Adoption & Family Expo - Aug. 15, 2009 www.crossroadsnews.com
Section B
Single Women to the Rescue
Panelists, performers to grace stage at annual Expo Adults who have ever pondered adoption can find out on Aug. 15 how they can make a difference in the lives of the children in Georgia’s foster care system. At the 2009 Adoption & Family Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest, adoption agencies and representatives from the Adoption Unit of the Georgia Division of Children and Family Services
will be at the noon to 5 p.m Expo to provide information and answer questions. Panelists, including parents who have adopted, will discuss reasons to adopt and share their experiences. In addition, (clockwise from right) 3KZ, Lil P, 2008 Miss Junior Teen Bria Mattox, and Dare 2 Dance will perform.
B2
Adoption & Family
CrossRoadsNews
August 8, 2009
2009 Adoption Expo Program Highlights Main Stage in front of Macy’s, Mall at Stonecrest, Lower Level
Established 1995
1 p.m
Dare 2 Dance Co.
2346 Candler Rd. Decatur, GA 30032 404-284-1888 Fax: 404-284-5007
1:30 p.m.
3KZ
1: 45 p.m.
Jazz violinist Delores Major
2 p.m.
Panel: Why Adopt Panelists Shamim Neal-Baccus, Statewide Recruitment Manager, Ga. DHR Division of Family and Children Svcs Debbie Sheadel, adoption advocate, My Turn Now Suzette Brown, Placement Specialist, ROOTS Adoption Agency & adoptive parent
2:40 p.m.
Zemirah Davis, 2009 North DeKalb Mall Jr. Idol Winner
www.crossroadsnews.com editor@crossroadsnews.com
The 2008 Adoption Section is a publication of CrossRoadsNews Inc., South DeKalb’s award-winning weekly newspaper.
Editor / Publisher Jennifer Parker Reporters Jennifer FfrenchParker McKenzie Jackson Graphics Curtis Parker Senior Account Manager Cynthia Blackshear The content, design and concept for CrossRoadsNews is copyrighted and no parts of it should be copied, reproduced or duplicated without the expressed permission of the publisher.
2: 55 p.m Bria Mattox, 2008 Miss Junior Teen Georgia 3:15 p.m.
Lil’P
3:30 p.m. Panel: How We Did It – Foster & Adoptive parents Speak Panelists: Angela Moore, foster parent Laverne Amponsah, adoptive parent Terri Newsom, adoptive parent Todd Johnson, adoptive parent 4: 10 p.m. Conservatory of Dance 4: 25 p.m. Gary Harris, Saxophonist 4:45 p.m. Grand prize drawing for Jamaica Hotel Package for 4-day, 3-night stay at either the “Playful” Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Montego Bay, or the “Legendary” Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa in Ocho Rios. 5 p.m. Expo ends
2009 Adoption Expo Grand Prize Entry Form Visit at least 15 of these exhibitors* at the Mall at Stonecrest and enter to win a Jamaica Hotel Package – a 4-day, 3-night stay at either the “Playful” Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Montego Bay, or the “Legendary” Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa in Ocho Rios.
5 All God’s Children 5 Bethany Christian Services 5 Chick-fil-A Inside the Mall at Stonecrest 5 Community Connections 5 CRoss MGD/GTXchange 5 DeKalb CASA 5 Families First 5 Georgia Center for Resources & Support 5 Georgia DHR Div. of Family & Children Svcs 5 Georgia Mentor 5 I Luv My Hair 5 Kool Smiles Children & Adult Dentistry
5 Lutheran Children’s Services 5 My Turn Now, Inc. 5 Neighbor to Family 5 New Beginnings Life Changing Network 5 Pamela Homes/ReMax of Buckhead 5 Roots Adoption Agency 5 Sam’s Club 5 Sunset Resorts of Jamaica 5 Together RX Access 5 Transitional Family Services 5 The Potter’s House Family & Children Treatment Ctr 5 United Methodist Children’s Home
Name: _______________________________________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________ City: _____________________________________________________ State: ______ Zip: _____________________ Email: ________________________________________________________________________________________ Home Phone: ______________________________________ Cell Phone: _________________________________ *To qualify, you must have exhibitors write their codes on your entry form. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Your name, address and a telephone number are required to win. Employees and immediate family members of CrossRoadsNews and the Mall at Stonecrest are excluded from winning. Must be present to win.
August 8, 2009
Adoption & Family
B3
CrossRoadsNews
“Kids never give up on finding families. They all want to belong somewhere.”
Children lanquish in foster care awaiting “forever’’ families By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
The number of children in Georgia’s foster care system never seems to change. Children enter the system, some children find permanent families, and a large number of children age out of the system. But at the end of the day, there are still 15,000 in state care. Advocates believe that the only way to make a significant dent in that number is to have large numbers of families step forward to provide “forever” homes for them. Of the children in Georgia’s foster care system, 2,200 are destined for adoption. About 250 of them are classified as “special needs” S. Neal-Baccus because they are African Americans children older than a year, are part of a sibling group who need to be placed together, are eight years and older, or have physical, emotional or mental disabilities. For the last four years, CrossRoadsNews and the Mall at Stonecrest have partnered with the Adoption Unit of the State Division fo Children Services to focus attention on the children living in foster care and hoping for permanent homes. More than 51 percent of the children in state custody are African Americans, but the state does not have enough African American families looking to adopt. Shamim Neal-Baccus, the state adoption recruitment manager, says that while African-American children dominate the state’s foster care system, the number of African-American families seeking to adopt is relatively miniscule. She says many people are unaware of the plight of the children in state custody,
own. Because there are all types of children seeking “forever families,” she says all types of adults are needed. The three families profiled on B4 and B5 show that regular people can adopt. Two of the families are headed by single women and and one is a same-sex couple. Adopting a child can take from six weeks to 10 months. Adults who want to explore foster care and adoption have to attend the IMPACT adoption preparation program and work with a case worker. Some adults start out as foster parents before deciding to adopt. Neal-Baccus says For information about these and other children available for adoption, visit www.myturnnow. com.
but that many more think they have to be perfect people with large homes and lots of money to adopt. “People think they wouldn’t qualify to adopt,” she said. “There are a lot of myths about how much it costs, what kind of house they have to live in, how much money they have to make.” But she said the state is just looking for ordinary people with a desire to include a child in their family and care for it like their
85 percent of Georgia’s foster children are adopted by foster parents, adults who offer temporary shelter to children while the state is terminating their birth parents’ rights to them in the courts, and while the state and private adoption agencies are recruiting permanent families for them. The state’s “special needs” children, some of whom are pictured on this page, are advertised at www.myturnnow.com and are featured weekly on Fox 5’s “Wednesday’s Child.” The state works with a network of private agencies to place the children. To adopt, single adults must be at least 25 years old. Married couples must be at least 10 years older than the child they want to adopt. At age 18, the state stops recruiting parents for children in foster care, but NealBaccus says the children are always hopeful of finding permanent families even though their chance of finding permanent families diminishes the older they get. “Kids never give up on finding families,” she said. “They all want to belong somewhere.”
B4
Adoption & Family
CrossRoadsNews
August 8, 2009
“Seeing her in distress like that, it just touched my heart. She just wanted someone to hold her.”
Sons make her feel she did right thing
Rewards of raising siblings fa
By McKenzie Jackson
By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
When Clariece Morrow ‘s two adopted sons cameto live with her in the late 1990s and earlier 2000s, both were classified with cognitive and physical developmental disabilities. At 18 months old, Roderick was a very sickly, undersized baby, while Matthew, who came from a foster family, could barely speak and had various hygiene problems. Now, every day the brothers are doing something with their mom, which might surprise people who knew them at an earlier age. They help grow and pick vegetables in the family’s Covington backyard garden, read the Bible, swim and fish at local lakes, camp out in the backyard and play Nintendo Wii. Morrow says Roderick, 12, and Matthew, 9, are just regular boys and she is happy that she finally succumbed to the urge to adopt that she had fought for nearly a decade. Morrow, a resource coordinator and graduate student, adopted Roderick in 1999 from Roots Adoption Agency in Hapeville. Morrow said she knew he was her son after their first hour-long meeting at the Roots office. “When he saw me he just grabbed onto me like a cat and wouldn’t let me go,” she said. “The lady who brought him said, ‘Have you ever seen him, do you know him from somewhere?’” It took nearly six months to finalize Roderick’s adoption but by the time it became official, Morrow was well on her way to spoiling him. Because of his early life experiences, he had many health issues, including upper body trembles, weak knees and difficulties walking. Morrow, who is a member of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, said she anointed him with oils and took him to the Lord in prayer. “I said, ‘All the things man said that you are, God says different,’” she said. “ ‘I know that you are going to thrive and that you are going
For Terri Newsom, taking home 2-month-old Tiffany in May 2004 was nothing short of divine providence. For years, Newsom, who had been divorced and single for more than a decade, had pondered adoption. She had no children of her own and she had a two-story, fourbedroom house in Snellville. “I have always loved children,” said Newsom, who grew up in house full of foster kids and found out in her 20s that she had been adopted at birth. Growing up, her parents provided a home for more than 20 foster children. At any one time, she said their Indianapolis home had eight to 10 children in it. After going through training with Roots Adoption Agency, Newsom, who recently went back to her maiden name so that her adopted sons will carry her family name, was looking through photo files of children at the Roots offices when baby Tiffany was brought into the office. The newborn had just come into state custody because of parental neglect and it fell to Roots, a non-profit agency that specializes in place African American children, to place her in foster care. A week later, Newsom returned to the office to do more research into the school-aged child she wanted to adopt, and Tiffany was there again. “She was as cute as can be but she just kept crying and crying,” she recalled this week. “Seeing her in distress like that, it just touched my heart. She just wanted someone to hold her.” Newsom’s placement counselor suggested she take the baby home. She did after they took the baby to the doctor and she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. “She came with a few diapers, a couple of outfits and a car seat,” she said. But help just poured in. Within days, neighbors and friends had donated two cribs and
Clariece Morrow picks tomatoes in her backyard garden with sons Roderick, 12, and Matthew, 9.
to be a mighty man of God.’” Today, Roderick goes to the doctor probably once a year. When Roots contacted Morrow in 2003 and asked her to take 3-year-old Matthew as a foster child, he had been with a foster family since his birth. “He was not able to speak and he did not recognize his own name,” she said. The boy also had not been taught to brush his teeth. “His teeth were about to fall out of his head. His gums were horrible,” she said. “He has beautiful skin, but you couldn’t tell.” Morrow said Roderick became attached to the idea of having a little brother and that Matthew developed more by watching his older brother’s actions. The two bonded and Roderick became Matthew’s defender. “When Matthew would talk no one could understand what he was
saying and kids would ask, ‘What is wrong with your brother?’ He would tell them nothing is wrong,” she said. Roderick loves to draw and cook and is developing a growing interest in cars and girls. Matthew likes to read the Bible, swim and play sports. This school year Roderick will be a seventh-grader at Challenge Charter Academy and Matthew is a fourth-grader at Live Oak Elementary School in Covington. Even though they have lingering problems from their life experiences, Morrow said her sons are overcoming them. She doesn’t like to brag, but Morrow says she has helped the boys overcome their deficiencies by being an active mother. “We do everything together,” she said. “I love them both so much and just want to give them a stable home and family.”
Terri Newsom (left), herself an adopted child,
Terri Newsom and her kids walk in their Snellville neighborhood.
enough toys and baby swings to fill a room. “Everybody was loving on this child,” said Newsom, a trained accountant and a project manager. Eighteen months later, Newsom almost lost Tiffany when a judge ruled
August 8, 2009
Adoption & Family
B5
CrossRoadsNews
“I enjoy watching them grow and develop. I enjoy how they make me feel about myself. I see a legacy in them.”
ar outnumber the challenges Children happy to get papa and daddy By McKenzie Jackson
Jennifer Ffrench-Parker / CrossRoadsNews
, and children Isaiah and Tiffany watch as Javontti surfs on the family’s computer.
that she should return to her birth parents. But despite all the support and help offered to them, they never got their act together. In January 2007, Newsom took in Tiffany’s brothers, Isaiah, 7 and Javontti, 6, when the foster family who had them could no longer care for them. She said the state wanted to reunite the three children under one roof and was looking for a family that would take all three. Instead of losing Tiffany again, Newson opened her home to the boys as well. Thirteen months later, in February 2008, the court severed parents’ rights of the birth parents. In May this year, Newsom legally adopted all three children. The children have another sister between Javontti and Tiffany, who was adopted separately. Melding a new family together is
never easy, but Newson says the rewards far outnumber the challenges. Javontti, who was 6 years old when she got him, was functioning at a 3-year-old level. Today, he is in special education classes and gets therapy for developmental and other delays. Morrow says she wishes she had been better prepared for the problems facing him, but they are moving on. The kids call her Nanna, and sometimes the youngest calls her Mommy, too. Every day she sees progress in them. “It’s the best thing I have ever done,” she said. “It’s a rewarding experience to see them grow and flourish and see their confidence grow.”
When Todd Johnson and his partner David Johnson adopted Christopher Johnson in 2005, he had the opportunity to decide what names call his new parents. Todd said his son settled on calling him “Papa” and David “daddy.” Six months later when Todd and David adopted Gabriel, Todd said Christopher gave his new younger brother the lowdown on what to call his new parents. “This one over here is ‘Papa’ because he acts more like the dad, and this one here is ‘Daddy’ because he acts more like the mom,” Todd Johnson said with a laugh. “That is how Gabriel got his debriefing.” Todd Johnson, an IT professional, described his Decatur family of four as offbeat and not just because two openly gay men adopted two children. “We are one of those really quirky families that go eat dinner at the dining room table together and talk about what happened during our day,” he said. “We go out on the weekend together and do walks and shop.” Todd and David, a stay-athome dad, adopted Christopher, 14, and Gabriel, 11, four and a half years ago through a partnership of Georgia Center for Resources and Support and the state of Maryland’s Division of Family and Children Services. Todd said before Christopher and Gabriel were adopted officially, the boys were told about the nontraditional family setting. “Both of them said they didn’t care,” he said. Todd said adoption is something that he and David had always wanted to do. They first entertained the idea in 2003 after seeing an advertisement for Georgia Mentor, an adoption agency with offices in Decatur and Atlanta. “We had been together for 15 years and we had lived overseas,” he said. “We had lived in different states and we had done our wanderlust, so yeah it was time to
Todd and David Johnson adopted Christopher, 14, and Gabriel, 11, four and a half years ago through a partnership of Georgia Center for Resources and Support and the state of Maryland’s Division of Family and Children Services.
build a family.” Todd said they knew that they wanted to adopt older children. “I didn’t want to go through diapers,” he said. “I didn’t want to go through sleepless nights. I wanted a child who could articulate what hurts, and what didn’t feel good. What I didn’t realize is when you go through this process you experience all those things. There were sleepless nights. There were things to deal with.” The Johnsons adopted Christopher, who had been in foster care since age 5, when he was 9 years old. Todd said there was a period of adjustment for all of them because Christopher, who had previously lived in a group home, was not accustomed to living in a home with so many rules. “Now we are partners in crime,” he said. Gabriel, who had been in foster care since he was 18 months old, came to the Johnsons when he was 7. Todd said he and David always knew they would adopt another boy and that Christopher and Gabriel bonded instantly. “I think they bonded quicker than Gabriel bonded to us,” he said. “They are inseparable, they fight like old women, but you couldn’t imagine them without one another. They can’t imagine themselves without one another.” The Johnsons also have guard-
ianship over Dalton, who is a senior in high school. He has been with them since he was 15. Christopher, a high school freshman this year, dreams of becoming an engineer and likes to play with Legos, loves sports and has sprouted to six feet tall. Gabriel, a fifth-grader, likes to draw, is outgoing and has never met a stranger. The brothers both have birthdays in this month. Gabriel turns 12 on Aug. 8 and Christopher will be 15 on Aug. 30. Todd said adopting children has changed his life. “I can’t imagine it being any different,” he said. “I can’t think of a time before children. I enjoy watching them grow and develop. I enjoy how they make me feel about myself. I see a legacy in them.” Todd said it’s amazing how kids adopt the mannerisms and personality traits of their parents. “It’s amazing these children are starting to act like me, say things that I say,” he said. “I’m just watching them grow before my eyes.” Two weeks ago Christopher and Gabriel helped their “poppa” paint the garage from beige to yellow. “We enjoy doing things together,” Todd said. “Watching them grow and thrive has been one of the most enjoyable parts of this whole process.”
B6
Adoption & Family
CrossRoadsNews
August 8, 2009
You may want to adopt a person you know. For children under 18, both birth parents must give their consent for this to occur.
Answers to frequently asked questions about the adoption process The issue Approximately 250 Georgia children with special needs are available at any given time to be adopted. Unfortunately, most of these children are raised in temporary foster homes, where on the average of every 18 months they are moved to a new home and given a new set of parents. These moves entail entering a new physical environment with new rules, new smells, and different ways of doing things and forming new relationships. With each move, they have to sever existing ties. The toll on the lives of children who are raised this way is great. In addition to being subjected to constant changes and disruptions, these children also are being deprived of the opportunity to form stable and lasting relationships that are essential to emotional security and healthy, productive development. Besides the emotional trauma caused the child, the cost to the taxpayer of raising a child in foster care is about $8,900 a year. The fact that the adult prisons and mental hospitals are filled with people who, as children, did not have stable, nurturing homes indicates that, both to the individual and to society, the long-term cost for un-adopted children can be staggering.
about teeax benefits for adoption.
The toll on the lives of children who are raised this way is great. In addition to being subjected to constant changes and disruptions, these children also are being deprived of the opportunity to form stable and lasting relationships that are essential to emotional security and healthy, productive development. they wish to adopt. A family only needs to make enough money to cover their own living expenses.
Who handles the adoptions? Adoptions of children in state custody are handled through the county Departments of Family and Children Services (DFCS) or through licensed private adoption agencies. What is the process to adopt? You will need to have a family assessment, called a “home study,” done by DFCS or a licensed private adoption agency. This is a chance for the case manager to learn about you and your family, while you learn about the children who need homes. If DFCS performs your family evaluation, you will also attend a training program called IMPACT. IMPACT consists of 20 hours of training and home visits by a case manager.
What is the waiting period? The waiting period for a child with Special Needs can be as short as 6 to 10 months. Once the child is placed in your home, he or she must live with you for some time before the legal proceedings can begin. A case Why are they being adopted? manager will help you with any questions At any given time, there are hundreds of or problems you have during that time. The children in permanent state custody of the adoption usually becomes final after the child Georgia Department of Human Resources has spent about six months in your home. (DHR) due to unresolved family crises. Most of the children come from difficult situa- What does ‘Special Needs’ mean? For the purpose of adoption, the category tions and live in foster homes. If the child is available for adoption, the parents may have of Special Needs includes the following: volunteered to give up their parental rights, n African-American children older than one but usually these rights were terminated by year of age the court system due to abuse, neglect or n Three or more brothers and sisters who abandonment. Many of the children are in need to be placed together n Children age eight and older the adoptive category of Special Needs. To view a photo and description of chil- n Children with documented physical, emodren currently in need of a permanent home tional or mental disabilities n Two brothers and/or sisters, one of whom please visit www.myturnnow.com has a special need How do you qualify to adopt? If you are single, you must be at least 25 Are there fees for adopting? There are no fees for a parent who reyears old and at least 10 years older than the child you wish to adopt. Married couples quests to adopt a child through DHR. In must be at least 10 years older than the child addition, DHR has contracts with certain What is adoption? Adoption is a social and legal process that creates a new family, giving adopted children the same rights and benefits as those born into the family.
Children and Adult Dentistry
Kool Smiles Children and Adult Dentistry is now accepting most major Insurances. We are now scheduling appointments for the entire family. That's right, we are now seeing adult patients and their family members on the same visit. In most cases we can complete all treatments the same day depending on availability and treatment plan.
Call us today to schedule your appointment at
404-591-5665 option #2
1756 Candler Road • Decatur, GA 30032
i Luv My Hair Hair Replacement Presents
our ir ff y y Ha % o 0 % M 10 Luv of 10 ust i M t e firs rchas hair. d. u n a p ma ng hu bri
Venus Vesta 100% Human Hair “Non-Toxic Premium Remy Hair” Indian Hair Natural Body – 10” to 32” Malaysian Hair Relaxed Straight – 16” to 34” Brazilian Euro Curly – 10” to 32” V-Tipped Keratin Tip, Micro Link
1719 Candler Road • Decatur, GA 30032 • 678-276-8009 • www.iluvmyhair.net
What if problems arise? If there are any problems after the adoption becomes final, you can contact your case manager to discuss the situation. The case manager can help the family find resources such as counseling and respite care. Services are designed to support and guide the family private agencies that do not charge fees under as you and your child adjust. the agreement. However, you will incur fees during the Can birth parents or relatives come qualification process. These include services and legally take the child? No. Before a judge terminates parental such as home-safety inspections and legal rights, DFCS looks for any relatives who fees. If the child is considered Special Needs, up to $2,000 may be reimbursed through could take care of the child. Once the adoption is finalized, the child becomes a permafinancial Adoption Assistance. nent member of your family. How do I know a child is right for me? Once you are selected as a potential adop- Can I seek an adoption through a tive parent for a waiting child, you will be non-licensed agency? Adoption through an agency not recprovided available information on the child ognized by DHR is considered unlawful in to assist you in making this very important decision. You will be given an opportunity to Georgia. For more information on how an agency becomes licensed or for a listing of ask any questions. If you and the case manager decide to licensed agencies, visit the Office of Regulamove forward, you will have the opportunity tory Services at http://ors.dhr.georgia.gov/ to visit the child several times prior to the portal/site/DHR-ORS/ child joining your family. What if I want to adopt a child or an adult child I already know? Is financial assistance available? In certain situations, you may want to Some assistance is available to help adopt a person you know. For instance, meet the costs of caring for children with grandparents might want to adopt their Special Needs. The amount of the assistance grandchild or a stepparent might wish to depends on the child’s needs. For instance, adopt a stepchild. For children under 18, more money may be available to help pay for both birth parents must give their consent medical or psychological services. Some of for this to occur. To adopt a child who is 18 the children with Special Needs will still be or older, only the child’s consent is necessary. eligible for Medicaid after adoption. Both of these complex requests should be handled through an attorney, who will file What are the tax credits for an adoption petition. Visit the Georgia Bar adopting a Special Needs child? On June 7, 2001, as part of the Tax Relief Association at http://gabar.org/ for a list of Bill, President George W. Bush signed the attorneys specializing in adoption. You may Hope for Children Act (H.R. 622, S.148) into also go to the Georgia Adoption Resource law. The law amends the Internal Revenue Center at www.gaadoptionresources.org/ Code to increase the expenses allowable and choose an attorney from their recomtoward the adoption credit. Effective Janu- mended list. ary 2003, the current tax credit increases to $10,160 for Special Needs children and How do I get information on a birth makes the adoption tax credit permanent family or an adopted person? The Adoption Reunion Registry assists for all adoptions. Families with a modified adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less are birth parents, adopted individuals and eligible to obtain the full credit. This credit adoptive parents in obtaining information, conducting family searches and finding can be spread out over five years. For more information on the adoption support/search groups—in addition to Tax credits, call 1-800-TAX-FORM or 1-800- providing counseling and intermediary 829-3676. Publication 968 of the Internal services. For more information, visit www. Revenue Service also provides information ga-adoptionreunion.com/.
FREE TO GET. FREE TO USE.
It’s fast and easy to apply. Call 1-800-250-2049 or visit TogetherRxAccess.com to learn more!
August 8, 2009
Adoption & Family
B7
CrossRoadsNews
Zemirah has appeared in True Color Theatre Company’s “The Wiz” and in “Madeline’s Christmas” at the Horizon Theatre.
Variety of performers to be on Main Stage at Adoption & Family Expo From hip hop to jazz, performers at the 2009 Adoption & Family Expo will be singing and dancing and entertaining families visiting with adoption and foster agencies and family-friendly business at the Mall at Stonecrest on Aug. 15. The noon to 5 p.m. expo on the mall’s lower level has much to please adults and children. Performers like Lithonia-based 3kz, hip hop artist Lil P, dance groups Dare 2 Dance and the Conservatory of Dance, and jazz violinist Delores Major and saxaphonist Gary Harris will be on stage in front of Macy’s throughout the day. Dare 2 Dance Company, formerly the All4You Training Center, will be on stage at 1 p.m. 3KZ – sisters Lekel, 16, Kelcee, 14, and Kelis, 12, who have been
rapping together since Kelis was about 3 years old – will strut their stuff at 1:30 p.m. Major, a classically trained musician, is no stranger to Stonecrest audiences. She has appeared at several CrossRoadsNews expos and is a regular performer at the annual Stompin at the Savoy hosted by the Howey Hudson Lowe Foundation. She will be on stage at 1:45 p.m. warming up the audience for the 2 p.m. panel of adoption experts and advocates who will discuss how to become foster and adoptive parents and the help and training available to make it easy for interested adults. The panel will include Shamim Neal-Baccus, statewide recruitment manager for the Adoption Unit of the Georgia DHR Division of Fam-
ily and Children Services; Debbie Sheadel, adoption advocate with My Turn Now; and Suzette Brown, a placement specialist with Roots Adoption Agency and an adoptive parent herself. Major’s energetic performance melds jazz improvisation with pop, rhythm and blues, rock, gospel, new age and Latin jazz. She has four CDs out, D Stylin’, Shout!, All Is Good and Upclose. At 2:35 p.m., Zemirah Davis, the 2009 North DeKalb Mall Jr. Idol Winner, will sing two of the songs that helped her defeat 14 other children, ages 8 years to 15 years, for the title and $1,500 grand prize. She will be followed by Bria Mattox, the 2008 Miss Junior Teen Georgia. Bria, who is from Stone Mountain, will speak on her plat-
form issue of domestic violence, a issue that affects many families. Lil’ P, who will be performing his new single Mr. Jones, has also been performing since he was 3 years old. His first stage entrance was a print and commercial model for companies like Wal-Mart, Kmart, Fisher Price and The Atlanta Braves. His recordings include singles “Snap, Krack’l, Pop” and “In Da Hallway” released in 2006. A year later, Lil’ P followed up with “Throw Dem Deuces Up,” “Rock, Bounce, Skate” and “Mr. Jones.” He will perform at 3:15 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., a panel of adoptive parents will talk about the joys and challenges of building a family with foster and adopted children. Panelists include foster parent Angela
Moore, Laverne Amponsah, who adopted her daughter. Decatur-based Conservatory of Dance has been training kids to dance, everything from tap to modern dance, for the last 14 years. The award-winning dance company will perform at 4 p.m. Saxaphonist Gary Harris will help bring down the curtain on the 2009 expo at 4:20 p.m. His performance will be followed by the grand prize drawing for a four-day, three-night Hotel Package to beautiful Jamaica, good for the Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Montego Bay or the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa in Ocho Rios. Expo goers who visit 15 or more exhibitors can enter the grand prize drawing.
Sax man inspired by ‘Pink Panther’ theme ‘Idol’ champ to sing winning tunes By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
DeKalb music lovers are in for a rare treat when saxophonist Gary Harris takes the stage at the 2009 Adoption & Family Expo. Harris, who has been blowing notes for more than 30 years from Atlanta to Switzerland, doesn’t play much in the county where he lives. “There are not a lot of places in DeKalb that have live music,” said Harris, who lives in Stone Mountain. “It just doesn’t stick and stay.” Harris fell in love with the sweet sounds of the tenor saxophone as a small boy when he was a student at Atlanta’s E. Rivers Elementary School. “This guy came out and played the Pink Panther theme music and I said I want to do that,” he recalled last week. But before he does, he will be performing on Aug. 15 at CrossRoadsNews’ 2009 Adoption & Family Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest. He will be on the Main Stage in front of Macy’s on the mall’s lower Level at 4:15 p.m. Harris’ first musical instrument from his parents was a flute. By age 10, he got his very own saxophone. Gary Harris performed with people like Percy Sledge, Ann Thirty years later, he is maestro of Nesby, The Coasters, Mikki Howard and others. both the alto and tenor sax, but is yet to play the Pink Panther notes. is always somebody different passing through.” “I learned to play the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ and Harris says he makes his living outside of the music of lots of other TV shows, but I never DeKalb County because that’s where the oplearned to play Pink Panther,” he said with a portunities are. laugh. “I still need to do that.” He has performed with Ann Nesby, Sonny For the last nine years, Harris and his band Emory, Percy Sledge, Fred Vigdor, The Coasters, have been bringing joy to music aficionados every Kipper Jones, Temptations, Mikki Howard, Joey Sunday night at Café 290 on Roswell Road in Sommerville, Greg Grainer, Lew Soloff and a Sandy Springs and Friday nights at the Sportsline host of other artists and opened for Kim Waters, Grill in Smyrna. Pieces of a Dream, Bo Diddly, The Gap Band, and Harris’ Café 290 jam sessions attract musi- others. He also plays at weddings, parties, store cians of all stripes, including folks touring with grand openings and other special events. national acts. In May 2008, Harris released his first CD “If Roberta Flack comes to town, her bass “Here and Now.” player comes through,” he said. “We have had He will sign copies of his CDs before and after saxophonist Kim Waters and Euge Groove. There his performance.
At 11 years old, Zemirah Davis is a seasoned and determined performer and she has a title to prove it. She auditioned three consecutive years before she made it into DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts where she is studying vocals and acting. In February, when she walked away with the North DeKalb Mall Jr. Idol title and $1,500 grand prize, it was her third try at that contest too. “If you keep on trying you can achieve it,” Zemirah said last week. To win the 2009 Jr. Idol competition, she out-sang 14 boys and girls ages 8 to 15 years, for the title. On Aug. 15, Zemirah and her determination will be on stage at the 2009 Adoption and Family Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest. At 2:35 p.m., she will on the Main Stage in front of Macy’s on the Zemirah Davis won North DeKalb Mall’s mall’s lower level. Jr. Idol contest in February. Zemirah will be belting out the two songs – Patti Labelle’s “There is a winner in you,” and “Good Morning Baltimore” from the movie Hair Spray – that helped her nabbed the Idol title. Assonda Paul, Zemirah’s mom, said that when two-and-a-half pound Zemirah was born two months early on June 14, 1998, the doctors all agreed she had very strong lungs. She also had an ear for music, and even as a baby, she “hung out” by the speakers of the family’s home stereo listening to artists such as Maxwell or Lauryn Hill. “At two years old she would she would throw tantrums when her favorite Eryka Badu ‘Didn’t Ya Know’ would come to an end and would demand that it be played again,” Paul said. Then Zemirah started singing, all the time. By age 5, her mother enrolled her with vocal coach and by age 6, Zemirah was performing on stage. She has appeared in True Color Theatre Company’s “The Wiz” and in “Madeline’s Christmas” at the Horizon Theatre, and has performed at the Sweet Auburn Festival, the Clayton County Arts Center and the Georgia World Congress Center and the Alliance Theater. Zemirah, who lives in Lithonia with her parents and three younger siblings, says she sings to make people happy. How does she know they are happy? “Everyone always seem to have a smile on their face when I am done,” she said.
“Helping Families Help Themselves” Provider of Mental Health Services For Children/Adolescents/Adults
Medicaid • Magellan • Amerigroup • Peach State Insurance and Children who are Uninsured
1830 Water Place, Suite 200 Atlanta GA, 30339
(770) 916-9031 Serving: Cobb, Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Henry, and Paulding Counties
B8
CrossRoadsNews
August 8, 2009
Welcome to the all-inclusive world of Sunset Resorts. The legendary Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa is a fabulous beachfront complex in Ocho Rios, complete with an exciting array of amenities and activities including the sensational new lighthouse waterslide. Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Montego Bay brings out your playful side. Enjoy the Pirate’s Paradise water park, a fullservice spa and non-stop fun. And in Negril, indulge in a ‘hideaway’ at the chic and intimate Sunset at the Palms. Sunset Resorts for the best in value when it comes to price, choice, and quality plus a vacation that is truly Jamaican from the minute you arrive, to every exciting minute of each day and night!
Award-Winning Expos
Marketing • Branding • Networking Enroll Now for the 2010 Expos Health & Wellness January 30
Summer Camp March 27
Small Business / Best of East Metro April 24
Family & Adoption August 21
Limited Sponsorships & Exhibitor Spaces for Each Expo Register Today!
Call 404-284-1888 • Email expos@crossroadsnews.com • www.crossroadsnews.com Noon - 5 p.m. at
Showcase Your Business!
Network with customers!
Make New Connections!