Pictured from left to right: Ren Yang, Eric Lopez and Schuyler Harding

ACCG welcomes fall interns Eric Lopez, Ren Yang and Schuyler Harding. Each semester, the association hires interns to assist policy, legal and communications staff with various projects. Over the course of their internship through December, each intern will be given the opportunity to attend policy meetings, interact with ACCG staff and learn about county government issues.

Eric Lopez is a graduate student at Kennesaw State University (KSU) student where he is finalizing his Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Governmental Administration. Lopez holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations from Auburn University. He is a member of the public administration honor society, Pi Alpha Alpha, and the Golden Key International Honor Society.During the summer, Lopez served as a Graduate Research Assistant to Feland Meadows, Goizuta Endowment Chair at KSU.

His future goal is to work in public policy and analysis, hopefully for the US Department of State. In his spare time, Lopez enjoys traveling, hiking, biking, backpacking, and cheering on the Auburn Tigers football team. During his tenure with ACCG as a policy intern, Lopez will assist the policy staff by analyzing and collecting local option sales tax (LOST) renegotiation information, reviewing national run-off election requirements, compiling state general election data, researching statistics for the revised ACCG Property Tax Video, and providing additional research on a variety of topics.

Ren Yang is a graduate student at Georgia State University (GSU) working toward a Master in Public Administration with a concentration in Public Management and Finance. Yang, ACCG’s first international student intern, was born and lived in Beijing, China for 22 years before moving to Atlanta in 2010. She attended the Communication University of China for her Bachelor’s Degree where she studied Drama, Film and TV Literature. In 2008, she spent 10 months as a Local Staff Manager Coordinator for the SportsMark Event Management & Strategic Marketing Company working on marketing for the Beijing Olympics. Since arriving in Georgia, Yang has interned with the Carter Center, local non-profits and has worked on several projects through GSU as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Georgia Department of Transportation related to their Public Opinion Poll and Employee Satisfaction Survey.

Yang’s career goal is to become a management consultant for public affairs. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, watching movies, traveling and photography. As a policy intern, Ren will help the policy staff by performing legislative research, researching county tax assessments, updating the county mandated services list, compiling state general election data, researching statistics for the revised ACCG Property Tax Video,assisting with local revenue management training programs, and providing additional research assistance as needed.

Schuyler Harding is the communications intern for ACCG. Harding is a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s strategic public relations master’s program and an alumna of Georgia State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 2011. Her ultimate goal is to become a strategic advisor for an elected official. She was born in Savannah, Ga., but spent most of her life in different states such as Hawaii and Alabama due to her father’s active military service in the Army.

Harding is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society and has interned during the 2011 legislative session with Rep. Ralph Long, III. She was a previous graduate assistant with Virginia Commonwealth University’s Division for Health Sciences Diversity where she assisted the executive director with survey analyses to help implement a pre-health sciences program at a Virginia high school. During her time with ACCG, Harding will assist the communications staff by reviewing and providing content for the Georgia County Government Magazine, Countyline e-Newsletter, and Capitol Connection Newsletter, assisting with the County Excellence Awards, creating, reviewing and uploading content for the ACCG website, and assisting with ACCG conference communication efforts and media projects. 

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGA) has something new and exciting to offer ACCG members in the group health benefits program! BCBSGA now has new technology to better serve ACCG members with smart phones. The new Mobile Provider Finder mobile application allows members to search for in-network providers from their own phones! This easy-to-use application gives the provider name, phone number, and address. It also includes the distance and directions to and from the provider.

Members can easily call the provider by selecting the listed phone number and hitting the send button on their mobile device. The Mobile Provider Finder application is user-friendly and especially helpful for locating an urgent care center as an alternative to the ER when appropriate. Simply search "BCBSGA" in your smart phone and pull up Mobile Provider Finder.

Click here to view a video demonstration on how to get started with Mobile Provider Finder.

Visit ACCG’s website for more information on the group health benefits program.