Gwinnett’s oldest locally owned newspaper - established 1988 Covering Snellville, Grayson, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Loganville
Vol. 29, No. 7
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page 4
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MAY 2017
Explore Gwinnett rolls out the red carpet By Carole Townsend Staff Correspondent
Grayson seniors page 9
Lisa Anders is filled with energy and excitement about Gwinnett County, so it’s no wonder that she heads up the Explore Gwinnett organization as its Executive Director. The non-profit 501(c)(6), formerly named the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau (“That’s a mouthful of government words,” Anders quipped), Explore Gwinnett has one job, and that’s to attract conventions, groups and families to the county. Sounds simple enough, right? Not so fast. The job may be fun and exciting, but it’s far from simple. “We work with all the cities in Gwinnett (with the exception of one – Snellville opted out to throw its support behind their own tourism and trade board) and 103 Gwinnett hotels as Gwinnett County’s destination management organization. That
Inside the Mandir in Lilburn. The Mandir is the most-visited tourist site in Gwinnett
See EXPLORE on Page 38
Thumbs up Grayson page 28
Special Photo
Steffen Wolfgang Thomas, Summit Chases generosity and support Atlanta Artist A Connection to Atlanta’s history and beyond...
Baby friendly
page 30
INSIDE Picture Perfect 4 Gwinnett Pulse 6 Roadrunner 24 Health & Wellness 30 Classifieds 34 Spiritual 34
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Photo courtesy of the Southern Company
Steffen Wolfgang Thomas
By Larry Gilleland Staff Correspondent At an early age I discovered that I had neither the imagination nor skills to pursue art as my field of interest. However, being introduced to Steffen Thomas revealed to me what imagination and skill can do when applied to any medium. Steffen must have been one of the most prolific artists in the world. He turned stone, clay, metal, glass, broken tiles, tar and paint into beauty, and occasionally highlighted his paintings with additional art in the frames he created.
Like a child with a new toy, Thomas was fascinated by every medium, and always wanted to show visitors his latest creation. His energy was unbounded, letting his creativity take him anywhere it wanted to go. His subjects were as varied as his media, and there was a story behind each piece he created. Themes that frequently appear in his art are mother and child, women in large colorful hats, and philosophy, but there was no limit to the range of subjects. He was always
See STEFFEN on page 35
Special Photo
Summit Chase Country Club owner Van Britt (R), son Don Britt, General Manager (L), daughter Adrienne Britt Levesque, Controller.
By John L. Byrwa Staff Correspondent
“I have no idea what we would do. But I do know this: At Brookwood, we’ve been in the state tournament Steve Thompson, the longtime 15 times for the girls and 13 times head golf coach at Brookwood High for the boys. That would not happen. School, shudders to think what he That would never have happened and his teams would do without Van without their generosity.” and Don Britt, the owner and general For more than 35 years now, manager, respectively, of Summit Summit Chase, a private country club Chase Country Club. located in Snellville, has graciously “For Brookwood, I don’t know opened its doors and facilities to where we would go,” Thompson said.
See SUMMIT on Page 36