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Authors offering executive coaching
idea to politicians
By
Michelle Randall
Special to GwinnettForum.com
DULUTH, Ga., Aug. 14, 2007 -- Three Georgians, including a Duluth
resident, are among authors of a new book aimed at politicians --
a group relatively new to the concept of being coached.
At a time when the public's faith in elected officials is at a
five year low, the leadership experts and authors of Winning
Without Compromising…Yourself are changing this trend one
politician at a time.
Michelle Randall, book editor and executive coach, says: "When
a candidate is authentic and charismatic by passionately living
their values we get excited about them and engaged in the political
process. As coaches, we assist our clients in identifying their
boldest vision for public service. This is the place to advocate
and strengthen their voice."
The book is written for elected officials interested in tapping
into executive coaching to assist them in winning at the game of
politics. Among them is Betsy Corley Pickren of Duluth. Executive
coaching is a well-established tool in the business world, and is
now moving into politics. In a recent study, 71 percent of senior
executives and 43 percent of CEOs in North America are working with
coaches.
Dr. Larry Sabato, director, Center for Politics, University of
Virginia, says: "Truth is, there aren't many fiercely courageous
candidates who can fulfill the mandates of their conscience and
actually get elected. Perhaps this will change with the publication
of Winning Without Compromising…Yourself." In the face
of the current distaste of the political process and politicians
in general, the book's authors are attempting to change this trend
by working from the inside out.
The authors believe their book will play a pivotal role in changing
the performance and perceptions of political leaders while creating
increased voter support and a new respect for our leaders. The politician
will learn how to balance work and home along with campaigning and
serving office with core values, clear vision and integrity.
"If you want to have a hand in changing how politics in this
country are done, inscribe a copy of this book to your representatives
and send it to them," said Dennis Brogan, co-author.
Winning Without Compromising…Yourself is available
now at major bookstores or for more information visit www.nocompromising.com
The book was written by nine executive coaching experts from the
United States and Canada with solid experience working with political
leaders and corporate executives.
The authors include:
- Betsy Corley Pickren, M.Ed., PCC, CPCC, Facilitated Learning,
Inc. Duluth;
- Helen Beauchemin, PCC, HKBP, Ottawa, Canada;
- Dennis S. Brogan, WINS Coaching Services, Syracuse, N.Y.;
- Anne Long Fifield, CPCC, co-active professional certified coach,
New York, N.Y.;
- Erika Gabaldon, M.A., ACC, Glass Houses Coaching and Consulting,
Inc. Los Angeles, Calif.;
- Samuel P.B. House, MCC, Solutions Leadership and Consulting,
Delmar, N.Y.;
- Heather Cummings Jensen, PCC, CPCC, Conscious Politics, Athens,
Ga.;
- Michelle Randall, MBA, PCC, CPCC, Glass Houses Coaching and
Consulting, Inc., Morgan Hill, Calif.; and
- Chad White, MBA, The Gumption Partners, Athens, Ga.
Unnatural summer school starting time needs
overhauling
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
AUG. 14, 2007 -- School started Monday, before the middle of August.
That's unnatural for me, and for many others. Some believe that
school should start more toward the end of summer rather than in
the middle of it. There are many reasons why.
Brack |
How did we get into this morass, which is proving to be not only
unnatural, but economically unsound? Blame the move of colleges
to the semester system, with the concurrent effort by teachers needing
additional classes for advancement….during the same semester.
Granted, some educators want to say the move was to improve student
performance. That's a hollow argument. Some also point to not enough
time between the day after Labor Day and Christmas to get in 90
school days, even with eliminating the long Thanksgiving Day break.
Hogwash! Who says that each semester must have 90 school days?
All the requirements are that there will be 180 school days, with
no concurrent requirement of equal day semesters. With additional
assignments in the first semester, the material for that subject
could be covered in a few shorter days of the semester.
How are we going to get out of this unnecessary development? It
will take leadership of several School Boards to return to the sensible
start after Labor Day.
After all, with Gwinnett having 11,000 teachers, if this system
moved to a post-Labor Day beginning of the school year, you can
bet one thing: the many universities competing to offer classes
for advanced educational degrees would comply with the Gwinnett
schedule, and have their instructors on a schedule that would accommodate
Gwinnett teachers.
Why this thinking? If you think private businesses compete with
one another, look around at the many colleges already offering classes
in Gwinnett. They all want to teach Gwinnett teachers, and would
line up quickly to offer courses primarily for Gwinnett graduate
students, even if it were a different schedule than other courses
they offered to advanced students in other counties. Colleges not
offering this new schedule for graduate teaching would lose students,
but others adopting it would gain.
Get a couple of other Metro Atlanta school boards to see the wisdom
of the Gwinnett calendar shift, and suddenly the entire state would
be questioning starting school so soon.
It just take one large system to say, "Hey, this current schedule
is crazy."
Think of the benefits:
- Students would have off an end-of-May to first-of-September
summer. That's natural.
- It would help the economy. Hospitality officials would grin
all over. The beach, mountain and entertainment venues would see
another three-four weeks of dollars rolling in.
- The new schedule would correspond more to traditional summer
vacation times for families.
- It would improve student health, and possibly save lives from
football, cheerleading and band practice in the hottest times
of the mid-summer.
- It would benefit economically, with it costing School Boards
less, not having to spend as much on air conditioning in hot,
hot August.
What happened when colleges in Georgia adopted the semester system
was that there was a relatively fast move to the current schedule.
There was little debate among School Boards, and certain among parents,
if this was reasonable.
Now we are beginning to see the lack of wisdom in this unilateral
decision. Now it's time to assess matters, open up the discussion,
and we anticipate, adopt a saner approach to school calendars. We'll
be indebted to the school system that takes the lead on this question.
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is The Peachtree
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also has locations at 185 Gwinnett Drive, Lawrenceville; in Roswell
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Monty Watson is president of the bank, which has assets of over
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Finds Atlanta radio boring with few listening
options
Editor, the Forum:
Atlanta radio is boring. I knew it was getting a bit dull, but
it was really brought home to me when I started traveling to Memphis,
Tenn., regularly on business after a hiatus on business travel of
about seven years.
Almost any city of any size at all has a wider choice of formats
than does Atlanta. Obviously the larger cities such as Birmingham
and Memphis have the greater variety, but even Tupelo, Miss., has
about as much variety of format as Atlanta does.
By my count, which may or may not be accurate, depending on how
you define "metro-Atlanta", there are over 50 commercial
radio stations in an area of more than 4.5 million people. These
commercial stations break down into six basic formats:
- Country;
- Rock;
- Talk (dominated by right-wing nuts spewing their venom against
anything more progressive than freeing the slaves);
- Religious (again, fundamentalist, very conservative viewpoints
dominating);
- Urban;
- Hispanic.
Glaringly missing from this list are:
- Oldies (Almost any city of any size at all - Including the aforementioned
Tupelo, Miss., has at least one of these);
- Easy listening (R. I. P., WPCH-FM);
- Progressive talk. (Ditto Air America, at least in Atlanta. It's
still on the air in many places.)
This last item is interesting. Air America has been replaced by
a format that can be only described as strange. It seems to be based
on Bob Dylan (who could write well, but in my opinion cannot sing
a note), and a song called Romania, Romania, and some Scottish group
called the Proclaimers. One cannot listen for more than a half hour,
at least in the morning, without hearing at least one of these.
The lack of an Oldies station has been bemoaned and supposedly explained
by the alleged fact that the listeners did not support the advertisers.
From what I recall of the fading days of Fox 97 and Cool 105.7,
the firms to which they sold advertising were selling to a market
that did not match the audience. I'm a Baby Boomer and I have no
use for denture adhesives, denture cleaner, adult diapers, assisted
living, cemetery plots, or the like. Yet that is what I recall hearing
advertised on the oldies stations, at least in their waning days.
Advertising for these products should be aimed at a market 25-30
years older than I am.
Why is it that a metropolitan area of 4.5 million people allegedly
cannot support these stations when much they can thrive in smaller
- sometimes MUCH smaller locales?
-- Bob Hanson, Loganville
Remembers their vacation
seeing lots of Australia
Editor, the Forum:
Feel you had a great trip to Australia. My husband, Larry, and
I love Melbourne and took the trip to Perth which we also loved.
We arrived in Sydney, drove to Canberra through the mountains then
along the Lake District to Melbourne. We spent a few days in Melbourne
then flew to Hobart, Tasmania and spent three days on the island
in an awesome B&B overlooking the Tasman Sea bridge.
We then flew back to Melbourne, drove the Great Ocean Road, spending
an evening in Mt Gambia (checked out the pokeys) and the wine country
and then on to Adelaide, stayed for three days. We then flew to
Perth (Swan River cruises) for four days prior to flying back to
Sydney and home.
We loved every minute of it.
-- Lori Christopher, Norcross
Dear Lori: If you drove the Great Ocean Road,
you were sore from having to turn the steering wheel so much.
-eeb
Wants thoughts for
the day to be positive, respecting
Editor, the Forum:
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to receive this newsletter
by e-mail. It keeps me informed about what's going on in Gwinnett
County. I am now aware of things, I otherwise would never have known.
My favorite "Thought for the Day" are those that promote
positive thinking, motivate and encourage Gwinnett County residents.
As a resident of Gwinnett County, I believe it is important to note
that the "Thought for the Day" should encourage and motivate
Gwinnett County residents, not single out any one particular individual
or group with negative "Thoughts for the Day" regardless
of their religion, gender, race, other beliefs, or lifestyle they
may have. In order to have a better community, we must first learn
to respect one another, whether we agree with each other. We don't
have to respect or like what they do [actions], but at least have
respect for them as a human being who has the freedom to be or believe
whatever they choose.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond. I ask that Gwinnett Forum
please seriously consider this because some people are hurt by words
that are spoken or written against them. We are taught to love and
respect others regardless of their religion, gender, race, other
beliefs, or lifestyle.
-- Shirley Holmes, Lawrenceville
Dear Shirley (and others): Help this Forum out
by sending in your thoughts for the day….and while you are
at it, how about today's thought?-eeb
Made Sydney, Australia
Bridge climb when Down Under
Editor, the Forum:
I have enjoyed reading your tidbits regarding your recent trip
to Australia. I was fortunate enough to visit Down Under five months
after the Sydney Olympics, and had a blast. I went with three other
friends and for the most part we stayed in Sydney as we felt we
had two choices: Do Sydney very well or do Australia NOT very well.
We traveled a couple hours outside Sydney to see what they call
the Blue Mountains, which is most unique. We all did the Sydney
Harbour Bridge Climb, which was awesome.
-- Chuck Paul, Norcross
Suwanee auction features distinctive Rae Hewell
collection
This auction is definitely not your typical government surplus
sale.
Consider just a few of the more than 900 items that will be available
at the August 25 City of Suwanee public auction: a queen mahogany
bed, Chinese altar table, claw-foot tub, Welch cupboard, collection
of colorful geodes, German grandfather clock, a pair of Chinese
teakwood armchairs, two 19th Century Kutani bowls, and some 380
kitchen items.
In addition to more typical government surplus-type items (e.g.,
mowers, old police cars, and office furniture), this public auction
will feature unique and valuable items from the estate of the late
Rae Hewell, co-founder of Peachtree Window and Doors. The City of
Suwanee obtained the estate items following Hewell's death in 2003,
five months after purchasing his 62-acre property on Suwanee Dam
Road as the jewel of its award-winning, voter-approved open space
initiative. Now, as construction of the first phase of Sims Lake
Park is set to begin later this year on the former Hewell property,
the City must dispose of the estate.
The auction will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, August
25, at Pierce's Corner at Main and Scales streets in historic Old
Town. Auction items may be previewed from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday,
August 24. Anne's Estate Auctions, Inc., a division of the Wayne
Evans Auction Company, based in Columbus, will manage the auction.
A reserve has been set for only a few items, and all items will
be sold as is, where is with no guarantee expressed or given.
A full list of items, both from the estate and the City's surplus
inventory, is available at www.suwanee.com.
Suwanee Intern Kimberly Larson, who has cataloged the 900-plus
items to be auctioned, says: "Mr. Hewell's estate holds some
neat and unique items, including antiques, artwork, handcrafted
furniture, and natural collections. It's obvious he traveled extensively
in Asia."
The auction is open to the public. Bidders may pay for items with
cash, cashier check, personal or business check accompanied with
a bank letter of guarantee, or credit card. Visa, MasterCard, American
Express, and Discover will be accepted; a three percent buyer's
premium will be added to credit card purchases.
Proceeds from Hewell estate items will be used by the City of Suwanee
for future open space and parks projects.
Topic of Aug. 31 Technology
Forum is stem cells
Speaking at the August 21 meeting of the Gwinnett Technology Forum
will be Dr. Steve Stice of Aruna Biomedical of Athens. The Forum
will be at Gwinnett Tech's Busbee Center starting at 7:30 a.m.
Dr. Stice will speak on the science of stem cells. He recently
addressed a Southern Baptist group and had a recent segment on GPTV.
Stice will present a stem cell primer on the biology and basic facts
of stem cell science and touch on the ethical issues. His talk will
also highlight the business of taking science to the marketplace.
Stice has spawned five biotech ventures, all in the stem cell and
cloning marketspace.
Take-aways from the talk will include:
- Core/basic understanding of stem cell science;
- Value (healing and therapy potential) of stem cell research/products;
- Incentive and entrepreneurial interest in forming businesses
from our local university science; and
- Excitement and motivation to invest in our Ga 316 technology
corridor
To attend, reply to Jo Anne Wymer at Joanne@gwinnettchamber.org.
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Dr.
Lois Richardson to be dean of Georgia Gwinnett program
Georgia Gwinnett College is relying on Dr. Lois C. Richardson's
more than 25 years of experience in higher education teaching and
administration to develop its liberal arts programs.
Richardson |
Richardson is now serving as GGC's charter dean of the school of
liberal arts. In her role, she oversees 12 course areas with an
eye towards producing graduates ready for a variety of disciplines.
Before coming to GGC, Richardson served as dean of arts and sciences
for Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, N.J. She was also the
assistant vice president of academic affairs and associate professor
of counseling at Kean University in Union, N.J.
Richardson received her undergraduate degree in psychology from
Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., master's degree in counseling
psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York,
as well as a master's degree in education from Columbia University.
She obtained a doctorate in counseling psychology from Seton Hall
University in New Jersey.
Gwinnett lifeguards
defend state title also won last year
Five Gwinnett Parks and Recreation Department lifeguards have won
first place at the Georgia Recreational and Park Association lifeguarding
competition recently at Lake Lanier. It was the second year that
Gwinnett lifeguards have won the competition.
Participating lifeguards were Jeff Baron, Justine Boone, Chase
Hall, Kyle Nackers, Phong Nyugen, Josh Scoggins, Caroline Ward,
and Laura Wight. The coach was GCPR Lifeguard Recruiter and Trainer
Rachel Epstein and GCPR Aquatic Program Supervisors were Manda Groth
and Teresa Pieper.
In order to defend their first place title from last year, the
lifeguards practiced all summer for the competition, which included
activities such as rescue relays, lifeguard tests, swim relays,
capture the flag, rescue board relays, critical incidents and a
triathlon.
Leadership Gwinnett
announces class members for 2007-08
Participants have been named for the 2007-08 class of Leadership
Gwinnett. The 36 members of the class, sponsored by the Gwinnett
Chamber of Commerce, are:
Mike Boyd, Sheriff's Department; Loti Buckheister, Georgia Gwinnett
College; Beth Chandler, Atlanta Journal Constitution; Keith Chaney,
Grayson High; David Cross, Merrill Lynch; Benin Dakar, Marcia Dickerson
Associates; Leah Dryden, Primerica Financial; Steve Flynt, Peachtree
Ridge High; Jeff Forrestall, Forrestall, Galeano and Li; Amy Greiner,
First Horizon Bank; Debbie Harris, Staffing Resources; Tina Heil,
Suwanee Family Dentistry; Clay Hunter, Stripling Elementary School;
Kathy Jackson, Hewlett-Packard;
Demetrius Jordan, United Way; Callie Kaiser, PBS&J; Susan Lee,
deputy county administrator; Maran Lucia, Federal Home Loan Bank;
David Marshall, IDEARC Media; Walt Martin, GC Public Schools compensation
director; Cathy Maxwell, Gwinnett Tech; Donald May, Georgia Power;
Patrick McDonough, Andersen, Tate and Carr; Keith McOmber, Clark
Patterson Associates; Jason Mirabella, Mahaffey Pickens Tucker;
Debra Orr, Notre Dame Academy; Ross Powell, Gwinnett CVB; Jody Reeves,
Technical Education Office, GCPS; Major Mike Reonas, Gwinnett County
Police; Bonnie Sale, Chase Manhattan Mortgage; Keith Shewbert, Norcross
councilman; Kathy Smart, Smartideas; Katherine Smith, Children's
Healthcare of Atlanta; Joe Sorenson, Gwinnett County Support Services;
Patti Stafford, Gwinnett PTA; and David Will, of Owen, Gleaton,
Egan, Jones and Sweeney.
The
Overlook by
Michael Connelly
 "Mysteries
are not our forte. However, on a long airplane journey, a good mystery
writer moves the trip along nicely without overtaxing you. Michael
Connelly is the author of a series of books featuring Detective
Hieronymus ("Harry") Bosch. His name alone makes the book
interesting. What we liked best about The Overlook is how
fast-paced the book is, as it tells of the theft of a nuclear medical
device tied to a murder, and one detective's doggedness in understanding
that something in the conventional thinking was all wrong. This
produces a distinctive twist at the end. This book was expanded
after first being serialized in a 16-part newspaper magazine piece."---eeb
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
Coastal
Fort Frederica was early planned community
Fort
Frederica on St. Simons Island served as the British military
headquarters in colonial America. During its heyday, from 1736 to
1758, General James Oglethorpe's town and fort played a pivotal
role in the struggle for empire between the competing interests
of England and Spain. This clash of cultures pitted British redcoats,
the Highland Independent Company of Foot, and coastal rangers and
sympathetic Southeastern Indians against the Spanish forces. They
were concentrated beyond "the debatable land" southward
to St. Augustine, Fla.
Fort Frederica today
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To honor Frederick Louis, prince of Wales, Georgia's Board of Trustees
determined upon a name for the new town in the fledgling province
on September 26, 1735. Because there was already a Fort Frederick
on Port Royal, South Carolina, the name was feminized. The old town
at Frederica was laid out in an orderly fashion. It featured two
wards divided by a 75-foot-wide main corridor ("Broad Street")
and 84 regularly spaced lots.
A cross street, called Barracks Street, leading to the regimental
quarters in the North Ward bisected Broad, creating the two wards.
Each was considered a political subdivision or tithing ward. The
military support town, which covered 40 acres, complemented the
impressive star-shaped design of the fortress and spur battery of
cannon. Attributed to the fortification plans of French military
strategist Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the citadel was built
of tabby, a type of "coastal concrete." In today's archaeological
ruins at Frederica-the King's magazine, house foundations and walls,
and the soldiers' barracks-this limey mortar lends a sense of beauty
and great antiquity to the site.
Even consider that
perhaps the circus has come to us?
"My mother used to take me to the circus to see the fat lady
and the tattooed man. Now they are everywhere."
-- Actress Joan Collins, via Marshall Miller, Lilburn.
Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves
or comments on any issue to Gwinnett
Forum for future publication.
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MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
© 2007, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum
is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett
County, Ga. USA.
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