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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Builder, community
groups work together for solutions
By
Mark Richardson
Richardson Housing Group
Special to GwinnettForum.com
JUNE 4, 2004 -- Gwinnett County has grown quickly and prospered
greatly during the past 30 years, and Richardson Housing Group,
the business founded by my father has continued to build new homes
for residents throughout this boom. Recently, our company was reminded
of the positive outcome that can occur when businesses and community
organizations work together to find a solution that benefits all.
 Richardson
Housing Group faced a unique situation when we met a challenge with
the Korean First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta regarding construction
of a new development of townhomes neighboring their facility on
Lawrenceville Highway. As vice president of development for the
company, I was directly involved with addressing their concerns.
After many meetings about how to find a solution that would make
everyone happy, our company decided to donate a portion of land
to the church that was originally scheduled for the townhome development.
As their "next door neighbors," we certainly wanted to
create a positive relationship with them, and because the church's
main concern about the townhome development was the unavailability
of nearby land for future growth of their congregation, the donation
of land was a great compromise for both parties.
Finding this middle ground with the church was a reminder of the
values on which our company was built. Our goal at Richardson is
to provide great homes for a great quality of life. But beyond what
we can provide within a home or neighborhood, our residents' quality
of life is affected by the nearby surroundings. Parks, schools and
a place of worship are all valued to our homeowners.
Though the circumstances surrounding the Korean Church's disagreement
were unusual, the way we worked through them as community business
leaders was not. Yes, we are in business to build, but not at any
cost and not without establishing a common ground with the neighbors
of our developments. Change can be scary for people, and many times,
neighbors just feel vulnerable and need reassurance that the changes
aren't going to damage their standard of living. Business owners
and developers can bring this comfort to the community by simply
being available to hear concerns and reaching out to residents to
ease their worries.
With nearly 700,000 people now populating this formerly rural suburb
I call home, there are always new issues to face and compromises
for businesses to work through. No matter what business you may
be in, it's important that we work together with the community organizations
to ensure that our county is protected for future generations. We
are all trying to continue enjoying the success Gwinnett County
has experienced during these years of growth, while still maintaining
the sense of community and quality standard of living that brings
so many newcomers to the area.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Ireland
will do wonders for you
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
DUBLIN, Ireland, June 4, 2004 - - Borders mean nothing on this
green island called Ireland. Though it is partitioned into the Republic
of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of Great Britain,
you barely know when you leave one part and go into the other.
 Except
for one aspect: money. You see, while the Republic of Ireland is
part of larger Europe using the Euro for its monetary system, Northern
Ireland, as part of Britain, is on the pound sterling.
So when yesterday we crossed the invisible border near the pottery
town of Belleek, and I bought something for five pounds, and inadvertently
handed the clerk a 10 Euro note.....without hesitation, she quickly
made a calculation, telling me that would be 7.5 pounds (roughly),
and handed me change in sterling! I had not realized that I had
crossed the border, but it didn't matter to the young clerk. No
doubt she and others see this happening all the time.
Both parts of this island are wonderful places to visit. We found
the people in both places wonderfully warm and inviting, the scenery
gorgeously green. While visiting in the country at this time of
year, you can also find it smelly when they add the manufactured
and natural fertilizers to the crops because the planting has just
started.
Yet the place most visitors like, including us, is the countryside.
It is so lush and beautiful, so wonderful when you have driven (on
the wrong side, too) in the narrow streets of the crowded cities.
From two trips to Ireland, one three years ago to the west and south
in the Republic, and this trip to Northern Ireland and the northwestern
(Donegal and Sligo) areas of the Republic, we have some favorite
spots.
The northeastern part of Northern Ireland, centering around Ballycastle,
has gorgeous coastal scenery, with Scotland being just miles away
on the horizon. The area around Devil's Causeway, then southward
to Carnlough, was some of the prettiest (and conveniently arrived
at) we saw.
Then there is the Atlantic side, particularly nice around Sligo,
which is famous as the adopted home of the poet W.B. Yeats. The
countryside along the coast reminds one of Maine or some other areas
where sticks of land push out toward the sea. (We spent little time
around Donegal, also reputed to have beautiful scenery, because
of its destinations being so far-flung and distant from one another.)
Few people visit Omagh, but it was one of the best places we saw
on the island, particularly because of its Ulster American Folk
Park, an open-air museum of perhaps 10 acres where 30 historic buildings
have been rebuilt to show you have people lived in Ireland before
the immigration to America....and where you see American prototypes
rebuilt to show what the immigrants lived like in the New World.
Part of the facility is a library, stocked with books and databases
to help people trace their roots in Ireland.
This is a wonderful resource, and needs more promoting
by the Northern Ireland government to attract more visitors to this
remote part of the nation.
Previously, when visiting, we enjoyed Galway and its coast around
Doolin, as well as Kinsale, south of Cork.
* * * * *
One item troubled me about our visit. Promoters in
the USA will tell you that you should travel to Ireland and utilize
bed and breakfast facilities. We agree. It's the way to go.
But do not listen to the promoters when they tell you to purchase
your accommodations from them in advance through vouchers, when
they say ''give you the choice of some 2,000 places to stay.''
Here's why: you can actually save money by paying the B&B owners
directly yourself. You also have an even wider choice of places
to stay. And you can get lists
of B&Bs at Tourist offices.
We say this from experience. We purchased vouchers from one agency
for $330 for five nights. Yet we could have stayed at even the best
B&B for only 19.50 pounds each...which is cheaper than what
we paid for the vouchers.
Not only that, but the B&B operators would prefer for you to
pay in cash, since the voucher-seller takes a big part of their
commission from the B&B operator!
So forget the vouchers if you come to Ireland. Work through the
local tourist offices (one in every good size town) and save...and
enjoy the hospitality of the island of Ireland.
If considering Europe this year, either Northern Ireland or the
Republic will work wonders on you. And you'll barely know which
you are in at any time.
ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is Hayes Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep
of Lawrenceville and Gainesville. General Manager Mike Hayes of
Lawrenceville and General Manager Tim Hayes of Gainesville invite
you into their showrooms to look over their line-up of automobiles
and trucks. Hayes has been in the automotive business for over 30
years, and is North Georgia's oldest family-owned auto dealership.
The family is the winner of the 2002 Georgia Family Business of
the Year Award. Hayes Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep is affiliated with Hayes
Chevrolet in Cornelia. Check out their web site at: http://www.hayeschrysler.com.
For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm.
McLEMORE'S
WORLD
6/4: The new draft
The latest from cartoonist Bill McLemore:
BOOK
RECOMMENDATION
6/4: From Ellen Gerstein
Director of the Gwinnett Health and Human
Services Coalition
"I liked The DaVinci Code. Also just read The Purpose
Driven Life. That was very inspirational. I read every night
before I go to bed. I love reading mysteries."
- An invitation: What books have you enjoyed? Send us
your best recent book along with a short paragraph as to why you
liked it, plus what you plan to read next. --eeb
ENCYCLOPEDIA
TIDBIT
6/4: Evidence of colonial
history seen in several areas of state
 Though
Georgia's history is a part of the nation's history and shares many
national patterns, the state has a distinct history that is reflected
in the cultural landscape. (More)
Thousands of years of Native American occupation followed by two
centuries of Spanish exploration and settlement preceded the founding
of the Georgia colony in 1733 and have left their mark in archaeological
sites across the state.
Much of this prehistory and colonial history remains undocumented,
but the Spanish and early colonial period is represented by such
places as Fort Frederica and the Bloody Marsh battlefield on St.
Simons Island. Sapelo Island's shell ring, the Etowah Indian Mounds,
and similar sites preserve the evidence of Indian habitation. As
the state's historic preservation plan points out, "The evidence
of history takes the form of buildings and structures, historic
and archaeological sites, historic landscapes and traditional cultural
properties, and historic districts."
To access the Georgia Encyclopedia, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Happy for linguists
that the kid did not take this advice
"You'll never be a ballplayer. Take my advice, son, and forget
about baseball. Get into some other kind of business."
-- To Yogi Berra before Berra signed with the Yankees, from
Baseball Mogul Branch Rickey.
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