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Issue 9.14 | Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | Forward to your friends! |
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FEEDBACK UPCOMING NOTABLE ALSO INSIDE ___::
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TODAY'S
FOCUS DULUTH, Ga., May 19, 2009 -- Assurant Specialty Property, a leading provider of creditor-placed homeowners insurance, auto collateral protection insurance and related services, has opened doors to its second Gwinnett-based location at 2975 Breckenridge Boulevard. The company has another office at 2405 Commerce Avenue in Duluth.
During the grand opening ceremony, Assurant Specialty Property President Gene Mergelmeyer announced a $25,000 grant to Gwinnett County Habitat for Humanity, Inc. The company will join Habitat in co-sponsoring and providing volunteers for construction of a townhouse in southern Gwinnett County this fall. The new
center initially adds 85 new jobs to the company's existing employment
in Gwinnett, increasing the total to approximately 1,175, making Assurant
Specialty Property one of the largest private employers in the community.
The expansion is also another in a series of announcements for Partnership
Gwinnett, the community and economic development initiative responsible
for creating jobs and building wealth in Georgia's second-largest county. Assurant Specialty Property is part of Assurant, a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected international markets. Assurant, a Fortune 500 company and part of the S&P 500, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. Open positions for this site, and other Assurant locations, are posted on www.assurant.jobs or in the 'careers' section of www.assurantspecialtyproperty.com. ELLIOTT
BRACK MAY 19, 2009 -- Most people think in terms of mere jobs, products and factories when they consider the result of the work that economic developers do. Their victories are added up in dollars and cents of economic impact on the communities. Those persons good at economic development see their communities prosper, and perhaps grow faster than communities around them.
The most elusive element in economic development is that highly-sought factor of "quality of life." Fine-tuning the effort to mold a community with ever-improving standards is not only difficult, but sometimes proves impossible. Yet such work can also entail being nothing less than lucky. A significant milestone this week was the graduation on Sunday of the first class of physicians from the Gwinnett campus of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). Some 78 newly-minted doctors of osteopathy received their degrees Sunday at Gwinnett Center, along with 12 other students getting degrees in bio-medical science. These new graduates have taken another giant step toward their careers in medicine from their Georgia campus in Suwanee. Such a step would not have been possible had not the Pennsylvania college found the Gwinnett community attractive to them back in 2005 when PCOM was looking to locate a branch campus in the south. Gwinnett may not have been actively seeking to get a medical school within the community as part of its economic development. Yet it was the continual improvement of the county prior to 2005 that attracted the medical school to the county. But what developer in his right mind would have even thought that the quarry that he was stalking would have been a medical school? Who even had recognized the shortage of doctors in Georgia? Yet the college was attracted to Gwinnett because of that elusive "quality of life." Its leaders thought that Gwinnett would be a perfect location to train doctors, sorely needed in Georgia and the South. Our county was also fortunate in having the Osteopathic Institute of the South, located in Gwinnett, funded by the sale of a Tucker Hospital, working with the Philadelphia office of the college in finding a location for an additional campus for the medical school. Certainly the idea of another medical school was not the thinking of the state of Georgia at the time. It was after the Philadelphia College of Osteopathy announced that it would locate a campus in Gwinnett that major efforts started to expand medical education in Georgia. The result is an effort underway currently by the Medical College of Georgia to open a second state medical school at the former Navy School in Athens as part of the University of Georgia. This comes at a time when the State of Georgia has one of the greatest needs in the nation for medical doctors. Driving by the red-brick 19 acre campus of the PCOM on Old Peachtree Road in Suwanee, the area might appear as another distribution center, or another electronics manufacturer within the business park. After all, prior to its conversion to become a medical school, the building was previously occupied first by Uptons, and then by Selectron. Yet what is produced within the Suwanee walls is not storage, or a place for building some new widget, but the development of young minds to heal people of their medical ills. It wasn't exactly what economic developers were looking for when they sought to work their craft. But it is a welcomed and vital addition to the Gwinnett community. We congratulate the Gwinnett campus of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in graduating its first class of doctors, and look forward to its continued success in the healing arts in the future. By its presence in Gwinnett, the college also extends the "quality of life" the residents enjoy.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Mathias Corporation is Duluth-based professional construction firm with the expertise to complete virtually any project with quality and precision. Begun in 1995, Mathias provides experience in construction with the service and personal attention of a small firm, each year building on a reputation for high quality and timely delivery of projects within budget. From small commercial renovations, to very large and complex facilities, Mathias delivers on time -- every time. Notable recent projects include the new Duluth City Hall and the current parking deck and facility expansion of the Gwinnett Arena. Mathias has also just moved to its new building it constructed at 3150 Main Street in Duluth, across from the new City Hall. Mathias provides design-build, construction management and development assistance programs, in addition to traditional general contracting. For more information, go to http://www.mathiascorp.com.
FEEDBACK Editor, the Forum: In a May 5 article in the Gwinnett Daily Post titled "Laws for disclosure in debate," County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister stated that he does not check for contribution disclosures when zoning business comes before the commission for a vote. Why isn't Chairman Bannister concerned about upholding the ethics laws? He has staff that can check to be sure that zoning applicants have complied with the law, but he is unconcerned about the appearance of impropriety. By coincidence, both of the applicants in question had contributed to his campaign fund through their owner's personal accounts and failed to disclose the contribution. Someone should explain to Chairman Bannister and the commission that Gwinnett citizens demand ethics in government. Or perhaps that is a task for the voters to make clear in a recall.
Concerned that GM would now consider importing from China Editor, the Forum: A planning document given to lawmakers by General Motors reportedly shows that the Detroit-based automaker plans to ship 17,335 autos from China for sale in the U.S. in 2011. If GM succeeds in importing vehicles to the U.S. from China, it could be the first automaker to do so. Lord, as our own jobless rate skyrockets because of automaker layoffs, to see these jobs go to China is an affront to American workers. We ask that you cause the American people to see what is happening and contact your legislators. If this move is a result of government interference in the inner workings of the industry, we ask that you help restore the system to its normal balance. We also ask you to convince the leadership of automakers in America to do the right thing for our citizens.
Orders coming in from all over for Throw-Yos Editor, the Forum: I don't
know if your readership numbers increased last week, but you did reach
a few more different people. My inbox is full from Marist and non-Marist
folks who read the article about teaching young kids how to throw a baseball
by the use of my Throw-Yo. Links
to your Forum were running along all kind of pipelines.
UPCOMING The 16th
annual Dacula Memorial Day Parade will be held on Monday, May 25 at 10
a.m., with Marvin Myers to be the grand marshal for the 2009 parade. The
parade will begin at Hebron Baptist Church and proceed down Dacula Road,
turn right on Second Avenue, come through town and end at Dacula High
School.
The Memorial Day events in Dacula were but a "vision" of Marvin Atherton back in 1993. The parade is to recognize veterans who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States. This parade is dedicated to veterans and their families of all wars. Myers, of Duluth, who has an office in Doraville, is president of the Georgia Vietnam Veterans Alliance and also president of the Georgia Veterans Day Parade Association. Major Meyers spent 11 years in the Army. He spent 2.5 years in Vietnam. He was an Airborne Ranger and helicopter pilot and a gunship aviator in Vietnam. He recently won the Patriotism Award from the National Museum of Patriotism in Atlanta. Norcross to rededicate plaques to World War II veterans Norcross' Memorial Day activities will include a rededication ceremony of World War II plaques in memory of five servicemen from the city. There will also be a recognition of veterans of the service, with special attention to World War II veterans. The ceremony will be May 25 at 4 p.m. at Thrasher Park. The five from Norcross to be honored include the late Joseph S. Davidson, Aubrey E. Davidson, Wyly Q. Letson, Joseph H. Mitchell and Ralph Westbrook. Small monuments were placed six decades ago around the perimeter of Thrasher Park honoring these men. Only two of the original plaques are remaining. The Norcross Parks and Greenspace Commission and Historic Norcross Preservation Alliance will set new plaques into a new retaining wall near the amphitheater. Deadline is June 1 for Suwanee Day logo competition Nothing motivates like a deadline, and the deadline for the Suwanee Day design competition - and your opportunity to win $500 - is fast-approaching. Submissions for the 2009 official Suwanee Day festival logo must be received by June 1. The winning design will be printed on festival t-shirts and other promotional materials, and the winning artist will receive $500. Design competition guidelines and an application are available at www.suwaneeday.com. The 2008 winning logo was created by Ashleigh James of Lawrenceville. Braselton plans first movie-in-part for Saturday at dusk The Braselton
Visitors Bureau Authority will present "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"
as its first movie-in-the-park for 2009 on Saturday, May 23. This is the
first of four movies planned in this year's series in Braselton Park at
the corner of Harrison and Henry Streets just west of Georgia Highway
53 in historic downtown. NOTABLE Despite the efforts from members of the 1071 Coalition and others, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources did not request the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue the reduced releases from Buford Dam beyond April 30. In a letter to the 1071 Coalition, Dr. Carol Couch, EPD Director, responded that the department's technical analysis which supported EPD's October request regarding the withdrawals found that "increasing water temperatures in the River beyond April 30 could pose threats to the fishery, particularly below Morgan Falls Dam."
While this is disappointing news, members of the 1071 Coalition must remain focused on the larger picture of working with the Corps in its current update of the water control manual for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint basin, which sets guidelines for how much water should be released from Lanier and under what circumstances. The 1071 Coalition will hold a meeting on June 3 featuring a presentation and discussion with Jerry Barnes, director of the Southeast Water Manual Update for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Coalition members and guests are encouraged to attend this very important meeting. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District will get nearly $300 million in federal stimulus money, including about $8.3 million for Buford Dam and Lake Lanier, officials announced in April. The money is part of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Included in the funds is a $3 million study to complete the update of the Corps' water control manual for the ACF basin. The study is to cover "water supply, recreation, hydropower, flood damage reduction, navigation, and fish and wildlife," according to the Corps. Lilburn Art Institute student wins Reading Festival competition Nhiani
Halim, a resident of Lilburn and graphic design student at the Art Institute
of Atlanta, has won the Gwinnett Reading Festival Design Contest Winner
conducted by the Gwinnett County Public Library. The contest is conducted
annually to give the festival a new, artistic look each year. RECOMMENDED
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA With the nation facing the potential threat of disunion over the passage of the Compromise of 1850, Georgia, in a special state convention, adopted a proclamation called the Georgia Platform. The act was instrumental in averting a national crisis. Slavery had been at the core of sectional tensions between the North and South. New territorial gains, westward expansion, and the hardening of regional attitudes toward the spread of slavery provoked a potential crisis of the Union, which in many ways portended the tragic events of the 1860s. In 1850, however, compromise and conciliation remained viable alternatives to secession and war.
There were many Southerners in the decades before the Civil War (1861-65) who preferred disunion to any concessions on slavery for the sake of the Union. These radicals, often known as fire-eaters, called on the South to reject the Compromise of 1850 as an assault on the constitutional right of slavery. Howell Cobb, Alexander Stephens, and Robert Toombs represented Georgia in Congress and wielded a great deal of political influence within the state. Their roles in these events not only aided the passage of the Compromise of 1850 in Washington but also ensured the defeat of the radical secessionists in Georgia. The culmination of their efforts was the Georgia Platform. The November elections for the special convention to be held in December 1850 demonstrated an overwhelming support for the pro-Union position in Georgia. Of the 264 delegates to the convention, 240 were Unionists. In a five-day session the convention drafted an official response to the tensions threatening the Union. Only 19 delegates voted against the Georgia Platform. The genius of the document lay in its balance of Southern rights and a devotion to the Union. The platform established Georgia's conditional acceptance of the Compromise of 1850. Much of the document followed a draft written by Charles Jones Jenkins and represented a collaboration between Georgia Whigs and moderate Democrats dedicated to preserving the Union This qualified endorsement of the Compromise of 1850 essentially undermined the movement for immediate secession throughout the South. Newspapers across the nation credited Georgia with saving the Union. Nevertheless, the conditions upon which the Georgia Platform rested would fail the tests of time, bringing in the next decade a replay of events with different results-secession and war. CREDITS GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday. If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more. Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves or comments on any issue to Gwinnett Forum for future publication.
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TODAY'S
QUOTE "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."
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