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Hudgens Center needs to be more than best-kept secret
By Stan Hall
Chair, Hudgens Art Center
S pecial to GwinnettForum

DULUTH, Ga., July 15, 2008 -- The Hudgens Arts Center has a proud tradition. As I assume the position as the new chairman of the board of directors, it is obviously my intention to draw upon that tradition as our board strives to take the center to new heights.

On my first meeting as the chair, during a conversation with a long-standing supporter of the Hudgens Center, I realized what the initial goal of our board would have to be. The comment: "Welcome to the Hudgens Arts Center, the best kept secret in Atlanta."

After hearing this, I realized just how true the comment was. I have lived in Gwinnett my entire life and have never really had much interaction with the Hudgens Center. And this is even more unusual, since I am someone who has been active in the arts in Gwinnett for the past 15 years or so.

The Hudgens Arts Center does not need to be a secret at all. In fact, we need to broadcast to all who will listen about what a jewel we have here in Gwinnett. The potential for this center is unlimited.

In fact, our board feels that there is no reason that the Hudgens Arts Center cannot be the premiere arts center of certainly Gwinnett, but should be a major player in the statewide arts scene as well. Our task will be to familiarize ourselves with those who do not know us and to reintroduce the center to those who have stepped away for whatever reasons.

Other than this, I hope to bring the many arts organizations in Gwinnett to a point where we are marching to the same beat. We have some wonderful organizations that are already in place in Gwinnett. We have Gwinnett Ballet, the Gwinnett Philharmonic, the Aurora, and a host of other performing and visual arts groups that are quite impressive. However, there is little cohesiveness to them as a whole.

The survival of organizations that further the arts is a tough duty at any time. It is even more difficult when the economy slows down. But by working together, it will be less overwhelming and the message and product will be delivered. As to the arts, they will be heard and seen by a much larger audience.

And lastly, we hope to bring art to Gwinnett that includes both home grown and outside artists. Gwinnett is the home of very talented artists we need to showcase whenever possible. But in order to be seen as a respected and regional arts museum, we must strive to bring exhibitions to the Hudgens by artists who are known on a much broader scale. This will bring a much broader following to the Hudgens. It will also benefit the arts lovers in Gwinnett to see such high quality exhibitions. Its increased traffic will bring more attention to the Hudgens, as it will sell itself.

Members of the board at the Hudgens Center include Lynn Agnes, Betty Atkinson, Carolyn Bagheri, Arlesia Grooms, David Cross, Janet Dunwoody, Lauera Grams, Terry Gordon, Cheryl Gee, Bill Frech, Ronnie Ford, Demetrius Jordan, Kathy DeSelva, Don Loggins, Caryn McGarity, David McMullen, Christi Reeves-Tullis, Johnnie Rowe, Anne Souther, Pat Swan, Lee Tucker, Judy Waters, Peggy Woods, and myself. Talk to any of us about the Center.

The list of things to do at the Hudgens is a ever evolving list that is sure to bring much excitement, great art, and a renewed sense of respect and appreciation to the Hudgens Center for the Arts that it is so richly deserves.

Martha Miller Adams: Here was a remarkable life well lived
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher

JULY 15, 2008 -- Few people accomplished what one Norcross native did in her 84 years. We speak of Martha Miller Adams, who died recently after a lifetime of accomplishments. She was a dynamo intent on helping others through her many ministries, though she probably never thought of them as ministries.

Many of her accomplishments came after she was hit by one of the scourges of the day -- the dreaded polio virus. This disease afflicted her at age 30, just after the birth of her second son. For 18 months she withstood the rigors of polio treatment, away from her family, and often encased in the iron lung to help stimulate her breathing. Yet she emerged from this period of medical treatment, intent on rejoining her family and leading, as much as possible, an ordinary life.

An ordinary life was not in Martha Adams' genes. She gravitated to positions of leadership wherever she and her Air Force husband, John Adams, were stationed in some 28 foreign countries over their 28 years in service.

Martha Miller Adams was destined for a life in the military service as she was born….in the Army barracks at Camp Gordon in Norcross in 1923. She graduated from high school in Norcross, completed a business course, and as the first sign of a remarkable life, became one of the first group of female students at Georgia Tech, studying personnel management. Later she would leave a job to marry Second Lt. John Adams, also of Norcross, in 1945.

Showing her adventurous spirit, she lived on the island of Okinawa in 1949-50, and became involved with relief efforts with a leper colony on an adjacent island. She rode Naval landing craft on numerous occasions to deliver supplies and medication.

It was in San Antonio, Tex. in 1951 that she first became involved with the Red Cross, which she would do in many other locations. She also showed her leadership by being president of the Officer's Wives Club, a group which she would also lead in other locations over the years.

However, all this came to a halt when she was struck by polio. After emerging from treatment, she became involved with the Polio Foundation, making presentations, and counseling patients in local hospitals who were recovering from polio.

She continued volunteering and providing leadership in her many other locations, in Turkey, in Mississippi, in Georgia, in Washington, D.C., and in Nicaragua, where her husband was chief of mission. Her extensive works in Nicaragua led President Anastasio Somoza in 1970 to award her the Public Service Award, the highest civilian award of that country. Also in 1970, Mrs. Adams was recognized as the Outstanding Military Wife of the Year by the Department of Defense, with the award given personally to her by President Richard Nixon.

Upon Colonel Adams' retirement in 1973, the couple moved back to Gwinnett. Always the busy one, she became active in many organizations, notably First Baptist Church of Norcross, the Gwinnett unit of the American Cancer Society and Norcross Woman's Club, where she served 10 terms as president. She continued to garner awards for her community efforts. She also co-authored a history of Norcross in 1999.

Martha Adams lived her busy life in spite of obstacles placed before her again and again. Yet she never let her spirit falter, but continued to find other ways to assist mankind. Hers is a life well-lived.

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is EMC Security, headquartered in Lawrenceville. EMC Security provides residential and commercial security with the same service and values that its parent companies, Jackson EMC, Walton EMC and GreyStone Power, have delivered for over 70 years. EMC Security's newest division, EMC Home Technology, delivers all a home's technology needs, including entertainment networks, home theaters and whole house music/intercom. Call EMC Security at 770/963-0305 or visit their Web site, www.emcsecurity.com.

The fifth annual summer Lawrenceville Farmers' Market on the Square continues every Saturday through September 27. Each week the Lawrenceville Farmers' Market will open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in historic downtown Lawrenceville in the parking lot behind the Crogan Street fountain directly across from the Historic Courthouse front entrance.

The Lawrenceville Farmers' Market has really "grown" over the last four years to include a large variety of products. The Lawrenceville market has become a Saturday morning treat to pick up not only fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers but also unique baskets, soaps, honeys, and jams.

The Lawrenceville Farmers' Market is sponsored by The Lawrenceville Tourism and Trade Association, Lawrenceville Woman's Club and Touchstone Homes.

For more information about market management and vendor information contact Brennan Washington at 770-616-4686 or bwashington@touchstonehomes.com. For general Farmers' Market information or other downtown Lawrenceville event information contact Rebekah Cline at 678-226-2639 or Rebekah@Visitlawrenceville.com.

John Wesley United Methodist Church will hold a community health fair on Saturday, August 2 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The church is located at 5320 Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross, near Rockbridge Road.

The comprehensive health fair will include activities and information for physical, mental and spiritual health. There will also be information available for legal aid counseling, and an area devoted entirely to helping get children ready for school, including eye and hearing screening.

The Rev. Diego Orsini, pastor of John Wesley UMC, says: "We hope the health fair will be a blessing to our community. Information will be available in both English and Spanish to accommodate the Spanish-speaking community." For more information on the health fair or other church activities, call the church office at 770-448-8636.

If you have items you might donate to a garage sale to benefit Alzheimer's Disease, now's the time to start gathering them.

Emory Eastside Medical Center knows that you, a family member, a close friend, or someone you know will be an unfortunate victim of Alzheimer's Disease. According to the CDC's web news, found at www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2008/r080611.htm, Alzheimer's Disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. You can help with the research and respite care needed for caregivers by participating in Eastside's Annual Alzheimer's Garage Sale.

The 2008 Alzheimer's Memory Walk Garage Sale will be held at the Eastside Heritage Center, 2160 Fountain Drive, Snellville on Friday, September 5, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday, September 6, 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. This indoor event is being held rain or shine. You can bring your Garage Sale donations (no clothes, please) to the Eastside Heritage Center in Snellville beginning Saturday, August 30.

Emory Eastside Medical Center is a 200-bed, acute care hospital located in Snellville, Georgia. For more information, visit emoryeastside.com.

Gwinnett Medical Center President and CEO Phil Wolfe says that he is "deeply disappointed" that three Atlanta hospitals are now trying to kill the Gwinnett hospital's plans to offer open heart surgery at its Lawrenceville facility.

Wolfe's comment was in response to the fact that Piedmont Hospital, Emory University Hospital and Emory Crawford Long Hospital filed appeals with the Georgia Department of Community Health asking it to reverse its decision last month clearing the way for Gwinnett Medical Center to establish an open heart surgery program.

Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) joined among those commenting on the issue: "Gwinnett County is the largest county in America without a hospital authorized to perform open heart surgery. It is ridiculous to suggest that someone suffering a heart attack in Suwanee or Dacula should be forced to drive to downtown Atlanta for treatment."

Wolfe adds: "During the state's review process, all three hospitals made their case addressing the key points. But the Department of Community Health was clear and emphatic in its judgment that Gwinnett County is ripe for the establishment of its own program. None of these hospitals are in a position to effectively serve our community nor are they prepared to do so in the future. However, we are confident that GMC will ultimately bring open heart to Gwinnett."

Gwinnett Medical Center filed for a Certificate of Need for its open heart program in January 2008. As a part of the state's review process, other hospitals were afforded an opportunity to file opposition, which each of the three appealing hospitals did. GMC received its approval in June, 2008.

More than 100 Maxwell High School of Technology students are now certified as "work ready" after time with Gwinnett Technical College to prepare for the workforce while still earning their high school diplomas. Gwinnett Technical College is partnering with the Governor's Office of Workforce Development on the Georgia Work Ready program to strengthen Gwinnett's workforce and promote statewide economic growth.

Ann Sechrist, director of economic development at Gwinnett Tech, says: "Today's employers often have trouble finding and hiring people with the right skills for the jobs at hand. Businesses need new hires that can perform efficiently. A job applicant with a Work Ready certificate tells an employer that he or she is ready to go to work with the skills needed for the job."

For the job seeker, a Work Ready certificate is an important tool to have in a competitive job market. For employers, hiring Work Ready certified applicants can reduce turnover and improve efficiency, two positive boosts to any bottom line.

Through the program, high school students like those at Maxwell High School of Technology can take free assessment tests at Gwinnett Tech to earn a Work Ready certificate. Tests are offered in four areas -- Applied Math, Reading for Information, Locating Information and Work Ethics. For those that don't earn their certificate on the first attempt, Gwinnett Tech can provide online access for free gap training to prepare students for re-testing.

For more information about Gwinnett Tech's Work Ready program, contact the college's Assessment Center at 678-226-6303.

Although his talent for comic exaggeration did not equal that of his mentor Augustus Longstreet, William Tappan Thompson's epistolary sketches and stories paint a realistic picture of southern rural life.

Born in Ohio in 1812, Thompson moved to Augusta in 1834 or 1835 and studied law while managing Longstreet's printing establishment. When the Second Seminole War erupted (1835), Thompson enlisted in the Richmond Blues, a local militia unit. His militia experiences inspired two sketches, which he published in his literary periodical, the Augusta Mirror.

When the Mirror merged with a Macon periodical Thompson served briefly as coeditor before moving to Madison to edit a weekly entitled the Southern Miscellany. Within two years he had established his reputation as a humorist with his character Major Jones. A collection of his Major Jones letters appeared in 1843, and an expanded edition was published the following year under the title Major Jones's Courtship. A revised edition in 1872 added two Major Jones letters and a series of sketches Thompson had published in periodicals in the late 1840s and early 1850s.

Most of the Major Jones letters deal with such topics as a coon hunt, a ride on a new railroad, the food at the Planter's Hotel in Madison, the trouble and confusion caused by the move into town from the plantation each winter, and the joys of hog-killing time, pulling "lasses" candy, and Christmas.

Rustic, uneducated, and unfamiliar with the manners of polite society, Thompson's spokesman Major Jones is nevertheless generous, good-hearted, and sensible. Whiggish in his political sympathies, this uncommon common man communicates through his marriage to the polished Mary Stallins that the best hope of the South is unity among planters, small slaveholders, and yeoman farmers rather than an alliance with the commercial North.

"An optimist stays up to see the New Year in. A pessimist waits to make sure the old one leaves."

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