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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Women's Legacy program
to give $36,000 in nonprofit grants
By Melodie Snell Conner
Judge, Gwinnett Superior Court, and
Chairman of the 2005 Legacy Awards Gala
Special
to GwinnettForum.com
JULY 8, 2005 -- On July 20, 2005, the Women's Legacy of United
Way in Gwinnett will distribute a grand total of $36,000 in checks
to nine non-profit organizations in Gwinnett County. These were
selected to receive grants funded by the proceeds of the 2005 Legacy
Awards Gala, held earlier in the year.
This Second Annual Legacy Awards Gala drew more than 300 people
as awards were presented to honor four of Gwinnett's outstanding
women for their exemplary involvement, commitment and leadership
in the community. The 2005 honorees were Edith Harvey, Mary Root,
Marion Allison Webb, and Carolyn Hill.
The distribution comes after a volunteer allocations committee determined
how to best apply the gala proceeds. Those volunteers have worked
hard over the past two months to review grant applications, assess
the needs, conduct site visits and interviews, and make the tough
decision as to who will receive this year's grants. All non-profit
organizations throughout Gwinnett that provide services to children
and families in need were invited to apply for funding.
A total of 23 organizations submitted applications. The following
organizations have been invited to attend a Women's Legacy luncheon
in their honor and will be awarded checks for $4,000 each to support
their current initiatives:
* Camp Horizon, Inc.
* Gwinnett Ballet Theatre
* Gwinnett Hospital System OB-GYN Clinic
* Hi-Hope Service Center
* J.M. Tull Gwinnett Family YMCA
* Norcross Cooperative Ministry
* Partnership for Community Action
* Rainbow Village
* Sheltering Arms
The purpose of Women's Legacy of United Way in Gwinnett, founded
in 1999, is to mobilize women to become powerful philanthropists
through leadership, fundraising and advocacy. The mission of the
Legacy Awards Gala is to recognize exemplary women in Gwinnett County
for their contributions of time, talent, treasure, and legacy to
the community, as well as to generate philanthropic dollars that
can be given back to make a positive impact on the lives of many
in Gwinnett.
The Women's Legacy meets the third Wednesday of January, April,
July and October at the 1818 Club in Duluth at 11:30 a.m. for networking
and a program. At the July 20 luncheon, guest speakers from the
listed organizations will share how they intend to positively impact
our community with their awarded funds.
It is one of the most inspiring luncheons hosted all year. If you
are interested in learning more about Women's Legacy, please call
the United Way office at 678-417-6434. Save the date now for the
2006 Legacy Awards Gala on Friday, March 10, 2006!
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Suwanee residents can be proud of Hewell property
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
JULY 8, 2005 -- Citizens of Suwanee may not have realized how astute
they were back in 2001 when they passed a $17.7 million referendum
to essentially double their taxes. They approved this bond issue
for a single purpose, for the purchase of green space, called an
Open Space Initiative.
In that historic vote, the Suwanee residents positioned themselves
for a greatly improved quality of life, as they addressed their
passive recreational needs well into the future.
Already the residents are beginning to see this vote pay for itself
in the additional lands the city is purchasing. Altogether, the
City has so far added four parks, totaling 235 acres, for its 11,500
residents from the Initiative.
Perhaps the most exquisite was the city purchase of 61 mostly wooded
acres on Suwanee Dam Road from Rae Hewell for $3.35 million. Mr.
Hewell, one of the founders of Peachtree Doors and Windows, sold
the acreage but retained a life estate in the house. While suffering
from emphysema, little did Mr. Hewell know that five months later,
he would die unexpectedly. Suddenly, the city had the property much
earlier than it thought it would.
For the last two years, the city has moved to shore up the property's
earthen dam, to bring it up to state standards. Work on this is
to be finished in August this year. The property is known as Sims
Lake Park, named for a former property owner, the late Paul Sims,
who built the lake.
Now the city turns its attention to asking its residents what should
be the eventual use of the property. A meeting is set for Thursday,
July 14, at 6:30 at North Gwinnett High School cafeteria, for citizens
to give input to this question. Suwanee residents are invited to
offer suggestions, ask questions, participate in a preference survey,
and find out more of the planning process at this meeting.
Suwanee officials say that citizen input will be the key component
of the master plan. The city has hired Cerulea Landscape Architects
of Alpharetta to create the plan. They are the same firm Gwinnett
County hired for input on the McDaniel Farm Park near Gwinnett Place
mall.
* * * * *
While the main question city officials want answered is what to
do with the total 61 acres, what to do with the house is to be determined,
another question entirely.
The house is architecturally designed, has a high vantage point
virtually 20 feet above the lake level, and has first one beautiful
appointment after another. Mr. Hewell had the good taste to have
a simple motif, which in one way reminds me of the Frank Lloyd Wright
design of Prairie House in Chicago. The sight lines are wonderful,
the design of the furniture in the rooms is simple yet distinctive,
each bathroom has large glass-doored massive showers and functional
built-in units, and everything is elegant. There's not an unsightly
detail anywhere.
Polished up after two years of no one living in it, the house would
make a showplace as part of a tour of homes in Suwanee.
Local residents will soon realize just what a jewel they have in
the Sims Lake Park property, and its distinctive home. The park
will be a much-visited highlight for years to come. The house could
be a fine gathering spot in Suwanee if the residents adopt a way
to ensure its upkeep in the coming years.
Suwanee residents: congratulate yourself on a good job when you
voted the Open Space Initiative.
ABOUT OUR SPONSORS
 Today's
featured sponsor is Gwinnett Community Bank of Duluth, Member,
FDIC. Tom Martin heads this bank, which operates out of its facilities
on Buford Highway, near the intersection of Rogers Bridge and Old
Peachtree Road. The Duluth office number is 770-476-2775. There
is also a Suwanee location at 3463 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road in
Suwanee. The phone number for the Suwanee branch is 770-497-5252.
The third banking location in Snellville opened for business May
16, 2005. The address is 2135 E. Main Street, #120, Snellville.
The phone number for Snellville is 770-495-5490. The web site is
http://www.gwinnettcommunitybank.com/defaultx.html.
For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm.
McLEMORE'S
WORLD
7/8: More
on global warming
Another cartoon from the great Bill McLemore:
FEEDBACK
7/8: Would
welcome Garrison Keillor to Gwinnett County
Editor, the Forum:
I love your idea to bring Garrison Keillor to the arena! Let me
know how I can support this initiative!
-- Jeanne Rispin, council member, City of Suwanee
UPCOMING
Commissioners
award contract for Grayson library
A $3.3 million contract for the construction of the Grayson Branch
Library has been awarded to Ricks Construction, Inc. by the Gwinnett
County Commission. The library will be located not far from downtown
on Grayson Parkway. County officials will hold a groundbreaking
at the site of the future library, 700 Grayson Parkway on July 28
at 3 p.m.
Patrons of the Gwinnett County Public Library system checked out
more than 6.3 million items between July 2004 and June 2005, which
equals approximately 29.3 books per minute. The GCPL consists of
12 branches, with a 13th branch in Dacula set to open in early 2006.
All branches are open 71 hours per week, and Virtualville, the access
online branch, is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The
library sees approximately four million visitors each year at local
branches and about two million each year to Virtualville.
Gwinnett Historical Society fund-raiser features music
Bluegrass music, a live auction, a buffet and a speaker on local
topics all combine to produce what is billed as a "Cotton Pickin'
Good Time at the 10th annual fund raiser of the Gwinnett Historical
Society on June 29.
The event will be held at the Historic Gwinnett Courthouse on the
square in Lawrenceville, beginning at 7 p.m. with Phil Tanner and
the Skillet Lickers with bluegrass music.
Fred Banks, respected native Georgian and auctioneer, will be the
speaker and auction a few choice items. The dress is southern festive
finery!
Tickets are $75.00 each, table for 10 people $750.00. All proceeds
will benefit the projects of the Gwinnett Historical Society.
The Gwinnett Historical Society was organized in 1966 by a group
of volunteers intent on preserving Gwinnett County History. This
is done through publication of books on Gwinnett history, marriages,
photographs, family genealogy and archival of family items. The
Society also maintains the Elisha Winn House in Dacula, which was
restored by the Gwinnett Historical Society, and has a large library
for research along with many family files and microfilm. For more
information, please call 770-822-5174.
NOTABLE
Operation
One Voice seeks funds for families of fallen
Operation One Voice is a Duluth-based non-profit organization dedicated
to raise funds to help children of fallen Special Operation personnel
killed in the war against terrorism. Recently Cinco Mexican Restaurant
owners Mike Brosius, Luis Ramirez and Tim Boucher allowed One Voice
to collect donations from customers during the restaurant's soft
opening. The restaurant is located at 5206 McGinnis Ferry Road.
Collections totaled $2,000 toward the organization's goal of $100,000.
Operation One Voice was established with increasing need to assist
families who have lost a breadwinner of the household. It is hosting
several charitable events throughout Fulton, Gwinnett and other
surrounding counties to raise funds.
RECOMMENDED
READ
- An invitation: What Web sites or books have you enjoyed?
Send us your best recent read along with a short paragraph as
to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA
Rosalynn Carter advocate
for improving mental health
Rosalynn Carter, wife of the 39th U.S. president, Jimmy
Carter, forged a career in public service as one of the nation's
foremost advocates for mental health. Her lifelong dedication to
improving life for women, children, the elderly, people with mental
illness, and impoverished people worldwide earned her recognition
in 2001 as one of only three first ladies ever inducted into the
National Women's Hall of Fame.
 She
was born Eleanor Rosalynn Smith on August 18, 1927, in Plains. She
graduated as valedictorian from Plains High School in 1944 and studied
at Georgia Southwestern College (later Georgia Southwestern State
University). In 1946 she married her high school classmate Jimmy
Carter, after he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.
As Georgia's first lady, Rosalynn Carter advanced many charitable
causes. Moved by the challenges Georgians faced in caring for loved
ones with mental illness, she conceived a lifelong dedication to
fighting the stigma against mental illness and improving the quality
and availability of mental health care. In the White House she chaired
the President's Commission on Mental Health, holding hearings across
the country, testifying before Congress, and spearheading passage
of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.
In addition to fulfilling the traditional demands of official White
House hostess, she helped to shape the role of the modern first
lady as a partner with the president, becoming the first presidential
spouse to carry a briefcase to her White House office. Noting her
singular tenacity and southern gentleness, the media dubbed her
a "steel magnolia."
Since leaving the White House, Carter has published four books:
her autobiography, First Lady from Plains (1984); with Jimmy
Carter, Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your
Life (1987); and with Susan K. Golant, Helping Yourself Help
Others: A Book for Caregivers (1994) and Helping Someone
with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends,
and Caregivers (1998).
In 2001, a year before her husband won the Nobel Peace Prize, Rosalynn
Carter became only the third first lady named to the National Women's
Hall of Fame, joining the company of such women of achievement as
Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
What is the best type
of books for us to be reading?
"I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound
and stab us. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us."
-- Czech Author Franz Kafka (1883-1924).
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is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
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