Bryan,
Welcome to the wonderful world of woodturning. If you have not already done so, I would recommend that you become a member of AAW. You would find there are many advantages to having the membership. One is that you get the great magazine American Woodturner. I did a quick search on the member's side of the website and found 16 woodturning clubs in GA. (Boy, am I jealous.) Not knowing GA geography I don't know which ones might be close to you. So, here is a list of the different cities that they are in: Ellijay, Alphanetta, Barnesville, Columbus, Gainsesville, Athens, Ringgold, Atlanta, Norcross, Savannah, Macon, Demorest, Oxford, Evans, Newman & St. Mary's. Clubs are a great resource and I'm sure that you could find several people willing to mentor you in any of these clubs. Let me know which city/cities are close to you and I will send you the contact information.
Steve