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Gwinnett's largest high-tech company is expanding
By Ann Sargent
Special to GwinnettForum

NORCROSS, Ga., Oct. 7, 2008 -- The largest technology company headquartered in Gwinnett has broken ground on a 30,000-square-foot expansion. EMS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELMG) is enlarging its Defense Space Systems Division (D&SS) facilities.

The company's existing office, located in Technology Park, hosted more than 300 employees and special guests at the event. This expansion represents another "project win" for the community and economic development initiative, Partnership Gwinnett.

The expanded facility is scheduled to be completed in March 2009 and will serve as the new home for much larger labs and facilities for the division's machine shop, B-2 lab, environmental lab and integration and test lab, among others. Company officials say that the expansion is needed because of the strong growth of D&SS over the last 15 months. D&SS technology is integral to the Air Force's F-22 Raptor and B-2 AEHF programs, while its RF and antenna systems power XM Radio and make LiveTV possible on JetBlue Airways.

EMS President and CEO Paul Domorski says: "It's a great day for EMS Technologies. Despite the economic misfortunes occurring in the market, we have continued to expand. Since January 2007, the Defense and Space Systems business has grown by 35 percent, adding 127 more people. We would not want to build a new facility in this market if we didn't believe in the people and in the markets we serve. We believe in our people, in our business and in our customers."

David Smith, vice president and general manager of D&SS, credits the division's success to its employees' hard work and full engagement, noting, "The entire division got behind our growth strategy. We have expanded the business, including being successful at winning contracts that we expect to crate higher annual production for a number of years. Today's groundbreaking is an outward sign of our belief in this growth."

VIP attendees at the groundbreaking were Paul Hogan, president, and George Clackum, group vice president, of Hogan Construction Group, which won the EMS contract; and Julie Chesnut and Michael Schneider, principals of Schneider Wright Inc., the project's architectural interior design firm. Also in attendance was Melanie Brandt, business development manager with the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

Hogan noted that the construction work will begin in the next two weeks and the new wing of D&SS should be completed by March 2009. It will connect to EMS's main D&SS building, which was originally constructed in 1987.

He adds: "We're honored to support EMS's expansion by producing a facility that not only meets the needs of EMS, but also serves as a platform to support future growth," said Hogan. "This project requires very close coordination with EMS Facilities and the architectural design firm of Schneider Wright, as we look to marry a new facility to EMS's current building, while keeping the company's existing operations up and running."

EMS Technologies is an advanced technology and a leading "connectivity company." With a leadership position in the aeronautical, defense and wireless logistics computing markets, EMS keeps people, systems and data connected, wherever they are -- on the ground, in the air, or in space. Headquartered in Atlanta, EMS employs 1,100 staff in four divisions, SATCOM, LXE, Defense & Space Systems, and Sky Connect. It has major manufacturing facilities in Atlanta, Ottawa, Canada, and Takoma Park, Md.

New baseball stadium nearing 50 percent toward completion
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher

OCT. 7, 2008 -- This week if on Georgia Highway 20, when you pass by the under-construction baseball stadium for the Gwinnett Braves, you'll see the steel beginning to go up on the baseball park. The entire construction process should be half finished this week, with the opening of minor league baseball in Gwinnett set for April 2009.

The guy in charge of building the stadium is a Bostonian who came to Atlanta first to work on the Georgia Dome in 1988. He's Forest Brewer, an engineer with Barton Mallon of Atlanta, the firm building the stadium. He's a graduate of both Penn State and the University of Massachusetts, and has completed post-graduate work at the University of Wisconsin, all in engineering.

Meanwhile, he has under his belt already four baseball stadiums, including Turner Field, and has done work on football fields and stadiums all over the country.

In particular, Brewer told us about the field drainage at the new baseball park. We learned it's a mass of technology, from the grass down. Work on the actual field construction will begin in December.

"If you look at a cross section of the field," Brewer says, "The grass itself is about two inches thick when harvested. It allows water to percolate to sand. That allows the roots to stabilize and grow vertically and horizontally into this zone, and lock the turf to the ground. It can knit together in about 14 days, depending on the fertilizer and nutrients."

Meanwhile, the entire ball field has perforated pipe 30 inches underground every 20 feet. The pipes are encased in rock with a filter fabric on it allowing only water to enter the pipe. However, immediately behind the infield, pipes are spaced five feet apart for the first 30 feet in the grassed "tarp zone." After a rain, when the tarp is pulled off the infield, the excess water flows quickly off the field through these extra underground drains.

The drainage for the playing field is made up of four to six inches of three inch pea stone, which keeps the root zone suspended above, and allows the water to seep through. The water then disseminates to the subgrade, which is sloped and pitched, and then into trenches, which routes the water into collector pipes. "Altogether, the water travels about 30 inches before it hits the pipes, which rest in a trench on natural solid earth," Brewer says.

Meanwhile, the underground base of the stadium has been sloped, so that the water drains toward the foul poles in left and right field. "Water drains to either side into the manifold pipe, including the manifold in the warning tracks, and finally goes into an outlet and into the storm sewer."

The Gwinnett stadium is to irrigate with re-use water, which is collected and sent back to the reuse system. Should it rain on the field, that water goes to the storm sewer.

Brewer himself is a big fan of minor league baseball. "Minor league baseball is about a family experience, not about the players as it is in the majors. At the stadium's opening night, I'll be here walking around by myself, listening to the families with their 'oohs' and "ahs" as they come to the park.. Here they'll get more bang for their buck. We're on schedule, and I can't wait for it to open. It'll be one of the best places around to take a family."

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Whether you have recently moved to Gwinnett or you are a long-standing member of this community, it is time to check your address. Gwinnett County is structured so that some people live in unincorporated areas of the county, while others live within the corporate limits of its 15 cities.

These divisions can be confusing to even the most-left-brained of us. The lines of demarcation can really be stupefying when it comes to accessing county services. Have you have ever called the police from your home? Some cities have their own police departments and others don't; certain cities run their own utility companies, but even though you might pay your gas and water bills to these cities, you are not necessarily a city resident. It can be confusing.

This community confusion is heightened when November looms each year. My pet issue awakens and starts to cry for attention: it is my contention that most people who have the right to vote in one of Gwinnett's 15 cities have no clue that they possess this right.

For instance, in the City of Lawrenceville, where I live, there are well between 10-11,000 registered voters. Routinely, approximately 1,800 of them vote in the city elections for mayor and/or city council members. I have met many Lawrencevillians who honestly had no clue they could vote---they just never thought about it or realized that they lived within the city limits. Every citizen living within the city limits of one of Gwinnett's 15 municipalities is entitled to vote in their city's election, if they are registered. Gwinnett County efficiently registers you to vote in your city at the same time you register in the county. Even though you may not realize it, you are up and running to vote in your city.

Of course, "within the city limits," are the operative words here. Do you live inside city limits? If you don't know, it's time to "check your address." Call City Hall and find out. Also, when you are a municipal citizen, you must visit two polling places to cast your votes, both your county precinct, plus your city's polling place, usually at City Hall. This process takes time and a little planning, but to alleviate long waits in line, both county and city polling places are open for Advance Voting the week of October 27---October 31 during normal business hours. Tuesday, November 4, is Election Day. (Georgia also has early voting, which is open now. Go to http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/advanced_voting.htm for details.)

I read recently about the unconscionable treatment a group of suffragettes endured in the first part of the 20th century when they were jailed for simply petitioning for women's right to vote. The good news: they won. The bad news: sometimes today we don't vote at all. Is it because we don't like the candidates, or because it's raining, or it's simply too inconvenient, or it requires going to two polling places, or there's a soccer match? Pick up the gauntlet this year. Chuck the inconvenience, check your address, and vote!

I often read your Forum and enjoy it. I find the responses even more fascinating, especially all the political banter. Speaking of political, check this out.

I have a friend who supports John McCain and has one of his signs in his front yard. He lives in a diverse community and is getting heat from some black neighbors about being a racist for supporting McCain. I am running for the Georgia House of Representatives, and happen to be black and a Republican. My friend needed one of my campaign signs that bears my photo for his yard as well.

While I know that I have his support, picture on the sign or not, it is really sad that he felt bullied enough to try to prove to his neighbors that he is not a racist. I've known him for years and he is hardly a racist.

I am embarrassed that his neighbor made such an ignorant statement and shows no respect for his constitutional right to endorse whoever he wants. Isn't this what our country and freedoms are about?! We're not the United Socialist States... just yet. I am sure my friend has not questioned his neighbor's choice.

The incident only reinforces that many people are just as polarized and stuck on stupid as ever.

Greetings to you from Jackson, Miss., from the Wingard Home Ministry. In 1988, we were homeless at the Quinn House in Lawrenceville. John and Carrol Quinn changed our lives and taught us how to love people.

We served as their assistants until October of 1990 when God brought us to Jackson as Signs& Wonders Ministry/ Wingard Home. We separated at the request of Carrol Quinn right before her death. We became Wingard Home Inc. in December of 2006 and have been in ministry (because God used the Quinns in our lives) since 1988. For 20 years, we have been letting our light shine here, because of the Quinn House Ministry.

A story (see the link below) was just done on us as the story came out in Gwinnett County. A coincidence? I think not; God is in charge. Read the story here and here.

You never know how far what you do will go. In the big pond, we ore one of the ripples in the living waters of John and Carrol Quinn.

Barbara King, executive vice president of Primeria Financial Services will be the speaker at the October 10 "Success Lives Here" breakfast at the Sugarloaf Country Club at 7:30 a.m.

Ms. King will shares her secrets to success. She was one of Primerica's founding executives, joining its predecessor company, A. L. Williams, in 1980. She has been a member of the board of directors for both the public and private corporations.

Cost of the breakfast is $45 for Chamber members; $55 for non-Chamber members. For reservations, contact the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce at 770 232-3000.

On Saturday, October 18, the Gwinnett County Public Library proudly presents the second annual Gwinnett Reading Festival scheduled from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds. An array of award-winning authors and emerging authors that reflect the world of literature today are scheduled to attend.

This free event is projected to attract over 6,000 book lovers from the Atlanta metro area. Readers, authors, and educational vendors join together in a community-wide celebration of reading for all ages to encourage the love of reading and to promote literacy.

Festival goers will have the opportunity to meet and interact with award winning international authors such as Rick Bragg, Carmen Deedy, Mary Jane Clark and Steve Martini. Other national and local authors will also be present and available for author workshops, discussions and book signings.

The festival features a children's performance stage and activities including storytelling, crafts, face painting and a special appearance by Spider-Man™. Students of the Aurora Theater Academy will be performing a 20 minute production of Miss Nelson is Missing on the children's stage.

Each child that attends the festival will receive a free book. For more information, visit www.gwinnettreadingfestival.org or call 770-978-5154. The Gwinnett County Fairgrounds are located at 2405 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville.

The theme of the 2008 Diabetes Expo is "Find The Sugar In You." This expo is sponsored by Emory Eastside Medical Center's certified Diabetes Education Center and its adult health program. This educational event will be held on Tuesday, November 11. Dr. Naland Shenoy will be the keynote speaker giving the latest updates in treatment, prevention and medical advances.

While in the ninth grade, Shenoy decided that he wanted to be a physician, and specifically, an endocrinologist. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and worked on the Human Genome Project and received a BS degree in business administration from Wharton Business School, while at University of Pennsylvania. Shenoy attended the Medical School at the University of South Carolina and completed his internship and residency at Orlando Regional Medical Center. He completed his endocrine training at the University of South Carolina and is Board Certified in Diabetes, Endocrinology, Metabolism and Internal Medicine.

The Expo will kick off with a vendor show to assist patients with diabetic needs. The vendor booths will open at 4:30 p.m. followed by a free boxed dinner at 5:30 p.m., and then guest speaker, Dr. Shenoy at 6 p.m. Registration is required for this free community event, however space is limited. For more information please call Medline, at 770-972-7570.

The IMPACT! Group is welcoming Thomas W. Merkel as its new executive director and president. He is succeeding Marina Sampanes Peed, who will continue to assist IMPACT! with special projects.

Tom Merkel is a graduate of Clemson University, and has over 30 years of experience in the mortgage, financial and banking sectors. He previously was an area manager for Countrywide Home Loans. He has experience with G.E. Money Bank and was president/CEO of Pinnacle Credit Union in Atlanta Since 2007, Tom has served as head of the mortgage division and later as president of The IMPACT Group!

He and his wife, Mickey, have lived in Gwinnett for 30 years. The coupe have two daughters. He is a member of the vestry at Christ Episcopal Church and has been president of his homeowners association.

Marina Sampanes Peed leaves IMPACT! after serving 12 years as executive director. Under her leadership, the organization has grown to become a full service housing assistance agency advocating on behalf of the many homeless and low income families of northeast Georgia.

Raychel Robbins Rizzo has been named the assistant director of corporate and foundation relations at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville. She previously was the development officer in charge of foundations and organizations at the Broward College Foundation in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Ms. Rizzo has experience in non-profit management with Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization, Inc. She also has worked as a consultant in the areas of large-scale event planning, management, team building, human dynamics and board/leadership development. She holds a master of education degree in higher education leadership from Florida Atlantic University. She and her husband, Scott, make their home in Athens.

David Bushnell is credited as the inventor of the submarine, which was first used to launch explosives against British ships during the American Revolution (1775-83). Under a different identity, the New England native settled in Georgia after the war and spent the rest of his life there. Bushnell was born on August 30, 1740, in Saybrook, Conn.. When his father died, Bushnell sold his inheritance and moved to town, where he could prepare for higher education. Two years later, at the age of 31, he entered Yale College.

While a student, Bushnell experimented with exploding timed gunpowder charges under water. During his final year at Yale, he spent his last penny constructing a manned submarine capable of employing weapons. Built entirely of oak beams, the elliptical craft resembled two conjoined turtle shells. Thus, the craft was given the name "Turtle." His graduation in the summer of 1775 coincided with the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and some in the Continental Congress, including Benjamin Franklin, felt that Bushnell's idea would be a useful weapon against the Royal Navy.

On September 6, 1776, the Turtle, piloted by Sergeant Ezra Lee of the Continental Army, was sent to attack the HMS Eagle off the coast of New York City, in an effort to break the British blockade. While Lee was not able to attach the explosive to the ship, he was able to detonate the charge. Though unsuccessful in the mission's ultimate goal, the event proved that the submarine and its weapon were operable. After two more unsuccessful attempts, Bushnell determined that better-trained operators were required and turned his attention to using mines to strike the enemy. He constructed two mines and set them afloat in Black Point Bay, in Connecticut, on August 13, 1777. The captain of the HMS Cerebus avoided destruction by simply cutting the rope carrying the mines, but they did destroy a nearby schooner.

In August 1779 Bushnell was appointed a captain-lieutenant in the Corps of Sappers and Miners-a predecessor of the modern day Corps of Engineers-in the Continental Army. Later promoted to the rank of captain, he participated in the allied siege at Yorktown, Virginia, in the fall of 1781. With peace declared in late 1783 Bushnell was honorably discharged and returned to Saybrook. He abruptly left in 1787 under the pretext of traveling to France to continue his underwater experiments. Some rumors circulated that he died in the French Revolution; others suggested that he made a fortune and returned to America only to lose it all. No matter what the true circumstance of his departure, Bushnell was never known to correspond with his family again.

One of the original settlers of Columbia County, Ga., in the late 1790s was a teacher known as David Bush. In 1803 Bush bought a lot in Warrenton. When Warrenton was incorporated in 1810, Bush was a commissioner, and by 1818 he was a practicing physician. Sometime in January or early February 1826, Bush died. In his will to the prime benefactor, George Hargraves of Augusta, Bush revealed himself as David Bushnell, inventor of the submarine. Found among his belongings after his death was "some curious machinery" that was believed to be a model for a torpedo. Today, Bushnell is credited with the advent of submarine warfare and, in recognition of his contributions, his adopted state declared August 2, 2004, as David Bushnell Day.

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