Progress 2019

EDUCATION

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Progress 2019

FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS

2C | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com

Sunday, March 31, 2019

File photo

“Everyone has come together really well as Denmark Danes and we have found that our kids have really come together well to build the culture at Denmark High School,” said Principal Heather Gordy.

Two new high schools meet expectations in the first year

By Alexander Popp

apopp@forsythnews.com

In 2018, Forsyth County welcomed two entirely new high schools into the fold, with the opening of Denmark High School and Alliance Academy for Innovation.

Both schools were conceived to meet the growth that Forsyth County has become known for in recent years, while expanding the system’s capabilities to train its students for high-demand, highwage fields.

And while each school started with its own unique obstacles and challenges, school officials say that Denmark and Alliance have weathered the first year excellently and come out successful on the other side.

“I am very proud of our school staff for their leadership in building two unique and strong school communities in such a short period of time,” said Forsyth County School Superintendent Jeff Bearden. “It starts with hiring the right principal and administrative team, teachers, counselors, and support staff, and it also takes the support of the board of education, district departments and other schools in our county.”

Denmark High School: Creating a community from scratch According to Denmark Principal Heather Gordy, the biggest challenge for Denmark in 2018 was the same as is faced by any new venture — the cre-

ation of a unique identity.

Gordy said that one of the realities they had to immediately face was a student population made up of kids that had either already started at another Forsyth County high school or had grown up thinking that they would go to South or West Forsyth High School, like their siblings, friends or even parents had.

“You always worry how they are going to do when they’re together under one roof … But they have really come together,” Gordy said.

She said that through Denmark’s sports teams and the other extracurricular activities, they watched as the students, staff and community came together as a school for a common goal.

“Everyone has come together really well as Denmark Danes and we have found that our kids have really come together well to build the culture at Denmark High School,” she said. “I think that the success has been from many different things. I think that hiring the right people to be in our building teaching classes and coaching has gone a long way towards building a positive culture.”

With that common goal and positive culture in mind, Gordy said that the different teams and groups have outfitted themselves better than they ever hoped.

“Of course you want your kids to do well in school from 8:25 [a.m.] to 3:40 [p.m.] but what really brings kids together in a school is when they begin to have success in extracurricular activities,” she said.

In the 2019-20 school year, Gordy said that they will have the school’s first senior class of students, adding more than 600 new students and between 30 to 35 new staff members.

“More students, more opportunities to shine,” she said.

Alliance Academy: Flexible opportunities for a dynamic world With school academies and pathways including criminal justice, aerospace, health care and cybersecurity, the possibilities offered by Alliance Academy have captured the interest of the entire Forsyth County community.

At the close of the spring semester, Principal Brandi Cannizzaro said that interest in the school has skyrocketed, with hundreds of local students applying for a chance to go to the school, just like they expected it to.

“I’m excited to continue to see the growth as we fill our school,” Cannizzaro said.

Due to that overwhelming interest from the community, the school had to select its students by lottery, which was held live online in January.

Cannizzaro said that they expect for a lottery to happen for Alliance Academy admissions from now on, as interest in the school continues to grow.

“Moving on into the future, we will probably be at a lottery situation from now on,” she said. “We are set to open in the fall with a little over 800 students in ninth, 10th and 11th grade. When we

hit capacity we will have 300 students in each grade level, so we are on target for that.”

She said that each day they see that enthusiasm and interest upheld by their students, who are already living up to the school’s motto of, “find your passion, choose your path, experience alliance.”

“We see it each day in the classroom, as well as in the different competition opportunities that they have,” she said.

From the interest of students already e n r o l l e d a t A l l i a n c e A c a d e m y, Cannizzaro said that they have already added two new pathways, aviation maintenance and game design, as well as an academy for cybersecurity and digital intelligence, to the school.

She said that this flexibility is an idea that was baked into the school from its conception, meant to allow educators to adapt to the changing world and train students for the future.

Because of that, she said that the dynamic pathway system will continue.

“I think that five to 10 years from now some of our pathways could look different, depending on what new careers are out there in the real world that we need to expose students to,” Cannizzaro said.

“In the future, I do see us changing with the times, where the needs are and where those high-demand, high-wage careers are.”

“We just want to have lots of opportunities for our students in Forsyth County,” she said.

File photo

Alliance Academy Principal Brandi Cannizzaro said that interest in the school has skyrocketed, with hundreds of local students applying for a chance to go to the school.

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Forsyth County Schools sets students up for success For the Forsyth County News

Forsyth County Schools is proud to be one of the top districts in Georgia and the United States. Our success has been accomplished through dedication to our mission and a commitment to continuous improvement through the cooperative efforts of all stakeholders.

Forsyth County Schools is home to close to 50,000 students in 39 schools — 21 elementary, 10 middle, six high, one virtual 6-12 school, and one college and career high school. By 2022, we will open four additional new schools, a new building for the Academies for Creative Education (ACE) programs and school, and a centralized performing arts center.

As the seventh largest of 180 school districts in Georgia, Forsyth County Schools has the highest SAT score in Georgia and the highest ACT and CCRPI scores in metro-Atlanta among county school districts. Additionally, Forsyth County Schools maintains the highest graduation rate, 94 percent, among Georgia’s large school districts

and among metro-Atlanta’s county school districts.

We operate on a $444 million budget, with 73 percent of our expenses tied to instruction. The budget income is 48.51 Bearden percent from local funds and 51.49 percent from state and federal funds. The FY19 budget was built maintaining the same millage rate for the last five years, which is the lowest in metro-Atlanta. FCS’ per pupil expenditure is $8,220.94, which is the lowest among the 12 largest districts in the state. We are the only school district in the state to have a 5/5 Star Financial Efficiency Rating for four consecutive years. FCS is proud to be one of 17 school districts in the United States to receive the highest possible bond rating, AAA, from both Moody’s and Standard and Poors (S&P). Having the highest possible credit rating is a benefit for tax payers with lower interest rates on the sale of bonds. S&P currently rates 4,782 school districts with only

86 having a AAA rating, while Moody’s currently rates 13,363 school districts with only 88 having a AAA rating.

One of the many things that make FCS special is that even with our growth, we still maintain a small town feel and form connections that go beyond the walls of our schools. As one of the nation’s top 11 fastest growing communities, Forsyth County’s growth and increasing diversity have had a positive impact on our schools. Highly motivated students come to our classrooms locally and from all over the world. The fastest growth population is Asian students at 22 percent; the student population is also comprised of white (57 percent,) Hispanic (14 percent,) black or African American (4 percent,) two or more races 3 percent, American Indian or Alaska Native and Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, which are both under 1 percent.

Forsyth County Schools’ path to greatness is outlined in the district’s Strategic Plan, which was created with input from students, staff and business and community members. The plan

focuses on the needs of Forsyth County Schools’ primary customer, the individual student.

The strategic compass for the plan is the Learner Profile, which is an advanced profile that describes the attributes of students attending and graduating from a Forsyth County school. With these academic skills and personal characteristics, Forsyth County Schools’ students are college and career ready.

Forsyth County Schools is excited for the opportunities that are before us and looks forward to working collaboratively to serve all in Forsyth County by providing Quality Learning and Superior Performance for All. The district invites you to stay connected by visiting its website, www.forsyth.k12.ga.us, following on social media (@FCSchoolsGA on Twitter, @ FCSchools on Facebook, and @ ForsythCoSchoolsGA on Instagram), and to download the updated mobile app, Forsyth County Schools GA. Jeff Bearden is superintendent of Forsyth County Schools.

‘It’s amazing to me that over the years we’ve had five strategic plans and the basic concepts have always been the same: hiring high-quality staff, good community partnerships, high expectations for kids, being financially stable. All that is intertwined.’

Ann Crow

Former Forsyth County Board of Education District 1 representative, board chair and longtime Forsyth County resident

What will Ann Crow miss most after 16 years on BOE?

By Alexander Popp

apopp@forsythnews.com

After 16 years of serv i c e a s t h e Fo r s y t h County Board of Education’s District 1 representative, board chair and longtime county resident Ann Crow has stepped down.

Early last year, Crow announced that she would not be running again for her seat on the board and in November, political newcomer and deputy director of the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety Wesley McCall was elected to fill her seat.

Before the official swearing in ceremony for McCall and re-elected board member Kristen Morrissey was held in December, Crow reflected on her time in the county to the FCN. Crows feels that the Forsyth County Schools system that she is leaving behind is totally transformed from the one she first got involved with when she and her husband moved into the county in 1984.

She said that coming from the metro-Atlanta area, which at that time “had no roots,” Forsyth County and the community’s involvement took her

by surprise.

“It just wasn’t the same, when you moved up here, the community w a s i nve s t e d i n i t s schools and they took care of the kids,” Crow said. “The school systems were good, with very good teachers, a caring community, and that’s what stuck out to me.”

She said that as the county began to grow, and larger subdivisions like Polo Fields were built, that community involvement began to grow and the entire school landscape began to shift with it.

“It brought different people here, with higher expectations,” she said.

“In the early ’90s, the chamber of commerce did a quality of life review, got people to talk about what their issues were with the community, what they thought was the most important issue, and it was education.”

Crow said that after that review and the community’s insistence on advancing education followed a flurry of changes, including a state law mandating hiring of school superintendents and the creation of the county’s first communitybased strategic plan.

These changes, espe-

cially the county’s strategic plan, are what Crow believes led Forsyth County Schools to what it is today.

“It’s amazing to me that over the years we’ve had five strategic plans and the basic concepts have always been the same: hiring high-quality staff, good community partnerships, high expectations for kids, being financially stable,” Crow said. “All that is intertwined.”

After spending six “eye-opening” years serving on the board for United Way of Forsyth County, Crow was elected to the Board of Education in 2002, running unopposed after a previous board member decided to step down.

At that point, Crow said that there were roughly 17,000 students at 11 schools around the county. Things didn’t stay like that for long.

“We just started to grow … I think the word was out you could come to Forsyth County and it was a great place to get an education and the taxes were a lot cheaper than Fulton County,” Crow said. “And look at us now, we are hitting 50,000 students and 40 schools. That’s incredible in a 16-year period of

time ... we just couldn’t build schools fast enough.”

In the space of her 16 years on the board, Crow was involved in the implementation of a wide variety of programs within the system, including the use of technology in the classroom, a focus on Social Emotional Learning, and the learner profile, programs which s h e s t a t e s a r e n ow engrained in the fabric of Forsyth County Schools.

But to colleagues who know Crow best, what she will most be remembered for is her dedication to community engagement, the thing that first drew her to the county back in 1984.

“In terms of our whole county, Ann has just been an incredibly engaged

board member, and I think that is so important with the growth we have seen in our county,” said Forsyth Central High School Principal Mitch Young. “That doesn’t just happen; you’ve got to have great leadership.”

Young said that when he came to Central five years ago, Crow took him under her wing, helping him meet the people he needed to meet and learn what he needed to learn.

“She ended up really mentoring me in how this community operates, and helped me with some of the players … making my transition so much easier as a school leader,” Young said. “She didn’t have to do that, that’s not what a lot of board members do throughout the country.”

Crow said that the col-

laboration with the community and school leaders that Young described is exactly what she will miss most about leaving her seat and what she is most proud of when looking back at her career.

She said that collaboration kept her and other board members in tune with what the community needed from its school system and allowed them to pick the right leaders to run the county’s schools.

“The beauty of Forsyth County is that we grow leaders and we let them loose,” Crow said. “As long as you run your school within this parameter, you can do it the way you feel is best for your community. I’m going to miss that terribly.”

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Sunday, March 31, 2019

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Wes McCall joins the board of education

By Alexander Popp

apopp@forsythnews.com

The Forsyth County Schools’ Board of Education welcomed its first newly-elected member in January. District 1 representative Wes McCall now holds the seat recently vacated by longtime member Ann Crow.

A Roswell native and current deputy director of the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety, McCall beat out opponent Mark Weiss by taking 53.39 percent of the 3,750 ballots cast in the May Republican primary and running unopposed in the November general election.

McCall and his wife, Jakima, have lived in Forsyth County since 2002 while their son, Ian, attends Liberty Middle School in northwest Forsyth.

To get a better picture of who McCall is, what his priorities are and what he will bring to the Forsyth County Board of Education, the FCN sat down with the District 1 representative-elect to talk about his background, how he decided to run for office and what his goals are as a board member.

Background Last week marked McCall’s 20-year anniversary in the field of public safety, serving both in the Alpharetta Fire Department in the late 1990s and early 2000s and then in the unified Alpharetta Department of Public Safety.

McCall started in the fire service straight out of high school after he met some firefighters who were helping north Fulton County recover after Hurricane Opal. He is a graduate of Grand Canyon University and holds a graduate degree in Public Administration from Columbus State.

In 2006, when the City of Alpharetta consolidated its fire service and police department into a public safety department, McCall represented the fire service on their transition team.

“That’s what introduced me into law enforcement in 2006 and today I still try to get police officers, firefighters and 911 operators to work together,” McCall said. “... Three different personalities coming into

Wes McCall

one.”

He said that with that law enforcement and public safety background in mind, he is excited to use his expertise to help keep Forsyth County students safer.

“I am very blessed to be able to be a leader in two very important roles that government plays: public safety and public education,” he said. “We talk a lot about social and emotional learning, and I think that one of the things that people don’t realize is, that’s just one spoke of the wheel in student wellness.

“My passion is to bring the community together to face and look at issues and see how we can make things better.”

• Forsyth County Board of Education Member for District 1 • Phone: (678) 776-6774 • Email: WMcCall@forsyth. k12.ga.us

How McCall came to run for BOE McCall said that the first time he was first introduced to the Board of Education and the idea of being an educational advocate was after his son started at Sawnee Elementary School.

When their son was born in 2004, McCall and Jakima made a decision to be “very involved parents” in the school community.

McCall served on the s c h o o l ’s P a r e n t Te a c h e r Association (PTA), and as he spent more and more time working on the PTA, McCall said he found himself working as an advocate, not just for his son but for all of the students at Sawnee.

“While I was there, one of the things that I noticed is that the other elementary schools in the county were starting to have science labs, and I didn’t know why we couldn’t have a science lab,” he said.

By his predecessor, Crow, and the rest of the board, McCall said they were able to start that science lab at Sawnee.

“We operated it for one year with a volunteer and the next year we were able to get some teachers involved,” he said.

McCall said that when he finally decided to run for the board, he went back to Crow to talk with her about the job and see if it was the right decision for him and his family.

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District 1 representative Wes McCall now holds the seat recently vacated by longtime member Ann Crow.

He said that after talking to Crow and his wife, another local educator, he knew he wanted to take his passion for advocacy and use it in a larger capacity.

“We started talking and I just realized that I needed to do it,” McCall said.

Short-term goals According to McCall, as the newest board member, his biggest priority boils down to listening as much as possible and learning from everyone he can.

“They do a great job up here, and there are so many things they are working together on,” he said. “I’m going to have to step back, listen and learn.

That’s what I’ve been doing for the last year, and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

McCall said that even though he has a lot to learn, he has already seen from educators and other board members, like Crow, just how important having some sort of a connection is in education. He said that from his experience, a connection between educators and their community is what makes a quality education.

“The key to education is through a connection,” he said.

“The teachers you had and connected with, or the coaches that you had you connected with, brought out a better education.”

Along with learning as much about the system as possible, McCall said that doing anything he can to foster that connection with the community is going to be one of the things that he strives for during his term.

With more schools and students than ever before in the community, McCall said that anything else would be silly.

“I think that whatever we can do as a county to focus on building that connection, I’m all for it,” he said.

Long-term goals While discussing his thoughts on the school community connection, McCall also stressed the importance of transparency as an elected official and as a school system as a whole.

He stated that he would like the board and the system to be completely open for any questions, facts, figures and proce-

dures that residents might be interested in.

According to McCall, one of his long-term goals is to have the system anticipate its residents’ questions, making information about the processes at work readily available for residents when they come looking for it.

“I don’t think our community should have to question, ‘Hey, how does a school come into existence?’” McCall said. “We should be able to tell them, we should be able to know that and they should be able to come find that information. I’m going to change that.”

Part of that transparency McCall said will simply be a matter of continuing what the existing board members already do on a daily basis, when they receive emails, calls and in-person visits from members of the community.

He said that he can be reached by phone at (678) 7766774 or by email at wmccall@ forsyth.k12.ga.us, and he is always happy to answer residents’ questions or concerns.

“I may not have all the answers, or even answers that they want to hear, but what I will say is I will go listen and I’ll have a conversation with them,” he said.

McCall said that another long-term future goal towards transparency and communication is to bring the community into the process by laying out what the system has accomplished, what tax dollars go to and where the system is headed in one concise report.

“We need to share with the community what’s going to happen in six years, what’s going to happen in eight years,” he said. “We have to be community leaders by bringing them into the process.”

Kim Schreier named 2019 Teacher of the Year South Forsyth Middle School math teacher named this year’s winner during Celebration of Excellence event

By Alexander Popp

apopp@forsythnews.com

South Forsyth Middle School math teacher Kim Schreier has been named as the 2019 Forsyth County Schools Teacher of the Year.

At the annual Celebration of Excellence held on F r i d a y, M a r c h 8 , Schreier and dozens of other educators, groups, organizations and comm uni ty leaders w er e honored by the school system and lauded for the work each does to further education in the community.

Taking the stage in front of nearly 500 peers and community members, Schreier said she was honored, shocked and overwhelmed by the experience, congratulating all the other finalists and semifinalists.

“This is quite an overw h e l m i n g f e e l i n g ,” Schreier said. “When I look out into this room, I see the passion that everyone has for their students and for their job, and I’m so glad we were able to get acknowledged for that passion today.”

Forsyth County 2019 Teacher of the Year finalists included: • Ronda Slaughter — first-grade teacher, Matt Elementary School;

• Jackie Shirley — special education pre-K, Silver City Elementary School; • Jessica Nicholson — f i f t h - g r a d e t e a c h e r, W h i t l ow E l e m e n t a r y School; • Donna Jackson — sixth-grade social studies, North Forsyth Middle School; • Amy Dykes — scie n c e t e a c h e r, N o r t h Forsyth High School; • Julie Hunt — English teacher, South Forsyth High School.

Like the other Forsyth County teachers of the year before her, in addition to the award itself and hundreds of different gifts, Schreier was also presented with a new car from local dealership Andean Chevrolet.

Before handing over the keys and paperwork t o a n ew C h ev r o l e t Equinox that Schreier will use for her term as teacher of the year, dealership Fixed Operations Director Joseph Otwell spoke to the crowd about his family’s commitment to education, quoting the Dalai Lama, “When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.”

“I believe that has b e e n s h ow n g r e a t l y through all of the teachers today,” Otwell said.

“For students to learn

Ben Hendren Forsyth County News

South Forsyth Middle School math teacher Kim Schreier is named the 2019 Forsyth County Schools Teacher of the Year on Friday, March 8 during the annual Celebration of Excellence at the Lanier Conference Center.

and be engaged, the passion of their teacher has to show through.”

In her words to the crowd after receiving her award, Schreier also thanked what she called her “support system” who she said have shaped her into the teacher she is today: her husband, Jonathan Schreier, an educator at S o u t h Fo r s y t h H i g h School; her parents; and her fellow colleagues at South Forsyth Middle School.

“Thank you for continuing to support my love in my job 12 years later, you help me balance my job with our

family and help keep me grounded,” she said. “I couldn’t ask to work for a better school.”

Schreier, a graduate of the University of Georgia, came to the district in 2014 when she began working at South.

She said that throughout her 12 years as an educator she has continued to return to the idea of how important a passionate educator can play in the life of a child.

“Each of us can remember a special teacher that impacted us growing up, these important teachers shaped us into the people we are today,” she said. “As I

look out to this group of such amazing teachers that fill this room, I can’t help but think about the number of lives that this room has impacted.

“There are students sitting in classrooms, at colleges and tackling their first jobs right now thankful for the way that you made them feel.”

In his closing remarks, Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Jeff Bearden told the crowd how proud he was and stating that the system is successful because of its resources and supports.

“Many of you have heard me say before that the best schools and the

best school systems are the ones where home, school and community work together as partners,” Bearden said. “I can’t think of any other school district that is more blessed than ours.”

But before exiting the stage, Schreier left the gathered crowd with a challenge of sorts, telling them to keep encouraging their colleagues and inspiring their kids.

“It’s that extra smile, the words of encouragement and times when you went out of your way to make them feel special that they remember,” she said. “If anyone can do it, you can.”

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

The name of Forsyth County’s next middle school will honor former advocate of local education

By Alexander Popp

apopp@forsythnews.com

After a landslide vote by the community, the Forsyth County Schools Board of Education unanimously voted to name its next middle school after former longtime board member and education advocate Donald F. Hendricks.

At the board’s Feb. 19 meeting, members voted in favor of naming the county’s 11th middle school the Donald F. Hendricks Middle School, which is set to be built on Hyde Road in west Forsyth by August 2021.

Forsyth County Schools Director of Communications Jennifer Caracciolo told the board that during this naming process they received a staggering 20,000 votes, well beyond any participation they have had in past school namings.

More than 15,000 votes favored Hendricks Middle School, Caracciolo said.

Other options for the new school’s name included Cobb Creek Middle School and Drew Middle School, as well as many different write-in options from the community for former school system employees and places in the county.

After the vote, members of the Hendricks family stood to be recognized and to share their happiness at the board’s decision.

“We would just like to thank the Forsyth County community and you, the Board of Education, for recognizing dad’s service to the community with this special honor,” said Suzanne Saunders, daughter of Don Hendricks.

After the meeting, Hendricks’ wife, Barbara Hendricks, said that the naming

For the Forsyth County News

The Forsyth County Schools Board of Education decided to name its next middle school after the late Don Hendricks, left, pictured with wife Barbara, a longtime local education advocate.

was a fitting tribute to her husband’s work to modernize the school system.

“We came here in 1988 and we found a school system that

didn’t have a lot of direction,” Barbara said. “... He fought to get a community-based strategic plan here, which was really a cornerstone for this commu-

nity. He would be so proud of how this school system has grown.”

She said that they were not surprised at the love the community expressed for her husband, but they were surprised at the sheer number of people that voted.

“This community has always been a very supportive, giving, loving community,” Barbara Hendricks said.

Board members also expressed their happiness at the decision, stating that they are happy to vote for such a wildlyapproved measure.

“I think that says a lot from the community, and I think it’s really neat as a board that we can approve the naming of a school that was selected by the community,” said board member representing District 1 Wes McCall.

What’s ahead for the county’s next elementary school

By Alexander Popp

apopp@forsythnews.com

New details and plans were released last year concerning the county’s newest elementary school, Poole’s Mill, proposed to open for students and the community in 2020.

At a meeting of the Forsyth County Board of Education held late 2018, board members unanimously approved a $21.7 million agreement with Carroll Daniel Construction for the construction of Poole’s Mill Elementary School in northwest Forsyth.

According to a presentation to the board by Forsyth County Schools Director of Construction Tom Wening, Carroll Daniel Construction was one among four companies to put forward a bid to build the new elementary school and was picked for its low bid, coming in over $1 million dollars cheaper than the second-lowest bidder.

The construction company was

also awarded points during the recommendation process for its related experience in the county.

Previously, they were contracted to build five county school-system buildings and projects, including Alliance Academy for I n n o va t i o n , Ke l l y M i l l , Brookwood and Whitlow elementary schools, as well as an addition to North Forsyth High School that was completed in 2007.

“As it relates to the specific recommendation of Poole’s Mill Elementary School, we were pleased that we had four responsive proposers,” Wening said. “I think in this case, we’ve got a pretty straight forward recommendation and evaluation process and award.”

Currently, Poole’s Mill has been planned with a design similar to Brandywine Elementary School in south Forsyth, with the capacity for 1,125 students, according to Jennifer Caracciolo, director of communications for

Forsyth County Schools.

Poole’s Mill, like East Forsyth High School, is a property that was purchased by the system in the early 2000s but was tabled due to the severity of the economic recession that the country experienced after the crash of 2008.

Caracciolo said that they have plans to craft the aesthetic of the school around the Poole’s Mill area, honoring Dr. M.L. Poole, who owned a mill and cotton gin operation in the area during the late 19th century, and for which Poole’s Mill Bridge and Poole’s Mill Park was named after.

“We prefer to name schools with historical significance, whether it be about a former community or a former school or even someone who had an impact, like Dr. Denmark,” Caracciolo said.

“It was easy for us given where this property is located to name it Poole’s Mill Elementary School.”

In keeping with that aesthetic, the entryway to the school will be

the system’s new double entry security door design and will have a unique design reflecting the character of Poole’s Mill Bridge and historic mill, she said.

“We’re going to replicate that lattice design with metal and paint it black,” she said. “There will also be a wheel to signify the mill.”

Just last week the system also announced that Paige Andrews, current principal of Silver City Elementary, was named as principal of the new school.

In a statement to the FCN, Andrews stated that she was excited to jump into the role and was happy to have the 2019-20 school year to plan for the opening of the school.

“In my career I have never opened a school, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge and the excitement of building a n ew s chool com m uni t y,” Andrews said.

Although the system will break ground on the new school this

January, Caracciolo said that they have a long way to go to be sure that the schools and their communities are ready for the 2020-21 school year.

Caracciolo said that because Poole’s Mill has been designed to take pressure off schools in the surrounding area that are at or over capacity, the new school will involve a redistricting process, but that process is not set to begin for some time.

“That area of the county is where we are experiencing growth and development, but we have not discussed, nor have we begun redistricting,” Caracciolo said.

She said that redistricting process for Poole’s Mill will likely begin in 2019, a year prior to the school’s opening.

“That’s when we’ll actually determine which schools will be impacted specifically ... so we have the most current data to make our decisions on,” Caracciolo said.

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Photo for the Forsyth County News

Pinecrest Academy has been recognized as a Cardinal Newman Society School of Excellence since 2007 and is a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School.

Pinecrest is also a five-year winner of the Forsyth County News “Best Private School” honor.

Pinecrest Academy expanding, earning accolades For the Forsyth County News

Pinecrest Academy is a private PreK3-12, college preparatory Catholic school. Founded in 1993, Pinecrest Academy opened its doors at a former elementary school in Crabapple, with a student body of 29. At that time, Pinecrest was the first independent, private Catholic elementary school established to serve Atlanta’s expanding Catholic population.

The school moved in 1997 to its permanent campus on Peachtree Parkway in south Forsyth. Initially just a lower school, the beautiful 68-acre campus grew to also include a middle school and high school, a beautiful chapel, two gymnasiums, and three athletic fields. A new Lower School building is under construction, to open for the 2019-20 school year. A new turf field will be ready for play in fall 2019, and the high school will become co-ed for the 201920 academic year.

The enrollment at Pinecrest is more than 700 students. The school has been recognized as a Cardinal Newman Society School of Excellence since 2007 and is a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School. Pinecrest is also a five-year winner of the Forsyth County News “Best Private School” honor.

The school’s mission is to

develop Christian leaders who will transform society. Pinecrest provides an atmosphere of academic rigor and critical thinking, while offering personalized attention in a Christ-centered environment of faith and reason.

Pinecrest’s educational method of Integral Formation® delivers a “whole child” approach to education. We view Integral Formation® as four pillars: intellectual, human, spiritual a n d ap o s t o l i c f o r m a t i o n .

Recognizing parents as the primary educators of the child, Pinecrest’s mission embraces the entire family.

The school provides a safe, moral, and spiritual environment, which leads to positive peer groups and joyful, caring, confident students. In addition to a rigorous academic curriculum, Pinecrest offers an excellent fine arts program, including visual and performing arts, band and chorus.

The high school’s symphonic band played, by invitation, at Carnegie Hall in 2012, when the band program was just three years old. Since 2009, the program has more than doubled in size, includes six concert bands, and has been invited to perform at many prestigious music festivals throughout the world.

Several alumni band students are currently playing in college.

Art students have received

Contacts For more information or to schedule a tour of Pinecrest Academy, call (770) 888-4477 or visit www.pinecrestacademy.org.

Administrators • Dr. Ed Spurka, headmaster, espurka@pinecrestacademy.org • Denise Cress, middle school principal, dcress@pinecrestacademy.org • Madeliene Flanagan, lower school principal, mflanagan@pinecrestacademy.org

numerous awards in art shows and exhibitions since 2008. In 2018, Pinecrest had one Gold Key, and two Silver Key award winners in the Scholastic Art Competition, as well as an AllState Regional Winner.

The Class of 2018 (69 students) received nearly $6,000,000 in scholarship awards from 35 colleges and universities, with acceptances to 80 colleges and universities across the country. This class boasted 32 Zell Miller scholars, and every member from the Class of 2018 received the HOPE Scholarship.

Additionally, the class of 2018 logged more than 11,575 service hours during high school.

Six graduates are playing sports on the collegiate level, and two deferred college acceptances to serve as missionaries for a year.

In fall 2018, the early action overall percentage of acceptances to the University of Georgia

was at 44 percent, with Pinecrest’s early action acceptance rate at 57 percent. The class of 2019 will be the 13th graduating class from Pinecrest’s high school.

Pinecrest offers a complete complement of varsity and recreational sports. The athletics department welcomed Terance Mathis, receiver for the Atlanta Falcons from 1990-2002, as head varsity football coach in May 2017. Additionally, the second class of the Athletic Hall of Fame was inducted in September 2018.

The varsity swim team enjoyed its most successful season in the school’s history, sending the most swimmers to state ever, with the boys relay team finishing in the top 10. Varsity boys basketball advanced to the state playoffs, and three varsity players were named All Region.

Varsity wrestling sent four to state, with one wrestler taking the championship in the 106-

pound weight class, the firstever GHSA wrestling state champ for Pinecrest Academy.

Paladin boys fencing finished 13th in state, the best finish yet, and the girls continued their reputation as one of the best in the state with a sixth-place finish.

Pinecrest is the only Single A school in the GHSFL. The dedicated, highly qualified and credentialed teaching staff meets state and SACS requirements, and more than half of the members hold advanced degrees. The faculty includes a learning specialist, reading specialist and counselors who serve students in lower, middle and high schools.

Pinecrest is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Southern Association of Independent Schools, and holds membership in the College Board and the National A s s o c i a t i o n f o r C o l l eg e Admission Counseling.

Lanier Technical College has many program offerings For the Forsyth County News

Lanier Technical College, a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), serves as the leading workforce development resource for Forsyth, Dawson, Hall, Lumpkin, Banks, Barrow and Jackson counties by providing higher education and careertechnical education programs leading to associate of applied science degrees, diplomas and technical certificates of credit.

The college also provides customized business and industry training, economic development services, continuing education for technical and professional development and adult education services.

The college’s mission can be summed up in two words — “workforce development.” With a placement rate of 100 percent, the College’s motto, “Great Careers Begin Here,” comes true every day.

The college now offers an Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) program which prepares students to take the NCLEX-RN exam and work as Registered Nurses (RNs). Dr. Joanne Tolleson, a vice president at Lanier Technical College and Dean of the Forsyth campus, said: “This is one of our most exciting new program offerings in years. The need for qualified nurses in our area is tremendous and it’s growing. Lanier Technical College’s mission is workforce development, and I can’t think of a better way to fulfill that mission than preparing skilled nurses who can provide the quality health care we need.”

The nation as a whole is experiencing an acute shortage of qualified registered nurses,

and the shortage is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. The American Journal of Medical Quality projects a national shortage of 300,000 to 1,000,000 RN jobs by 2020.

The need is especially acute in Forsyth County and Lanier Tech’s service delivery area.

Emsi Labor Market Analytics reports that there are currently 3,856 RN jobs in LTC’s service delivery area and 391 annual job openings. These figures are projected to rise by 41 percent in the next 10 years. This increase far outstrips the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic’s projected national rise of 15 percent. Northeast Georgia Health System and Northside Hospital’s Forsyth f acility — the two largest health care employers in the area — expect to hire several hundred RNs within the next two years.

Lynn Jackson, administrator of Northside Hospital Forsyth, said: “This is a critical and constant need. It’s difficult to attract talented nurses to Forsyth County when we compete with hospitals all over the country for these much sought after professionals. Having a pool of well-prepared nurses who graduate right here will be a tremendous benefit to the hospital and to the people who live in this area.”

Lanier Tech’s five campuses a r e c o nve n i e n t l y l o c a t e d throughout northeast Georgia and offer 193 programs, including 36 degrees, 41 diplomas and 116 technical certificates of credit. Programs are available in allied health, business and computer technology, industrial and technical studies, public safety and professional services, and general studies.

Programs of study are offered through traditional, online and hybrid classes. Applications are currently being accepted for summer semester. Priority application deadline for summer term is March 26.

Summer 2019 courses begin May 29. The college is also accepting applications for the fall 2019 semester, which begins August 19. Priority application deadline for fall semester is June 12. Contact the admissions office for further information on the application process.

Lanier Technical College’s Forsyth campus, a 120,000-square-foot facility on 49 acres, located off Exit 13 on Ga. 400, with more than 1,000 enrolled students, is an educational provider of high-demand programs of study in health care, computer technology, business technology, public safety and professional services.

Lanier Tech is experiencing strong growth in enrollment (up over 10 percent in fall 2018), with the Forsyth Campus leading the college in growth: enrollment increased from 803 students in fall 2017 to 941 stu-

dents in fall 2018, a 17 percent jump. By spring 2019, enrollment had increased to 951, a 24 percent increase from the previous spring.

The College’s SACSCOC accreditation opens the door for area students to complete core courses required by the University System of Georgia’s (USG) four-year colleges at Lanier Tech. An articulation agreement between TCSG and USG, 28 General Education courses — such as English, math, psychology, history and public speaking — may be completed at Lanier Tech and then be accepted at any USG college or university.

Many students taking advantage of the articulation agreement are currently enrolled high school students participating in the Dual Enrollment program. In fall 2018, the Forsyth campus enrolled 187 Dual Enrollment students. The program provides for students who are dual-credit enrolled at a participating eligible public or private high school, or home study program in Georgia, and a participating eligible postsecondary institution in Georgia.

These students take postsec-

ondary coursework for credit towards high school graduation or home study completion and postsecondary requirements.

Students who participate in Dual Enrollment will receive high school credit and college credit simultaneously while attending college classes on the college campus. Tuition and college textbooks are provided and Dual Enrollment classes do not count against the number of college credit hours for which the Georgia HOPE Grant/ Scholarship will pay.

The economics of attending Lanier Tech are also outstanding for students enrolled in programs covered by the HOPE Career Grant: tuition is free for students receiving HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship funds and enrolled in qualifying programs. Qualifying programs at the Forsyth and Dawson campuses include Automotive Te c h n o l o g y, We b S i t e Development and Design, Computer Support Specialist, Networking Specialist, PC Repair and Network Technician, Residential Wiring Technician, Electrical Systems Technology, Early Childhood Care & Education, Medical Front Office Assistant, Phlebotomy, Design and Media Production Technology.

T h e C o l l e g e ’s A d u l t Education division offers free GED training and testing, English language training for ESL residents, as well as preparation for the U.S. Citizenship test.

For more information, visit www.laniertech.edu.

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Photos for the Forsyth County News

A growing number of people are enrolling in graduate programs at UNG’s Cumming Campus, which has experienced a 231 percent increase in graduate enrollment since 2015.

UNG offers a variety of programs, including MBA For the Forsyth County News

Located in Forsyth County, a hub for global commerce and international trade, University of North Georgia’s (UNG) Cumming Campus produces leaders able to compete in a global economy.

Students have easy access to the wide range of amenities that living close to a big city provides, while studying in a smaller campus environment.

“The tremendous success and g r ow t h o f o u r C u m m i n g Campus points to the demand for higher education in this c o m m u n i t y,” s a i d U N G President Bonita C. Jacobs.

“We are grateful for the many community leaders and partnerships that have contributed to this success and continue to enable us to serve students in this region.”

A growing number of people are enrolling in graduate programs at UNG’s Cumming Campus, which has experienced a 231 percent increase in graduate enrollment since 2015. Increased interest has resulted in an expansion of degrees offered as well. One of the growing number of graduate students is 50-year-old Bruce Wing, president of Strategic Wealth LLC in Alpharetta.

“UNG is an excellent school with a very good reputation and

I personally know several of its excellent professors,” Wing said. “As the ‘old guy’ going back to school, it’s fun to talk with talented men and women a generation younger than me. I like to think that my past experience as a senior officer for a Fortune 500 company and my current experience as an entrepreneur add a little color to the classroom discussions.”

Wing is working on his Master of Business Administration (MBA) and then plans to get a doctorate so he can eventually teach at the college level.

“The diversity of students in our MBA program adds a lot of value to the classroom conversation and the learning experie n c e ,” s a i d S t e v e n M .

Kronenberg, director of graduate programs for the Mike Cottrell College of Business at UNG. “Our students range from those with years of corporate experience like Bruce to students who are just getting started. These students also come from a variety of industries, which further enhances the classroom experience.”

UNG considers industry needs when deciding on degrees offered, especially for new degrees. According to the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL), the job sectors of business management and educational services are growing

across the state, with 7,380 more managers needed just by 2019 and 18,800 more needed in educational services. On the master’s degree level, three of the “hot” careers through 2026 according to GDOL are in education administration, educational guidance and health care social workers — representing two of the four graduate degrees offered in Cumming.

“Convenience to UNG’s Cumming Campus is a big factor for many living and working in the Ga. 400 corridor that includes Forsyth County and north Fulton County, where there are few options for higher education — especially graduate programs,” said Jason Pruitt, executive director of UNG’s Cumming Campus.

While the mantra in real estate may be “location, location, location,” that wasn’t the only factor for Wing, who lives in Cumming.

“The location, with classes in downtown Cumming, and the price of the MBA program are both excellent,” Wing said.

In addition to the MBA, other graduate degrees offered on the UNG Cumming Campus include the Master of Arts in Te a c h i n g a n d M a s t e r o f Education through the College of Education and Master of Science in Counseling through the College of Health Sciences and Professions.

Through the Cumming Campus, UNG offers a variety of undergraduate degrees as well, and offers an extensive array of courses through Professional and Continuing Education.

Additionally, UNG has partnered with the Forsyth County community to support K-12 students. The latest project aims to provide expanded opportunities for Forsyth County students through the Alliance Academy for Innovation — the seventh high school for Forsyth County Schools that is adjacent to UNG’s Cumming Campus. The university partnered with the school system to provide dualenrollment opportunities and other programming. The Alliance Academy provides an interdisciplinary curriculum with a culture of teamwork, creative thinking, collaboration and communication. It features five interest-themed academies or schools including aerospace and logistics, criminal justice and law, health care and first responders, hospitality and design, and mechatronics and energy.

The high school also houses the Career Exploration Center in The Mike and Lynn Cottrell Junior Achievement Discovery Center at North Georgia.

Located near UNG’s Cumming Campus and created in partner-

ship with Junior Achievement of Georgia, the new Discovery Center serves 15,000-plus middle school students from Forsyth, Hall, Lumpkin and Dawson County schools, along with Gainesville and Calhoun city schools.

With almost 20,000 students across its five campuses — Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville and Oconee County — UNG is one of the largest public universities in the state.

It offers more than 100 programs of study including certificates, associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as professional doctoral programs.

UNG was ranked 20th among public regional universities in the South in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 edition of Best Colleges and was No. 1 for least amount of debt load at graduation. For 2018, UNG also was included on Forbes’ list of Best Colleges for the third-straight year and was one of four public universities in Georgia on Kiplinger’s list of Best College Values.

UNG is one of six senior military colleges in the United States and is designated as a University System of Georgia leadership institution and as T h e M i l i t a r y C o l l eg e o f Georgia.

10C | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Parks & Recreation: Highlights from 2018 For the Forsyth County News

Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Department is focused on improving the quality of life for the residents of Forsyth County by providing various recreation programs, services and amenities throughout the community. The park system currently manages 25 parks that consist of 2,797 acres of land. Park facilities and amenities range from active sports complexes to nature trails to multi-use recreation centers. In 2018, the parks had more than 1.7 million visitors. Some of the programs and projects that took place in 2018 are highlighted below: In April 2018, the department developed and implemented a new therapeutic recreation (TR) program. The overall goal of the TR program is to provide recreation programs to residents with disabilities and special needs in Forsyth County. The purpose of the program is to improve the participants’ physical, emotional, cognitive and social skills as well as to help them develop a connection to the community and a lasting healthy and active life style. The TR program had 542 program participants in 2018.

The department was proud to partner with the Forsyth County Lions Club to add a Braille Trail inside Fowler Park in May 2018. The Braille Trail is about 200 yards in length and is comprised of eight braille signs and two sensory gardens.

The trail has guide ropes located on the right side for visually impaired individuals to navigate the trail. Braille signs are placed throughout the trail with information about Forsyth County, Fowler Park, the Forsyth County Lions Club and the sensory gardens. The sensory gardens were installed by students from Kelly Mill Elementary School and are stationed at two points on the trail to provide sensory stimulation as well as to provide a habitat for the endangered Monarch butterfly.

Also, in May 2018, the department opened two new trails; one at Lanierland Park and one at Matt Community Park.

The trail at Lanierland Park is an out and back route that is 2.6 miles long allowing for walking and jogging. The trail at Matt Community Park features stacked loops that total 3.06 miles allowing for walking, jogging and mountain biking. This brings the county trail total to just over 50 miles. Both trails were funded by the 2008 Parks and Recreation Greenspace Bond and impact fees.

During the summer of 2018, the department hosted the Triple Crown Fast

Pitch USA National Softball Tournament (14u, 16u and 18u) that brought 144 national teams from 25 states with a total of 5,040 total visitors to Forsyth County parks. The championship games were televised live on ESPN 3 at Fowler Park.

The park system also hosted the Triple Crown Southeast Nationals Fastpitch Softball tournament that brought 48 teams from eight states with a total of 1,620 visitors to the parks. According to the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce the economic impact to our community for these two events was more than $1.75 million.

Also, last summer the county purchased 81 acres of property for a new park in Southwest Forsyth County. The park will be master planned as a community park and will serve a highly populated area. The purchase of this property aligns with the action items in the Forsyth County Parks and Recreation 2016 Comprehensive Master Plan Update.

In October 2018, a new bike skills park opened at Haw Creek Park as part of the Haw Creek Bike Fest. The bike skills park is an area designed specifically for riders between the ages of 3 to 11 and features a pump track, tot track and technical trail features that are found on most mountain biking trails.

In November 2018, the department received the Georgia Recreation and Park Association (GRPA) Agency of the Year Award. The award was presented to five

2018 Summary Statistics • Over 1.7 million park visitors • 214,222 total recreation center pass visits • 31.563 Sawnee Mountain Preserve Visitor Center visitors • 37,204 activity/program participants • 6,054 facility rentals

What’s Coming Up in 2019?

• At Chattahoochee Pointe, a new disc golf course opened March 17.

• At Caney Creek Preserve, new playground equipment with rubberized surfacing and a larger pavilion will be added, and improvements will be made to the landscaping at the existing dog park.

• At Matt Community Park, a six-court tennis complex with restrooms will be constructed near the existing playground.

• At Fowler Park, fields 6 and 7 will re-open for play with new synthetic turf.

• In July, a new activity registration system will go live to enhance the online registration process.

population groups within the state, with Forsyth County falling into the largest population category — 150,000 and over.

The agency of the year award nomination entry includes information about staff development, budgeting and resources, facilities offered, use of technology. The nominees are judged on major accomplishments made within the last year as well as new and outstanding programs offered. One of the major accomplishments included in the nomination was earning national accreditation status from the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA)

in September 2017. The department is one of only 166 agencies nationally to hold the recognition and the second county in Georgia to gain accreditation.

Also, in 2018 the department completed the following improvement projects: resurfaced tennis courts at Coal Mountain and Midway parks, added a new swing set to Haw Creek Park, replaced the rubber spray pad surface at Old Atlanta Park splash pad, resurfaced indoor basketball courts at the three recreation centers and painted the exterior of the Sawnee Mountain Visitor Center building.

File photo

A new disc golf course opened March 17 at Chattahoochee Pointe in south Forsyth.

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Forsyth County’s Geoff Duncan begins tenure as Georgia’s lieutenant governor

By Kelly Whitmire

District 26 from 2013 to 2017, when he stepped down to run for the lieutenant governor seat. He defeated Democrat Sarah Riggs Amico in November’s general election.

He is a graduate of Chattahoochee High School and attended Georgia Tech, where he was a scholarship pitcher and member of the school’s 1994 College World Series team. After his junior season, he was drafted into the then-Florida Marlins organization, where he played for six years and reached the AAA level.

As lieutenant governor, Duncan serves as president of the state Senate and oversaw the morning’s meeting. By his own admission, it was a good first day on the job.

“Day one was a good day and I appreciate the help from the secretary’s office to help me get up to speed on it,” Duncan said.

“This is a great opportuni-

kwhitmire@forsythnews.com

AT L A N TA — O n Tuesday, Jan. 15, for the first time ever, a Forsyth County resident presided over the Georgia Senate as Geoff Duncan, a former lawmaker representing the county, took on his first state Senate meeting as Georgia’s lieutenant governor.

“It’s an honor to work with, like I said in my [opening] comments, with so many talented people in this room that represent millions of Georgians across the state,” Duncan said following the morning’s session. “That’s the part I’m really excited about is getting to know the senators, but way more than just the title of senator, getting to know them personally as colleagues and as friends and knowing their districts not just by number but the communities that make up those districts.”

Duncan represented

ty and the role of lieutenant governor of the state of Georgia does have a foot in the legislative branch and in the executive branch. I take that seriously and look forward to working with folks in this room.”

In his new role, Duncan said he wanted to create an atmosphere where state senators can focus on all details of proposed legislation.

“I think that my job as lieutenant governor is to facilitate a conversation that allows all the facts and figures to come out on all of these big issues, allow it to be a very deliberative process,” Duncan said.

“That’s the intent, right?

That’s what we’re supposed to do here. We’re not supposed to have preconceived notions about what a piece of legislation is supposed to look like day one, it’s to work the process, to work the committees, to take the talent and the resources and the input of those folks on the

committee process and really getting into that.”

Along with Duncan getting to know the legislators, some members of the body said they were excited to work with him.

“It was a good first day,” said state Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican representing Macon.

“We’re glad to have him in, glad to have him as president of our chamber and wish him well. We’ll look forward to the days ahead when we get into the substance of what we do here in the Senate and watching him preside over us.”

State Sen. David Lucas, a Democrat also representing Macon, said he thought Duncan did well in his first meeting and expected him to continue learning on the job.

“It’s been a pretty good first day,” Lucas said.

“He’s going to learn, the same way I had to learn when I first got here. He’ll get up to speed on it. He ought to do alright.”

Kelly Whitmire Forsyth County News

Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Forsyth County resident and former state Representative for the area, presided over the state Senate for the first time on Jan. 15, 2019.

Duncan isn’t the only former state representative from Forsyth County serving in a new role at the capitol.

Mike Dudgeon, who represented south Forsyth and north Fulton’s District 25 from 2011-16, serves as Duncan’s director of policy, which he said looks at each piece of legislation and works to advance Duncan’s legislative agenda, which will be released “in the next couple of weeks.”

Dudgeon said he was excited to see Duncan step

into the role.

“I think Geoff is a natural leader and that is coming out already in the way he’s approached things here at the Capitol,” he said. “I think that leadership style of a positive, policy-oriented [leader] and trying to keep the politics to a considerable level, I think that’s going to be a very good cultural thing. I think Geoff’s leadership, which has already shown by winning that election, can really help get Georgia moving that way.”

Meet Molly Cooper, the county’s newest commissioner

By Kelly Whitmire

kwhitmire@forsythnews.com

Forsyth County’s newest commissioner hasn’t been on the job long but is ready to get to work.

District 1 Commissioner Molly Cooper, who took office at the beginning of the year, spoke with Forsyth County News in January ahead of her first work session as a commissioner. After observing meetings as a resident, candidate and commissioner-elect, she said she is trying to have all possible information going into the work session.

“I spend a lot of time at home reading,” Cooper said. “With this next work session, there are going to be some votes on numerous parcels, so I’ve looked up every one of those and read everything about them … Also when you’re reading it and doing research, to make sure that I am paying attention to that which is really relevant to what we’re going to be voting on.”

Cooper, who operated Inside Additions Furniture and Home Accessories for 16 years, took office in January, replacing her longtime predecessor Pete Amos, who decided to not run for re-election last year. She defeated fellow Republican Dooz Owings, earning 77.3 percent of the vote, or 3,000 votes, in May in the Republican primary for the seat and did not face a Democrat in November.

“The thing now is spending a lot of time in preparation, going through

Kelly Whitmire Forsyth County News

Forsyth County District 1 Commissioner Molly Cooper looks over plans in her office at the Forsyth County Administration Building on Jan. 7, 2019.

the agenda, making sure I know what is on there within every one of the districts,” Cooper said.

“That’s new to my life.

It’s a different type of preparation than what you’re doing when you’re just observing.”

Representing District 1, which is made up of the majority of the city of Cumming and much of west Forsyth, Cooper said some of the issues she is most interested in are working with the city about the upcoming Cumming City Center and preparing for the widening of Canton Highway (Hwy. 20 west), including architectural standards and bringing quality development.

“I want to see businesses that are going to be an asset to the county and also bring employment and businesses that are a compliment to folks whose homes are right there just off of 20,” Cooper said. “You’ve got to be careful with that and not put something in there

that is going to be a problem and a detriment to them and their lifestyle.”

Preparing for the meetings, Cooper said she is trying to only focus on what she can control and make decisions on and not getting stuck in matters outside the county’s purview.

“I think one of the things that may be one of the biggest challenges is we do have extreme factors over which we have no control, but we have to abide by,” she said. “We have state regulations, we have federal regulations, even to the point that every zoning has its own topography, things that are not in your control and [we] have to work within those boundaries.”

She said making decisions should be fact-based and not driven by emotion.

Cooper — who previously served a variety of positions with Republican groups, including as first vice chair and delegate for t h e Fo r s y t h C o u n t y

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Republican Party and president of Republican Women of Forsyth County — said she believes contacts she made within the party, including state legislators, will aid the county and help her get information about potential legislation.

“We’re not an island,” she said. “We’re really connected to a lot of different variables out there, and just making sure that I can pull all that together.”

Cooper’s addition to the board means for the first time, the commission has a female majority. Along

with new officers, she said she is excited for what is essentially a new board.

“I’m one of those that believes in equality. I don’t believe in gender preference or any of that; i t ’s t h e i n d iv i d u a l ,” Cooper said. “With having three women on there, the county also has faith in the fact that leadership is not a gendered trait, it’s an individual trait. It feels good to have the county say, ‘Yeah, this is what we believe, too,’ and I love being a part of that.”

Cooper said during her term she wants to be a

voice for those both in and out of her district.

“For me, I think when you’re representing people — and you are, you’re representing not only your district but the whole county — so you have to look at it from what it was like when you too were just a constituent, the type of represent a t i o n y o u wa n t e d ,” Cooper said. “So for me, it’s important not only to hear what’s going on but to listen — that’s making sure you absorb it — as well as putting your own values in there.”

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Forsyth County government is pleased to provide quality services, outstanding amenities, top-notch public safety, and great parks and green space covering more than 2,700 acres, all while maintaining taxes among the lowest in metro Atlanta.

Connect

with Your County!

Connect with Forsyth County government today and be a part of our community’s future. Visit us online at forsythco.com, tune into TV Forsyth and attend county government meetings. Get social with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube!

/forsythcountygeorgia

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2018 Forsyth County

Board of Commissioners

Molly Cooper District 1 Commissioner

Dennis T. Brown District 2 Commissioner Secretary

Todd Levent District 3 Commissioner

Cindy Jones Mills Laura Semanson District 4 Commissioner Vice Chairman

District 5 Commissioner Chairman

Forsyth County government works every day to make our community the best it can be, today and in the future.

It is the mission of the county’s elected officials and employees to provide effective, professional public service with integrity and a commitment to excellence. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Northside Hospital Forsyth continues to expand For the Forsyth County News

As one of the most respected and trusted health care organizations in the Southeast, Northside Hospital is committed to balancing clinical excellence with compassionate care.

In Forsyth County, Northside Hospital Forsyth is again expanding its services in 2019 to provide the region and the community with greater patient access to quality medical care.

Construction on six new operating rooms (ORs) has already begun within the hospital’s Center for Advanced Surgical Technology. Expected to open in October 2019, the new rooms will bring the hospital’s total number of ORs to 24.

The hospital also is in the process of moving and expanding its outpatient infusion center in order to better accommo-

date patients who need infusion or chemotherapy services.

Last year, the completion of a fifth medical office building on the Northside Hospital Forsyth campus brought orthopedics under one roof — spine, expert joint replacement services, and sports medicine and physical therapy. Northside Hospital Forsyth is a regional leader in same-day joint replacement, performing more surgeries than any other Georgia hospital.

Northside Hospital offers expertise that ranks in the top 10 robotic surgery programs in Georgia, meaning patients with post-sports related injuries and osteoarthritis return to a better quality of life much faster.

The hospital’s Women’s Center recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Northside is nationally renowned for its maternity services, including its

Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). More than 3,000 babies were born at Northside Hospital Forsyth in 2018.

Northside Hospital Forsyth continues to lead the way in heart and vascular care, earning quality achievement awards, once again, for heart failure, heart attack and stroke care from leading accreditation groups. The hospital’s cardiology team and emergency department staff work collaboratively with Forsyth County and Central EMS to ensure that patients receive access to care.

Patient transfer times are ahead of the Atlanta region’s average of 76 minutes.

The largest private sector employer in Forsyth County, with more than 3,100 employees, Northside was ranked by as one the Best Places to Work,

Northside Hospital Forsyth “By the Numbers” Beds Employees Physicians Volunteers Patient Encounters in 2018 Admissions in 2018 Births in 2018 Surgeries in 2018 Emergency Department visits in 2018

across all top large employers in the United States, on both Glassdoor.com and Comparably.com.

Northside is proud to have developed strong community partnerships with many of the region’s non-profit organizations and events. The hospital is a title sponsor of the 2019 Boulder Dash 5K/10K Fitness R u n / Wa l k & C o r p o r a t e

304 3,100 650 327 508,745 15,273 3,071 14,428 62,015

Challenge and supports multiple events at the Elachee Nature Science Center throughout the year. Additional partners include Literacy Forsyth, the Forsyth County Schools and the March of Dimes.

Follow @NorthsideHosp on social media, and for more information, including free community health screenings, visit northside.com.

Forsyth County named healthiest in Georgia for 7th straight year

By Kelly Whitmire

kwhitmire@forsythnews.com

For the seventh straight year, a study by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has ranked Forsyth County as the healthiest county in Georgia.

The ranking, released on March 5, 2019 took into account health outcomes, health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment.

“I think it really does speak to, I would say, the strength of the people in the county, as well as the infrastructure of support that is there to support health,” said Carolyn Booker, director of patient care at Northside Hospital Forsyth. “Even from the standpoint of the way which green space is used within the county and different walkways, I will say that there is always something happening here in Forsyth County related to some type of 5K, some type of run, some type of activity, you name it.”

Forsyth County was joined by two neighbors in the Top 5 as

Oconee, Cherokee, Fayette and Gwinnett counties finished second through fifth, respectively.

The five counties with the poorest health were Warren, Twiggs, Quitman, Clay and Miller counties, all in rural areas of the state, particularly on the south half of Georgia’s border with Alabama.

In addition to being the healthiest in the state, Forsyth was first in health outcomes and third in health factors.

Health outcomes took into account factors like premature death, those in poor or fair health, poor physical and mental health days and low birth weight. In all of those factors, except low birth weight, Forsyth County was at or below the average for top national performers and the state of Georgia.

For low birth weight, Forsyth County’s 7 percent was slightly above the top performers’ 6 percent but below the state’s average of 10 percent.

Forsyth County was also first in the health outcomes’ categories of length of life and quality of life.

In health factors, Forsyth County finished third behind

Oconee and Fayette counties.

Categories looked at for the health factors were: health behaviors, which Forsyth County was ranked first; clinical care (seventh); social and economic factors (second); and physical environment (39th.)

Health behaviors took into account physical inactivity and access to exercise opportunities.

Laura Pate, marketing and community relations manager for the Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Department, said the department offers several ways for members of the community to stay in shape.

“As far as parks are concerned, we offer three recreation centers with fitness areas and inside walking trails, also with basketball courts, so those are great amenities for the community to come in, work out and get fit,” she said. “We have over 50 miles worth of trails, and that’s anything from the Big Creek Greenway … to nature trails to mountain biking trails. So, we offer a lot of opportunities for people to stay active.”

Pate said the parks also host to a variety of youth sports, which

give kids a foundation in health.

Booker said for clinical care, there is a renewed interest in preventative care to avoid issues before they require hospitalization, such as programs through the hospital’s sports medicine network.

“The hospital model now is actually focusing in on helping people to stay healthy versus just treating illness,” Booker said.

“We have a lot of programs that actually assist in that focus.”

In those categories, Forsyth did lag behind in the ratios of primary care physicians, dentists and mental health providers. The population of Forsyth and the closeness to Fulton County, which had comparably lower scores, may partly explain the significant drop.

Bookers said part of health care is tackling those problems as they arise.

“Under no circumstance would anyone, especially from a health care perspective, rest on any type of a laurel,” she said. “Suffice to say that you’re always looking to improve. I think the benefit of having the Northside Hospital system within this county is that

they are constantly looking at the need and striving to bring in the appropriate physician presence.”

The physical environment score — which was a factor of air pollution, drinking water violations, severe housing problems, driving to work alone and long commutes while driving alone — was noticeably lower than other scores but the statewide trend generally showed higher scores for northeast and southeast Georgia.

The severe housing problems part of the study — a percentage of households with at least one issue of overcrowding, high housing costs, lack of kitchen facilities or lack of plumbing facilities — was a major focus for those who performed the study.

“Our homes are inextricably tied to our health,” said Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in a news release. “It’s unacceptable that so many individuals and families face barriers to health because of what they have to spend on housing. This leaves them with fewer dollars to keep their families healthy.”

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Barry Head named Forsyth County’s new fire chief

By Brian Paglia

bpaglia@forsythnews.com

Barry Head had a busy start to 2019.

On Friday, Jan. 11, he was named Forsyth County Fire Department fire chief, a position for which he was sworn in on Jan. 17.

And being born and raised in the county, Head heard from a lot of people after the news of his new position was made public. “ M y w e e ke n d wa s spent answering telephone calls and returning emails,” Head said on Monday in his new office, “which is good. It’s good to hear from people you haven’t heard from in a long time.”

Head will be the county’s fourth fire chief, but he might be the most knowledgeable of the department’s history than any of his predecessors.

Head, 50, has lived in Forsyth County his entire life. He graduated from Forsyth County High School, but even before then he knew he wanted to pursue a career in public safety.

“I don’t know if there’s one event that drew me to it,” Head said, “but I certainly knew that’s where I wanted to be.”

In 1986, at 18, Head became a volunteer firefighter. Four years later,

he started his public safety career in earnest as a dispatcher with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. He eventually reached the rank of sergeant, then started with the Forsyth County Fire Department in 1997 as a fire inspector.

Head went on to serve a variety of roles in the department, from firefighter to fire lieutenant to division chief, marshal and most recently division chief, field operation, a position he had held since 2017 before former Fire Chief Danny Bowman retired after 15 years.

Now, he’s in charge of the entire department that is tasked with keeping the only county that he’s called home safe.

“It’s exciting,” Head said, “and terrifying.”

Head has plenty to keep him busy. The fire department is set to replace a few fire stations, add apparatus and staff and initiate some community outreach programs, such as the Forsyth County Fire Explorer Cadet Program.

The county also recently purchased land in north Forsyth to build a stateof-the-art training facility.

“That project in and of itself will be the largest single project that we’re tackled,” Head said.

Much of it follows the

Ben Hendren For the Forsyth County News

Barry Head poses for a picture at Station 12 on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. Head is the Forsyth County Fire Department’s fourth fire chief, taking over the department that he first contributed to as a volunteer firefighter when he was 18 years old.

roadmap set by Bowman, Head said. The longtime chief was a big figure in the community who guided the fire department along as demand for the department’s services grew alongside Forsyth County.

Head said he learned a lot from working with Bowman, particularly in situations that required

creative problem-solving.

That was most evident as the former chief managed the department’s evergrowing budget over the years, Head said.

“He’d have this daunting task, and to watch him work through it and find the answer to the problem was pretty impressive,” Head said.

Now, that’s Head’s task.

It seems like “a hard act to follow,” he said, but Head feels he’s taking over the department at an exciting time in its evolution, thanks in big part to Bowman’s leadership.

Leading the fire department wasn’t something Head considered early on in his career, but that evolved, he said, particularly over the last four to

five years.

To Head, it’s the natural next step to giving back to the place he’s always called home.

“I’ve always tried to give back to the community here as best as I could,” Head said. “And this is a continuation of that effort, and being in this role in your hometown is exciting.”

Letter from fire CHief Barry Head Greetings, Forsyth County.

The year 2018 once again proved to be a very dynamic year of progress and thoughtful growth for your Forsyth County Fire Department. It also was a year when we said “thank you” to now-retired Fire Chief Danny Bowman.

I would be remiss if I didn’t begin by mentioning that Chief Bowman hung up his white helmet and retired from our ranks on Oct. 16, after 50 years of faithful service to Georgia and Forsyth County. Coming here fresh out of retirement from the Fulton County Fire system in 2001 he was named our third fire chief in July of 2003.

During his 15 years serving as Forsyth County’s fire chief he oversaw the largest expansion and modernization of the department’s 46-year history.

The men and women of the fire department join me in congratulating Chief Bowman on his well-deserved retirement but, more importantly, thanking him for his service.

On March 23, the department’s first career firefighters, hired in 1998, celebrated their 20th anniversary on the department. Today, 15 of those 30

still serve in various positions of leadership and authority in our ranks.

A significant step forward for our service delivery strategy occurred in 2018 as the longawaited design work began on future Fire Station No. 11.

What is now three acres of pasture on Pittman Road just west of its intersection with Bethelview Road will be a new fire station to serve the western-central portion of the county and can be expected to open early in 2020. Also, thanks to the ardent support of the Board of Commissioners, in 2018 we purchased a tract of land on Martin Road in northern Forsyth County that will be the future heartbeat of the fire department’s training and logistics operations.

Always conservative and thoughtful in our budgeting, we were proud to be the recipients of two major grant awards in 2018. The FEMA-managed SAFER Grant was awarded for funding of the 12 firefighter positions that will be needed at Fire Station No. 11. Those troops have already been hired and are currently in our arduous 36-week recruit program

I would be remiss if I didn’t begin by mentioning that Chief Bowman, above, hung up his white helmet and retired from our ranks on Oct. 16, after 50 years of faithful service to Georgia and Forsyth County.

Fire Chief Barry G. Head, Forsyth County Fire Department

that we manage in-house. We also received a gracious Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation grant for a full complement of personal flotation devices and rescue throw bags that will outfit every fire apparatus with these lifesaving tools during heavy rains and urban flooding.

Our community outreach and

education efforts, one of our most important functions as public servants, also had a banner year. Working with our partners in the Forsyth County Schools system we embarked on an aggressive campaign to give our area teachers and bus drivers critical training in the Stop-the-Bleed campaign. The training and kits that each

teacher and driver received arms them with the knowledge and confidence to save a life in the event of a traumatic bleeding injury.

Finally, our community risk reduction team once again saw record participation as we conducted the successful citizens’ fire academy, junior fire academy, ghost out, safety town, trunk-or-treat, vial-of-life, and Aerial’s House toy drive programs as well as our ever increasingly popular child safety seat instruction.

In closing, please allow me this humbling opportunity to express how honored I am to serve as your fire chief, the fourth in the proud history of t h e Fo r s y t h C o u n t y F i r e Department. Our department motto, “service through tradition, excellence and integrity,” perfectly sums up how your firefighters carry themselves as they work for you day in and day out. With an eye on the future.

Respectfully, Barry G. Head Chief of Department Forsyth County Fire Department

Sheriff’s office increases school safety, fights drug abuse

By Ron Freeman

it is our honor to serve forsyth County, our motto of the “forsyth County Way” frames our mission.

• Integrity counts; • Service matters; • Excellence is our goal; • We are here to serve our community; • We approach crime proactively; • We treat people; consistently and fairly; • We are innovative in our service.

For the Forsyth County News

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is proud to serve our residents and visitors of Forsyth County.

Forsyth County continues to enjoy the lowest overall crime rates in the metro-Atlanta region.

Our residents’ cooperation and communication with FCSO is second to none and a testament to what can happen when community and law enforcement work together.

Our commitment to school safety was already leading the way in Georgia, but after the 2018 tragedy in Parkland, Fla., the School Superintendent [Jeff Bearden] and I commissioned a School Safety Task Force to review our school safety from top to bottom.

Since becoming sheriff, we have increased from 15 school resource deputies to 42 deputies now allocated full-time to our schools. Each of our major high schools have two deputies assigned and a full-time K9 narcotics team is assigned as well.

In 2017, the sheriff’s office was awarded National Accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies and in 2018 we pursued our Advanced Accreditation from the Commission.

Advanced Accreditation puts us at the pinnacle of law enforcement

For the Forsyth County News

Since becoming sheriff, we have increased from 15 school resource deputies to 42 deputies now allocated full-time to our schools. Each of our major high schools have two deputies assigned and a full-time K9 narcotics team is assigned as well.

best practices and assures our residents of our commitment to excellence. We are poised to receive that Advanced Accreditation in early 2019.

In 2018, the police chiefs in Johns Creek and Alpharetta joined me in a vision to create a

regional drug task force. Knowing the drugs continue to endanger all of our residents, we came together to form the Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Forsyth County (JCAF) Drug Task force. Headed by an FCSO Captain, the task force has allocated 16 positions

including a Sheriff’s K9 team and has made incredible efforts in targeting drug dealers plaguing our communities as well as targeting human and sex trafficking.

We have increased our volunteer programs and recently introduced our CHIP (Citizens

Helping in Policing) Patrol Units.

You will see them in your communities helping to keep us safe at zero taxpayer costs. We currently have over 20 CHIP members.

For the second year in a row, FCSO has managed your dollars wisely and remained under budget by nearly $700,000 while increasing our staffing levels and reducing overall crime. Our monthly finance reports are listed on our website at www.forsythsheriff.org. While many other agencies are struggling to find qualified candidates, FCSO has had a steady stream of educated and qualified candidates continue to apply to become part of our agency, and our retention of experienced deputies remains high.

Ron Freeman is the sheriff for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

ForsythNews.com | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | 9D

Sunday, March 31, 2019

CITY OF CUMMING

SMALL TOWN HEART, BIG CITY SPIRIT Through decades of continued growth and urbanization, the City of Cumming has remained the steadily beating heart of our community.

From historic preservation to family-focused facilities, activities and events, the City of Cumming has always sought to maintain a small-town, close-knit community feel. At the same time, the City believes in fostering economic development to provide stability.

2019 brings unlimited opportunities for the City to enhance both its

SMALL TOWN HEART AND BIG CITY SPIRIT!

BEST OF FORSYTH

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TroyH.Brumbalow Ford Gravitt Mayor Mayor

Chad Crane Lewis Ledbetter Councilman Councilman

Jason Quincy Holton Evans Councilman Councilman

Lewis Ralph PerryLedbetter Councilman Councilman

Linda Christopher John D. Pugh Ledbetter Rupert Sexton Councilman Councilman Councilwoman

Light Councilman

2018: A Year of Fun We hope everyone enjoyed all the new City of Cumming events that were offered in 2018:

• Fridays at the Fairgrounds – Every third Friday, April – October • Food Truck Fridays on School Street – Every first Friday, May – August • Expanded July 4th Celebration at the Fairgrounds – All-day festival following the Steam Engine Parade, and fireworks display on July 4th • Fairgrounds’ first summer music series – Cumming Rock of Ages in June; Cumming Music Fest in July; and Classic Rock Tribute Fest in August • Winter Wonderland in Cumming – Outdoor ice skating rink at the Fairgrounds from Thanksgiving through early January • Cumming Christmas Parade and Festival – Lighted parade through downtown ending with a Christmas festival at the Fairgrounds

We’re planning even more fun for 2019!

COMMUNITY EVENT Cumming Country Fair & Festival

GYMNASTICS PROGRAM Cumming Rec Dept.

Congratulations to the Cumming Country Fair & Festival and Cumming Rec Dept. for earning “Best of Forsyth 2019” recognitions by Forsyth County News readers! If you haven’t checked out all that the City of Cumming has to offer, you should soon!

City Center Update Progress is steadily being made toward creation of Cumming’s City Center on an approximately 50-acre site on Hwy. 20 West, abutting Forsyth Central High School. The mixed-use, walkable center will feature retail and restaurant spaces with a 1950s’ look and feel, plenty of green space with walking trails and a large water feature, a new veterans’ memorial, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Recently, Mayor and Council approved the final annexation that was needed to complete the site. A Phase 1 Environmental Assessment has also been completed with no major findings, and Dwell Design Studio has been selected to complete all architectural work for the project.

Mayor Brumbalow hopes to finish construction within the next two years.

Like Us on Facebook! @cummingcityhall

10D | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com

Sunday, March 31, 2019

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Economic plan hopes to bring 5,000 jobs in 5 years

By Kelly Whitmire

kwhitmire@forsythnews.com

A proposed new economic development strategic plan between Forsyth County, the Forsyth County Development Authority and the CummingForsyth County Chamber of Commerce is aimed at making Forsyth County a more attractive landing spot for businesses and targeting new industries.

The five-year plan has stated outcomes of 5,000 new jobs and growing the commercial portion of county tax revenue to 40 percent.

“I will tell people … ‘People overestimate what they can do in a year, but they underestimate what they can do in five,’” Robert Long, the Chamber’s vice president of economic development, said. “The whole idea of a five-year plan is to really focus your efforts so we can be successful and move the ball forward over the next five years.”

The plan, which is available at the chamber’s website (CummingForsythChamber. org), is broken down into three goals — identity and marketing, business development and real estate development and placemaking — and each has priority actions.

“I think the basic idea here, as identified in the plan is, to create a strong identity for Forsyth County and to elevate its profile among local, regional, national and international audiences, the strategies to a c c o m p l i s h t h i s — t h ey include both internal messaging [and] external messaging — and I really think the crux of any effective marketing campaign is education,” said Vi v i a n Va k i l i , F o r s y t h County’s economic developer.

Vakili said the plan would include Forsyth’s rankings as the healthiest and wealthiest county and the school system’s ranking as top school district.

For identity and marketing, the plan looks to conduct surveys in and outside of the county on the partnership, hold annual economic development summits, engage young professionals, engage with the real estate community and rechristen the Chamber’s economic development division as the Forsyth County Partnership.

For business development, the plan will form an education task force, engage the county’s youth to either stay in or return to the county after graduation, align Chamber and county resources and explore

new incentive tools.

Some priority actions for real estate and placemaking are promoting mixed-use developments, promoting a more efficient regulatory process, creating an airport task force and developing and enhancing amenities and infrastructure, among other projects.

TIP Strategies, the firm hired by the chamber to form the plan, identified strengths and weakness currently in the county.

Strengths included strong public-private partnerships, natural assets and scenic appeal, competitive incentives from the state, available land, proximity to Atlanta, the location of Ga. 400 and talent availability and growth.

There were also challenges, such as unfocused growth, an imbalanced tax base, no interstate, rail or regional airport, a shortage of diverse housing, lack of transportation alternatives and lingering external perceptions of the county.

To tackle some of those issues, the firm previously recommended developing industrial sites for new business, creating a convention center and hotel development, looking at multi-family zoning cat-

egories, expanding development in north Forsyth and around Lake Lanier, creating a group to look at a possible regional airport and designating Ga. 400 as an interstate highway, possibly I-485.

The plan also sets out a number of targeted industries, including e-commerce and dist r i bu t i o n , d a t a s e r v i c e s , advanced manufacturing, technology and research and development, professional services and headquarters and health care.

Long said e-commerce had developed gradually in the county, even if it doesn’t seem like a traditional hub for it.

“I tell people, ‘We’re not a good fit for distribution, but we are a good fit for e-commerce in that there are more functions under the roof,’” Long said. “For an e-commerce company to be successful, you’ve got to have folks that can handle the financial transactions, maintain your website, maintain your database and certain skill positions.”

For the airport portion of the plan, a task force will be created to find where it should go.

The aim is to give executives and other business officials a faster way to fly into the coun-

ty than Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

One proposal would be for the city of Dawsonville to take over Elliott Field in D a w s o nv i l l e , o w n e d b y NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill E l l i o t t a n d h i s f a m i l y.

Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason recently spoke to commissioners about his plan, which they have supported.

Along with the new plan, Forsyth County is also in the process of adopting a new economic development ordinance.

The plan lays out that Vakili will assist in implementing the economic development plan, work with the other bodies to bring in business and offer inducements, which are subject to final approval by the county manager and board of commissioners. The Chamber will seek out prospective businesses for the area.

Those inducements include total or partial waivers of impact fees, fee credits toward the county’s zoning process, acceleration of the zoning process, construction of infrastructure and tax abatement, including possible school tax abatement if approved by the Forsyth County Board of Education for “an extraordinary project.”

Big changes in store for the chamber in 2019

By Kevin McDonough

For the Forsyth County News

This is an exciting and pivotal time in the history of Forsyth County. By virtually every measure, we live in not just one of the greatest communities in Georgia but one of the greatest communities in the nation. Outstanding communities and economies do not develop by chance. They are built on a foundation of leadership and relationships.

The Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce serves as an integral part of fostering leadership and facilitating relationships in our community.

As the sole economic development entity in o u r c o m m u n i t y, t h e Chamber serves as a center point in facilitating relationships between Cumming, Forsyth County and the business community. This streamlined, center point approach gives us a competitive advantage in attracting businesses to our community and helping retain businesses that are already here. The result of the partnership between local government and the Chamber is that our community is a great place for businesses to succeed and for county residents to prosper.

The partnership between local government and our business community during 2018 led to the creation of a five-year plan that is the largest economic devel-

opment plan in our community’s history. It provides a roadmap to McDonough substantiall y increase the commercial investment in Forsyth County and accelerate the pace of creating a more balanced tax digest.

Commercial development is a key driver to ensure that residential property taxes stay low while the Chamber continues to support the infrastructure that drives Forsyth County’s economy and quality of life.

This plan will create more than 5,000 local new jobs and save tax payers more than $83 million. It includes some very big ideas to direct Forsyth County’s future like: • Target emerging technologies like the blockchain industry; • Develop a business park in north Forsyth; • Champion hotel and convention center development; • Expand development on Lake Lanier; • Explore designating Ga. 400 as an interstate highway.

As exciting as the future of our community is, it is important to note the great work that the Chamber achieved, even while we were working on defining future goals.

As a result of strong local leadership and the

relentless work of Chamber staff, 2018 was a remarkable year for economic development i n o u r c o m m u n i t y.

Thirty-eight companies announced a collective $183 million in new capital investments (a 10 percent increase from 2017) and 1,200 new jobs. This is the largest amount of capital investment in a single year since the inception of the Chamber’s Economic D e v e l o p m e n t Department in 2005.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e C h a m b e r ’s t o u r i s m d ev e l o p m e n t e ff o r t s referred 6,610 room night leads to local hotel operators. Visitors from these leads alone generated an estimated $1,249,290 in local sales taxes. Overall, visitors to Forsyth County generated an estimated $5,405,312 in local taxes, which is $72,387 more than 2017’s totals.

In addition to the headline grabbing feats in economic and tourism development, the Chamber continues to serve our community through various efforts.

The Chamber holds events weekly, monthly and annually to promote general and industry-specific networking. It also hosts a variety of events to provide Forsyth County residents with both information, entertainment and a sense of community. Examples of these events include legislative breakfasts, the State of the County

Address, the Boulder Dash 5K/10K and the FOCOnnection event series.

Despite the strong year that the Chamber enjoyed in 2018, the Chamber is already hard at work to make sure that 2019 is an even greater success. The year 2018 saw the creation of an economic development plan. The year 2019 will see that plan come to life. In 2018, there was an evaluation process to determine that the

Chamber needs to refresh its brand. We will see the launch of that refreshed brand in 2019. And 2018 saw the Chamber identify that we have outgrown our current location. This year will see the Chamber lay the foundation for its new home.

In short, 2018 was a banner year for the Chamber of Commerce.

Great work and plans were made in 2018, but there remains much to do. And rather than rest on its laurels, with the

dedicated team that we have at the Chamber, I have full confidence that we will meet our goals with diligence, overcome any obstacles with skill and ultimately, serve our community with dignity and distinction.

Kevin McDonough is a partner at the law firm Miles Hansford & Tallant LLC and is the chairman of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

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Halcyon Forsyth plans for a summer opening

By Kelly Whitmire kwhitmire@forsythnews.com

The addition of Halcyon Forsyth is expected to have a big impact on Forsyth County this year but some wet weather has pushed back the opening to the summer.

Phil Mays, with RocaPoint Partners, the firm developing Halcyon, said the opening of the mixed-use development off Ronald Reagan Boulevard near Ga. 400 has been pushed back to this summer instead of March after a particularly wet 2018.

“Obviously, 2018 was one of the wettest years on record and

2019 has, for the first months, not been any better. There’s no question that us, along with all other development projects in the Metro Atlanta, have been affected pretty heavily by the weather,” Mays said. “So we’re targeting now a summer opening instead of spring just to try to get through all the mud and the situation out there.”

When approved in 2015, the project was expected to open by fall 2017 before being pushed back to spring 2018 then spring 2019.

Mays said the project is moving on and “nothing more than a matter of time at this point” but said no date was formally

set for the summer opening.

“We really want to get a little bit further along before we would set an actual day,” Mays said. “Targeting summer, you would hope at a point we at least hit spring so that it would dry up some.”

The rain is not only impacting construction, Mays said, but “horizontal work” such as installing windows, running electricity and masonry.

Once completed, Halcyon will include 480,000 square feet of office and retail space, a trailhead for the Big Creek Greenway, about 230 homes, open space, 460 apartments, two hotels, a parking deck, a

movie theater, office space, a dog park and other retail.

The first phase of the project will focus heavily on the commercial and retail portions of the project and will be on the west side of Ronald Reagan Boulevard. The second phase will be on the east side of the road, and construction is expected to start next year.

Mays said the restaurant portion was about 70 percent leased, and a number of restaurants have previously announced they would be coming to Halcyon including Cherry Street Brewing, Gu’s Dumplings and a trio of restaurants from Atlanta Chef Marc

Taft, along with several others.

Single-family homes will be available on both sides of the project, though they will be developed by different companies.

Mays said even with some delays for the project, he is hearing a lot of excitement from the community.

“No question about that,” Mays said. “As far as social media we’re on, for Halcyon Forsyth we have a pretty good interaction with the community.

And so yes, there is a lot of excitement and people looking forward to it.”

Vivian Vakili county’s new economic development director

By Kelly Whitmire

kwhitmire@forsythnews.com

Forsyth County announced a new employee to help draw businesses to the community.

Late last year, the county announced Vivian Vakili as the new economic development director. In her new role, Vakili will work on attracting businesses to the county, expanding existing businesses and helping

companies navigate the processes of working with county departments. “ Viv i a n ’s knowledge and experience, Vakili partnered with the resources within the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority of

Forsyth County, provides us the optimal team to assist existing businesses to expand, while attracting new businesses to locate in our community,” said Forsyth County Manager Eric Johnson in a news release. “These resources leverage our exceptional quality of life, low taxes, outstanding schools and highly educated workforce.”

Vakili will also oversee

implementation of the county’s new comprehensive plan and will serve as the primary contact between the county and entities like the Development Authority of Forsyth County and Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce.

Previously, she served as development services manager in the county’s department of planning and community

development and in the public and private sectors.

She received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Emory University and holds the American Institute of Certified Planners certification from the American Planning Association and the LEED Accredited Professional certification from the United States Green Building Council.

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Kenneth Shiver, chief economist with Southern Company, speaks during the 2019 Economic Outlook Breakfast hosted by the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019.

Thoughts from the 2019 Economic Outlook Breakfast

By Kelly Whitmire

kwhitmire@forsythnews.com

Kenneth Shiver, chief economist with Southern Company, shared a few of his thoughts on the economy in February, including the growing population, rumors of recession and changes to retail businesses.

Shiver was the keynote speaker at the 2019 Economic Outlook Breakfast hosted by the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce and shared his thoughts on a broad range of topics, including answering questions from the crowd.

He said while there are economic concerns, such as growth in the county, overall there are “no major imbalances.”

“Here in Forsyth County, you start looking [such as]. ‘Hey, I’ve got a lot of population growth up here, how do I manage the growth?’ With the leaders here in the county and the plans in place, it seems like it’s

on the right track of managing the growth well, moving it forward,” Shiver said. “That is the challenge, and so far, y’all have been greatly up to the challenge.”

Population and labor force Growth is one of the biggest and most often brought up issues in Forsyth County, and Shiver said there are several population factors that can potentially impact the economy.

“Here’s another fascinating statistic: There are more jobs out there than there are people who are unemployed,” Shiver said. “That’s great if you’ve got a job. The question is, how do we grow from here, now?”

Shiver said 51 percent of employees in Forsyth County commuted to DeKalb and Fulton counties to work, [which is] about 48,000 people. About 25,000 commute into the county each day to work in county

jobs.

The ongoing opioid crisis, Shiver said, is also having an impact on those who can be hired.

“I talked about this with manufacturers last week,” Shiver said. “Literally, if I need 50 workers, I have to bring in 100 workers to make sure I’ve got 50 that can pass the drug test. That is a major drag on our economy.”

Another factor is the changing demographics as baby boomers retire and millennials continue to enter the workforce.

Recession Though some economists are forecasting an incoming recession, Shiver said he sees “slowing in the rates of growth.”

“There is no such thing as ‘being time to have a recession,’” Shiver said.

Shiver said recessions “are always about removing imbalances,” which he did not largely see in the economy but did say

the rate of growth might slow.

“It’s not time for a recession but it is probably time for a little bit less uplift in the economy with just a little more moderate growth, especially for 2019,” he said.

He said it looked like the U.S. and China could come to a resolution but there was some uncertainty.

Shiver said NAFTA had a larger impact on the Southeast due to manufacturing.

International trade

Retail

With talks of trade wars and tariffs becoming more common, Shiver said many businesses, particularly manufacturing, are keeping an eye on changes to NAFTA and any possible trade war.

Shiver said his position was free trade was good “when both sides have open markets.”

“We start talking about the case of China, we start getting the question, ‘Are their markets just as open as our markets?’” he said. “That’s where we look at the numbers and look at the intellectual property issues going on in China. It’s time to do something about China, the question is how do you do something about China?”

Forsyth County has seen local business try to adapt to the growth of online sales.

Shiver said at his address last year, he implored listeners to shop at local businesses instead of online.

“I told y’all to stop, but I didn’t stop either,” he said.

“We’re all shopping at Amazon or other online stores. What’s interesting is the online is hitting us a couple of different ways. We don’t need as much square footage as we did before in the economy for the same amount of populations.”

While online shopping is growing, Shiver said traditional retail had “one of the best years ever” in 2018.

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

An architectural rendering for the planned Cumming city center.

Here’s the plan for Cumming’s future city center

By Kelly Whitmire

kwhitmire@forsythnews.com

Cumming Mayor Troy Brumbalow has debuted a new plan that could radically change the city’s downtown area.

Brumbalow sat down with the Forsyth County News in November to discuss a new city center project off Canton Highway that is planned to open within two years and will feature an amphitheater, miniature golf, walking trails, park, veterans memorial, space for businesses and a lake with a fountain.

“The city center is something I campaigned on,” Brumbalow said. “It is something that I think, nationwide, communities are going to … Something like this isn’t possible on our square or even that close, but it being within a half mile of the hub, I think it is close enough.”

Brumbalow said though plans could change a bit depending on the topography of the property and other factors, there is a plan for the aesthetics of the buildings to be unlike any other city center.

“The architecture of what we want is that Main Street, small-town feel,” Brumbalow said. “We want it to look like kind of a city from the 1950s, so to speak. It may look like buildings are repurposed, even though they are brand new, like a fire station that got turned into a restaurant.”

The city center will be located on Canton Highway and will abut Forsyth Central High School on about 60 acres of a 75-acre plot of land. The remaining acreage will be developed by the previous owner for up to 85 townhomes, which will not be owned by the city, and used for walking trails.

“The townhomes would be all brick and would have to be approved by the city so that architecture fits in with our ’50s theme,” Brumbalow said.

Across Canton Highway, about 14 acres will also be donated to the city and will include other walking trails.

Forsyth Central and the city center will share a parking lot located northwest of the school’s football field.

“I think incorporating it into Forsyth Central’s campus, it will give all the kids a great place to go and hang out, and they’ll go and patronize the businesses,” Brumbalow said. “I’m sure a lot of kids will end up working at these restaurants.”

Though the center will largely be green space and businesses, the Cumming Police Department and the city’s municipal court will also move to the development.

“They’re [currently] in a building that was built in the early ’70s. It was the original city hall back then, so it was set up for that purpose,” Brumbalow said.

Brumbalow said even the city buildings will have the classic feel.

“The police department is going to have the old lamp and globe like you would see back in the old days,” he said.

“We want to pay homage to our roots and where we’ve come from, but we also think that kind of architecture is unique.”

The development will be centered around the park area, which will lie in a lower elevation than most of the city center, giving businesses a good, and likely rooftop, view of the green space.

“This is not going to be a go in and clear-cut kind of project,” Brumbalow said. “We want to be able to save every single tree that can be saved. There are great specimen trees throughout this entire project that need to be saved.”

Plans show the park will be near the amphitheater, which will likely be used for Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies, concerts, plays and other performances, and will include a new veterans memorial amid issues with the c u r r e n t m o n u m e n t o n Ve t e r a n s Memorial Boulevard.

“I think [the memorial] would get a lot more exposure,” Brumbalow said.

“Families going out walking might not have gone there for the veteran’s memorial, but there it is. So, the interaction with it I think will be much greater.

You’re out walking with your kids and stop and you can kind of give them a history lesson on a different war.”

The park will also host the city’s

Avenue of Flags, which is displayed during Memorial Day and other patriotic holidays and honor the names of 300 local veterans. Public safety personnel will also be honored in the memorial.

No businesses have been announced for the commercial portions of the property, but Brumbalow said the city would make announcements as they rolled in.

He said he is hoping for more mom and pop stores than chains.

“We’ll lease the space out, and it will be a great revenue generator for the city,” Brumbalow said.

A second phase of the project will bring more retail and office space, and a third phase has been discussed but not approved. Part of the property lies in Forsyth County and will need to be annexed into the city.

Entrances to the city center will be on Canton Highway and Sawnee Drive.

The city is under contract for the land and expects to close on it by the beginning of 2019. Master planning the site will take about six months, and the project can be bid after that.

Brumbalow said nothing in the development has been named, but he has an idea for the park.

“We’ve not come up with a name for the city center yet,” he said. “One thing I’d like to do with the park is call it Veterans Memorial Park. That’s not set in stone, but that’s something I’d definitely like to see.”

Tam’s School Street Playhouse takes the stage

By Kelly Whitmire

kwhitmire@forsythnews.com

The facility known as the Cumming Playhouse has a new name and new folks running it.

Brian and Kelly Tam, who operate the restaurants Tam’s Backstage and Ta m ’s T u p e l o i n Cumming, took over operations of the playhouse at the beginning of 2019 and now operate it as Tam’s School Street Playhouse.

Tam’s Backstage has been located at the historic 1923 Cumming Public

School for more than a decade, and Brian Tam said the theater and restaurant “go hand-inhand.”

“The community has embraced the playhouse and the restaurant for over a decade, and we think this will be a seamless transition,” Brian Tam said. “We look forward to their continued support.”

In June of 2018, the Tams were approved to operate the playhouse by the Cumming City Council after the city wanted to step away from

the obligations and costs of running the facility.

The Tam’s are paying the city $5,500 each month and are in charge of soliciting shows and cleaning the playhouse and restrooms.

The city still handles utilities, liability insurance and maintenance and repair of the historic building. “ We ’ve b e e n ve r y happy with the city of Cumming and the way they operated the playhouse, but if they wanted to stop operating it and

turn it over to a private entity, we thought we would be the ones most suitable to take it over,” Tam said. “We are highly motivated to keep shows running through the playhouse with the restaurant being in the lower level.”

“Since we finalized the lease… we started booking shows for 2019,” Tam said. “We have a pretty full schedule already with a lot of contacts with different producers.”

Tam said the playhouse will host a variety of pro-

ductions including concerts, plays, musicals and more.

There is also a new site to check out upcoming shows and buy tickets, SchoolStreetPlayhouse. com. Tickets will still be sold at the box office.

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Downtown Cumming has a new home for art

By Brian Paglia

bpaglia@forsythnews.com

On Aug. 3, 2018, the Sawnee Association of the Arts held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in recognition of its new lease of the historic Brannon-Heard House.

Members of the association and a few community leaders, including Cumming Mayor Troy Brumbalow, former Forsyth County Board of Education Chairwoman Ann Crow and Cumming City Councilmember Linda Ledbetter, came together to explore the group’s new permanent space.

“It’s absolutely phenomenal,” said Kris Weeden, co-chair of the association. “We just love this place. And we just pray that it’s going to work for us and hope that the community will spread the word around about us as often as possible, send their family here, come and visit, and enjoy the art, because art brings us together.”

Over the past few years, the SAA had become more acquainted with the Brannon-Heard House at 111 Pilgrim Mill Road that sits across the street from The

Cumming Schoolhouse. The organization had rented the turn-ofthe-century home from time to time to hold a few art classes and events, and they’ve recently become a fixture in the space during the city’s new Food Truck Fridays events.

The group grew fond of the home’s layout and location just off the downtown square. Weeden said discussions about leasing the building began in May of 2018, and the city voted to give the SAA the lease that June. The association started moving in soon after.

The association hopes it’s created a new arts center to the downtown scene. Downstairs is a gallery, gift shop and kitchen, which will serve coffee to the community on Fridays. Upstairs is studio space for classes.

“We want to see downtown become a beautiful downtown like many of the other cities in our surrounding communities,” Weeden said.

The association quickly offered a new free series to city and county employees and have since added a series of classes for kids and their parents.

Above, Community members enter the Brannon-Heard House on Aug. 3, 2018, before a ribboncutting ceremony to recognize the Sawnee Association of the Arts’ new lease of the historic home. Left, members walk through the Brannon-Heard House before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Photos Brian Paglia FCN

Patrons are priority at Forsyth County Public Library From staff reports

The residents of Forsyth County certainly seem to love their libraries. Forsyth County Public Library says the feeling is mutual.

“We love our patrons and we want to answer their requests for more access to our services and programs, both inside our buildings and beyond, over the coming year,” Library Director Anna Lyle said.

The first step in making that desire a reality is expanding the Library’s operating hours. Last fall, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners approved a budget request including four additional part-time positions that allowed all four branches of the library to open earlier and close later on weekdays.

“We’ve had so many requests from patrons for longer hours, particularly from adults using the

public computers and from students working on homework or group assignments. Thanks to our Commissioners, we’re now open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday,” adds Lyle.

The budget also provided for a full-time Outreach Specialist who will deliver programs and provide access to library services across the Forsyth community, especially to those residents who can’t easily get to a library branch.

“Public libraries are for everyone, but we recognize that not everyone can get to a public library. We’re making it easier for patrons to access our services even if they can’t get to one of our branches,” explains Lyle.

For example, librarians presented a program about France to residents of a memory care program earlier this month.

“Ordinarily, these members of our community wouldn’t be able

to visit a library, but we can bring the library to them by reading short stories, playing music, and sharing conversations. This is a very valuable way that our libraries can meet patrons where they are,” says Lyle.

Sometimes those potential library patrons are job seekers.

Meeting librarians in the community, rather than at a branch, makes it easier for those patrons to learn about free career services available with a library card and to use those services to get hired.

“Our staff works with organizations such as The Place of Forsyth County to meet job seekers and help them use their library cards to access career testing, job training, and resume preparation services for free,” says Lyle.

Even the youngest of patrons are included in the library’s expanded outreach programs.

FCPL worked with local

schools and other organizations to develop Leap into Literacy, an early literacy initiative for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The program presents engaging storytimes and puppet shows to very young audiences, while also teaching parents and caregivers how to practice early literacy skills at home and better prepare their children for kindergarten.

Other free programs are also evolving to meet current community needs and desires.

For example, this year’s Forsyth Writes Together series recognizes growth in Georgia’s film industry by including two workshops on writing for big and small screens, in addition to seminars on writing books.

Author visits scheduled for this spring also reflect the current interests of patrons.

Martha Hall Kelly, bestselling author of Lilac Girls, will speak

and sign books at Forsyth Reads Together on April 17 at the Forsyth Conference Center. While Lilac Girls is the official selection for this year’s community reading program, the author’s appearance also celebrates the upcoming launch of its prequel, Lost Roses.

Soniah Kamal, award-winning author of Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan, will speak and sign copies of her retelling of Jane Austen’s classic novel on April 27 at the Sharon Forks Library.

“Our purpose is to give patrons access to books, materials, and technologies for a lifetime of learning. But, it’s our pleasure to hear their ideas and learn about their interests so we can offer services and present programs that are tailored for our community. It’s an exciting time for libraries in Forsyth County,” says Lyle.

Derby Girls - The Musical A PeAchtree PlAyers A Ayers Production April 25 - May 19, 2019 Thurs, Fri & Sat @ 8PM Sun Matinee @ 3PM

At 50, Milli Devereaux is trying her hand at writing a travel blog so she and her friends attend the Kentucky Derby. Excitement abounds when hair and aqua net flakes go flying when the Wheel of Derby Princesses malfunctions at the ball. The bugler is both handsome and available. Vivian has an epiphany about men, a mysterious stranger appears, Georgia is armed, and Twyla Fay is convinced that the Derby might be her answer to not losing her beloved “Tastee Freez” franchise back home. Join these ladies on a trip to the Derby they will never forget!

Bonnie & Clyde - The Musical A PeAchtree PlAyers A Ayers Production May 30 - June 23, 2019 Thurs, Fri & Sat @ 8PM Sun Matinee @ 3PM

Bonnie and Clyde is a thrilling and sexy musical with a non-traditional score, combining blues, gospel and rockabilly music. The story is based on the real life story of Bonnie and Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow, outlaws during the Great Depression.

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The Musical’ concerns a young woman names Sophie and her single mother Donna, a former nightclub singer wh runs a motel on a small greek island. Sophie is about to get married and before she ties the knot she wants to find out who her father is. Mama Mia! is a jukebox musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA.

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4F | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com

Sunday, March 31, 2019

New name, home, director for choral group

By Brian Paglia

bpaglia@forsythnews.com

Kirk Grizzle was ready to try something new.

Grizzle has worked with choral students in Forsyth County high schools for the past 18 years, first at South Forsyth and currently at Denmark. In 2018, he started working with an older crowd as the new director of the Cumming Playhouse Singers, the mixed-aged adult chorus that has been a staple in Forsyth County for more than a decade.

“It’s been a lot of fun; I’ve enjoyed working with adults,” Grizzle said. “It’s been kind of new to me to work with adults, but they do some great work there, and they’re a whole lot of fun to work with. Great representation of our community.”

Grizzle takes over for the choral group at a time of transition. The Cumming Playhouse Singers’ Dec. 20, 2018 performance was Grizzle’s first with the group, but it was also likely their last at the downtown Cumming theater.

In June 2018, the Cumming City Council voted to turn over management of the Cumming Playhouse to Brian and Kelly Tam, co-owners of Tam’s BackStage restaurant. The Playhouse and restaurant have both called the historic 1923 Cumming Public School building

home since 2004 and 2005, respectively.

But Grizzle said the group doesn’t see the Playhouse as a viable home going forward due to its limited seating and revenue-sharing policies.

“I think in order for the group to expand and be able to have a little more flexibility in when they have their concerts and stuff would be to find a new location,” Grizzle said.

And so the group has a new name — the Forsyth Singers — and a new location for its spring concert. They’ll perform at Denmark High School, where Grizzle teaches acting, chorus, technical theater and musical theater.

It’s a perfect location for now, Grizzle said: they’ll be able to seat up to 500 people in the school’s performing arts center and keep 100 percent of their ticket sales. Grizzle said the group would be open to other venues in the future.

Having Denmark as a home could also help the choral group grow in numbers and diversify the age group of its membership, two of Grizzle’s main goals as director.

“I would like to see it grow hopefully to a larger group and possibly try to incorporate even high school-aged kids all the way through adults of all ages,” Grizzle said. “I’d like to see a very diverse group of singers. … I think that’d be really cool.”

Kirk Grizzle was named the next director of the Forsyth Singers, the local mixedage adult choral group known as the Cumming Playhouse Singers.

Photo for the Forsyth County News

Relay For Life leads fight against cancer From staff reports

File photo

Relay for Life of Forsyth County holds its annual event at the Cumming Fairgrounds.

Local residents join together each year at the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Forsyth County to raise funds and awareness in an effort to free the world from the pain and suffering of cancer.

Founded by Dr. Gordy Klatt in Washington in 1985, the Relay For Life movement is the world’s largest fundraising event to save lives from cancer.

Uniting communities across the globe, the organization celebrates people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and take action for lifesaving change.

During Relay For Life events, members of each team take turns walking or running around the track or path. Teams participate in fundraising in the months leading up to the event.

Funds raised help the American Cancer

Sawnee EMC a staple in community From staff reports

Dedicated, dependable, and world class service… these are just a few of the words used to describe our local electric cooperative, Sawnee EMC. With the stroke of his pen, and a unique vision for our country’s recovery from the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order in 1935 which established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).

As an integral part of his “New Deal,” the REA provided low-interest loans to groups of rural Americans who wanted to form local member-owned electric companies called “cooperatives.”

These cooperatives had only one purpose — to get much needed electricity into the unserved rural farming areas where, at the time, “for profit” utilities had refused to extend electric service.

Three years later, on July 16, 1938, a few local visionaries successfully incorporated the Forsyth County Electric Membership Corporation in Cumming, which was one of the first EMCs in the state. On June 22, 1939, the first switch was thrown to energize 168 miles of power line which served about 750 homes in Forsyth and portions of three other neighboring counties. They all received electric power for the first time.

By December 1940, the service area had grown to more than 1,500 members. In August 1950, the members unanimously voted to change the name of the Cooperative to Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation (Sawnee EMC).

The name “Sawnee” was chosen because of the close proximity to beautiful Sawnee Mountain, near downtown Cumming. For over 80 years, Sawnee’s mission to provide reliable electric service at affordable rates has never wavered. Sawnee exists “to serve the changing needs of members by enhancing the quality of life through active support of community developments and identifying and serving the member’s energy needs.” The Sawnee EMC board of directors and staff will continue to remember their heritage and perform under the best sense of cooperative values and beliefs. Sawnee EMC is very proud to serve your every electrical need.

My how things have changed …

Sawnee EMC, a not-for-profit electric cooperative and 2018 J.D. Power recipient for highest in customer satisfaction among cooperatives, provides electricity to more than 180,000 accounts within its seven-county service territory. As out-

lined in the Georgia Territorial Electric Service Act, which was passed by the Georgia Legislature in 1973, Sawnee EMC serves parts of seven counties including Forsyth, Cherokee, Dawson, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall and Lumpkin.

Sawnee EMC is the ninth-largest cooperative in the United States and thirdlargest in Georgia. Sawnee EMC maintains more than 11,350 miles of distribution line. Each day, Sawnee EMC staff members field approximately 1,000 phone calls and Sawnee’s control center is staffed and in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Sawnee operates an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system as an added benefit to its members. This modern, two-way meter-reading system uses a series of towers and collectors to monitor and read Sawnee’s electric meters. These meters give Sawnee members the ability to view their detailed energy data to better assist them in managing and evaluating their daily electric usage.

Members can also view, and take advantage of, many Sawnee EMC services at its corporate website or free app for iOS and Android users, all located at www.sawnee.com. Programs and services such as paying a bill online, signing up for prepay metering, reviewing energy data, reporting an outage and much more are also available options for Sawnee members. Members can also learn about energy evaluations and rebates offered by Sawnee for residential and commercial accounts. Sawnee supports the communities it serves through educational programs for youth, Operation Round Up, Green Power EMC, and Virtual Solar. Finally, as a value-added service, Sawnee EMC also offers very low natural gas rates through its preferred natural gas marketer, True Natural Gas.

Contact Sawnee EMC at (770) 887-2363 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. MondayFriday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The e-mail address for general inquiries is customerservice@sawnee.com and the corporate website is www.sawnee. com. Additionally, members can also text Sawnee at 678-9998124, chat via the website or utilize Facebook Messenger to address their electric account needs. The mailing address is P.O. Box 266, Cumming, GA 30028.

Society provide free information and support for people facing the disease today, and fund cancer research that will help protect future generations. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Society has invested more than $4.3 billion in research since 1946, and have funded more than 20,000 scientists at more than 1,000 institutions nationwide.

No one understands how vital these services are more than local cancer survivors of Forsyth County, who utilized the American Cancer Society’s programs.

Community volunteers are the backbone of this movement, and you can be part of it right here in Forsyth County through our local American Cancer Society Relay For Life event.

Those interested in participating or donating to the Relay For Life of Forsyth County can visit RelayForLife.org/forsythcountyga or email rena.pendley@ cancer.org to learn more.

ForsythNews.com | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | 5F

Sunday, March 31, 2019

In the market for a new home?

File photo

Volunteers pack food as part of United Way’s annual Day of Caring event.

United Way works to give opportunities Forsyth County chapter celebrates 28th year From staff reports

United Way of Forsyth County is celebrating its 28th year of serving local residents. Known for fundraising, the organization was created to identify and resolve challenges in the local community and to make measurable change through partnerships with schools, government, businesses, volunteers, other nonprofits and organizations.

United Way has four primary roles in the community: 1. Project Manager for a strategic vision. It also serves as a fiscal agent for community projects, such as our local Drug Awareness Council, 2. Capacity Builder, providing educational opportunities and hosting seminars for community nonprofits, 3. Investor/Evaluator to allocate funds raised to local programs and strategic initiatives. It also collects data and evaluates performance of funded programs, 4. Convener to gather stakeholders for visioning, decision making and knowledge sharing.

United Way of Forsyth County’s investment last year of more than $1.41 million supported the impact areas of education, financial stability, health and basic needs, and touched the lives of 1

On the net To find out more about United Way of Forsyth County, go online at www.UnitedWayForsyth.com. You can also find us on Facebook at UnitedWayForsythCountyGA, Twitter @UnitedWayFCGA and Instagram @unitedwayforsythcounty.

in 4 members of our community. These impact areas play a key role in building a good quality of life. In fact, the belief is that a quality education will lead to a stable job, the ability to afford the basic needs and to be self-sufficient, all leading to good health for the individual and community. United Way is proud to say that 87 cents of every dollar donated is invested into more than 75 programs.

Throughout 2018, United Way continued its work with community partners — nonprofits, the school system, local government, churches and community volunteers — to identify the root causes of problems that face our community. It then began collaborating on ways to create long-term, sustainable solutions.

As we move into 2019, United Way will continue its support of last year’s strategic initiatives including the Boys & Girls Club, in-school behavioral and mental health services for students, the Junior Achievement Discovery Center at Alliance Academy and the Community Resource Guide.

At a glance The following is a breakdown of 2018 United Way of Forsyth County funding by impact area: • Financial stability: $8,790 • Basic needs: $232,079 • Health: $514,869 • Education: $651,632 • Total investment: $1,400,000+ Source: United Way of Forsyth County

Forsyth Conference Center a great place for locals to gather For the Forsyth County News

The Lanier Technical College’s Forsyth Conference Center continues to expand services. In 2018, this 14,000-square-foot facility hosted about 68,000 patrons during 495 events. The center can be configured to hold a single large meeting, many small gatherings or a combination of both. It offers a wide range of services, including audiovisual, wireless internet, video conferencing, laptop rental and other services for area businesses and other guests.

For weddings and social events, the center offers flexible options to meet community needs in an elegant, affordable setting. In recent months, the conference center has focused on expanding services for corporate clients up to the enterprise level. Recent clients include UPS, General Motors, Colonial Pipeline, Equifax, Travelers Insurance, LocumTenens, Jackson Healthcare and Northside Hospital.

The conference center also hosts many different events for the college.

Open house information sessions will be held for a variety of Lanier Tech programs, including interiors, horticulture, early childhood care and education, criminal justice, business technology, computer information systems, medical assisting, certified nursing assistant, phlebotomy, physical therapist assistant and practical nursing. Program faculty will be available to provide an overview of the program, give a tour of the facilities, and educate prospective students and parents about career opportunities in their fields.

The information sessions can benefit not only high school seniors plan-

ning college, but also area adult residents contemplating beginning college or changing careers.

These information sessions are scheduled 5-6 p.m., on the third Tuesday of each month: April 17, May 15 and June 19. Interested visitors should meet in the atrium of the James Harrington Building (Building A).

In April, Lanier Tech’s horticulture program will hold a plant sale, offering an exceptional selection of perennials, vegetables, and herbs, all grown by the program’s students. Plants will be on sale each Tuesday from April 8 through April 29 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and each Wednesday from April 9 to April 30 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Plants will also be on sale at the Forsyth County Master Gardener’s Plant Expo on April 12 and 13 at the Cumming Fairgrounds. Contact Gary Love, program director, at (678) 3416624 or glove@laniertech.edu for a list of available plants and pricing.

Also, the LTC interiors program will be hosting an open house and student portfolio show from 6-8 p.m.

April 29 at the Forsyth Conference Center. Contact the interiors program director Sara Beam at (678) 341-6630 or sbeam@laniertech.edu for further information about the interiors program.

For information about any programs offered by Lanier Tech’s Forsyth campus, call the main number at (770) 3416600.

Choose a local team you can trust. Call us today!

Sunny Parker

Realtor® | Team Sunny Parker Properties Century 21 Results

2920 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Suite #113 Cumming, GA 30041

Cell (706) 429-5351 Office (770) 889-6090

sunnyparkerproperty@gmail.com Not affiliated with Academy Mortgage Equal Housing Opportunity

Sunny Parker is your hometown Realtor, recently voted Best Real Estate Agent in Best of Dawson 2018! She has been a resident of Forsyth and Dawson County for over 27 years. She is knowledgeable and passionate about the needs and goals of her clients. Sunny specializes in bringing peace of mind to first time homeowners and homeowners who previously have struggled with selling their home individually or with another agent. Sunny is considered a high volume producer and is also MRP Certified (Military Relocation and Veteran specialist).

Samantha Fraser

Mortgage Loan Officer | NMLS #947647 549 South Main Street, Cleveland, GA 30528

Cell (678) 522-5548 Office (706) 725-8496

samantha.fraser@academymortgage.com Apply Online at: academymortgage.com/samanthafraser It’s all about service at Academy Mortgage, and our company has been meeting the needs of homebuyers across the United States since 1988. I joined Academy because of the culture here, with an amazing portfolio of products that can help any of my clients’ needs and the ability to grow! I have truly found my passion in being a loan officer. I get to help people every single day become homeowners. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the smile on someone’s face when signing those papers at the closing table. I pride myself on being honest and upfront with my clients and referral partners as I want to be in this business for a very long time.

State Lic AL #67695, FL #LO45107, GA #56598, TN #135963 Corp NMLS #3113 | Corp State Lic AL #20839, FL #MLD241 GA #20505, TN #109446 | Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee | MAC219-1462238

6F | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com

Sunday, March 31, 2019

JULY 4TH

3RD FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH (APRIL - OCTOBER)

Celebration Admission: $5.00 (13 & up) Street Dance | Food & Craft Vendors Childrens’ Activities 10am - 10pm Fireworks 9:30 pm at Fairgrounds Annual Steam Engine Parade @10 am

AUGUST 30TH - SEPTEMBER 1ST IPRA (International Professional Rodeo Association) World Championship Rodeo

Friday & Saturday 8 PM • Sunday 7 PM Admission: 13 & up - $15.00, 5 - 12 - $10.00 4 & under - FREE, Seniors 65+ $10.00 8 Event Rodeo includes: Bull Riding, Barrel Racing, Steer Wrestling, Saddle Bronc Riding, Bareback Riding, Calf & Team Roping, Cowgirls Breakaway Roping

Free Concerts & Shows with Paid Admission Heritage Village RD TH Indian Village Working Exhibits Cumming Country Fair & Festival Cotton Gin | Sawmill | Sorghum Mill Mon- Thurs 4 pm - 10 pm • Friday 4 pm - Midnight Cider Press | Blacksmith | Grist Mill Sat. 10 am - Midnight • Sunday 12:30 - 9:00 pm Quilters | Schoolhouse | Churches Fair Admission: Doctor’s Office | Dentist’s Office 11 & up - $7.00, 10 & under - FREE Barber Shop | Post Office | General Store Advance Tickets Available Sept. 2nd- 30th Printing Press | Midway Rides Parking - $5.00 Daily Ground Acts Handicap Parking Available- $5.00 Petting Zoo & Local Entertainment Grand Concert Lineup

OCTOBER 3 -13

235 CASTLEBERRY ROAD CUMMING, GEORGIA

770-781-3491| WWW.CUMMINGFAIR.NET