TODAY'S ISSUE: GDOS Opportunity for Volunteers To Help Community
ELLIOTT BRACK: Richard Tucker Deserving of Button Gwinnett Award
NEWS: State Senate Offers Georgians Military Scholarships
TODAY'S QUOTE: Thought from Atlanta About Individual's Reputation

"Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was."

-- Author Margaret Mitchell (1900 - 1949).

Members of the Georgia Senate are looking for a few good men and women who are interested in attending Georgia's military colleges on a scholarship. A total of 39 scholarships will be awarded - three from each of Georgia's 13 Congressional Districts.

TODAY'S ISSUE
Now calling all volunteers for the Great Days of Service
By Heather Welch
Special to GwinnettForum.com

LAWRENCEVILLE, Sept. 22, 2003 - The Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services' annual signature event, the Great Days of Service (GDOS) presented by Primerica Financial Services, is a one-of-a-kind community volunteer experience that is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever.

There are more than 150 service project opportunities to date. Businesses, individuals, school groups, scout troops, civic and social clubs, and church youth groups are encouraged to participate in a volunteer service project on Friday, Oct. 24 or Saturday, Oct. 25. Or, why not sign up for both days? All you have to do is go to www.gwinnettgreatdayofservice.org and click on "volunteers."

The annual GDOS was created four years ago in the spirit of Gwinnett's slogan, "Success Lives Here." The days are designed to gain community awareness for the Gwinnett Coalition and the more than 800 health and human service agencies and organizations the Coalition represents and supports.

The GDOS steering committee works with these agencies to address specific needs in the community and to complete defined volunteer projects, while educating citizens and leaders about the needs around them and engaging them in helping to meet those needs. "The number of opportunities, and the volunteers willing to help out, allowed us to expand the event from one to two days of community service," said Paige Havens, GDOS founder and chair.

In an effort to show their support, Gwinnett's newest professional sports team is offering GDOS volunteers a special reduced-price ticket to attend their first two home games. So, when the Gwinnett Gladiators take to the ice on October 24-25, GDOS volunteers will be there to cheer them on. Advanced single ticket sales are available to volunteers at a special price ($12 per ticket) through Sept. 26. The option to register for the ticket offer is provided online once you sign up as a volunteer.

Steve Chapman, the Gladiators' general manager, says: "We feel honored to be a part of the Great Days of Service in Gwinnett County. We are looking forward to share the fun and excitement of hockey with the volunteers who make a real difference in our community by reaching out to those in need."

In addition to the Gwinnett Gladiators' involvement and Primerica Financial Services' leadership as the presenting Diamond Sponsor, Discover Mills has stepped up as an event partner. Other sponsors include Chapter 11 Bookstores, Comet National Shipping Corp., McCart Group, Scientific Atlanta, Georgia Power, Gwinnett Board of Realtors, ACT Learning Centers, Anderson, Tate, Mahaffey and McGarity, P.C., Presidio Sports Bar and Grille, Zurich, Waffle House, Nordson Corporation, Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, Gwinnett Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and Tillman, Allen, Greer.

For more information or to register to volunteer for the Great Days of Service, visit the web site or call Rachel Shaikun with the Gwinnett Coalition for Health & Human Services at 678-376-7887.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Tucker deserving of Button Gwinnett award honor
By Elliott Brack
editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com

SEPT. 22, 2003 -- An organization that started in Gwinnett and now encompasses all of Metro Atlanta will honor Richard Tucker on Thursday night (Sept. 25). The Council for Quality Growth has named him the winner for 2003 of the Button Gwinnett Award. Tucker for the last seven years has been president of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

Tucker is rightly deserving of the honor, since he has done a marvelous job in moving the Gwinnett Chamber forward, involving the Chamber in the wider community, and bringing Gwinnett distinction by serving on statewide boards. Tucker came to the Chamber anticipating two, and possibly three years, yet stayed on for seven years.

What made him stay? As he sees it, "We had a building project going on and some other items into which I though I could have some influence and input. Then, obviously, with the new building there, we had to settle into and enjoy it a little while.
I had thought of leaving two years ago, but there was no reason to leave, and further I get the financial house in order."

Tucker says that a year ago, he told incoming Chamber President Bill Russell that he would not be on the job within a year. "Everything that I sought to do was done; it was time to go."

Where Tucker was perhaps best at was working behind the scenes to affect positive change. He's particularly good at that. But he says, "There were times when I had to get out in front, and take a stand, a position. But I did not mind that, but enjoyed stirring the pot from time to time."

Tucker's major legacies are seeing the Gwinnett Chamber move into its three-story building on Sugarloaf Parkway and putting the Chamber on a sound financial basis. "They went hand-in-hand," he says. Allied with this was his efforts to get the 1818 Club, a private dining club within the Chamber building, up and operating. "It's got a good income stream, and its cash flow is positive now."

But there is another aspect to Tucker's time at the Chamber: growing of the Chamber staff. "I'm proud of their stability. We have a professional and accomplished staff. But you don't keep the same people, for they move on to greater areas. You raise the bar continually. Once you set the bar high, it's easier to attract high grade professionals."

In his new firm, Arlington Capital, based in Lawrenceville, Tucker is running essentially a real estate venture firm. "It's what is called a mezzanine fund, providing equity for developers when they acquire a bank loan for acquisition and development. It's like a venture capital company, but all real estate based. Developers do not have to put their own money into a project, giving them the ability to leverage their opportunity.

The firm serves primarily Metro Atlanta. "We have projects going on from South Fulton to Jackson County and from to Walton to Cobb Counties in process and commitment. I never dreamed that in such a short time I would be funding loans as quick as I have."

Richard Tucker has served Gwinnett well. It's a distinct honor to see him the winner of the 2003 Button Gwinnett Award.

Previous winners of the Button Gwinnett Award include:

1990, Steve Reynolds
1991, Wayne Shackelford
1992, J.W. Benefield
1993, D. Scott Hudgens
1994, Wayne H. Mason
1995, Virgil R. Williams
1996, Paul A. Duke
1997, Jim Cowart
1998, J.D. Caswell
1999, A. Ray Weeks
2000, Louise Radloff
2001, F. Wayne Hill
2002, George Busbee.

MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com

© 2003, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.