For those of you that know nothing about Polk County, Georgia, let me preface by saying, “It’s okay. You aren’t alone!” In fact, even quite a few of us that have lived there are limited in our knowledge of the area. Knowledgeable or not, here are a few of my experiences in the county where the motto is "where folks are friendly."

• It’s hard to meet a stranger – For those of you that know your country music, my county is a lot like the Tracy Byrd song “I’m from the Country.” Even if we don’t know everyone, it’s highly likely that we know a cousin or grandparent. This comes with pros and cons. The pro is that you have a long list of people you can ask for help if you get a flat tire. The con is that with knowing everyone comes knowing their best and worst times. This can be especially tedious when you come in contact with those vindictive few that didn’t like your second cousin.
• We love our southern ways – In a county with two high schools of roughly 1000+ students each, there were a few things that we sports rivals could agree on: mudding is a way of life, girls can hunt, and Friday night is for football (especially the Cedartown Rockmart game). It wasn’t uncommon trekking through CHS (and I’m sure RHS) and seeing someone in cowboy boots and camo. Dr. Pepper bottles were used for skoal spit (but don’t let the teachers know), and someone always had deer jerky.
• We’re a proud people – I would say that sports are the backbone of our county, and especially Cedartown. Then again, how could we not be proud of our sports history? We are the 1963 3-South-AA State Champs, and are home to such greats as Ray Beck, Edgar Chandler, Phil Douglas, Nick Chubb, and Country Award Winning artist Sam Hunt (who was QB when he played football at CHS). It is through this out of all things that I see the most camaraderie in my area.

Now, to the point I wanted to make by writing this small piece. I think that this county motto should be changed. I’m not so sure that we are genuinely a county “where folks are friendly.” I feel like we’re more than that. We love one another and come together in our hardest times, but otherwise can annoy each other to no end. We argue, but we stand up for our own when outsiders tread too closely. For this reason, I believe that the county motto should be “Welcome to Polk County, where we’re all family.” I think it fits us a lot more.