4A | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com
FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015
Horizons
A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Prestige Members Northside Hospital-Forsyth Premier Corporate Sponsor
Forsyth County Government
The City of Cumming
DeKalb Office
Taubman
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
The 2015 Business Expo presented by Forsyth County News and Kubicek Information Technologies. The Business Expo will take place Thursday, August 13, 2015 at the Forsyth Conference Center, beginning at 2 p.m. This year’s Expo will showcase a re-designed floor plan that will allow vendors and exhibitors to interact with each another one-
on-one. “The Business Expo is beneficial to all types of businesses,” says Jason Mock, Director of Small Business Services at the Chamber of Commerce. “It allows exhibitors to showcase their products and goods to a large group of people at one time. I encourage everyone to participate in this event to network with
business owners, community leaders and residents of Forsyth County.” To register, or to obtain more information, visit www.cummingforsythchamber.org. For questions contact Jason Mock, Director of Small Business Services at (770) 887-6461, ext. 15 or via e-mail at jmock@cummingforsythchamber. org.
Lou Sobh Honda
Digitel Corporation
Georgia Power
Alpharetta Children’s Dentistry
Kaiser Permanente
Atlanta Landscape Group
Month in Review
Business After Hours
Forsyth County’s Economic Health Check Forsyth County has proven its excellence yet again. While a large focus of the economic welfare of the county is on residential growth, Forsyth County is now a state and increasingly national leader for business investment. SmartAsset, an online financial advising firm, has ranked Forsyth County sixth in the state of Georgia for business growth, sixth in the state for GDP Growth, first in the state for new building permits, and ninth in the state for bonds (as measured by the average amount raised over the last five years per person). With the strength of all of these high scores combined, Forsyth County has an index of 0.85, which ranks it the number one county in Georgia for Incoming Investment. While job growth is often used as a measure of economic health, at a local level, this is a much more accurate guide in considering the overall economic health of the county.
From left, Joe Nadeau, Joyce Ghu and Gail Rockburne.
Dr. Tim O’Connor gives tours of his practice during Business After Hours hosted by Catalyst Physical Medicine.
State of the County
For syth County Board of Commissioner s Chairman, Pete Amos, speaks to the crowd at the 2015 State of the County Address.
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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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FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015
Horizons
Presented by
A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Labor Law Changes will Impact Your Business In the workplace today, there is nothing more valuable than having a knowledgeable staff when it comes to workplace ethics and laws. This type of training for your employees will prevent you and your business fro m future stress and turmoil when a legal or ethical issue arises. In an attempt to make this training more easily accessible, the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce Human Resource Council, Fisher & Phillips, LLP and Christy Scally of Keller Williams Community Partners are pleased to present the 2015 Human Resource Academy. This series of seminars is designed for business owners, managers and supervisors who deal with workplace issues that have real
Most Innovative Community legal consequences. The series of seminars covers everything from audits, OSHA requirements, lawful recruiting to effectively dealing with inefficient employees. A strong knowledge of all of these subjects is crucial to maintaining a safe and comfortable work environment for your employees, yet training in these areas can be costly. The HR Academy is designed to provide local businesses with an economical opportunity to become certified (CEUs are available) and have your business o r in d u s tr y - s p ecific
questions answered by a legal expert. The HR Academy Seminars are held at the Fo r s y t h C o n f e r e n c e Center, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and cost $35 for Chamber Members and $45 for Non-Chamber Members. The next HR Academy seminar will focus on Performance Management, Discipline and Discharge and will be held on August 11, 2015. To register for this event or future seminars, visit the Chamber’s website at www.cummingforsythchamber. org, or call (770) 8876461.
T h e Te c h n o l o g y Association of Georgia recently ranked Forsyth County’s “Innovation Economy” highest out of every county in the state. The formula that led to these rankings is known as the “Innovation Index.” The index compares performance in various c o m p o n e n t s o f bu s iness, such as human capital, economic dynamics and productivity. F o r s y t h C o u n t y ’s Innovation Index equaled 111.9, while the state average was just 92.3. Though the Innovation Index may be a new term to some,
it provides insight into the future of Forsyth County. F o r s y t h C o u n t y ’s Innovation Index reveals a window into the future by showing potential for economic growth in the future. This can be seen by delving into the components of the Innovation Index and finding a few specific measures that have a positive correlation to economic growth. The components most directly related to econ o m i c g r ow t h a r e a growing number of small establishments, a growing population of ages 25-44 and a grow-
ing percentage of the population with college degrees. These numbers come together to foster a perfect community for entrepreneurs. “Some people use the word innovation, but the heart of that is people who are entrepren e u r s ,” c o m m e n t e d James McCoy, president/CEO of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce. “Innovation and entrepreneurship are driving forces behind economic growth, and Forsyth County has a surplus of both.”
Upcoming Events June 30
July 14
Member Power Networking Lunch: Noon, Twisted Taco
Member Power Networking Lunch: Noon, Pueblos Mexican Cuisine
July 3
July 21
Chairman’s Cabinet Picnic & Fireworks: 7:30 p.m., Chamber Lawn
July 7 Member Power Networking Lunch: Noon, Buffalo’s Cafe
July 16 WWMB/BAR Lunch and Learn: 11:30 a.m., UNG Cumming Campus
Member Power Networking Lunch: Noon, Marie’s Italian Deli
July 28 Member Power Networking Lunch: Noon, El Don Mexican Bar & Grille
July 29 Real Estate Roundtable: 11:30 a.m., Forsyth County Public Library at Post Road
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.
In an emergency, experience matters Emergencies happen. And when they do, rest assured that you’ll get the best care close to home. Northside’s board-certified emergency medicine physicians and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certified nurses are just right up the road. We hope we don’t have to see you, but if we do, you’ll be in the best possible hands. Visit us online at www.northside.com.