By Greg Sullivan
Sports Editor

Local Georgia Bulldog fans and fans around the Lake Oconee region soon won't have to drive up to Athens every time they want to take part in fellowship with fellow Dog fans.
"We've been trying for years to get a club started and it's finally come to fruition," said one of the new Lake Country Bulldog Club's founders, Peddy Parker. "There are so many alumni over in this area that we felt like we needed to have one."
The Club plans to draw members from Morgan, Greene, Putnam, Baldwin and surrounding counties, according to Parker. The new organization also says it doesn't just plan on limiting itself to alumni.
"It's open for anybody that loves the Dogs," said Parker.
Right now the club is in the process of setting up a website and getting rights to use official University of Georgia logos, Parker said, but the club is well on its way to having things up and running.
The big payoff will come soon as the group has tabbed UGA football offensive coordinator Mike Bobo to be its guest speaker Monday, May 12 at the Club's inaugural meeting to be held at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Putnam County.
The meeting will include a tailgate-type dinner with chicken, potato salad and the like. Parker asked for those interested in attending to pick up a registration form at either Crowe's Open Air Bar-B-Que or Whidby's Jewelers in Madison and send a filled out version to the Club by May 3. The May 12 meeting will kick off at 6 p.m.
As for its inaugural meeting agenda, Parker said, it is to get feedback from those interested in joining the club on who they would like future speakers to be and also how often they would like the club to meet.
One possibility, Parker said, is for the Club to meet quarterly. He said the group expects to draw speakers affiliated with a variety UGA sports and is not just limited to football.
Once the Club gets going it will join dozens of such organizations scattered across the state and the southeast, and the Lake Country Bulldog Club is looking to get off to a good start on May 12.
"We want to have a good crowd there," said Parker.