4A | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
Horizons
A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Prestige Members
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Forsyth Shines at Governor’s International Awards Each year the Atlanta Business Chronicle produces the Governor’s International Awards. This program highlights the key leaders and companies that keep metro Atlanta in the forefront of global commerce. The event awards the International Deal of the Year, International Trade, International Education Program and New Company of the Year. The CummingForsyth County Chamber of Commerce is honored to serve as the presenting sponsor of this event. The finalists and winners were recognized at an event on Oct. 1, 2015 at the Georgia International Convention Center. With more than 70 international companies, it is evident that Forsyth County is a leader in global commerce for the region. This international focus is evident even at an educational level. Because of this global focus at an early age, local Forsyth County company, Siemens Industry and the Forsyth County School System were a finalist for the International Education Program award. The partnership between the two entities created a pilot program to combat the skills gap issue in metro Atlanta. The “skills gap” refers to the lack of skilled production workers, a most-cited challenge for Georgia businesses. Through this manufacturing pathway, high school students take manufacturingfocused curriculum developed by Siemens employees. Teachers complete summer externships with the company and students intern at Siemens during their school day. Focus is also placed on studying the German language- an obvious fit due to Siemens German roots.
Northside Hospital-Forsyth Premier Corporate Sponsor
Forsyth County Government
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
The City of Cumming
Georgia Power
DeKalb Office
Business Accounting & Tax Services LLC
Digitel Corporation
Alpharetta Children’s Dentistry
Taubman Kaiser Permanente Lou Sobh Kia Lou Sobh Honda
Atlanta Landscape Group
Month in Review Business After Hours
TRANSPORTATION SUMMIT
Chamber, Rotary and County to Host Transportation Summit Transportation continues to be a hot-topic in Forsyth County for both residents and the business community. In an effort to encourage conversation and strategic planning the Chamber is once again partnering with the Forsyth County Government and the South Forsyth Rotary Club to host a Transportation Summit. To have your voice heard and your questions answered mark your calendar for the 2015 Transportation Summit. This lunch event, will be held on Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. at the Forsyth Conference Center located at 3410 Ronald Reagan Boulevard, Cumming, GA 30041.The cost of this event is $15 and includes lunch and the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of invited guests: Rudy Bowen (Board Member, 7th Congressional District of the State Transportation Board), Russell
From left, Jeff Smith, Chris Grimes and Leslie Grimes.
McMurry (Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation), Senator Michael Williams and Forsyth County Commissioners Brian Tam and Cindy Mills. In addition to the presentation, attendees can celebrate the groundbreaking (taking place earlier that day) of the
GA400 widening project. Limited seating will be available at no cost for those choosing to not partake in lunch. The program will begin at 12:00 p.m. and will conclude at 1:30 p.m. To register to attend visit www.cummingforsythchamber.org or call 770-8876461.
Mark Your Calendar: Pre-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 Pre-Legislative Session Breakfast, presented by AT&T on Tuesday, December 15th at 7:30 a.m. at the Forsyth Conference Center (3410 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Cumming, GA 30041). This event is jointly hosted by the
Chamber and the Lanier-Forsyth Rotary Club. All attendees should register with the Chamber with the exception of Lanier-Forsyth Rotary Members.
Admission is $15 for Chamber Members and $30 for NonMembers. Register at www.cummingforsythchamber.org.
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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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Raffle winners Christie Pappas, Gary Zuyus and Jim Kubicek.
Business After Hours at Hansgrohe.
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
Horizons
Presented by
A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Upcoming Events
PRINCIPAL FOR A DAY
Creating Business, Education Partnerships
Oct. 27 Healthcare Summit, 7:30 a.m., Forsyth Conference Center
Oct. 27 Member Power Networking Lunch, 11:30 a.m., Carrabba’s Italian Grill
Nov. 3 Member Power Networking Lunch, 11:30 a.m., Fry Me 2 the Moon
Nov. 4 North Atlanta Startup Coffee, 9 a.m., Wild Flower Eatery
Nov. 4 Transportation Summit, 11:30 a.m., Forsyth Conference Center
Nov. 5 Real Estate Roundtable, 11:30 a.m., Cumming Library
Nov. 10 Member Power Networking Lunch , 11:30 a.m., Texas Roadhouse
Nov. 10 HR Seminar: Worker Safety, 9 a.m., Forsyth Conference Center
Nov. 12 Business After Hours, 5 p.m., Community & Southern Bank
According to several recent publications from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United States no longer leads the world in terms of education. However, our local community’s school system continues to thrive at an accelerated rate. Forsyth County schools recently achieved the highest ACT scores in the state of Georgia. The Atlanta Business Chronicle nominated Forsyth County Schools and Siemens for the International Education Partnership Governor’s Award. The school system’s relationship with the local business sector has played a major role in fostering the community’s academic success. According to Mavis Sanders of Johns Hopkins University, “community involvement in schools is important for building and maintaining healthy communities.” In her publication entitled Community Involvement in Schools: From Concept to Practice, she asserts that “when properly executed, community involvement in schools can be the little extra that makes a big difference.” For several years the CummingForsyth County Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Forsyth County Schools to present the Principal for a Day program. Presented by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the program provides local business executives, public officials and community leaders with an opportunity to shadow a principal at a local county school. “I was so impressed by the demean-
or and respect from the students and the talents of the staff” stated Linda Cole, Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Nursing Officer at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “I was very impressed with South Forsyth Middle School’s staff and students, but most impressed with Sandy Tinsley and her leadership. We had encountered many different situations, meetings and addressing questions that day, but Sandy`s leadership was second to none in handling each and all events … small to large” stated Bob Russell, CEO of program sponsor, Atlanta Landscape Group. This year’s Principal for a Day Orientation Breakfast will take place on Oct. 29 at 7:30 a.m. at the Forsyth County Board of Education Building. The event will allow local business and community leaders to meet the principals that they will shadow. All of the principals and participants will reunite on December 8th at 11:30 a.m. for a Celebration Luncheon at the Forsyth Conference Center. For more information about the Principal for a day Program, visit www.forsyth.k12. ga.us/principalforday
Nov. 19 BAR & WWMB Breakfast & Learn, 7:30 a.m., UNG-Cumming Campus
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.
Bruce Longmore is Principal for a Day at Settles Bridge Elementary School.
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