Cobb Reporter

The Cobb Chamber's Smyrna Area Council has named Rose Diggs as the 2024 Citizen of the Year. Diggs, who serves as CEO of Down 7 Up 8 Incorporated, was recognized for her significant contributions to the community, particularly in supporting children in the foster care system.

"The Citizen of the Year Award is given to honor an individual whose impact through the years will be recognized and regarded with pride throughout the area as a role model," stated the Chamber. The award ceremony took place at Brawner Hall during a Smyrna Area Council breakfast.

Rose Diggs has dedicated over 13 years to helping fostered, adopted, and underprivileged children through her leadership at Down 7 Up 8 Inc., a non-profit organization. Her efforts include fostering over 300 children and providing free virtual tutoring for more than 700 children across Georgia. Additionally, she has supplied school materials and Christmas gifts to hundreds of children and offered training for foster and adoptive parents.

Diggs' advocacy work extends to policy changes at both state and national levels through her involvement with the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia. She has held several key positions such as Region 13 Vice President for this association since 2020, President of the Cobb County Foster Parent Association from 2015 to 2022, and membership in the North Cobb Civitan Club from 2019 to 2022.

Her commitment has been acknowledged by awards like the Hero Award from AmeriGroup, Region 13 Foster Parent of the Year (2018), and Cobb County Foster Parent of the Year (2018).

For further details about Area Councils, interested parties can reach out to Katie Guice via email at kguice@cobbchamber.org or phone at 770-859-2334. The event was supported by Series Presenting Sponsor Kaiser Permanente, Program Sponsor Barrow Wrecker Service, and Citizen of the Year Awards Sponsor Capital City Bank.