GwinnettForum | Number 25.41 | May 20, 2025
FLAG DAY ON THE HORIZON: The 14th Annual Gwinnett Flag Day Ceremony will be on June 14 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5255, 368 Grayson Highway, Lawrenceville, marking the 248th anniversary of the United States flag. This year’s theme will be Stars and Stripes Forever. Participants will include the members of the VFW Post 5255; Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 465; Gwinnett County Veterans Memorial Museum (GCVMM); Philadelphia Winn Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR); the Color Guard and Militia from the Georgia State Society and Button Gwinnett Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution (SAR); and the Elisha Winn Society, Children of the American Revolution (C.A.R.); and many additional local patriotic and service organizations. Arrive before the ceremony for refreshments provided by members of the Repented Motorcycle Ministry, Georgia Chapter 14. For additional details, contact Gwinnett Flag Day President Mike Sabbagh by email.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Local foundation to honor three at 40th anniversary
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Action by school board and county drawing questions
SPOTLIGHT: Lail Family Dentistry
ANOTHER VIEW: County feels Mulberry creation is unconstitutional
FEEDBACK: School board votes whopping jump in 3 years
UPCOMING: National Guard General to speak on Memorial Day
NOTABLE: Buford School named top district in USA again
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Cartoonist “Baldy” won Pulitzer Prize for Constitution
MYSTERY PHOTO: Bet many of you have spotted this photo before!
CALENDAR: AI Summit takes place May 21 at Atlanta Tech Park
Local foundation to honor three at 40th anniversary
By Carlie McMann
DULUTH, Ga. | The Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia (CFNEG) will celebrate four decades of philanthropy, leadership and community impact during its 2025 Good2Give Celebration, to be held Thursday, August 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Gas South Convention Center in Duluth.
This milestone event will honor the foundation’s 40-year legacy and recognize individuals who have made a lasting impact on the organization and the communities it serves.
Minard
Tennant
Anderson
This year’s honorees include:
- Ethel Andersen, retired partner, Andersen, Tate and Carr, P.C., Legacy Award Recipient, CFNEG board member and former board president (2004-2005).
- T. Michael (Mike) Tennant, retired Partner, Alston and Bird, LLP, Legacy Award Recipient, CFNEG founding board member and former board president (1988-1989).
- Tim Minard, CEO of Eclipse Gaming Systems and Georgia’s 2024 Entertainment Entrepreneur of the Year, recognized for his innovative approach to merging business with community service, CFNEG Board Member.
Since the appointment of President and CEO DePriest Waddy in 2022, CFNEG has experienced significant growth. The foundation’s assets have increased by 32 percent, rising from $69 million to $91.5 million as of early 2025.
Today, CFNEG manages more than 300 donor-advised and nonprofit agency funds and has delivered consistent, tax-free returns averaging nine percent annually since 2017.
Collectively, CFNEG fundholders have granted more than $160 million back into the community.
According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, CFNEG ranks fourth in Georgia for total revenue among community foundations and is the second-largest in metro Atlanta.
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Action by school board and county drawing questions
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MAY 20, 2025 | Compared to the rest of Metro Atlanta, Gwinnett County has experienced good, solid government during the last 50 years. The county leadership has been superb, except for the shortened Bannister years. The school board has been extraordinary, governing one of the exemplary school systems in the nation. Gwinnett city governments for the most part have been run well.
But today, questions are being raised, particularly about the school board, and to a lesser extent, about the county commission.
Look at the current state of school governance. The female majority on the school board, with questionable credentials, has fired Georgia’s best school superintendent, Alvin Wilbanks, before his term was up, and paid him a high dollar figure to get him out the door.
Then they came back and hired another superintendent, then virtually gave him little chance, and again, let him go before his contract was over, paying again a high tax dollar buy-out for him to leave. The board is now in an unnecessary “national search” for his replacement. Few “national” candidates may want to face the task of trying to work with this majority female school board. Meanwhile, Dr. Al Taylor is holding the position as a temporary superintendent.
If that wasn’t bad enough, now the board, in a 4-1 vote, has voted to raise taxes for its coming budget year, a whopping $220 million increase. The previous budget was just under $3.2 billion; next year the budget will be $3.4 billion. Are you listening to that unheard-of increase? Some taxpayers might be upset over this.
Such wild moves by this school board haven’t been the norm in the past 50 years. The changes are past shocking; they are unpardonable; they are outrageous. Voters are noticing.
Now look at the county commission and one element that has come out in the past few months. The commission feels creating the city of Mulberry was formed in a way that punishes the majority of taxpayers in the county. The county maintains that the bill is “unconstitutional, unprecedented and unworkable mandates that will impose an administrative compliance burden as well as a financial burden on all Gwinnett taxpayers, including those who live in the city of Mulberry.”
While the bill may be unprecedented, the simple aspect of the matter is that the bill was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, after passing the General Assembly. While county officials may not like that it became law, the residents of the county within the proposed corporate limits of Mulberry, voted to become a new city.
It seems somewhat too late for county officials to continue to oppose what is now law in Georgia. It appears that the county did not have the influence at the legislature for the Mulberry bill to be drawn the way the county wanted. While the county can still bring legal action on the subject, it will have to be against the state, and now against the City of Mulberry.
Meanwhile, Mulberry officials must now seek to work with the county in determining how to pay for comprehensive service provided by the county to Mulberry.
Back in 2011, some 14 years ago, the county and the new City of Peachtree Corners worked out details similar to what should be on the table now for the county and the city of Mulberry. While the circumstances may be different than before, the two sides need to come together soon and not let this fester, and agree on terms for the good of all.
That’s the way good government has worked in the recent past. It should continue in similar fashion today.
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Lail Family Dentistry
Dr. Slade Lail and his team
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Lail Family Dentistry has been serving the community in Duluth and Gwinnett County for 53 years. Being the longest serving dental practice in the county, our roots run deep within our community and will continue to do so for generations to come. The doctors at Lail Family Dentistry are all members of the Lail family and are here to provide for you and yours. If you are in search of a traditional, hometown dentist that utilizes the latest dental techniques and technology while also exemplifying the utmost sense of professionalism, timeliness, and hospitality, we would be glad to welcome you to our practice. For more information, please visit our website at drlail.com or phone (770) 476-2400.
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County feels Mulberry creation is unconstitutional
(Editor’s Note: The following information came from the Office of Communications for Gwinnett County last week and is printed in its entirety.—eeb)
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | Senate Bill 138 (SB 138), legislation dictating the transition of services between Gwinnett County and the newly created city of Mulberry, (has) become law. Gwinnett County officials have voiced strong opposition to the bill’s unconstitutional, unprecedented and unworkable mandates that will impose an administrative compliance burden as well as a financial burden on all Gwinnett taxpayers, including those who live in the city of Mulberry.
SB 138 was introduced by the state senator who represents the area of Gwinnett County that includes the city of Mulberry following Gwinnett County’s legal challenge to the constitutionality of the law that originally established the city, Senate Bill 333. Although characterized as general legislation, SB 138 applies only to Gwinnett County and the city of Mulberry.
Gwinnett County Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said, “I am committed to building a stronger, more prosperous future for all residents of Gwinnett County. This commitment includes a responsibility to ensure that all of Gwinnett County’s residents and taxpayers, including those who live in Mulberry, are not unfairly burdened with costly, unworkable mandates.
“Further, this new law potentially removes the benefit of sovereign immunity from all Gwinnett County taxpayers, setting a dangerous precedent for other counties across the state of Georgia. This provision, among others, prompted our peers at ACCG to oppose Senate Bill 138.”
Gwinnett County has raised four key concerns about the new state law, ranging from loss of legal protections to unfairly burdening all residents with the cost of providing certain services within the city of Mulberry.
The new law threatens Gwinnett County with the loss of sovereign immunity for one year should the County be found by a court to not be in compliance with the unconstitutional provisions of this law, exposing the County to unlimited legal liability. Sovereign immunity is an important protection from lawsuits that protects every county, as well as the State itself, and their respective taxpayers from incalculable liability. The new law also exposes all Gwinnett County employees, including our vital law enforcement and first responders, to the loss of immunity in all legal matters for one year. This will likely lead to much higher costs to provide county services and higher taxes for all Gwinnett taxpayers.
Despite Mulberry’s charter requiring the city to manage its own stormwater systems, SB 138 mandates that Gwinnett County permanently maintain dams and certain detention ponds within Mulberry at no cost to city residents. This creates a permanent, expensive subsidy funded by residents outside of Mulberry who must continue to pay for costly stormwater infrastructure within the city.
The bill requires Gwinnett County to refund Mulberry for police service costs if tax revenue collected for police services exceeds certain limited costs, which are not reflective of the true costs to provide these services. This forces residents in other areas of Gwinnett County, who will continue to pay all such costs, to subsidize law enforcement in the city of Mulberry.
Contrary to the city’s original charter, SB 138 eliminates the requirement for Mulberry to reimburse Gwinnett County for the costs of the cityhood referendum and the initial city council election — again shifting this financial responsibility to all Gwinnett County taxpayers.
Mulberry transition timeline:
- May 2024: Cityhood referendum narrowly passes with just over 4,500 votes in favor out of 24,581 registered voters.
- July 2024: Governor appoints city transition team.
- October 2024: Mulberry’s transition team issues a legal notice to take over certain services from Gwinnett County starting January 1, 2025.
- November 2024: Voters elect first city council.
- January 2025: Mulberry formally assumes services outlined in its legal notice. Gwinnett County issues public notice about services it can no longer provide and continues providing services not taken over by the city, including fire and police. City fails to submit promised intergovernmental agreement.
- February 2025: Gwinnett County offers a comprehensive service agreement, consistent with agreements with Gwinnett’s 16 other cities. No response received from Mulberry.
- March – April 2025: Gwinnett County, along with the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), urges Governor to veto SB 138.
- May 2025: SB 138 becomes law.
Gwinnett County remains steadfast in its commitment to equitable governance and the protection of all Gwinnett taxpayers and will pursue legal action to challenge the unconstitutional elements of SB 138.
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School board votes whopping jump in 3 years
Editor, the Forum:
Last week I spoke before the Gwinnett School Board. Here is what I pointed out.
Voters overwhelmingly supported capping property tax increases at the rate of inflation. The last time I was in this room, all speakers asked that you NOT opt out of House Bill 581. You ignored the will of the people and opted out. This is all performative. You will vote tonight to approve a 7.9 percent increase for a $3.43 billion budget.
You have added over $1 billion since the year 2022. The budget in 2022 was $2.4 billion and now it’s $3.43 Billion. This is almost a 50 percent increase! This is simply not sustainable.
The Governor’s Office of Budget and Planning anticipates minimal growth in the future for Gwinnett. Student enrollment is stagnant.
The bureaucratic bloat at the main office in Suwanee is egregious. Positions have been created and high level salaries (over $195k) have increased dramatically in the last two years.
There has been mention of a third party forensic audit. What is the status of that? I am doubtful E-SPLOST will pass without accountability for the current out of control spending,
One idea on how to save $100,000. Cancel the superintendent search firm. Which has only added to the cost of Dr. Calvin Watts’ firing. Appoint Dr. Al Taylor. Why are you adding to the current chaos of what was once the crown jewel of Gwinnett?
– Cathy Loew, Peachtree Corners
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National Guard general to speak on Memorial Day
Gwinnett County officials will honor fallen military and public service heroes during its annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 26 at 1 p.m. It will be at the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial in Lawrenceville.
Scott
The keynote address will be given by U.S. Army Brigadier General Theodore R. Scott III, commander of the Marietta-based 78th Troop Command of the Georgia Army National Guard. Two Gwinnett fallen heroes will also be inducted into the Fallen Heroes Memorial during the ceremony.
General Scott enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard in 1986 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in August 1997. In his 37-year career, his previous assignments have included regimental commander for the 122nd Regional Training Institute and Joint Force Headquarters intelligence officer, both based in Marietta, and commander of the Forest Park-based 221st Military Intelligence Battalion. Scott’s awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the NATO Service Medal.
He graduated from Georgia State University with a BBA degree. General Scott has a master’s degree from the University of Maryland in management, and also is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College.
The Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial, located on the grounds of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville, honors all Gwinnett residents who died in the line of duty in military or public service.
Buford school named top district in USA again
A new national study has named Buford (Ga.) City Schools the best school district in the United States again, earning a top score of 9.31 out of 10. The ranking, conducted by online tutoring platform Wiingy.com using data from Niche, evaluated dozens of metrics to assess academic performance, student support, and overall quality. The web site, Niche, has named Buford Schools as tops in the nation before.
Buford City Schools excelled across nearly every category, receiving perfect scores in eight out of nine areas, including academics, college preparation, and resources. The only category not rated at the maximum was diversity, where it scored an 11 out of 12. The district boasts a 96 percent graduation rate, 70 percent math proficiency, and an average review rating of 4.5 out of 5—earning high marks for “rigorous academics, exceptional educators, and comprehensive support services.”
Scarsdale Union Free School District in New York placed second with a score of 9.21, followed by Adlai E. Stevenson High School District No. 125 in Illinois at 9.17.
Wiingy’s study converted Niche’s letter grades into numerical scores out of 12 across nine key categories: academics, diversity, teachers, college prep, clubs and activities, administration, sports, food, and facilities. It also factored in math and reading proficiency rates and parent/student review ratings to find a final index score out of 10.
The top five districts were:
- Buford City Schools – 9.31;
- Scarsdale Union Free School District, New York – 9.21;
- Adlai E. Stevenson HSD No. 125, Illinois – 9.17;
- Eanes Independent SD, Texas – 9.10; and
- Ladue SD, Missouri, and Radnor Township SD, Pennsylvania – 9.04 (tie).
Norcross hires Versel as new economic developer
Versel
The City of Norcross has hired its new economic development director. He is David Versel, 51, a veteran consultant, who brings over two decades of experience to the role. He has worked in more than 250 communities across 30 states. Prior to joining Norcross, he founded and led a national consulting practice and held senior leadership positions with multiple public and private sector organizations in Georgia, Virginia and Maine. He has spent half his career in Georgia, and the balance in cities along the east coast.
A native of Silver Springs, Md., Versel holds a B.A. in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. and a Master of City Planning from Georgia Tech. He lives in Alpharetta with his wife, Maurisa, and their four children, and he’s a youth sports coach.
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“Baldy” won Pulitzer Prize for Constitution
Clifford Baldowski, known by his pen name “Baldy,” was an editorial cartoonist for the Augusta Chronicle, the Miami Herald, and the Atlanta Constitution. He became one of the leading voices of moderation in Georgia during the fight over school desegregation in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1959 Time magazine called Baldowski a man who “has sought to depict the plight of the reasonable southerner who, like himself, stands aghast between the extremists.” His theme during this time was the Old South in agonizing self-appraisal.
While many of the extremists and traditionalists of that time believed Baldowski to be a foreigner, he was in fact one of them. Baldowski was born on May 27, 1917, in Augusta. He attended Richmond Academy, the Georgia Military Academy, and the Citadel in Charleston, S.C., and he received further education at the Arts Student League of New York.
Having earned five battle stars and the Bronze Star during World War II (1941-45), Baldowski served in the United States Army Air Corps as a navigator-observer and intelligence officer. He eventually retired as a colonel in the Air Force Reserve. He married Sylvia Christiansen, and they had three sons and a daughter.
A second-generation newspaperman, Baldy began his career as a journalist at the Augusta Chronicle in 1946. Four years later he joined the editorial staff of the Atlanta Constitution, where he worked until his retirement in 1982. During his tenure with the Constitution, he drew more than 15,000 cartoons, on a seven-day-a-week schedule for more than thirty years. Baldy’s cartoons appeared in Time, U.S. News and World Report, and Newsweek magazines. His work was also featured in leading daily newspapers across the United States and Canada and in English newspapers in Rome, Italy, and Paris, France.
Baldy was a Pulitzer Prize nominee for his cartoon on U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign in 1964. He received the Sigma Delta Chi National Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism for a cartoon reflecting the threat of southern school closings in 1959. Baldowski was also awarded four individual Freedom Foundation’s George Washington Medals for cartoons heralding America’s constitutional freedoms and patriotism.
This moderate Georgian used his talents to challenge the establishment in his home state and the South and to address a broad range of social and political issues during his time. With his illustrations Baldy was influential in shaping public opinion on major issues, such as civil rights, by showing what people at that time were doing, suffering, and hoping. Baldowski donated his editorial cartoon collection to the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia Libraries. Baldowski died on September 27, 1999.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Bet many of you have spotted this photo before!
Some may find today’s Mystery Photo a curve ball, while others may think it difficult. Just where have you seen this image? It may be in the far reaches of your mind, but we bet many readers have seen it before. Send your thoughts to ebrack2@gmail.com and tell us your hometown.
The most recent mystery photo was spotted by Jay Altman of Columbia, S.C., telling us: “This is a mural titled “Old Sweet Song” located at 370 Buford Highway in Suwanee, on the side of the building that currently houses the Suite Spot. The mural depicts a live music scene with a saxophonist, guitarist, drummer, and a crowd of spectators. Suite Spot is a business incubator in Suwanee, and is the former City Hall.”
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas, contributed this: “Today’s mystery photo is of a hand-painted mural called “Old Sweet Song”, created in 2006 by Lilburn artist Sonny Franks (1951–present) in collaboration with a gathering of a local chapter of the Dixie Letterheads, a group of artists dedicated to preserving the traditional craft of hand-painted signage.
An updated look at last issue’s mystery.
“The mural’s title is “Old Sweet Song”, a nod to the official Georgia State Song, “Georgia on My Mind,” as recognizable in the chorus line: “Georgia, Georgia … the whole day through … just an old sweet song… keeps Georgia on my mind.”
“But there is so much more to appreciate about this mural than its title. Look at the people depicted in it? Can you recognize anyone? It turns out that the mural depicts 48 members of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in the audience, along with several members of the city development staff. Note some of them in this photo.”
Also recognizing the photo were Alexis Kelley, Norcross; Katha Blackwell, Suwanee; and George Graf of Palmyra, Va., who can’t be credited with a recognition, since he took the photo.
- SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Click here to send an email and please mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
AI Summit to be May 21 at Atlanta Tech Park
Groundbreaking for a new mixed-use development with apartments just steps from Lilburn’s Main Street at Railroad Avenue will be Tuesday, May 20 at 10 a.m. This project, which is a public/private partnership between the City of Lilburn, the Lilburn Downtown Development Authority and RangeWater Real Estate, will change the landscape of downtown Lilburn with 269 new luxury apartments and a public-private parking deck. The event will be at 4839 Railroad Avenue in Lilburn.
The second annual Georgia AI Summit takes place May 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Atlanta Tech Park in Peachtree Corners. This year’s event will delve into the transformative power of AI across various industries, including music, film, healthcare, marketing and cybersecurity. Offered by the Gwinnett Women’s Chamber and open to AI enthusiasts, professionals or those looking to break into the field. Buy tickets online at georgiaaisummit.com.
Andersonville National Historic Site will commemorate Memorial Day with a series of events that are free and open to the public from Saturday, May 24, to Tuesday, May 27, 2025. The Memorial Day observance will begin on Saturday, May 24, with the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Band performing at 9:30 a.m., followed by the program at 10 a.m. After the ceremony, hundreds of scouts and volunteers will place American flags on over 20,000 veterans’ graves. Andersonville National Historic Site is located 10 miles south of Oglethorpe, Ga, and 10 miles northeast of Americus, Ga, on Georgia Highway 49. The national park features the National Prisoner of War Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery, and the site of the historic Civil War prison, Camp Sumter. Andersonville National Historic Site is the only national park within the National Park System to serve as a memorial to all American prisoners of war.
Mountain Park Community Association Volunteer Event: Join your neighbors in this Adopt-a-Road Clean Up on Saturday, May 24 at 11 a.m. Meet at Lipson Dental, to split into groups along Five Forks-Trickum Road from Killian Hill to Pounds Road to pick up trash and debris. Minimum age: 14 years old. MPCA will provide safety vests, sunscreen, water, trash bags and enthusiasm!
Celebrate the Asian American and Pacific Island heritage! Attend the annual AAPI Heritage Cultural Night on Friday, May 30 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville. Bring the whole family for a vibrant celebration featuring music, food, dance, and community spirit.
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