Janna Brown Article (GA)

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http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/sports/11925770.htm

Bleckley County's Brown at head of the class

By Phillip Ramati

Telegraph Staff Writer

Janna Brown isn't the typical high school teenager, and she doesn't always have a typical relationship with her parents.

That's a good thing.

"She doesn't need us to tell her to study," said her father, Steve Brown. "Sometimes, we have to tell her to go out and practice (sports)."

Said Janna: "My mom (Audrey) tells me not to study too much."

Janna Brown has managed to find the happy medium between her academic life and her athletic life, and is The Telegraph's Martha Pennyman Award winner for Middle Georgia's best scholar-athlete.

Evidently, she didn't abandon the books while at Bleckley County. She was this year's valedictorian, and has racked up a list of achievements in the classroom, including a University of Georgia Certificate of Merit, the U.S. Army Reserves National Scholar/Athlete Award, the U.S. Marine Corps Scholastic Excellence Award and the Georgia Army National Guard Honor Award.

In addition, she has been at the top of her class since her sophomore year and was the first president of the school's National Honor Society. She was also Beta Club president, Pep Club president, secretary of the student council, yearbook editor and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and S.A.D.D. Brown even won the school's beauty pageant as a junior.

She also managed to find time to squeeze a little athletics in.

Brown, who was named to the All-Middle Georgia track team earlier this week, won the Class AA state title in the pole vaul - tying the school record at the same time - and finished third in the region in discus. She was also an all-region pick in softball as a junior and lettered in varsity golf as a freshman.

Brown seems unfazed by her busy life.

"I'm very honored (to win the Pennyman)," she said. "I know that there are a lot of deserving people and it's tough for someone coming from a real small county.

"I live in a small town (Cochran), and there's not a lot to do. I have a lot of time to do things. I practice a couple of hours a day, I did my homework. On the weekends, I could do whatever I wanted to do."

A lot of her success probably has to do with getting a late jump. By her own admission, Brown was "kind of average" academically as a freshman. But injuries sidelined her for much of her sophomore year, and she filled in the time by studying.

"She's won just about every academic award we have," said Bleckley County guidance counselor Andy Williams. "It goes to her being highly organized, highly motivated. She's not the best athlete we have, she's not the smartest student we have; but she's the hardest worker at both. I think she would take that as a compliment."

Brown was one of the first Bleckley girls to try pole vaulting when the GHSA began offering it three years ago, and she took to it immediately. As a sophomore, she finished third in state while her teammate, Aubree Caldwell, won the state title.

"I ran track and thought I would try (the pole vault)," Brown said. "The coach asked me to try it. I was the first one to try it and I really enjoyed it."

"As far as qualities go, she has dedication and determination," track coach Shelly Cranford said. "From Day 1, when she came out, she had two things you can't coach. To do good in the pole vault, she worked hard and improved each year."

Cranford said Brown was just inches away from qualifying to compete at state in the discuss: "You don't see those two (events) go together very often."

The same qualities that made her a good student also applied to her athletic career.

"She was coachable," Cranford said. "She would work out (what he told her) and apply it. She's a good student and a good learner. It makes a world of difference. ... She was a good manager of her time; when she got something in her mind, she would go and do it."

Conversely, she also brought her competitive spirit from the playing fields to the classroom.

"She received some academic awards, and that spurred her desire for higher achievement," Steve Brown said. "She was very competitive with the other students."

Brown will attend Middle Georgia College and play softball for two years before going to a four-year school to pursue a career in medicine. She said she hopes to be a cosmetic surgeon.

Williams said students like Brown, with a high level of dedication and organization, are becoming rare.

"Twenty years ago, you might have five or 10 kids like that in a class," he said. "Now, you are lucky if you have one or two.

"It was very enjoyable to work with her. It's easy to work with a student who works so hard to help themselves. It's easy to help someone who is so motivated to go out of their way to be responsible."