OUR TOWN DEKALB (September 2022) by Our Town Dekalb

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2 OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022 Every BrianCommunityFromDeservesHeroMoreCheckingHeroCheckingC.Moon AVP, Branch Manager • NMLS# 1934368 9353 Lavista Road • Tucker, GA • O: 404.297.2238 SouthStateBank.com/CommunityHero Equal Housing Lender. NMLS# 403455. Member FDIC. 1. Internet service provider and/or message data rates may apply. Our Community Hero Checking account is for those who go above and beyond. If you’re an educational professional, healthcare provider, law enforcement, military or veteran, or rescue services, this account is for you. It’s our way of showing support to those who give so much of themselves to us. Enjoy no monthly maintenance charge with convenient access to features that make banking simple like Online and Mobile Banking with Mobile Deposits1.

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OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022 3 IN THIS ISSUE 4 Tucker-Northlake CID: Building the Future 6 The Broken Pieces 7 Wellness In-Sight: Focus 8 Age Friendly Tucker: The Keys to a Stronger Community 9 Common Sen$e: The Pros and Cons of Adjustable-Rate Mortgages 10 Food for Thought: Good Fortune Comes to Tucker 11 Back Talk: Keeping You Straight 13 Tucker Banker Joins Georgia Bankers Association Board 13 Gwinnett-Tucker Toastmasters Club to Host Open House in September 14 Tucker Runner Wins Medals at AAU Junior Olympic Games in California 18 Zoomer Zone: Connecting on Social Media ON THE COVER: Tucker-Northlake CID Executive Director Matthew Lee poses in front of the new Emory Healthcare offices at the renovated Northlake Mall.

Lizbeth Crosby E. Farrar

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Tucker-Northlake CID coverage map.

Tucker-Northlake CID: BUILDING FUTURETHE

L. A. DISON

Van De Kreke began to survey fellow business owners to gauge interest in creating a CID for Tucker. The idea was at first a hard sell; CIDs were not well-publicized outside of their specific area of influence, and there were still only a handful operating in Georgia. But Van De Kreke was a well-respected Tucker businesswoman with an extensive list of business and government contacts, and when she enlisted the aid of lobbyist and public affairs strategist (and Tucker resident) Ann Rosenthal, the two began to pitch the CID idea to anyone who would listen. The two women helped found the Tucker Formation Committee, and Rosenthal authored the legislative strategic plan that created the Tucker CID in 2013. Less than one year after the formation of the Tucker CID, a majority of the commercial property owners in the Northlake district joined the effort, which was then re-named the Tucker-Northlake CID.

4 OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022

in the competing cityhood debates, the existence of the CID offered validation of the proposed city’s leadership base. A handful of opponents to Tucker incorporating claimed that Tucker was behind the times and not organized, but the CID was proof that this was not the case.

Rosenthal stepped down as president in 2017. Matthew Lee was hired as the organization’s first executive director after an extensive career in healthcare technology. Like many of those involved with the CID, Lee has a deep family legacy in Tucker and metro Atlanta. His fourth great-grandfather represented DeKalb County in the state legislature for several years. His maternal grandfather was a developer who created neighborhoods along Lavista Road and Briarcliff Road. A great uncle was a principal of Tucker Elementary with a strong record of community service.

Rosenthal was appointed by the CID board as its first president. Under her leadership, the CID guided the development of a strategic Master Plan for the area, which outlined a vision for transportation infrastructure and land use; provided recommendations for improved multi-modal transportation and connectivity between business and residential areas; and identified potential quality of life and beautification projects.

One of the most high-profile accomplishments within the CID is the dramatic reinvention of Northlake Mall. When the fifty-year-old mall was sold in 2016 to ATR Corinth Partners in Dallas, Texas, the CID board quickly formed a close relationship with the new owners. ATR Corinth wanted to mirror their work with One Hundred

Tucker became a city in 2015. While the Tucker-Northlake CID remained neutral

Tucker was founded in 1892 as an unincorporated community in DeKalb County. The success of its first 120 years was largely due to residents’ ‘can do’ entrepreneurial spirit, where permission wasn’t required nor needed to get things done. In 2011, long-time Tucker resident and businesswoman Honey Van De Kreke embodied that mindset, and noted the progress of both the Cumberland CID in Cobb County and the Lilburn CID in Gwinnett. Each had successfully leveraged private-public partnerships to build prosperous business districts, and Van De Kreke thought a similar organization would push Tucker businesses to the next level.

CID Executive Director Matthew Lee in front of Northlake Mall’s redesigned staircase to the second level, now serving as seating for a first floor staging area.

ince 2013, the Tucker-Northlake Community Improvement District (CID) has worked diligently to improve the community by bettering conditions for existing businesses and attracting new growth. The nine years of its acclaimed success is well-earned due to the hard work of the CID, but is also the result of many years of commitment from local individuals and businesses who believed in their community.

“I’m an eighth-generation Georgian, and my family has been in and around DeKalb for nearly two hundred years,” said Lee proudly. “I feel like I’m not only accountable to the current community, but that I owe something to those who have passed on.”

“Those talking points about projects already underway, and those coming, gave everyone confidence that this was a good investment.”

• Funding the landscaping at Lavista Road and I-285 and the medians along Northlake Parkway and Lavista Road

The Tucker-Northlake CID currently includes 315 commercial properties representing more than $535 million in assessed value. The CID is governed by a board of directors representing commercial property owners in the area; the current board members are Brad Spratte (Chick-fil-A Northlake Festival and Tucker Station), Chip Cofer (Cofer Brothers, Inc.), Charles DeWitt (Tandem Bank), Honey Van De Kreke (MarketMakers, Inc.), Barry Schrenk (Taggert’s Driving School), Bob Espy (Espy Real Estate and Development Company), and Betty Willis (Emory University). For more information, visit tuckernorthlakecid.com, or follow the Tucker-Northlake CID on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

• Sponsoring the Friends of Tucker Path to advocate for trail connections throughout Tucker

Redevelopment of alleyways off Main Street as outdoor pedestrian gathering places is part of the CID's Livable Centers Initiative for downtown Tucker. (Concept art courtesy of Tucker-Northlake CID)

Oaks Mall in Nashville, Tennessee, where they had transitioned a dying mall into a mixed-use center for healthcare services and retail, and the CID was eager to help.

• Monthly street sweeping of forty curb miles in the CID

• Working with the City of Tucker to ensure local laws maintain an environment that is favorable to good businesses.

ATR Corinth worked on the deal with Emory itself, but the CID continued to elevate the area. It talked regularly with the mall owners, area business owners, and the community about upcoming projects and opportunities.

OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022 5

“Sears and JC Penney closing their Northlake locations left huge vacancies on the property,” said Lee. “Emory Healthcare was a natural fit as the first step in transitioning Northlake into the next fifty years. An office space with the amenities of midtown Atlanta, without midtown prices or midtown traffic.”

• Maintaining the landscaping and flower beds on Main Street in Downtown Tucker

“Act as if the community depended on you to do your part, because it does,” advises Lee. “The CID can’t do everything, nor can the city. The culture of doing and of community service has to be in the hearts and minds of the majority of the people or the whole system breaks down. The reward is in a job well done.”

Emory leased 240,000 square feet of the former mall space and is renovating it to eventually house over 1,600 employees for administrative offices, and consolidating several locations to the Northlake campus. Renovation is underway in other sections of the building. The property will retain some of the existing retail, including anchor story Macy’s, as well as new and exciting dining opportunities. The CDC Federal Credit Union opened a branch at Northlake as the first outparcel on the property.Beyond the mall project, and through various partnerships, the CID continues to play a role in leveraging funding for many important but less visible improvements, including:•Filling sidewalk gaps on Lavista Road and Hugh Howell Road

• Supplementing public safety with additional police officers and other security measures

The CID’s wish-list for the next ten years includes completion of the trail project from Downtown Tucker to Northlake; an express lane exit at Northlake Parkway and I-285; improved traffic flow through the district; a stronger identity for Northlake as a transit-oriented development; better access for trucks into the Montreal Industrial area; a more attractive Lawrenceville Highway corridor; and an unparalleled alley network in Downtown Tucker. Lee is optimistic about the CID’s next ten years and beyond, but knows realizing opportunities depends on not just the CID but the efforts of the entire community - businesses and residents.

It is our friends who are the glue that help us to mend the broken pieces.

The Broken Pieces

It is our families who are the glue to help us to mend the broken pieces.

So don’t blame yourself when life breaks your heart, don’t fall apart, but put those pieces together like a mirrored disco ball, and shimmer and shine until life returns the favor, and treats you just fine!

British-born poet and writer Victoria Crosby has been Poet Laureate of the City of Glen Cove in New York for more than twenty-five years; her work has been published in magazines and newspapers as well as featured on radio shows. Now residing in Smoke Rise, Victoria will create a unique gift with a custom poem for an anniversary, engagement, wedding, birthday, retirement or any other special occasion. You can contact Victoria at poeticvic@aol.com.

It is our faith that is the glue that helps us to mend the broken pieces.

BY VICTORIA R. CROSBY

6 OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022

When you feel like you are broken into little pieces, don’t despair, for there are many different methods of repair. A mosaic is made from many shards of broken china, which are put together to make art so unique that is even finer than the broken dishes of which I speak.

This is a story I’ve been told, the Japanese put broken things together and cover the cracks with precious gold, then the broken item is more valuable than before.

So when life sends you reeling to the floor remember this, and remember too that something far more precious than gold, is you.

This relates to the term and theory of the ‘comfort zone’ coined in 1908 by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson. It refers to a place and things that feel familiar, that hold no fear and anxiety. While this familiarity can be appealing, we can be seduced by the feeling of control that we then equate with a sense of security, all be it a false sense. The more we dwell with our focus no further than what we perceive to be comfortable, our potential for growth can be inhibited, and our exposure to possibility and opportunity diminished.

We make the world in which we live By what we gather and what we give, By our daily deeds and the things we say, By what we keep or we cast away.

The ‘what’ and ‘how’ of our focus have great implications for our lives day-to-day and in totality. Alfred Grant Walton summarizes it well in his poem, “The World We Make.”

attain a goal. We can also zoom out or expand our focus to capture a greater perspective. It becomes a question of “not seeing the forest for the trees,” or seeing the forest and the trees.

CINDY E. FARRAR

We make our world by the life we lead, By the friends we have, by the books we read, By the pity we show in the hour of care, By the loads we lift and the love we share.

In addition, there is a fine line between focused intention or concentration, and fixation or dwelling. The former keeps us in the present with minimal if any obscurations, while the latter implies some degree of stuck-ness. Considering specifically the modern meaning of the verb ‘to dwell,’ it is to abide, to live. It can also mean to linger, continue in a particular state. And its original Old English meaning is to seduce, get lost or lead astray.

OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022 7

CINDY E. FARRAR, LMT, BCTMB, CLC is a licensed massage therapist, certified life coach and the owner of Massage Associates of Atlanta, LLC (Lavista Road in Tucker). In addition, she is a certified Qi Gong instructor and a nationally approved continuing education provider for massage therapy and bodywork. Cindy enjoys sharing insights on wellness and personal and community development as a speaker and writer.

We make our world by the beauty we see In a skylark's song or a lilac tree, In a butterfly's wing, in the pale moon's rise, And the wonder that lingers in midnight skies.

Wellness In-Sight: Focus

We make our world by the goals we pursue, By the heights we seek and the higher view, By hopes and dreams that reach the sun And a will to fight till the heights are won.

funny thing happened on the way to the editor…. Last month, as with each month, upon finishing my column, I reflect upon the appropriate headline, fill it in, and submit the column and await any questions and edits. One of the questions I received back from our editor was in reference to the word “Focus” in the headline. The funny thing is (and my response was), “I have zero recollection of typing the word and have no clue how it got there.” I really appreciated her rather witty reply, “I guess ‘ghostwriter’ has a new meaning for you!” I figured also my muse was giving me a sneak peek into this month’s theme.

What is the place in which we dwell, A hut or a palace, a heaven or hell We gather and scatter, we take and we give, We make our world — and there we live.

So, in honor of my muse, let’s consider the significance of ‘focus.’ There is a part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). It is a bundle of nerve fibers that is the filter for the sensory input (except smells) coming into our brains. It connects our conscious with our unconscious and brings into our awareness that on which we are focusing and intending. For instance, if you are thinking about purchasing a chartreuse Volkswagen Beetle, suddenly everywhere you go, you see chartreuse Volkswagen Beetles. Obviously, Volkswagen didn’t just suddenly sell a bunch of them in your area. They have always been there. Your RAS has brought them into your awareness. It is also important to note that the RAS filters equally based upon our focus, positive or negative. How we focus has as much impact as upon what or where we place our attention. Like adjusting the lens of a camera, we can zoom in with a narrow focus, helpful when attention to detail is desired, or necessary to attract a specific objective or

within the community. Parks and greenspaces also contribute to a community’s quality of life. Walking trails, playgrounds, historic buildings, special places, wildlife, and open land help determine a community's personality and contribute to the everyday pleasures of community life. A successful community recognizes the importance of these areas and takes measures to support and maintain them.

Community services are essential to the community, including schools, parks, pathways and trails, roads, libraries, and services and utilities such as police, fire, ambulance, highway maintenance, and transportation. Access to health care and professional service providers reflect the strength of the community. Important to building overall area economic strength, a strong community works to grow sound businesses, industries, and services that provide decent salaries and benefits to workers, engage in family-friendly policies, provide workers with opportunities to develop marketable skills, and contribute to the overall wellbeing of the community.

A strong community is a diverse community, one which is made up of different people with different interests, experiences, and backgrounds. It works to promote a feeling of connection between all residents. People who work together in communities can achieve amazing things.

LOIS RICCI A

Age Friendly Tucker: The Keys to a Stronger Community

strong community is one where there is relevance, relationships, and respect. It is based on a willingness of residents to help and support one another, and exhibit a mutual interest in the area, from schools, transportation, and housing to health care, professional services, and socializing. Communities are complex to understand. A strong community requires constant care and Communitiesfeeding.must have good government that begins and ends with trust. Needed are public leaders working together to enhance the long-term future of the community, who can bring the community together to participate in open dialogue on important issues. Leaders should be representative of their community and be able to envision an economically secure, environmentally sound, and socially viable future. Leaders should empower community members to assist in resolving communityCommunitiesissues.must have strong citizen participation where citizens vote, attend public meetings, and get involved in civic organizations and community activities. All citizens need to develop knowledge and skills to contribute to community life. Sharing in problem solving and planning for the future as a community increase local pride and Communitiescommitment.faceavariety of challenging social issues, such as substance abuse, domestic abuse, poverty, and other concerns related to the elderly, youth, and families. Addressing these concerns requires the efforts of support services such as child daycare, after-school, youth, teen, and senior programs, preventative health, substance abuse programs, parenting and family support programs, and human service networks. Essential to any community is quality education beginning in the home, continuing in preschool through high school, and then through lifelong learning.Recreation and cultural activities are another key to building a strong community. Team sports, outdoor activities, art, crafts, music, dance, theater, and celebrations provide a variety of activities in which all community members can participate. Activities build a community's positive sense of itself and strengthen interactions

8 OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022

DR. LOIS RICCI Dr. Lois Ricci is a longtime resident of Tucker, where she chairs the Tucker Civic Association Lifelong Community Committee. She recently retired as an adjunct faculty member at Kennesaw State University, where she taught gerontology courses and the Professional Development in Gerontology Certificate Class. Ricci serves as an official representative for American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and co-facilitator for the Rosalyn Carter CareNet, as well as president of the Georgia Gerontology Society and on the board of the Atlanta Regional Commission Advisory Committee on Aging. Contact Dr. Ricci at loisricci@bellsouth.net.

Common Sen$e: The Pros and Cons of Adjustable-Rate Mortgages

The biggest question about ARMS is how they work. The typical questions are

First, 99.9% of all ARMs are thirty-year mortgages, or more specifically, amortized to pay off in thirty years. The fixed-rate period is disclosed to you in the mortgage documents. Most ARMs are fixed for either three, five, seven, or ten years. At the end of that fixed-rate period, your rate will adjust. It can go up or down depending on the market. The mortgage does not have to be paid off at the end of the fixed rate period; the rate simply adjusts.

• The second number is the maximum the rate can rise at any interval after the first adjustment.

ARMs can be complicated. I am advising folks to explore longer-term ARMs right now, as I see rates coming down in the coming years. I think we will have opportunities to refinance to lower rates, so may as well take the lower rate until thatTheretime.are multiple mortgage options available, and there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You are best served to consult a mortgage professional to help you better understand the terms of the loan you are getting.

ART WOOD (NMLS #118234) is the branch manager of The Art Wood Mortgage Team of Goldwater Bank, located at 2341 Main Street in downtown Tucker. “Tucker’s Mortgage Guy” for sixteen years, he is a former Tucker Tiger (Class of ’92), and co-founder and organizer of Taste of Tucker. Family guy, community guy, and definitely not your typical mortgage guy - it’s all that he does that makes Art Wood who he is. Contact him at 678.534.5834 or art.wood@goldwaterbank.com.

With the carnage of the Great Recession still fresh in our minds, some people are hesitant to venture into an ARM. In 2008, there were a lot of mortgage clients who chose an ARM, but then were unable to sell their house or refinance their mortgage because they had lost most of the value of their equity. I do think those days are behind us, but still, something to consider when taking out an ARM.

The main reason a borrower would choose an ARM over a fixed-rate mortgage is because ARMs typically come with a lower interest rate. The downside to an ARM is that the rate is only fixed for a specified period, typically three to ten years. A mortgage client must weigh the risk of the rate adjusting over time versus the safety of having a fixedrate mortgage for the life of their loan. If you plan to be in your home for just a few years, then an ARM is a great solution and will save you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.

• How long is the rate fixed?

• Do I have to refinance at the end of the term?

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OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022 9

All ARMs will be characterized by three numbers that may look something like this: 2/1/5.

• How much will it go up?

• The first number in the sequence is the maximum the rate can rise at the end of the fixed rate term.

got into the mortgage business in 2005. For the most part, rates have been on the decline since that time…that is, until 2022. With the current spike in interest rates, the demand for Adjustable-Rate Mortgages (ARMs) is on the rise. As their popularity rises, I see a lot of confusion about ARMs.

ART WOOD

• Finally, the third number is the maximum the rate can rise over the life of the Inloan.the 2/1/5 example above, let’s say you have a five-year ARM at 5%. After the fifth year, the maximum your rate can go up is to 7%. After that first adjustment, it can only go up 1% per year for the life of the loan and can never go over 10%.

• Traditional Bibimbap, a Korean mixed rice bowl with various seasonal veggies mixed in with bulgogi, topped with a fried egg and house-made gochujang sauce to

’m a big fan of Korean food. When my wife and I hosted students from both China and Korea while our daughter was in high school, we would often find ourselves on a quest to find authentic Korean food. Though our students have since graduated, I’m sure they would be as excited as I am for the opening of Tucker’s first Korean restaurant, The Bite of Korea (BOK).

tie everything together. The purpose of the dish is to mix all the toppings together to create that harmony in a bite.

DOUG REYNICS

DOUG REYNICS is a longtime Tucker resident and self-described “foodie.” Many know him as “Doug the Driver,” who provides rides to and from both the domestic and international airport terminals. (To date, his service has provided almost 3,000 airport rides!) If you have a food story or question you would like to see him write about (or if you need a ride!), email him at dougthedriver1@gmail.com or call him at 770.842.4261.

• Sodduk Skewer is a flash-fried rice cake with pork sausage, smothered with gochujang sauce and honey mustard drizzle. It’s Korean street-food and a customer favorite.•BOK won’t have grills installed on each table; instead K-BBQ is prepared in the kitchen so the guests can enjoy the grilled meat off the hot stone plate along with many veggie wrap sides.

Food for Thought: Good Fortune Comes to Tucker

SMOKE RISE BAPTIST CHURCH, TUCKER GA Here come the drums! West African Drumming Class CLASS DETAILS AND REGISTRATION: www.smokerisebaptist.org/ar ts | 678-533-0562 Drum students will perform at SRAA Holiday Showcase! Saturday, December 10 @ 1:00 p.m. Fridays starting September 16 Grades 3 – 8 Two classes available each Friday (3:30 and 4:45 p.m.) Drums provided

10 OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022

Combining their experience from Clairmont Café with their Korean Fusion menu, and with people coming back to restaurants, Gavin and Chloe began looking for a brick-and-mortar space. One of their food fans is a local realtor, who followed the couple on Instagram and began attending many of their pop-ups. The realtor was representing Hugh Howell Village on Hugh Howell Road, and suggested the location to Gavin and Chloe, who now call Unit 670 (at the end of the block with Publix, across from Urgent Care) home to their new restaurant.

Gavin and Chloe named their restaurant The Bite of Korea, or BOK, which means ‘fortune’ in Korean. Their mission is to bring good fortune to all their guests through exceptional food and excellent customer service. Some of their signature dishes include

Gavin and Chloe are working towards developing some gluten-free recipes, but most of the BOK dishes contain soy sauce so the menu at opening will not be glutenfree. BOK won’t have its liquor license until after it opens, but in the meantime, guests are welcome to BYOB. Future drink menus include a set of fun Korean cocktails with Soju, Makgeolli (rice wine), imported Korean beer, and more.

Learn more about The Bite of Korea at biteofkorea.com or on Instagram.

I recently talked with owners (and husband and wife) Gavin Lee and Chloe Jung about their journey to open BOK. Both were born in South Korea but immigrated a few years ago to Atlanta, where Gavin dreamed of opening his own restaurant. In March 2020, the couple realized that dream when they opened Clairmont Café, located in an Atlanta office building and serving Korean fusion dishes along with quesadillas and deli sandwiches. Unfortunately, two weeks after the opening, much of Atlanta along with the rest of the world shut down, and the office building where the café was located was suddenly empty of workers. When it became apparent that the pandemic was here for the long run, Gavin and Chloe decided to close the restaurant for two months. But rather than passively waiting on the pandemic to clear and people to start returning to offices and restaurants, Chloe and Gavin decided to take the lessons they had learned in their first restaurant attempt, and try something else. They were familiar with food pop-ups, like food trucks in their mobility but bringing food to an existing restaurant or parking lot. They loaded their van with kitchen equipment, tables, tents, cooking utensils and several coolers filled with food, and started cooking Korean Fusion dishes in and around Metro Atlanta. They did over two hundred food pop-ups, and in that time created a menu of authentic Korean recipes adapted to an American palate. The dishes bring an authentic Korean experience to those who’ve never tried Korean food, or to those who reminisce about Korean food.

• Bulgogi, a Korean-style marinated ribeye steak, used in their quesadillas, rice owls and Japanese noodle bowl

KARL SCHWARTZ, D.C.

OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022 11

Regardless of the type of scoliosis, the sooner it is diagnosed, the better it can be managed. Elementary and secondary school testing can detect obvious highrisk students with a simple orthopedic test. The test observes standing posture and simple forward bending of the spine to identify abnormalities.

There are four types of scoliosis:

Posture is the window to the spine. Chiropractors consistently look at posture and alignment to detect imbalances in the spine. If needed, x-rays of the spine are taken to visualize spinal distortions, of which scoliosis is one of the major conditions we can detect and treat.

Note “Back Talk” in the subject line.

and Adult De Novo patients are able to achieve a reduction and avoid invasive surgery.Nowis the best time to have your and your family’s spines checked!

• Neuromuscular, meaning that there is some type of medical condition present in a child that impairs the brain and nervous system, hampering normal communication with the muscular system.

• Congenital, meaning that bones were misformed during fetal development, causing spinal imbalance before bone growth maturation. This occurs in about one in a thousand infants.

• Adult de Novo is also called degenerative scoliosis, and occurs in adults primarily due to degenerative spinal changes with aging.

Back Talk: Keeping You Straight

• Idiopathic Adolescent can develop in infants and juveniles, but is most commonly diagnosed in adolescents aged 10-18. There is no known single cause, and occurs in 80% of cases.

DR. KARL SCHWARTZ is a graduate of Life University in Marietta, Georgia; he has been practicing chiropractic in Tucker for twenty-one years and a resident here for fifteen years. His office specializes in preventing sports injuries and maximizing performance by analyzing posture, weight bearing, and gait. If you have a question you would like addressed in a future column, please email karlschwartzdc@gmail.com.

any patients come in and want to know if their spine is straight. What exactly is scoliosis, and why should I care? Your spine actually is an engineering marvel; we are the only mammals that stand on two feet. Because of this, your weight-bearing is extremely important. Your spine consists of twentyfour bones or vertebrae. When viewed front to back, the spine should be aligned along your center of gravity. The vertebrae are interlocked, and held together with disks, ligaments, muscle, and facia which allow for movement. The discs function as separators and allow for pivoting and movement of the vertebra and, most importantly, allow the thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves to exit the spinal column without pressure or interference. Ligaments connect bone to bone for stability and muscles are attached to the bones to move the joints, producing motion. A straight spine maximizes efficiency, requiring the least amount of energy to maintain the musculoskeletal system against the forces of gravity. The less energy that is spent on maintaining the musculoskeletal system, allows more energy to be utilized for other body system functions, i.e., the digestive system, the nervous system, and the circulatory system.

Can scoliosis be corrected? Congenital and neuromuscular occur in a very small percentage of the population, and can be maintained and prevented from worsening. The Clear Scoliosis Institute reports that 95% of idiopathic adolescent

Attorney Anita M. Lamar Owner, Managing Attorney

12 OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022 LOOK INJURED,IFFURTHER.NOYOU’VEBEEN We’re small enough to provide personalized care and attention to our clients… …but large experiencedandenough to fight aggressively for our clients to achieve the settlement they need and deserve.

OUR TOWN DEKALB STAFF

Gwinnett-Tucker Toastmasters Club to Host Open House in September

DeWitt received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Tennessee and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

Active with the association, DeWitt has previously served on the GBA Community Bankers Committee and is an active participant in one of five association-sponsored President/CEO Roundtables. He is also currently on the board of the TuckerNorthlake Community Improvement District. Previously, he has served on the boards of the Intown Community School Foundation and St. Pius X Catholic School Athletic Association.

Gwinnett-Tucker Toastmasters Club #833 will hold an open house on Friday, September 16, 7:30 to 8:45 a.m., at Matthews Cafeteria, 2299 Main Street in Tucker. Everyone is invited to attend this free event to observe and experience the flow and agenda of the club’s weekly meetings. Attendees will learn about the Toastmasters International program, which helps improve speaking, communication and leadership skills, as well as many other benefits of Toastmasters membership.

"We’re excited to welcome Charles to the board and look forward to benefiting from his extensive experience and valuable perspective in service to the industry and ultimately, the hometowns, families and businesses served by Georgia’s banks,” said GBA Chairman Rhodes McLanahan, CEO of First American Bank & Trust Company in Athens.

OUR TOWN DEKALB | September 2022 13

Charles DeWitt, chairman and CEO of Tandem Bank in Tucker, has been elected by his peers in north Georgia to serve a three-year term on the board of directors of the Georgia Bankers Association (GBA).

OUR TOWN DEKALB STAFF

DeWitt is the founding chairman and CEO of Tandem Bank, a business-focused community bank that launched in 2019 in Tucker. Previously, he was the founding CEO of Resurgens Bank, which opened in 2008 and merged with Charter Financial Corp in 2017. DeWitt has experience in many areas of banking, including retail, commercial lending, capital markets and investment banking. He began his banking career in college working for National Commerce Financial (now Truist Bank). In 1989, DeWitt entered the Trust Company Bank (now Truist Bank) commercial training program in Atlanta and served in branches and commercial centers. He also gained experience in capital markets while with Swartz Institutional Finance and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, primarily working with small and midsize businesses and community banks.

Tucker Banker Joins Georgia Bankers Association Board

The local club holds weekly meetings each Friday morning from 7:30 to 8:45 at Matthews in the back dining room. All meetings (including the open house) are in-person and via Zoom. No food is provided by the club, but breakfast may be purchased at Matthews. For more information, or to request a link to attend via Zoom, visit gwinnetttoastmastersclub833.toastmastersclubs.org or @TMclub833 on Facebook.

BlackbirdBambinelli’sFarmsBreweryChick-fil-ATuckerStationEdibleArrangementsEnzo’sFord’sBBQGrecianGyroHotBetty’sBreakfastBarKingofPops

These are the restaurants and sponsors participating in Taste of Tucker as of press time. Check the Taste of Tucker website (tasteoftucker.com) or on Facebook for an updated list of participants.

Local 7

Smoke Rise Country Club

Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Village Burger

Carr’s Health Powered by PPS Cococakes by Coco Cornerstone Caregiving Cornerstone Team Realty

Georgia United Credit Union Grecian Gyro Keller Williams Atlanta Partners

Lamar Law Office Polyglot Labs

Smoke Rise Agents Team

UpClose and Personal

OUR TOWN DEKALB (September 2022)

Articles inside

Tucker Runner Wins Medals at AAU Junior Olympic Games in California