Horizons - May 2015

4A | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | forsythnews.com

FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015

Horizons

A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce

Prestige Members

Small Business Award Recipients On April 30th, the Business Advancement Resource (BAR) hosted the 2015 Small Business Awards, presented by BB&T. The Small Business Aw a r d s p r o g r a m i s designed to offer welldeserved recognition to small businesses for their achievements and contributions to our community by providing the opportunity to showcase their company, share their story and be rewarded for their efforts.

The Business of the Year award is given to three organizations, each organization representing a bracket based on number of employees.

For the latest BAR eve n t s a n d l e a r n i n g opportunities, watch the

Northside Hospital-Forsyth Premier Corporate Sponsor

Forsyth County Government

The City of Cumming

DeKalb Office

Taubman

The Business of the Year award is given to three organizations, each organization representing a bracket based on number of employees.

Chamber’s website and social media pages. For more information on the

BAR, please contact Jason Mock, Director of Small Business Services,

at jmock@cummingforsythchamber.org or (770) 887-6461.

Business of the Year with more than 21 employees: Telecommunications Technical Services Business of the Year with six to 20 employees: Express Employment Professionals Business of the Year with one to five employees: Big Frog Custom T-shirts & More

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Lou Sobh Honda

Digitel Corporation

Georgia Power

Alpharetta Children’s Dentistry

Kaiser Permanente

Atlanta Landscape Group

Month in Review Boulder Dash 5K/10K

Plan to Attend the Post Legislative Session Breakfast Keeping abreast of the political challenges and activities that affect the area and your business has never been more important! Network with many of the area’s top business and political leaders and expand your business contacts when you attend the 2015 PostLegislative Session Breakfast, presented by AT&T on Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 a.m. at the Forsyth Conference Center, 3410 Ronald Reagan Blvd.

Cumming, GA 30041.

This event is jointly hosted by the Lanier-Forsyth Rotary Club and the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce. All attendees should register with the Chamber with the exception of Lanier-Forsyth Rotary Members. Admission is $15 for Chamber Members and $30 for Non-Members. Register at www.cummingforsythchamber.org.

Kubicek Information Technologies at the Bluegrass Materials Company’s Spring Fling.

Cumming to Host United States Auto Club Next Gen Touring Series Exciting things are happening at Bill Thomas Raceway in downtown Cumming! The North Georgia Quarter Midget Association, NGQMA, organization and the City of Cumming will welcome the United States Auto Club, USAC, Next Gen National touring series on June 18-20.

More than 200 teams, with drivers ranging in age from 5 to 16, from all around the country are expected to compete.

Thursday, June 18th, the green flag will drop to begin the fun, as the track will be open for practice rounds.

Friday will see more racing action as practice, heat races, and lower main races all take place. Saturday, June 20th is all about the racers as the A-main races will occur and the champions will be crowned.

For more information on the NGQMA, including how you can get your family involved in this very family friendly sport please visit www.ngqma.com. NGQMA and the Fairgrounds are located at 235 Castleberry Road, Cumming, GA 30040.

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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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The Bluegrass Materials Company Spring Fling.

The runners from Batson-Cook Construction hang out on Bluegrass Materials Company equipment post-race.

forsythnews.com | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | 5A

FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015

Horizons

Presented by

A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce

Second graders launch app Forsyth County is known for its superior school district, high scholastic performance, astounding graduation rates, and impressive test scores.

Thus, it is no surprise that a group of second grade students are making headlines for their work both in and outside of the classroom.

Beginning in October of last year, 36 Sharon Elementary School students created something that many adults could not even fathom — an original app. When a parent, Chris Douglass, offered students the opportunity to learn computer coding, Wendy Wing a teacher in the gifted program jumped at the chance. Douglass, founder of App Touch technologies, took students through Touch Develop (Microsoft software), while Wing used the opportunity to integrate the lessons into an educational assignment.

The app uses a first person perspective to inform the public about the benefits of bats.

Students went through the process of conceptualization, creation, marketing the app and publishing a research paper containing their findings. In

addition, students also had the opportunity to learn about the career path of computer science from Touch Develop employees themselves through Skype meetings.

The students decided on the name Batology for their new creation, and the app is now available to the public and can be downloaded by visiting the iTunes store.

While the recent launch of the Batology app is definitely a cause for celebration, what these students have accomplished in several months speaks volumes about what Forsyth County is doing and how its citizens are consistently learning, growing, and thriving.

Employers around the country and state of Georgia have expressed concerns over the state of the American workforce, the lack of the preparedness among college graduates and the weak and limited skillsets that far too many individuals possess.

However, the initiative, level of creativity and genuine enthusiasm that such young students brought to an educational assignment is indicative

Sharon Elementary School students created a new app, Batology, which uses a first person perspective to inform the public about the benefits of bats.

of a county moving in the right direction.

Students, administrators and parents in this area are not only cultivating high achieving pupils, but they are developing

a strong, self-sustaining workforce that will grow up to serve this community and make it even more successful.

This is just one example of Forsyth County students opti-

mizing their resources and time to develop a practical skill — in this case computer coding — and generating a tangible product to show for it.

Upcoming Events June 2

June 9

June 16

Key to the events

Women Who Mean Business, 7:30 a.m., Panera Bread

Manufacturing Society Siemens Tour, 10:30 a.m., Siemens

Member Power Networking Lunch, noon, Wild Flower Eatery

June 9

June 23

Member Power Networking Lunch, noon, Roly Poly

Member Power Networking Lunch, noon, TBA

June 11

June 30

Business After Hours, 5 p.m., Georgia Dermatology Center

Member Power Networking Lunch, noon, Twisted Taco

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.

June 2 Member Power Networking Lunch, noon, Quanto Basta

June 3 North Atlanta Startup Coffee, 9 a.m., Wildflower Eatery

June 9 HR Academy Seminar, 9 a.m., Forsyth Conference Center

June 16 Post-Legislative Session Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., Forsyth Conference Center

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

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