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TODAY'S ISSUE
Group seeks to establish homeless shelter in Gwinnett
By Jeff Little
Chairman, Love in Action Outreach Ministries
Special to GwinnettForum.com

JAN. 25, 2005 -- We take life for granted. We come home and open up our kitchen pantry to a wealth of food. We choose whatever we would like to eat and can go anywhere we want in our house to eat it.

Many people do not have that luxury. In Gwinnett County for 2004, the Gwinnett Coalition estimates we will have more than 25,000 homeless people. As of October 2004, we were at 20,367. So many people have talked about this problem and recognized the need, but no one has stepped out to orchestrate an effort to the finish that will help remedy the problem.

Love In Action Outreach Ministries (a 501-(c)3 non-profit organization) is working to establish a shelter in Gwinnett County that will provide 100 beds to assist the women and children that are homeless. This shelter will be called "The House of Joy."

To call it a shelter alone would be an understatement. The House of Joy will be a place of restoration. In addition to providing food and shelter, it will be providing occupational training, job placement assistance, counseling for personal and financial issues, motivational classes, childcare to allow the mothers to work a full-time job and provide religious services. The 20,000 square foot building will incorporate emergency bedding for immediate placement, individual sleeping quarters where a mother and children are able to remain together as a family, bathrooms, cafeteria, childcare, chapel, classrooms, counseling rooms and offices to assist with crisis phone lines and clothing.

Our mission will be to give individuals immediate assistance, direction and encouragement in a crisis situation, as well as provide temporary and transitional housing. In addition to providing emergency assistance and support, Love In Action Outreach Ministries, Inc. will daily challenge and empower people to help themselves in every way.

Today we see a different face of homeless people. There was a day when a homeless person was stereo-typed to be someone that had lost their way because of drugs or alcohol. Today, our homeless are people that are victims of financial situations because of a bad decision. People that have gotten ill and didn't have insurance, losing all they had to pay their debt. People that have run away from a domestic situation with no family or friends to turn for help.

Many people today are only two pay checks away from homelessness. Can we save the world? Obviously not. What we can do is to help women and children who have fallen victim to these situations, give them confidence, help them see their strengths and weaknesses, refine their hidden talents and skills, and help them to get back into the mainstream of society to support themselves and their children.

We are tired of hearing it talked about and working daily to do something about it. We are in the process of raising funds to complete the purchase of the 20,000 square foot building and pay for the renovations to accomplish all of our services. For more information about this project or to make a donation please contact:

Bobbie Pack is our founder and president and can be reached at (404) 513-5683. You may reach me at (678)910-5164.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Where is righteous indignation in Yoculan-Leebern affair?
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

JAN. 25, 2005 -- Where is the moral indignation? Where is the outrage? I am surprised that it has not jumped out at us. Perhaps you thought it would be coming, too.

I refer, of course, to the story that originally broke out of Athens on December 31, and has been in The Red and Black and the Atlanta Journal Constitution since. It concerns the University of Georgia's gymnastics program being sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for violating policy and rewarding six graduating senior team members with a trip to New York.

That's bad enough. UGA athletic officials, including Gymnastics Coach Suzanne Yoculan should have known better.

But it turned out that there was more to the story than at first blush. Later stories reported that the group traveled on a plane privately owned by a member of the State Board of Regents, Donald Leebern. He happens to be a member of the State Board of Regents. And newspaper report told that Yoculan and Leebern "share a local residence, the pair hold themselves out to be engaged, although Leebern remains in a previous marriage."

Whew! That's a lot. And all this going on in the buckle of the Bible Belt of Georgia? In a state which has found the Moral Majority and the Republican Radical Right being swept into statewide political power?

Yet, the quiet is deafening. Few have spoken about this debacle going on within the auspices of our lead state university.

Come to find out, that the arrangement between the gymnastics coach and the member of the august Board of Regents is no new phenomenon. It has been an "open secret" for years to members of the gymnastics team, if not the wider athletic community.

Apparently the trip would never have become public had a member of another UGA foundation not been in the same hotel as the gymnastics party, and reported it to athletic officials, who notified the NCAA.

Though the internet has been hot with slants and rumor of the Yocalum-Leebern affair, in general the media of Georgia has been quiet, except for that in Athens. Both the Banner-Herald, and the independent student newspaper, The Red and Black, have commented.

On January 19, a Red and Black editorial said: "A trip to New York City on a private jet, first class hotel accommodations and a Broadway show sound to us like a pretty extravagant graduation present." It also said of the UGA athletic program: "NCAA violations are getting old - and the coaches should know better."

The Athens Banner-Herald said the same day: "…by virtue of the NCAA sanctions their (Yoculan-Leebern) relationship has become a problem for the University." It added: "But the relationship ought to have been a problem for the athletics officials well prior to the sanctions. What does it say to boosters, to prospective student-athletes and to the community at large about the character of UGA athletics that Yoculan's relationship with Leebern goes on unremarked and unchallenged."

On January 20, The Red and Black came back stronger: "Don Leebern should not continue to serve on the Board of Regents. …Leebern's service on the Board of Regents must end. Immediately."

Leebern was first appointed by Gov. Zell Miller in 1991, and was reappointed for a second seven year term by Miller in 1998. His seat awaits filling by our current, governor, Dr. Sonny Perdue. Leebern continues to serve until a successor is appointed.

Though these two Athens media have spoken on the subject, where are the other voices of people across the state?

Where is the moral outrage? Where is the righteous indignation? Why is no one commenting on the emperor having on no clothes?

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's featured sponsor is Discover Mills, located at Interstate 85 between Georgia Highway 120 and Sugarloaf Parkway. Come visit our new additions, Teddy Bear Stuffers, So Cal, and Pica Pica while also visiting great favorites like Neiman Marcus Last Call and Off 5th Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet and Bass Pro. In addition you can enjoy luxury seating while watching first run movies at Discover Mills AMC's 18 movie theatres. More: www.discovermills.com

Norcross First Baptist invites the community to attend a brief "steeple raising" ceremony on Sunday, January 30 at 12:15 p.m. This will be an exciting moment as the church pastor, the Rev. Lee Smith, is raised 115 feet off the ground in a crane to top the church's newly constructed sanctuary with a cross.

Norcross First Baptist's new sanctuary has been under construction for over a year and will be completed in time for Easter, 2005. This symbolic addition of the cross marks the beginning of the latest phase of the building process which will give the church 40,000 additional square feet of worship, education, and preschool space.

Norcross First Baptist, 100 years old, is located at 706 N. Peachtree Street. For additional information and directions, please visit us at www.norcrossfbc.org .

Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce invites attendance at a session called "Business Killers: Learn to avoid the six common mistakes that can destroy business!" Two sessions are set during February.

Richard Lenhardt will lead the seminar that, will last approximately 90 minutes and help business people assess their particular financial well-being and apply critically important information to protect their business and enhance their personal wealth.

Sessions are set:

The program will be held at the 1818 Club. The 1818 Club is located on the third floor of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Building, 6500 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, GA 30097. Refreshments will be served. Reservations are required, as seating is limited. There is a $20 registration fee for the seminars.

Three Gwinnett residents have been named to Atlanta Woman's "25 Power Women to Watch" list. These accomplished women were honored at a tribute on January 19 at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead.

Making the list from Gwinnett were Ella Koscik, chief executive officer and owner of Management Decisions Inc.; Martha McGill, senior vice president, operations at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston; and Kristin Kirkconnell, chief information officer of AGL Resources.

In just 10 years, Koscik has built her IT services and medical staffing firm to $50 million in sales and expects to exceed $68 million this year.

McGill is the administrator in charge of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. McGill leads daily operations of Children's at Egleston and Children's Immediate Care Centers. She's responsible for a $400+ million budget, 1800 employees and is the liaison with a 1200-member medical staff.

Kirkconnell manages all infrastructure, including voice and data networks, systems administration, hardware, applications and the implementation of new technology for the AGL Resources, which just completed a $700 million acquisition.

The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce is seeking a vice president of community and economic development. This position is being created to provide a unified effort to promote economic growth, to develop strategic business plans supported by appropriate funding from memberships, sponsorships and special industry based initiatives and to maintain a senior level base of contact with elected officials and business leaders.

Responsibilities of the position include: leading and directing the Economic Development staff; promoting relationships with existing industry, involvement in economic growth initiatives; and nurturing relationships with state, county and local and community leaders.

For more information is available from Larry Johnson, director of Administration & Finance, at 770-232-8804 or larry@gwinnettchamber.com

ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBIT
1/25: Phil Niekro makes Hall of Fame relying on knuckeball

Phil Niekro fashioned a long, successful sports career by mastering the most confounding pitch in the history of baseball-the knuckleball. More important, during his 21 seasons with the Atlanta Braves, "Knucksie," as he was known, became one of the most popular players in franchise history.

Philip Henry Niekro was born on April 1, 1939, in Blaine, Ohio. His father, a coal miner and pitcher in the Mine Workers League, taught the knuckleball to both of his sons, Phil Jr. and Joe (who also joined the ranks of major league pitchers).

During his 24 year career, which included stints with the New York Yankees (1984-85), Cleveland Indians (1986-87), and Toronto Blue Jays (1987), Niekro compiled a lifetime record of 318-274, with a 3.35 earned run average (ERA). He was the only pitcher in the major leagues to achieve 300-plus victories by relying almost exclusively on the knuckleball.

Unlike other pitches, the knuckleball floats with no spin or rotation, then suddenly dips, dives, or swoops. It's almost impossible not only to hit but also for pitchers to control. Niekro held the ball so that the first two fingers of his right hand-tips and nails only-touched the top of the ball.

As one of the most beloved Atlanta Braves players in franchise history, Niekro joined only four other players (Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, and Dale Murphy) to have their numbers officially retired. Along with Aaron and Ty Cobb, "Knucksie" is honored with a statue in Turner Field's Monument Grove. In 1997 Niekro was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

After retiring from baseball, Niekro managed Atlanta's AAA farm club at Richmond in 1991. In 1994 he took over the managerial reigns of the Colorado Silver Bullets women's professional baseball team. Since then, he has retired from professional sports and lives in Flowery Branch, Georgia.

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