4A | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com
FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016
Horizons
A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
ENTREPRENEURSHIP Opportunities Grow for Entrepreneurs in Forsyth County Forsyth County entrepreneur and business owner, Steve Schilling, recently announced the opening of Digital Ignition, a tech incubator designed to foster growth of the local tech community. Located in Forsyth County off of Bluegrass Valley Parkway, Digital Ignition hopes to support and inspire local entrepreneurs with 45,000 square feet of unique, flexible co-working space in which to innovate and create. Digital Ignition provided a tour of the new facility that features an open floor plan with co-working space, private offices, meeting rooms, event space, a classroom, a video recording studio and an outdoor patio. Forsyth County is a regional leader for opportunities for new entrepreneurs and start-up businesses. A local entrepreneur, Saquib Hyat- Kahn, recognized all that Forsyth County had to offer as he was getting ready to start his own consulting firm. He first noticed the ideal location and stage of development. The county’s healthcare system, climate and education system, along with direct access to the Atlanta airport via Georgia 400, added to the convenience and prosperity the county had waiting. One of the initiatives of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce is to nurture these entrepreneurs and startup businesses. The Chamber helps
Prestige Members Northside Hospital-Forsyth Premier Corporate Sponsor
Forsyth County Government
Digital Ignition’s tech incubator located in Forsyth County.
these business owners by creating networking events such as Startup Coffees- monthly sessions where entrepreneurs, technologists, startup founders, inventors and academics can connect with each other and learn about resources to help grow businesses. These events create a central meeting place for individuals in the North Atlanta region to engage one another. Inside the Perimeter there is a rich network of resources that entrepreneurs can access to grow their companies. However, although the same numbers of resources exist outside of the Perimeter, they are far less centralized and much more geographically spread out. As a result, many entrepreneurs utilize online resources to connect with one another. These events create The Chamber is also working with students from the
University of North Georgia in the Mike Cottrell College of Business. Students collaborate in the Center for the Future of North Georgia and promote entrepreneurship and new business ventures throughout the region to aid in building strong communities. “Together, we expect these efforts to enhance the entrepreneurial and pro-business ecosystem in Forsyth County and the region to result in new ventures and high growth in existing businesses,” said Dr. Ruben Boling, director for the center and assistant professor of management at UNG. For more information on Digital Ignition’s incubator and/or the Chamber’s support to entrepreneurs, please contact the Director of Small Business Services, Jason Mock at jmock@cummingforsythchamber.org.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
The City of Cumming
DeKalb Office
Business Accounting & Tax Services LLC
Kubicek Technologies
Georgia Power
Alpharetta Children’s Dentistry
Taubman Kaiser Permanente Lou Sobh Kia Lou Sobh Honda
Atlanta Landscape Group
Month in Review State of County
HUMAN RESOURCE COUNCIL
HR Seminars Save Your Company Time and Money Knowing the most recent changes to employment laws can save you tens of thousands of dollars and valuable time. In an attempt to make this training more easily accessible, the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce Human Resource Council and Fisher & Phillips, LLP are pleased to present the 2016 Human Resource Academy. This series of seminars is designed for business owners, managers and supervisors who deal with workplace issues that have real legal consequences. The series of seminars covers everything from workplace harassment prevention to step-by-step guides for
OSHA investigations. A strong knowledge 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 or industry-specific questions answered by a legal expert. The HR Academy Seminars are held at the Forsyth Conference Center, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and cost $15 for Chamber Members and $30 for Non-Chamber Members. The next HR Academy seminar will focus on harassment prevention training and will be held on July 28, 2016. To register for this event or future seminars, visit the Chamber’s website at www.cummingforsythchamber.org, or call (770) 8876461.
A New Face on the Healthcare Front It’s no surprise to Forsyth County residents that the county was recently ranked the healthiest county in Georgia for the fourth consecutive year by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. A major factor in this ranking is Forsyth County’s rap- Boone idly growing healthcare industry. In an effort to best serve the needs of the Forsyth County business community, the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce recently hired Tia Boone to join the staff as a Healthcare and Technology Project Manager. Ms. Boone brings more than twenty years of managerial and clinical
nursing experience to the Chamber team. She is a candidate for a certification in Health Information Technology from Gwinnett Technical College. Her most recent experience has been as an IT project manager. “I have a passion for healthcare and technology and I am enthusiastic about assisting the growth of these sectors in Forsyth County,” says Ms. Boone.
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City honors veterans Flags unfurled for Memorial Day By Crystal Ledford
cledford@forsythnews.com Micah Green Forsyth County News Eleven more veterans have joined Soldiers release doves Friday during the the ranks of those who are honored by Memorial Day ceremony at the Veteran’s the city of Cumming every Memorial Memorial in Cumming. 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 onThursday 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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Program participants included (from right to left) Danny Johnson, Chair Darla Light, Chairman Pete Amos, Michael Paris, James McCoy, Doug Jenkins, Jim Kubicek and Chris Coan.
Women Who Mean Business
Leslie Price-Bennett shares information about the Women Who Mean Business host location, Dream Dinners.
ForsythNews.com | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | 5A
FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016
Horizons
Presented by
A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Upcoming Events June 28 Power Networking Lunch Mellow Mushroom 11:30 a.m.
July 12 Power Networking Lunch Grub Burger 11:30 a.m.
July 18 Food Trucks ‘N Forsyth Forsyth Conference Center 5 p.m.
July 19 Power Networking Lunch El Don Mexican Grill 11:30 a.m.
July 26 Power Networking Lunch Marie’s Italian Deli 11:30 a.m.
July 28 Real Estate Roundtable Post Road Library 11:30 a.m.
July 28 HR Seminar: Workplace Harassment Prevention Forsyth Conference Center 9 a.m.
Key to the events Member Power Networking Lunch — Meets every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. 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.
We’re honored to serve you It’s an honor to be recognized as the nation’s leading hospital for maternity and newborn care. Look a little closer and you’ll discover that Northside performs more surgeries and diagnoses and treats more breast and gynecologic cancer than any other hospital in Georgia. While people chooseNorthside for our expertise, they also know us for our exceptional compassionate care. Visit us online at www.northside.com