Roofing Contractor inAugusta, GA.

Most Masters ticket scalpers on Washington Road have generic signs that say “tickets needed” or “buy/sell tickets.”

But Jimmy Dizoglio’s proudly decalres “Jimmy D’s Tickets” with an arrow pointing to his tent in front of Augusta Best Inn, which lets him rent out the roadside and a couple of rooms.

“I’ve been coming here for about 30 years, so everyone knows who we are,” he said.

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Dizoglio, whose home base is in Miami, travels to sporting events throughout the year for his business, including the Super Bowl and The Daytona 500, but he says the Masters is the best for business.

“This is the top event in the world in my opinion,” he said.

While the Augusta National is the only authorized seller of Masters tickets, brokering tickets is legal as long as the buyers and sellers have their correct paperwork and are not within the 2,700 feet of the tournament.

“I don’t know how [the Augusta National] feels,” Dizoglio said. “It’s a sensitive topic, but they understand commerce more than anyone.”

This year, ticket prices are higher than usual for the brokers, but business is still good, Dizoglio said. Single-day entry tickets can run in price from $800 to $1,600 this year, depending on factors like whether its a weekday or weekend ticket.

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“There’s no such thing as a bad Masters,” he said about business this year.

Buyers that come by his tent come from all over the world for the chance to claim a ticket to enter the Masters grounds, he said.

“I’ve had people from Siberia, Senegal, everywhere,” Dizoglio said.

Some visitors want a ticket for entry at the end of the day just for the chance to purchase Masters merchandise, he said.

“It’s a very scarce ticket,” Dizoglio said. “It’s a lot of people’s dream to go even for just an hour.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s a building older than just about anyone else in Augusta.

We’re talking about the Lamar Building, more than 100 years old in the heart of downtown Augusta.

Over the last three years, we’ve heard about plans to restore it. Now that reality is closer than ever. There’s a lot of work being done, and city leaders say this is going to be a catalyst for downtown.

“No disrespect to any contractors in the 21st century, but people really knew how to build a building back then. This place is solid. It’s it could survive anything,” said Frank Farricker.

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Farricker is the developer for Lamar Augusta LLC. His crews are taking on the challenge of restoring this 19-story, 238-foot building to its original look.

“We knew that returning this project back to the community with the lights on and people going through it as they have for 100 years was a project that was really going to make a difference,” he said.

It’ll include 76 apartments, along with restaurants, and shopping on the bottom floors.

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Margaret Woodard is the executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. She said, “It just makes downtown more vibrant. That’s the largest housing project on Broad Street to date, so it’ll be exciting to see that get underway.”

Woodard says this project will add 100 to 200 people living downtown. It’ll add to the already impressive resume of growing housing projects and new businesses on the Broad Street corridor.

“It’s just a historic, beautiful building. It’s going to be great to see the lights come back on,” she said.

Farricker said: “What we do know is when this building is up and running, it is going to be a catalyst not just for that end of Broad Street, but the whole city as a whole.”

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Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was love at first sight. When Christopher and Elizabeth Cawley first met in 2017, their paths were already entwined.

On May 12, they will both graduate from Augusta University’s College of Nursing with Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees, and later this month, they will celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary.

About Elizabeth

Elizabeth, originally from North Georgia, began her college career at Berry College as a standout cheerleader and student. A serious accident during cheer turned into medical leave from school, causing her to lose her scholarship and have to move in a short amount of time. Her sister, Brooke Schermerhorn, was a second-year medical student at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, so Elizabeth packed her bags and moved to Augusta.

In high school, Elizabeth had been admitted into AU’s Honors Program. On her first day in Augusta, she walked into the admissions office, transcripts in hand, in hopes of becoming a Jaguar that day, as classes for the semester had already begun.

Elizabeth was a pre-nursing major at Berry and planned to do the same at AU. After settling in Augusta, she began a patient care technician job at Children’s Hospital of Georgia in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) while she worked toward completing her pre-nursing core.

Schermerhorn had been dating Jonathan Kimbrell, and the two married April 1, 2017. Kimbrell just so happened to be one of Chris’s best friends. At their wedding, Elizabeth, who is not normally so forward, walked right up to Chris, handed him a rose and said, “You will dance with me tonight!”

The two began a whirlwind romance and were married the next year.

About Christopher

Chris, born and raised in Augusta, began his AU career in 2015 as a pre-nursing major but as an “unmotivated” student, he said. He soon took a break, attended Augusta Tech to become a certified paramedic and started working for Gold Cross, eventually joining the staff at AU Health in the emergency room.

Right before COVID, Chris was feeling a little burned out in the health professions field. He then became a certified commercial real estate agent and worked with Blanchard and Calhoun for a year.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity, and B&C was wonderful to work for, but my heart wasn’t in it,” Chris said. “I knew I had to go back to nursing.”

The Cawleys acknowledge that going through the nursing program together was not the original plan, but they knew it was a possibility. As it happened, they both completed their core classes and were accepted in the same cohort.

Their path to graduation has been anything but straight, though they both agree, this is normal.

Chris said, “We have classmates who are 21 and 22 and finishing college in four years, but we have classmates in their mid- to late 20s, 30s, even 40s that are graduating alongside us. That’s part of the appeal of the nursing program here; you don’t have to be a certain age or at a certain point in your life to become a nurse.”

They both agreed that going through the program together helped them develop a professional relationship separate from their personal relationship.

Elizabeth added, “It strengthened us.”

In the program

In the Community Health class, the Cawleys are part of a group led by Colleen Walters, DNP, in coordination with members of Robert Gordon University in Scotland and UGA’s College of Pharmacy to study Hancock County — one of the most medically underserved communities in the state. The groups met last month to go over case studies and discuss plans to help bridge the gap of care.

“It’s interesting to investigate how two completely different health care systems approach the same problem. Telehealth will help with access to care,” Chris said. “Everyone talks about first semester of the nursing program being the toughest, but second semester is brutal! Luckily, we have had so many great professors.”

“On our first exam in Diane Robillard’s, DNP, class in second semester, she wrote the passcode for the exam on the board — ‘future nurse 2023’ — and we all were instantly lifted up. She’s a bright light and very encouraging,” Elizabeth said.

Both agree that their life experiences made them better students in the program and will make them better nurses after graduation. Having each other’s support through classes, practicum and clinicals was beneficial to the Cawleys.

“You have someone who understands exactly what you are going through in such an intimate way,” said Chris.

After graduation, the Cawleys, along with some classmates, are taking a break and going on a cruise. They both plan to take the National Council Licensure Examination about a month after graduation. Both already have jobs lined up, as well, in the Children’s Hospital of Georgia’s PICU.

While a natural fit for Elizabeth, since she was already on staff as a patient care technician, Chris learned to love the PICU after having his practicum there.

He described how learning about Tracey Puig-Baker, PhD, and her similar non-traditional route into nursing encouraged him. “She told me, ‘I think you should try out the ICU.’”

“It’s been fun as he transitions to pediatrics,” Elizabeth said. “He now understands everything that I had been saying about it as a PCT. He gets it now.”

Chris will begin his career at Children’s as soon as he passes the NCLEX, while Elizabeth has decided to take a break and will begin in August. The Cawleys live in Augusta with their two dogs, Greta and Sadie.

Elizabeth and Chris agree that the nursing staff and nursing management in the PICU at Children’s were one of their top motivations for seeking a job there.

“They are incredible!” exclaimed Chris.

AU HealthChildren's Hospital of GeorgiaChristopher CawleyColleen WaltersCollege of NursingDiane RobillardElizabeth Cawleyhomepagejag homepageMedical College of GeorgiaRobert Gordon UniversitySpring 2023 CommencementTracey Puig-BakerUGA College of Pharmacy

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – For the first time in more than two decades, the Augusta Regional Airport will have an air show the weekend of May 13th.

The last time Augusta had an air show was in 2000, and it caused a pretty major traffic jam. Organizers we spoke to said they’re hoping to avoid that this year.

“Part of the planning here is to look at our actual acreage and the layout of what we can actually accommodate as far as cars and then the number of people in those cars,” said Lauren Smith, the Assistant Director of Public Relations for Augusta Regional Airport. “So, I think this year we have a good plan established and I’m confident that things will run smoothly.”

Performers like the famous Air Force Thunderbirds will be in the show, and they’re looking forward to showing people of all ages what they’re all about.

“We always want to spread our mission,” said Major Eric Tise, Thunderbird 6. “It’s recruit, retain and inspire. The things we do – we practice all winter, we fly six days a week, two times a day, so we put a lot of work into our show and we’re hoping a lot of people come out to see it.”

The city is expecting around 26,000 people to attend the two-day event, which is significantly less than previous years.

But, organizers believe this has been a long time coming.

“There’s people starved for another air show to come out here,” said Chris Dirato, the Director of Public Relations for the Augusta Air Show. “So, obviously there were logistical things that we had to work through, but we’re happy to be here and we hope that this infuses the economy a little bit.”

According to Destination Augusta, the air show is estimated to raise over $170,000.

“They’re going to be staying in Augusta and visiting all the different restaurants and businesses,” Lauren Smith said. “As well as people coming from all over the region to see an air show. So we’re going to be having a lot of people coming out to watch this.”

And Major Tise, a Georgia native, said he’s just happy to be performing in the Garden City.

“We’re excited to be here, and we’re trying to put on the best show we can and we hope a lot of people come out and see it,” he said. “But yeah, any chance we get to come back to Georgia, I would love that being from here.”

The Air Show will be on Saturday and Sunday starting at 11:30 am. For more information on who will be performing and how to get tickets, click here.

Skies roared over Augusta Regional Airport even louder than normal Monday as jets flew in perfect formation back-and-forth through the air going hundreds of miles an hour and flying just a few feet from each other.

This was just a teaser for the thrills and chills that are emblematic of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds who will be headlining the Augusta Air Show coming to the airport May 13-14.

The Thunderbirds have provided beloved aeronautic stunts for nearly 70 years, but Maj. Jake ”Primo” Impellizzeri described how they have completely redesigned their show.

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“We’ve redesigned it to mirror like a Disney fireworks display,” he said. ”Between the music and narration, it’s more of a performance. It’s faster, it’s tighter. We put a lot more stuff in front of the crowd.”

Impellizzeri recalls watching the Thunderbirds as a kid in Cincinnati and how it feels to be the one bringing that inspiration to children today.

“Seeing those little kids out there, especially after the show when we go to the autograph line … if we can get that one kid to give the best portion of himself to something bigger than himself, than our mission is accomplished,” he said.

The air show will feature many more acts such as demonstrations from F-16 Vipers, attack helicopters and wing suit flyers.

Augusta Regional has not seen a show like this in several years. Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson, who was at Monday’s preview, applauded the possibilities available for the airport and the surrounding area.

“This air show gives us a great opportunity to show off all of the wonderful things we’re doing in Augusta,” Johnson said. ”We have all of the tools here at this airport to accommodate your flying.”

Roads will be monitored to prevent nonpaying viewers from parking along the outer fence. Parking will be available right next to the seating and shuttles will be on site for handicapped guests.

Ticket prices and other relevant information is available online at augustaairshow.com.