to apply for the scholarship.
Ringgold native Stacey Evans, center, talks with Angela Sloan, left, and Karen Willis Thursday at Boynton Baptist Church. Evans, a Democrat, was at a luncheon for a group of retired teachers.Funding
AbramsTotal raised: $3.3 millionCash on hand: $900,000EvansTotal raised: $2.6 millionCash on hand: $1.5 millionSource: Campaign contribution reports, through March 31
Ringgold native Stacey Evans speaks to a group of retired teachers Thursday at Boynton Baptist Church. Evans, a Democrat, is running for governor in the state of Georgia. Evans was from a poor family. Her mother gave birth to her at 17. They moved 16 times as Evans grew up. But with the scholarship, she graduated from the University of Georgia, then graduated from law school, then became a Georgia State House District 42 representative.
“I never could have imagined that life,” she said at the Boynton Baptist Church. “I never could have imagined this path.”