Horizons - August 2015

4A | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2015

Horizons

A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce

Prestige Members

Network on the Course

Northside Hospital-Forsyth Premier Corporate Sponsor

Forsyth County Government

The City of Cumming

DeKalb Office

The Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce its 28th annual Chamber Golf Tournament on Monday, September 14, 2015, presented by Northside HospitalForsyth. As one of the Chamber’s hallmark events, the tournament will be held at Windermere Golf Club located at 5000 Davis Love

Drive, Cumming, GA 30041. The Chamber’s tournament is the perfect opportunity to get out of the office, have fun and network with other business professionals.

The tournament cost is $200 per player, $800 per foursome. This event historically sells out quickly so reserve your spot early by visiting www.cummingforsythcham-

ber.org or by calling 770-8876461. The entry fee includes cart and green fees, lunch, beverages, a participant gift and awards festivities.

Come out and hit the links with tournament sponsors, local elected officials and fellow Chamber members.

New Face at the Chamber Join the Chamber in welcoming Kerry Campbell, interim Vice President of Economic Development. Kerry joins the Chamber team after Randall Toussaint, former Vice President o f E c o n o m i c D eve l o p m e n t , relocated with his family to Washington, D.C. During his tenure, Randall succeeded in bringing thousands of new jobs and over $350 million in new capital investment to the community. Randall will be sorely missed both at the Chamber and in the community.

However, the Chamber’s economic development efforts have been placed in very capable hands.

Kerry Campbell, a local Forsyth County resident, retired from Georgia Power several years ago where he served as manager of community development. While the Chamber will certainly benefit from Campbell’s expertise, he sees the interim role as an exciting personal opportunity as well.

Taubman

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Lou Sobh Honda

Digitel Corporation

Georgia Power

Alpharetta Children’s Dentistry

Kaiser Permanente

Atlanta Landscape Group

Month in Review

File photo

The Chamber is excited to introduce Kerry Campbell, interim Vice President of Economic Development.

“I thought about it as a very unique opportunity. Because living in a county and not really knowing the leaders, not knowing the infrastructure that is there, I thought it would give me a unique opportuni-

ty to learn about this community I live in,” commented Campbell.

Kerry can be reached at kcampbell@cummingforsythchamber. org.

The 2015 Business Expo

Join the Chamber at HONOR2LEAD The Chamber is excited to announce a leadership training opportunity for all Chamber members provided by the Chamber’s partnership with Honor2Lead, the University of North Georgia and Cumming First United Methodist Church.

As a benefit to its members, the Chamber will present the Honor2Lead global simulcast on Friday, September 25, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.at Cumming First United Methodist Church (located at 770 Canton Highway in Cumming). The simulcast will feature six renowned leadership experts including Dr. John Maxwell, the CEOs of FedEx and Local Motors, the CIO of Aflac and Major General Stayce Harris and Lieutenant General James Terry.

The event will broadcast live from the Dahlonega campus of the University of North Georgia. To participate in this event register free of charge by visiting the Chamber’s website at www.cummingforsythchamber.org or by calling 770-887-6461.

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City honors veterans Flags unfurled for Memorial Day

By Crystal Ledford

cledford@forsythnews.com Micah Green Forsyth County News

Soldiers release doves Friday during the Memorial Day ceremony at the Veteran’s Memorial in Cumming.

Eleven more veterans have joined the ranks of those who are honored by the city of Cumming every Memorial Day weekend.

On Friday, city leaders held their annual holiday observance at the Veterans War Memorial.

As part of the ceremony, the families of the 11 deceased veterans unfurled flags in their memory, joining the city’s Avenue of Flags along

Veterans Memorial Boulevard across from the Cumming Fairgrounds.

Each year, during Memorial and Veterans Day events, the Avenue of Flags is displayed. Each American flag represents one or more veterans from the Forsyth County area.

The display has grown to include more than 200 flags, which are See VETERANS | 5A

Teachers Last day excitement finish up first year edUCAtIoN

Feel mix of relief, accomplishment

By Jennifer Sami

jsami@forsythnews.com

Photos by Micah Green Forsyth County News

Kaitlyn Woodcock and Raine Wilson, second-graders at Chestatee Elementary, wait for the bus to pull out Friday, the last day of school before summer vacation.

Chestatee Elementary teachers wave goodbye to their students Friday as they head home for summer vacation. The 2014-15 school year begins on Aug. 7.

As they approach the end of their first school year as teachers, Megan Barton and Kendall Robinson are both tired and inspired.

It’s been a year of learning. It’s been a year of firsts. But both young educators said they are more confident in their career decisions now than they were on the first day back in August.

As part of an occasional series, the Forsyth County News has followed Barton and Robinson throughout the school year. For the final installment, the FCN caught up with them last week as they prepared to release students Friday for summer vacation.

Megan Barton Barton is going to miss her first fourth-grade class at Midway Elementary, whom she said taught her so much during her first year as a teacher.

They were a great group to learn from and one that she’s really “grown to love.” Their parents have been even more helpful and generous during her first year, according to Barton.

As she heads back for a few days of post planning this week before her summer officially begins, Barton paused to reflect on the past 10 months.

“It’s definitely been a learning year for me, but it went really well,” she said. “You never have another first year ... I’ve experienced See TEACHERS | 5A

Optimists award scholarships Recipients include students from each public high school

By Crystal Ledford

cledford@forsythnews.com Crystal Ledford Forsyth County News

West Forsyth senior Carlos Lopez, center, receives a scholarship from Forsyth-Cumming Optimist Club member Mike Miller on Thursday as teacher, Erik Moore, right, watches.

Members of the Forsyth-Cumming Optimist Club awarded $10,000 in scholarships during a meeting Thursday.

The club honored 10 members of the class of 2014 from all five of

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Forsyth’s public high schools.

Bob Flowers, vice president of the club, said most of the funding for the scholarship program comes from the club’s Avenue of Flags program, in which club members places American flags in front of homes or businesses on certain holidays.

“All the flags you see in neighborhoods that are about to pop up over this weekend, that’s our doing and that’s how we fund these scholarships,” Flowers said.

For a fee of about $35 a year, the See OPTIMISTS | 5A

Jennifer Sami Forsyth County School

Midway Elementary teacher Megan Barton is nearing the end of her first year as a teacher.

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ForsythNews.com | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | 5A

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2015

Horizons

Presented by

A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce

Upcoming Events

Cyclical Economic Development

Sept. 1

An excerpt from Chamber Intern, Dan Boling’s Internship Culmination Essay

Women Who Mean Business7:30 a.m., The Rustic Vineyard

Sept. 1 Member Power Networking Lunch11:30 a.m., Tam’s Backstage

Sept. 8 HR Academy 9:00 a.m., Forsyth Conference Center

Sept. 10 Business After Hours5:00 p.m., Holiday Inn Express & Suites

Sept. 14 Annual Golf Tournament 9:00 a.m., Windermere Golf Club

Sept. 15 Member Power Networking Lunch11:30 a.m., Fox’s Pizza Den

Sept. 17 BAR Lunch & Learn11:30 a.m., UNG- Cumming Campus

Sept. 22 Member Power Networking Lunch11:30 a.m., Panera Bread Company

Sept. 25 Manufacturer’s Roundtable9:00 a.m., Forsyth Conference Center

Sept. 29 Member Power Networking LunchNoon, Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q

Key to the events Member Power Networking Lunch — Meets every Tuesday at noon at a different location and includes casual networking for 20-35 other business professionals.

Business After Hours — Meets the second Tuesday of every month from 5-7 p.m. at a different host location every month. The purpose is networking and to experience new businesses in the community.

Women Who Mean Business — Meets the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 a.m.

This is a specialized networking group of over 50 female business professionals. Join them for breakfast.

• Please visit our Event’s Calendar at www.cummingforsythchamber.org to see a full list of events, more information and registration.

Change is something we, as humans go through every day. It is often uncomfortable, but usually puts us in a better place than we were before.

Communities as a whole also endure changes on a daily basis. While these communities change and transform in many different ways, one specific community transformation process is called Economic Development.

Economic development brings about more jobs, more money and better infrastructure. All of these changes don’t just happen on their own.

Community officials work to find ways to bring economic growth to their community. These officials spend huge amounts of time coming up with the best plan to make their community grow, and eventually take off.

There are infinite ways to bring successful economic growth. The most effective way to facilitate strong and prosperous economic development in a community is allowing development organizations to target and invest in the growth of already established small businesses, while providing opportunities to better foster entrepreneurship, leading to steady economic growth and increased quality of life for the community as a whole.

Despite Forsyth County’s humble roots, the county has seen exponential growth since the beginning of the 21st century, especially within the past few years. According to a 2015 Executive Summary report published by the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, Forsyth County’s population has grown a total of seventeen percent since 2010 resulting in 205,400 people calling it their home.

About 92 percent of the residents are employed, and 41 percent of those residents are employed within the county.

Of all the businesses in Forsyth County, 89 percent of them have under 500 employees, thus the majority of the observed economic prosperity is coming from those small businesses.

While the fact that almost 60 percent of the population commutes to work outside of the county shows that there is still room for economic growth, the county has transformed into a thriving honey hole for new business, while becoming a safe haven for existing small businesses.

The size of a business is calculated based on revenue and number of employees. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the definition of a small business varies by industry, but on average, a small business is made up of less than 500 employees. Any number of factors can influence the growth of a business, but a strong development organization is one of the best assistance opportunities that a small business can use to grow.

Development Organizations are crucial to economic development, and can stem from the private or public sector.

The Forsyth County Development Authority is a Public Sector development organization that plays a crucial role in attracting new business to the area. This can be accomplished by offering incentives such as tax credits, small business financing and streamlining the application process for starting a business.

Private organizations, such as the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce can also play an instrumental role by giving area businesses opportunities to learn, network and advertise, while providing easily accessible advisement. When a partnership is made between these two the private sector authorities are able to go beyond what they could have accomplished without the help of the public sector.

For example, the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce is a private sector organization that receives funding from the government through various grants, allowing the Chamber to provide commodities such as the Business Advancement Resource, a department of the chamber that provides access to advisement and resources small businesses may need to thrive within the community.

Working together, these development organizations assist small business growth to bring the steady and lasting economic development that their community needs. Economic development happens in a cycle, and the more the cycle continues, the more money is put into the community, improving the quality of life of the entire community.

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