Lilburn Woman’s Club Gives Back to the Community

By Our Town Gwinnett Staff

The fall brought lots of nice weather, beautiful leaves, and donations from the Lilburn Woman’s Club! During the months of September and October, the club accomplished several great things in the Lilburn Community. The Civic Engagement and Outreach program donated $2,500 cash and $400 worth of pantry items to the Lilburn Co-op in honor of the General Federation of Woman’s Clubs’ National Day of Service. They also donated almost 2,000 Constitutions to all area 8th graders. In addition, the club also helped stock the Lilburn Elementary School food pantry for children with $150 worth of pantry items.

The Education and Libraries program donated 1,400 dictionaries to all area 3rd graders. The Art and Culture program took the opportunity to do a few small fundraisers with a Sip N Paint and a Beautiful Baby photo contest. Proceeds from those two fundraisers allowed the donation of a $220 gift card for Hobby Lobby to the Norcross Senior Center, and $200 to the Parkview High School Art department for student supplies.

At Christmas, a member will play Santa, giving presents to thirty plus Lilburn area underprivileged elementary students in need of holiday

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Creative Woodwork by Jon

By Victoria R. Crosby

Dr. Jon Saulson loves to work in wood and give his creations away, not only at Thanksgiving or Christmas, but all year round. A retired teacher, school administrator, and college professor, Jon grew up in Miami Beach, Florida and has lived in several areas of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties for more than thirty years.

His introduction to working in wood came from his father. Jon said, “I would watch my dad fixing things, and I was always fascinated with tools, so I took a shop class in high school and loved it.”

Sometimes you are so good at your job that they can’t let you go! Jon Saulson retired three times from teaching public schools in Stone Mountain, Lilburn, and Snellville. His first teaching job was of “regular” students, but he found teaching special ed and autistic students much more rewarding. He found that special ed students had trouble connecting to the real world, and with people.

Jon also taught at Oglethorpe University in the Master of Arts Program and was Director of the Office for Student Disabilities.

At Mercer University in Atlanta while training teachers for their masters’ degree, he would tell them these words of wisdom that he had been told by a former teacher of his: “Whether you teach ten or thirty-five students, you will never know how much of an impact you have on them.”

“Teaching is a giving profession,” Jon explained, “giving you start as a plum and end up as prune. You have to take care of yourself, or you can’t take care of your students.”

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