Vol. 29, No. 8
Advancements in Sports Medicine page 5
Design winner page 5
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Gwinnett’s oldest locally owned newspaper - established 1988 Covering Duluth, Peachtree Corners, Norcross, Berkeley Lake, and Suwanee
Explore Gwinnett rolls out the red carpet By Carole Townsend Staff Correspondent
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.
Inside the Mandir in Lilburn. The Mandir is the most-visited tourist site in Gwinnett
See EXPLORE on Page 18
Classical pianist page 8
JUNE 2017
www.gwinnettcitizen.com
Special Photo
Steffen Wolfgang Thomas, Demystifying Emotional Intelligence Atlanta Artist A Connection to Atlanta’s history and beyond...
Future awaits page 11
Photo courtesy of the Southern Company
Steffen Wolfgang Thomas
INSIDE Gwinnett Pulse 2 Health & Wellness 12 Classifieds 19
PRESORT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID LILBURN,GA PERMIT NO. 99 ECR-WSS POSTAL CUSTOMER
Like a child with a new toy, Thomas was fascinated by every medium, and always wanted to At an early age I discovered show visitors his latest creation. that I had neither the imagination His energy was unbounded, letting nor skills to pursue art as my field his creativity take him anywhere it of interest. However, being intro- wanted to go. His subjects were as varied as duced to Steffen Thomas revealed to me what imagination and skill his media, and there was a story becan do when applied to any medi- hind each piece he created. Themes um. Steffen must have been one of that frequently appear in his art are the most prolific artists in the world. mother and child, women in large He turned stone, clay, metal, glass, colorful hats, and philosophy, but broken tiles, tar and paint into beau- there was no limit to the range of ty, and occasionally highlighted his subjects. He was always paintings with additional art in the frames he created. See STEFFEN on page 16 By Larry Gilleland Staff Correspondent
Provided by Dr. Steve Sampson
Licensed Georgia Psychologist, Dr. Steve Sampson has been teaching social intelligence, conflict resolution, and interpersonal skills for over thirty years.
By Katie Hart Smith Staff Correspondent Do these comments sound familiar? Emotional intelligence (EI), which is different than one’s intelligence quotient, or IQ, is defined “as the ability to identify, assess, and control one’s own emotions, the emotions of others, and that of
groups” (Goleman, 1995). Research shows that IQ doesn’t predict success; the ability to have strong interpersonal communication skills does. The amount of emotional intelligence one possesses can vary – a high amount of emotional intelligence can be an asset to your career and in building effective lifelong
See DEMYSTIFYING on page 6