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TODAY'S ISSUE
Aurora leaders say thanks for great 10 years in Duluth
By Ann-Carol Pence, associate producer
and Anthony Rodriguez, producing artistic director
Aurora Theatre
Special to GwinnettForum

For more than 80 years, someone has been welcoming you to a place once called Parsons Store, then Parsons Hardware, later called Down Right Theater and for the last decade, called the Aurora Theatre. As far back as 1924, there was a good chance you were greeted by Mr. Calvin Parsons himself.

In the next 50 years, you would have spotted his daughters Margaret, Kathryn, and Ann, as they stocked shelves, checked you out and no doubt greeted you with a smile each time you came to visit. Thanks to Ray Ross and family, the hardware store took shape as a theater. Now for the last decade, Aurora Theatre has breathed life into this old building and into this historic city. We are glad to have had the privilege to say, "Welcome to the theatre!"

We are proud to live, work and play in Gwinnett County. We always want to give back to the community that has worked with us well. In the past year alone, we have raised money for Duluth First United Methodist's Katrina Fund. (A "pass-the-hat" campaign waged by our Chicago cast raised $2,770.) We donated $1,300 to Daughters of the British Empire for helping us provide matinee teas during Wait Until Dark. Lastly, cookie sales during A Year With Frog & Toad raised $1,000 for Duluth High School Band's trip to New York.

As the lights dim one last time on this stage, listen to "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat," a gambler's account of what heaven may be like. May heaven resound with the heavenly music each season subscriber has added. May heaven grant us the deep friendship our board of directors and staff provide. May heaven reward those who take a gamble every once in a while.

With a great deal of optimism and a little sadness, we leave our old building and this city. We sincerely hope that you remember all the joy we brought to each other: every smile we smiled, every conversation we shared, and every hug we gave. We meant every one of them. And we will be waiting with open arms when you join us in Lawrenceville whether it is at City Hall or in our brand new theatre on Lawrenceville's Historic Square. We are on this voyage together!!

ELLIOTT BRACK
Yes, we were disappointed in make-up of new foundation board
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

That was the feeling we had when reading of the names selected for the newly-formed Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation. While all who were selected to serve on the board are upstanding individuals, in general, we in all honesty must say, to recall a French police inspector, they are "the usual suspects."

We were disappointed that the cast of Foundation members. It wasn't wide enough. The members were picked basically from the same guiding forces of many successful Gwinnett projects of the last decade. Its make-up would circle around many Gwinnett Chamber activities. It is not a large list, and it certainly does not reach out into many diverse sectors of the community to form a well-rounded group.

Selected as members of the Board of Trustees were Glenn White, chairman of the Foundation, who is president and CEO of First Bank of the South; David Bowen of Bowen Family Homes; Renee Byrd-Lewis of Scientific Atlanta Cisco; Tommy Hughes, former Gwinnett County Commissioner; Wayne Mason, president and CEO of Madison Ventures, LTD; Bartow Morgan, president of Brand Banking Company; Jose Perez, president of Target Market Trends, Inc.; Wayne Shackelford, partner in Gresham, Smith & Partners; Richard Tucker, president and CEO of Arlington Capitol LLC; Connie Wiggins, director of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, Inc.; and Dr. Dan Kaufman, president of the college.

Dr. Gordon Harrison, vice president of Advancement at Georgia Gwinnett College, was selected as the president and also a voting member of the new Foundation. Harrison's responsibilities will include day-to-day management of the Foundation.

We assume that this is only an initial group to get the Foundation up and running. We also assume that in the coming months, the group will be adding a wide selection of members of the community to be not only much larger, but a board which is reflective of the wider community.

By that, we specifically mean that the eventual make-up of the foundation board shouild include:

We recognize that this initial board formation is something of a temporary arrangement, merely to form a vehicle to allow Georgia Gwinnett College to be a depository of funds for enrichment. We recognize that this formation had to be done quickly. We recognize how other college foundations have been a great source of encouragement and financial backing.

But we also recognize what is missing in this arrangement. And that is the selection of those to serve from broad spectrum of the community. We look forward to hearing of additional representatives from the community joining this foundation board. They will serve to be a source of innovation and add distinction and a wider scope of influence for this new four year college for years to come.

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is First National Insurance, located at 1689 Duluth Highway, Lawrenceville. The firm, with roots going back to its founding in 1995, offers multi-lines in insurance and financial services, including auto, home, recreational, commercial and group benefits programs. It is the representative of several old-line insurance companies, including Travelers, Hartford, Auto-owners, Allied, Blue Cross-Blue Shield and Zurich firms. Call First National Insurance at 770 513-2264.

As one who has lived in these parts for over 50 years, we often lament about the negatives of growth when we cannot get out of our driveway in the afternoons. We sometimes forget the benefits that come with the boom.

Growing up, we always had trusted family physicians, but as time moved on and medical care advanced, the search for medical care most often meant going "inside the perimeter." When our 32-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, that was one of the first pieces of advice that we got.

Even though she had a fantastic, local gynecologist, who referred her to an oncologist in Gwinnett, due diligence required that we determine to find the best specialist available. We heard almost immediately from numerous people, one of whom we did not even know, who called to recommend a doctor who had treated his wife. A search of our own with the medical director of one of the largest medical and insurance companies in Atlanta provided the recommendation of a group in this sub-specialty in Atlanta.

In the end, we were blessed to find out that the doctor was part of the group recommended to us, and that the doctor in Gwinnett that our daughter was already scheduled to see, were all part of the same practice! In fact, this physicians group comprising almost half of the total in this sub-specialty in the state, were a part of this group!

Also, when we inquired about a second opinion, we were told that all seven doctors had already reviewed the case and concurred on the prognosis and treatment! What this meant was that the leading specialist in the state had an office in Gwinnett, which provided not only a top physician, but a treatment facility as well.

Truth is, one trip "inside the perimeter" for an orientation was required, but she has been able to stay at home in Gwinnett for her doctor visits and chemotherapy treatments.

It's a far cry from the days when obtaining quality medical care meant travel and inconvenience. While it doesn't make it any easier to get out of our driveway in the afternoons and doesn't make us look forward to getting older, it is nice to know that excellent medical care is here already!

Rousing musical marches, classical overtures, Broadway show tunes, and patriotic favorites as well as plummeting paratroopers will all be on the program for the U.S. Air Force Reserve concert band performance at Town Center Park on Friday, May 26.

Before the concert band takes the stage at 7:30 p.m., members of Silver Wings, the Fort Benning Command Exhibition Parachute Demonstration Team, are scheduled to parachute into the park, located at the intersection of Buford Highway and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road.

The 43-member U.S. Air Force Reserve concert band, whose Suwanee appearance is sponsored by the Gwinnett Daily Post, travels more than 100,000 miles each year performing more than 500 concerts primarily throughout the Southeast. This is the second straight year that the band has played in Suwanee on the Friday before Memorial Day. Last year, about 4,000 attended the concert.

Bring chairs, blankets, and picnics to the concert, but no alcohol please. Food also will be available for purchase. Off-site parking and free shuttle transportation to Town Center Park will be available at Shadowbrook Baptist Church, 4187 Suwanee Dam Road, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

After a successful run last fall, Lawrenceville Ghost Tours are back starting Memorial Day Weekend. The first tour is May 26.

The Aurora Theatre will again be offering a scary stroll through haunted Lawrenceville, with some exciting changes. The ticket price has been lowered to make this unique attraction more affordable for families and groups. We are also instituting new Summer Hours with one tour every Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Additionally, the Paranormal Science Investigations Network will be working with Ghost Tours to conduct investigations of tour sights and analyze photos submitted by our patrons, which we will then post on our website when evidence of the supernatural is discovered.

Not unlike the cities of Savannah and Charleston, Lawrenceville also has a rich and sometimes spooky history. Highlighting the most vivid stories of the strange and supernatural a costumed guide will lead ghost tour groups every Friday and Saturday night on a 90-minute adventure. The macabre tales will send a chill down your spine.

Tickets are $12 for adult sand $9 for children under 12. For reservations, call 770-476-7926. For more information, go to www.scarystroll.com.

Aurora Theatre, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation and is a member of the Theatre Communications Group, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Lawrenceville Tourism and Trade Association, Duluth Merchants Association and the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts.

The Cumming Civitan Club announces their fourth Annual Pond and Garden Tour will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2006 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rain date is June 10. This year, all ponds are located at residences in the upscale neighborhoods of southern Forsyth County.

This is a self-guided tour using a map and descriptive brochure provided when tickets are purchased. Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased by calling Dianne at 770-887-6141 or Janice at 770-887-0540.

Proceeds from this event will benefit Cumming Civitan's local community projects, including the Kids on the Block program kicking off this fall in the elementary schools. For more information, contact Janice Sullivan, 770-887-0540 or email at janrose6@bellsouth.net.

Students from Gwinnett Technical College's Interiors program were recently recognized with Awards of Excellence in the 2006 American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) student competition, marking the third year of consecutive achievement at this level.

From left are Greg Anderson, bronze winner, Individual Residential; Susan Newberry, GTC Interiors Advisory Committee Chair; Sabrina Tate, silver winner for Group Residential; Chris Socci Designer, GTC graduate; and Lisa Hawkins, silver winner for Group Residential. Students from design schools throughout Georgia submitted projects for consideration, with Gwinnett Tech being the only technical college competing against four-year colleges and universities.

For 16 years, the Council for Quality Growth has paid tribute annually to an outstanding individual in the metro Atlanta region that best exemplifies the Council's mission of promoting balanced and responsible growth through an annual leadership award and tribute gala. The Council has proudly named John Wieland as the 2006 Four Pillar Honoree.

The Four Pillar Tribute is a unique honor that celebrates the recipient's significant contributions to the growth, economic development and quality of life of this region. The award's solid marble pillars represent the 'Four Pillars' of leadership and success - quality, responsibility, vision and integrity. These are the very principals on which the Council was founded and continues to focus on two decades later.

The Council works daily on sustaining a high quality of life for this region and seeks to recognize those that live the example of contributing to the balance through their personal, professional, and civic work. John Wieland demonstrates unselfish dedication of his time, talent and resources to fostering positive, progressive sense of community in the region, says Michael Paris, CQG executive.

This year's tribute will be held at a dinner gala in Wieland's honor on Thursday, September 28, 2006 at the Gwinnett Center Ballroom. For further event information, visit www.councilforqualitygrowth.org

Considered a minor author today, Will Harben (1858-1919) was one of the most popular novelists in America during the first two decades of the 20th century. Although in his 30 books and numerous short stories Harben portrays the mountaineers of his native north Georgia with authenticity and color, the sentimental romanticism demanded by readers of his day mars his novels, consequently diminishing his position in the world of letters. However his sharp, sincere observations of the speech, manners, wisdom, and morality of north Georgia mountaineers are a significant contribution to the literature of the American South.

William Nathaniel Harben was born on July 5, 1858, of well-to-do parents, Myra Richardson and Nathaniel Parks Harben, in Dalton. He became familiar with the rustic people he would later glorify by working for many years as a merchant in Dalton. At the age of 30, encouraged by both Joel Chandler Harris and Henry Grady, he decided to take his chances on writing as a profession. He made his first mark on the literary scene in 1889 with a melodramatic but extremely popular novel entitled White Marie, about a white girl brought up as a slave. The novel's success prompted him to move to New York City, although he always spent part of every summer in Dalton. He married the South Carolina socialite Maybelle Chandler in 1896, and the couple eventually had three children.

The turning point for Harben occurred in 1900, when he published Northern Georgia Sketches, a collection of ten of his best local-color stories. The book brought him renewed national attention as well as the high regard of William Dean Howells, known as the "dean of American letters," who became Harben's mentor and friend. For the next 19 years Harben published at least one novel a year and many short stories, most of them featuring the picturesque Georgia hillbillies for which he became well known.

Harben excelled in creating memorable characters of older backwoods men and women, including Abner Daniel, a cracker-box philosopher noted for such witticisms as: "Well, boys, ef I had to go, I'd like to be melted up into puore corn whiskey an' poured through my throat tell thar wasn't a drap left of me."

Although Harben often tackled worthwhile, interesting, and controversial themes (racism and equal rights, antiwar beliefs, isolation, religion), he allowed sentimentality to overshadow such themes and weaken their effectiveness.

Harben wrote until his death in New York City on August 7, 1919, and was buried in his beloved Dalton.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Importance of self-realization from Dr. Martin Luther King

"Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance."

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