Middle Georgia State University’s Voices of Impact Lecture Series premiers at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, with guest speaker Dr. Vernard Hodges, veterinarian, entrepreneur and author.
 
Presented by the University’s Office of Career Services and the Office of Alumni Affairs, the lecture takes place on the Cochran Campus and is free to current MGA students, graduates, faculty and staff. The cost for community members is $15 per person, payable at the door. The lecture will be on the Cochran Campus in Georgia Hall (President’s Dining Room). A campus map and directions are at https://www.mga.edu/about/maps.php.
 
Seating is limited to the first 50 who register at mga.edu/cs. The evening begins at 6:15 with heavy hors d’oeuvres, followed by Hodges’s talk at 7 p.m., then a Q&A.
 
Hodges’s autobiography Bet on Yourself: From Zero to Millions was released in December 2017 with strong reviews. To date, the book has earned 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon. He is the co-founder of the veterinary clinic Critter Fixer, which now has locations in Byron and Bonaire.
 
A native of Norwalk, Conn., Hodges grew up in Fort Valley. According to his bio on the Critter Fixer website, “growing up in rural Peach County is where his love and passion for all animals and knack for trying to heal all things developed.”
 
Hodges, who flunked 9th grade, went on to graduate from Peach County High School in 1988 and Fort Valley State University in 1993. He earned his doctorate of veterinary medicine at Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine.
 
In addition to his career as a veterinarian, Hodges started several business ventures including a real estate holding company.
 
His personal goal of teaching the underdog how to create generational wealth led to his writing Bet on Yourself in which he shares his personal life lessons as well as advice on how to create multiple streams of income, what the stock market is and how it works, and how to start investing in rental properties.
 
From Amazon: “The first part of this book shows how a poor African American kid failing in high school became a business owner and respected veterinarian. Dr. Hodges stresses the importance of making friends wherever you go, and more … There are important messages in this book about doing the right thing when no one is looking, the importance of role models, and being nice.”