One of Fayette County’s unique young citizens was honored with a special proclamation last week by the Board of Commissioners.
May 26 was designated as Adrian Romoff Day in the county in recognition of an 11-year-old from Peachtree City who has achieved spectacularly in the realms of entertainment and academia.
After discovering a love of the piano at 4 years of age, he began learning under the tutelage of his mother, Olga Romoff. He has since appeared in several television shows and a feature film and has performed three times at Carnegie Hall since 2011. At age 9 he was the youngest student ever accepted to the Julliard School of Music. He said his favorite performance venue was Radio City Music Hall, where he appeared for the “America’s Got Talent” television series.
After skipping seven grades, Adrian completed 11th grade in 2015 with a 4.0 grade point average while in a dual enrollment program with Point University. He recently graduated from high school, three months shy of his 12th birthday.
Having received awards for performances in the United States and Europe, Adrian most recently won a $100,000 college scholarship in the “Child Genius” competition on the Lifetime television network after being selected as one of 12 finalists to compete in the nationally recognized Mensa competition. It consisted of 10 rounds of competition with testing in various sub-categories, as one contestant was eliminated in each round before the final three squared off for the championship.
“Fayette County is filled with high-achieving people,” said Commissioner Steve Brown when presenting the proclamation. “This is one of our youngest, highest achievers. It is a credit to him and his parents that he is getting this honor.”
Brown said about six pages of superlatives had to be condensed to a single page for the proclamation, and Adrian’s accomplishments “would be the envy of any talented adult in any given field.”
The next local citizen recognized, Rick Minter (above), joked that by Adrian’s age the only thing at which he had become proficient was picking squash.
Minter and his wife Joanne were honored by the board for their May 10 selection by the Georgia Farm Bureau as Georgia Farmer of the Year. The Minter farm, which is known throughout the region, sits on 100-plus acres in the Inman community and this fall will host its 20th annual Inman Heritage Days festival.
Rick Minter has served as chairman and vice chairman of the Towaliga Soil and Water District, and he and his wife have both been officers in the local chapter of the Farm Bureau.
The family has been in Fayette County since the county was formed, and the Minters’ grandchildren are the ninth generation of county residents.
“They are some of the hardest-working people anywhere,” said Commissioner Randy Ognio when making the presentation. I’m just proud to know them.”
Staff members from the Fayette County Water System were recognized at the board meeting for receiving the Gold Award for both the Crosstown Water Treatment Plant and the South Fayette Water Treatment Plant, and for receiving the Best Tasting Water Award for District 3 in Georgia from Georgia Association of Water Professionals.
Keshia Thorpe, chair of the Georgia section of American Waterworks Association and formerly with the Peachtree City Water and Sewerage Authority, was on hand for the presentation.
“It is important for us to recognize those organizations which have succeeded in our industry, and Fayette County has done just that,” she said.
Water System director Lee Pope praised his staff for its work in the wake of a crisis a few years ago that resulted in several personnel changes just before he came on board.
“This [recognition] is important because a few years ago the Water System went through some serious challenges, and these are the people who battled back,” said Pope, indicating his staff.
