VALDOSTA — Be counted was the call to action at Tuesday’s 2010 census kick-off event.

Census Steering Committee Co-chairmen Sam Allen and James McGahee stressed the importance of counting everyone in the community.

“It would be nice for Rhode Island to pay for transportation in Valdosta,” Allen said.

The more people counted in Lowndes County the greater the opportunity for more tax dollars to be funneled into the area, he said.

These tax dollars help education, health care and even senior citizens, Allen said.

Getting an accurate count affects every aspect of the community.

“It affects our community’s future, our country’s future and your future,” Allen said.

An effective count can ensure the area receives a large portion of more than $400 billion in federal funds distributed annually, he said.

The 2000 census helped designate the area as a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

An accurate population count protects the MSA status and ensures future growth, McGahee said.

The census data will also determine how the area is represented at a state and national level, he said.

Growth in Atlanta could dilute the representation in South Georgia, which is why an accurate count is needed, he said.

State Senator Tim Golden (D-Valdosta) told those in attendance to forget the politics of area representatives but that census data affects reapportionment and could add another representative to the area.

At the state level, the fight is not between Democrats and Republicans but rather urban versus rural and it is critically important there is adequate representation in South Georgia, he said. Rev. Fer-Rell Malone Sr., partnership specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s South Georgia Field Division, gave a brief history of the census. The census provides quality, confidential data about the nation’s people and economy, Malone said.

The first national census was conducted in August 1790 by federal marshals, which resulted in a count of 3.9 million inhabitants. The census now takes into account data covering housing, population, manufacturing, agriculture and mortality.