Town

Gwinnett/NE DeKalb Community & Family Magazine

— An EndResultz Media Company EndResultz.com

Our Town Gwinnett is published and direct mailed to select homes in the Gwinnett/NE DeKalb area. Opinions expressed by the writers and staff are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. Our Town Gwinnett reserves the right to edit and/or reject any editorial or advertising content. Our Town Gwinnett is not responsible for errors in advertising beyond the cost of the space or for the validity of claims made by advertisers.

Entire contents copyright 2023 by Our Town Gwinnett. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden in any media without written permission from the publisher.

Publisher/Owner

Dr. Ryan T. Sauers

Ryan@EndResultz.com

Creative Director

Elsie Olson

Cover Photography

Emil Powella

Photography

Distribution Coordinator

Feature Writers

Victoria R. Crosby

Tana Poncsak

Traci Sanders

Beth Volpert Johansen

Elsie@EndResultz.com

Editor

Catherine L. Osornio

Editor@EndResultz.com

This Issue

Wendy Head

Cover Story

Feature Writer

Kristen Eleveld

5 On the Cover: Catching up with BenchMark

Jane Bishop

Myra Coria, M.Ed.

Bill Crane

Terie Hansen

Contributing Writers IN

Ryan’s Remarks

By Dr. Ryan T. Sauers

@RyanSauers @RyanTSauers

I am writing this column for March 2023, and I would be grateful if you could consider a few things that began occurring over three years ago. February 25, 2020: CDC Says COVID19 is Heading Toward Pandemic Status; March 6, 2020: 21 Passengers on California Cruise Ship Test Positive; March 11, 2020: WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic; March 13, 2020: President Declares COVID-19 a National Emergency (https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developmentsin-2020).

Wow. Okay, I will stop there. It is difficult for me, and I am sure for you, to read this and see that these events were over three years ago. That said, it seems they were both yesterday and a lifetime ago. This time will be etched into our minds forever. On a personal note, I finished my doctoral studies during the pandemic, defended my dissertation, and obtained my doctorate in leadership in late 2022. I was determined to stay focused on things I could control and to “control the controllables.”

In early March 2020, I first heard the term “pivot” from a friend regarding changes needed in business to be successful. I have since heard the term pivot thousands of times. However, it is funny that this study area is part of my dissertation. We likely all experienced