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Street Smarts creates endowment for
Georgia Tech women
Special
to GwinnettForum.com
DULUTH, Ga., April 8, 2008 -- Marsha Anderson Bomar, president
and owner of Duluth-based Street
Smarts, Inc., announces an endowment for Georgia Tech's Women
in Engineering M&M (Mentors and Mentees) program by the Street
Smarts Foundation. This is the first ever endowment for the WIE.
Ms. Bomar made the announcement while delivering the keynote speech
to an audience of over 500 students, faculty members, Georgia Tech
leaders and corporate partners. "So much of my career has been
about mentoring - and the M&M program is what I would have created
if I had had the opportunity. Since someone else had the great idea
(for the program), all that was left for me was to show my support
for this powerful opportunity."
She believes everyone has an obligation and opportunities to mentor,
not only in their professional lives, but in their everyday lives,
as well. "If we do not invest in each other, learn about each
other, help each other and grow each other, ultimately, we are alone
and we lose."
Lucien
and Marsha Bomar |
Education was highly valued by her family when she was growing
up. Ms. Anderson Bomar was fortunate enough to be challenged and
exposed to mentoring at an early age. In her speech she quoted Muhammad
Ali by saying "service to others is the rent you pay for your
room here on earth." She expressed joy in paying her "rent."
Many hours each week are dedicated to mentoring others. She works
with school children of all ages, college students, young professionals,
industry and community organizations, as well as those inside her
company, in hopes of exciting them about learning and finding their
passion.
The endowment will be administered by the Street Smarts Foundation.
Established in 2007 and funded entirely by Street Smarts employee
donations, the Foundation assists local charities and community
organizations where there is a need.
Ms. Bomar was recently named Woman Business Owner of the Year by
the National Association of Women Business Owners, Atlanta, and
one of the "Top 25 Professional Women to Watch" by Atlanta
Woman magazine. She has received the Gwinnett County Chamber of
Commerce Athena Award as an Outstanding Businesswoman who has made
a significant contribution in business, community service and her
profession, as well as the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the
Society of Women Engineers. Presently, Ms. Bomar serves on the Duluth
City Council.
Street Smarts is a privately held planning, design and engineering
consulting firm founded in 1990 and has grown from one to over 100
employees. It is a privately held planning, design and engineering
consulting firm with offices in Texas and Florida. For over 17 years,
the company has provided a wide variety of services to both public
and private sector clients including traffic engineering, roadway
design, surveying, transportation planning, impact studies, Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITS), landscape architecture, data collection,
goods movement, public involvement, freight planning, computer modeling,
land planning and geographic information services (GIS). Its web
site is www.streetsmarts.us.
For more information about the Georgia Tech Women in Engineering
program, visit their website at www.coe.gatech.edu/diversity/wieabout.php.
Come on! Hispanics, Asians: Register to vote
in Gwinnett
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
APRIL 8, 2008 -- Lots of immigrants come to the United States and
to Gwinnett. We feel that they come to find better ways to support
their families. For one reason or another, they are not satisfied
with opportunity in their homeland country, and come to this land
for a "better life." Not for a moment do we blame them
for leaving and seeking this new life in this country.
Brack |
Yet with their moving here, especially when they take steps to
become a citizen of this country, resides some responsibility with
them to lead a full, American life. That includes participation
in the voting process of this country. Unfortunately, not many do.
A table of the registered voters in the Gwinnett cities, and of
the overall county, shows that while immigrants have come into Gwinnett
from across the world, these immigrants have not registered in great
numbers to vote in Gwinnett County. They put themselves in a position
our early forefathers did not want to be in. They are, by their
failure to vote, being taxed without representation.
They also, by the act of not voting, give harm to those from their
countries who take the effort to vote, but are in such small numbers
that they scarcely matter to the politicians. That's bad.
Look at the numbers. As of March 1, 2008, there were 328,132 registered
voters in Gwinnett. White voters totaled 65.5 per cent. Black voters
totaled 19.8 per cent. That's 86.3 per cent of all the registered
voters in Gwinnett.
Black voters account for 19.8 percent of Gwinnett
people, the same percentage as they are registered to vote. White
people represent only 55 percent of the population, but 65 percent
of those voting.
But look at the minorities, who make up the bulk of the immigrant
population.
The Asian-Pacific Islander percentage of voters is only four per
cent, compared to being nine per cent of the population. The Hispanic-Latino
population is worse, accounting for only 3.2 per cent of voters,
compared to them having 17 per cent of the population. The only
category of minorities that votes better than they are registered
is the "other" category, which makes up only 1.5 per cent
of the population, but accounts for 7.4 per cent of the voters.
Both the Asian and the Hispanic populations do not participate
in our democracy to the same extent as other elements of our population.
Their failure to register to vote while they are living in our midst
gives them less political clout, obviously. But it is far worse
than that. They are allowing others to dictate how they live their
lives.
Not only that, but Hispanic and Asian citizens are not offering
themselves for political offices in strength to their population.
By choosing to stay out of politics, they are not accepting their
responsibility when they decided to live in this country.
What to do? No one has the answers. It will be up to the Hispanic
and Asian community leaders to show their fellow citizens the paths
to responsibility, to fully participate in the American way of life
they have chosen.
Putting it shortly, "Come on!," Asians and Hispanics.
Get in here and participate in this political process with the rest
of us.
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is The Community
Bank (formerly Bank of Loganville). The bank was organized in
Loganville in 1946. It opened a branch in Snellville (and changed
its name) in 1999, a branch in Grayson in 2000 and a branch in Covington
in 2006. It serves all these communities and is principally engaged
in real estate lending both residential and commercial. You can
check out its web site at www.banktcb.com.
Has
concerns about trash along Ivy Creek Greenway
Editor, the Forum:
I am looking forward to the opening of the Ivy Creek Greenway.
I plan to use it a lot since I live behind the Mall of Georgia.
I do have concerns. I think it will be a crying shame if the grand
opening takes place before the county cleans up all the trash lining
the banks behind the businesses on the Mall of Georgia Boulevard.
The area around the Jerry Lamb Bridge is especially bad.
Although on opening day, the Georgia Wildlife Federation's Nature
Preserve will be open to the public, the rest of the time it will
not be for the near future. What is the county doing to keep people
from encroaching and damaging its beauty?
-- Mike Robinson, Buford
From Germany, keeps
in touch with Gwinnett via Forum
Editor, the Forum:
Congratulations to the Forum and here's to many more years of keeping
those of us who are Gwinnettians but happen to be living elsewhere
for the while. Nice to have the lifeline back to Gwinnett. Stay
well.
-- Larry Zani, Kaiserslauten, Germany
Wonders what wimpy
supporters think of sell-outs
Editor, the Forum:
Establishment Republicans are exhibiting predictable behavior.
During the Republican primaries, Republican combatants pointed out
their differences from the frontrunner John McCain. As they failed
to bring him down, and began to drop out of the race, then immediately
endorsed McCain, who had previously flirted with joining the Democrats
at least twice, on their way out the door.
Maybe there were no differences after all, just a desire to get
elected. I wonder what the supporters of these wimpy characters
thought as they saw their heroes depart the fray and sell them out.
I'm still glad I voted for Ron Paul, who never sells out his beliefs,
never compromises.
-- Marshall Miller, Lilburn
Peruvian
Folk Dance Ballet comes to Aurora April 12 only
For the first time, the Peruvian-American Association of Georgia
will presents a one-night-only cultural spectacle, "Folk Dance
Ballet" at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville on Saturday,
April 12 at 7 p.m.
This evening will feature Peruvian folkloric dances from the highlands
of Peru performed by dancers dressed in authentic colorful costumes
from the Andean region. These dancers will be joined by Matices
Peruanos filling the stage with 25 extraordinary dancers and the
Llajtasuyo Folkloric Musical Group, a 10-member ensemble of traditional
pan flutes, zampoñas, quenas, charangos and other typical
instruments from Peru.
These magnificent dances have been passed down generation to generation
from the Pre-Inca and Inca civilizations. The movements embody Peruvian
culture with spontaneous expressions of faith and adoration to the
Sun, the Moon and to Mother Earth.
Tickets to the performance are $25 for general admission. Tickets
are available at Aurora Theatre Box Office: 678-226-6222 or online
by clicking www.auroratheatre.com.
.
Tour on April 16-18
will stop at 4 Gwinnett cities
Four Gwinnett cities will be the center of attention when The Georgia
Cities Foundation has a tour of suburban Atlanta cities on April
16-18.
More than 40 visitors from across the state roll into the county
on their chartered bus Wednesday afternoon, April 16. The visitors,
who represent government agencies, foundations, and developers from
across the state, are visiting thriving downtowns in nine north
metro communities, including four in Gwinnett County. The Gwinnett
cities are Norcross, Suwanee, Buford and Lawrenceville. Other cities
being visited include Roswell, Acwoth, Kennesaw, Woodstock and Decatur.
The three-day Heart and Soul tour highlights innovative ways by
which some Georgia cities have created vibrant, attractive downtown
communities that enhance the quality of life and attract economic
development.
As they arrive at Suwanee's Town Center, the visitors will be greeted
by a chorus of kazoos, played by children from Primrose Schools
of Suwanee. A tour of Town Center will feature the 10-acre park,
businesses along Town Center Avenue, and the home of Councilmember
Jeanne Rispin. The tour also includes a visit to Downtown Suwanee's
more sedate, but charming, historic district along Main Street.
The out-of-town guests will be staying in Suwanee overnight and
will have dinner on the Town Center stage with a private concert
to follow at the Everett Brothers Music Barn. Downtown Manager Jane
Keegan says: "This is a great opportunity for us to show off
our downtown - both sides of its captivating personality."
Georgia Cities Foundation President Mike Starr says that "Our
ultimate goal is to support cities through public-private partnerships
by providing tools for downtown revitalization that will spur economic
development. The Heart and Soul Bus Tour is an integral part of
that by showcasing the successes that many other cities have experienced."
Heart Association modifies
procedures for giving CPR
The American Heart Association now recommends a "hand's only"
CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to resuscitate individuals without
a pulse. In other words, you can skip the mouth-to-mouth breathing
and just press on the person's chest to save a life.
This is a major shift in thinking at the Heart Association---that
rapid, deep chest compressions---works just as well as standard
CPR for sudden cardiac arrest in adults. The technique calls for
100 uninterrupted chest presses per minute until paramedics arrive
or an automated external defibrillator is available to restore a
normal heart beat. Experts believe that it should be much easier
to administer and will hopefully save lives.
They also note that the technique is only recommended for adults,
since children who collapse are much more likely to experience breathing
problems that still require mouth-to-mouth breathing. In addition,
adults who suffer a lack of oxygen from a near-drowning, drug overdose,
or carbon monoxide poisoning should also receive mouth-to-mouth
versions of CPR, since they will need air in their lungs and bloodstream.
Studies suggest that people who quickly get CPR while awaiting medical
treatment have double or triple the chance of surviving.
County issues grading
permit for minor league stadium
Gwinnett County has issued a permit that will allow work to begin
on the initial phase of construction of the minor league baseball
stadium to be located on Georgia Highway 20 southeast of Interstate
85. The land disturbance permit, which was issued to the Gwinnett
Convention and Visitors Bureau through Planners and Engineers Collaborative,
allows for grading to begin on the site of the stadium and associated
areas. Glenn Stephens, Gwinnett County's Director of Planning and
Development, indicated it is his understanding that the GCVB intends
for a contractor to begin grading work soon.
According to Stephens, the next step in the process will be the
submittal, review and approval of a site development plan that will
allow the installation of proper infrastructure and paving. Once
building plans are submitted, reviewed and approved, construction
on the stadium and related structures can begin.
Recently, the GCVB, Gwinnett County and the Atlanta Braves signed
a contract for the ball club's Triple-A team to relocate from Richmond,
Va., to Gwinnett County starting with the 2009 season. The stadium
use and lease agreement spells out the responsibilities between
the parties regarding the construction and operation of the stadium
and stadium site. The $45 million project is being financed with
$33 million in 30-year revenue bonds and a $12 million contribution
by Gwinnett County that includes the land. The County purchased
the 12-acre property for $5 million; the remaining $7 million will
go towards construction costs. Bonds for the project closed on Tuesday.
Additional information about the new stadium and its impact on
the community's quality of life, economy and infrastructure is available
at the County's website at www.gwinnettcounty.com.
.
Suwanee first Park
Pride winner from cities of metro Atlanta
Park Pride, an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization that leads
and inspires action for parks and greenspace, awarded the City of
Suwanee its 2008 Inspiration Award during its Parks and Greenspace
Conference recently at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Suwanee won
in the government category for extraordinary commitment to preservation
and improvement of parks and greenspaces as demonstrated through
its $17.7 million Open Space Initiative.
Through the Open Space Initiative, begun in 2002, Suwanee has acquired
more than 250 acres of open space and created four new parks, including
a three-mile extension to the Suwanee Creek Greenway. The fifth
park to be created through the initiative, Sims Lake Park, is expected
to open later this year.
"More than any other jurisdiction in metro Atlanta, the City
of Suwanee exemplifies the 'Parks and Sustainability' theme of Park
Pride's conference," says Park Pride Executive Director George
Dusenbury. "They have literally built a walkable, smart-growth
city by creating new parks and encouraging appropriate development
around them. Park Pride views the City of Suwanee as a model for
the rest of the region."
Suwanee is the first city to win the Inspiration Award; previous
government winners include DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones and Atlanta
Mayor Shirley Franklin. Award winners are judged on four criteria:
leadership, long-term commitment, results, and innovation. Other
2008 winners are: Friends of Collier Heights Park in the community
category and Blue Heron Nature Preserve and the Trust for Public
Land in the corporate category. The awards recognize park/greenspace
efforts within Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.
- 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
Progressivism
could be from Democrats or Republicans
In Georgia, as elsewhere, Progressivism
was a far more urban-based and middle-class movement than was the
Farmers' Alliance of the 1880s or the Populist Party in the 1890s.
Yet it drew heavily on those agrarian reform movements in its emphasis
on regulating railroads, banks, and corporations; on battling government
corruption; and on holding government accountable for answering
to the needs of special-interest groups in need of regulatory protection.
With the collapse of the Populist Party by the end of the 1890s,
power returned to the Democratic Party in what would be a one-party
system for more than half a century.
While Progressives could be either Republicans or Democrats in
other parts of the country, it was the Progressive branch of the
Democratic Party that imposed reform through new legislation in
Georgia. While several governors during that era, from William J.
Northen (1890-94) through Joseph M. Terrell (1902-7), advocated
reforms of certain types, the movement remained a rather disparate
effort until the governorship of Hoke Smith (1907-9, 1911), who
offered the strong leadership to implement a full-fledged Progressive
agenda and who did so with the endorsement of Thomas E. Watson,
the former Populist leader and one of the strongest forces for reform
in the state.
Much of the impetus for change in Georgia and the South came from
journalists and academics---particularly social scientists---who
discovered and exposed the social problems that cried out for correction.
Labeled "muckrakers" by U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt,
those who focused specifically on southern issues included the newspaper
publisher Walter Hines Page, the pioneering sociological photographer
Lewis Hine, and the journalist Ray Stannard Baker.
W. E. B. Du Bois is Georgia's most distinguished example of a progressive
intellectual who wed social science to the analysis of public issues.
While at Atlanta University (later Clark Atlanta University), from
1897 to 1910, he carried out a series of nationally significant
conferences and studies on the conditions of blacks since Reconstruction.
He also investigated black landholders in Georgia, patterns of crime
and incarceration, and the convict lease system. While in Georgia
Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement, an association of black intellectual
activists, and in 1910 founded the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, in itself one of the most significant
products of the Progressive era.
(To be continued.)
How Mark Richt became
a whiz of a football coach
Bill Francis of Lumpkin County on Coach Mark Richt's success: "It's
simple. I taught Katharyn (Bill's daughter) everything I knew about
football. She married Mark. And then she taught him everything she
knew about football."
-- via Billy Chism, in the White County News.
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
© 2008, 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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