GwinnettForum | Number 25.57 | July 25, 2025
BUFORD’S PHILLIP BEARD was honored at Monday’s City Commission meeting by being named the 2025 Most Valuable Gwinnettian by the GwinnettForum. He’s shown with Forum Publisher Elliott Brack. The plaque reads:
2025
Most Valuable
Gwinnettian
Is presented to this long-time public servant
Phillip Beard
For his leadership, continuous service and commitment to the City of Buford and its School Board since first elected on September 1, 1974, including never missing a meeting of either board now for 51 years; for representing Gwinnett County on the Atlanta Regional Commission; for guiding the city’s enterprise funds (water, electricity, gas and sewer) in making them efficient and profitable, thereby contributing to the overall city financial position, and for keeping the city’s residential taxation low, and for overseeing the continued improvement to the city’s independent School District, now regarded as the best in Georgia and among the best in the nation, and for his caring nature in guiding the overall operations of the City of Buford.
Given this twentyfirst day of July, 2025 at the
Buford City Commission meeting by
GwinnettForum
Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
TODAY’S FOCUS: County plans $170 million renovation of Gas South Arena
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Why a shovel stays at home today in my shed
SPOTLIGHT: Peach State Federal Credit Union
ANOTHER VIEW: Keeping a newspaper afloat years ago in Darien
FEEDBACK: Public radio and television will survive if played right
UPCOMING: Federal grant will boost water supply near Snellville
NOTABLE: Lower back pain will be a problem for most people
RECOMMENDED: The Fractured Kingdom, by Jean-Pierre Isbout
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Gold associated with Dahlonega, Lumpkin County
MYSTERY PHOTO: Another issue and a reader sends another lighthouse
CALENDAR: Hazardous Waste Collection Day event is Saturday
County plans $170 million renovation of Gas South Arena
By Deborah Tuff
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | A $170 million expansion and renovation of the Gas South Arena is in the works, after Gwinnett commissioners committed to partnering with the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau to finance the venture.
On the way will be enhanced security, updated technology, more concession options and more parking. The action affirms the Board’s commitment to drive economic benefits for the county by maintaining the arena as a state-of-the-art venue and strengthening the arena’s competitive position in the market.
Funding for the project will come from a combination of sources including reserve cash and bond financing.
Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson says: “Gwinnett County’s support for the Gas South Arena renovation underscores our continued dedication to maintaining the Gwinnett Standard of excellence for county investments. For more than two decades, this venue has brought world-class entertainment to our community while generating significant economic benefits for our residents. By modernizing and expanding these facilities, we’re ensuring that the Gas South District will continue to be a source of pride and a draw to Gwinnett County for generations to come.”
The Gas South District – home to a 13,000-seat arena, a 708-seat theater, a convention center with 90,000 square feet of exhibit space and a 21,600 square foot ballroom, plus the recently opened Westin Atlanta Gwinnett hotel – remains one of Georgia’s most versatile event destinations.
Plans for the renovation include significant upgrades designed to enhance the guest experience, such as:
- Enhanced Security and Welcome Experience: Installation of state-of-the-art security equipment integrated into a redesigned, welcoming front entrance that reflects the campus’s aesthetic beauty.
- Transformed Front Lobby: Removal of existing curved wooden walls to create an open space featuring digital components and permanent merchandise stands.
- Elevated Food and Beverage Options: Addition of lobby bars, built-in bars throughout the venue and modernized concession stands with grab-and-go technology.
- Premium Seating Additions: New loge seating and expanded premium products to provide additional partnership assets.
- Technology Upgrades: Installation of upgraded video screens and digital technology throughout the venue.
- Expanded Parking: Construction of a multi-level parking deck to replace surface parking and accommodate increased attendance.
During his presentation to the Board Stan Hall of the Convention and Visitors board, highlighted the need to maintain the Gas South Arena as a state-of-the-art venue to support the continued economic success of the entire Gas South District.
He told the commissioners: “Gas South Arena has been a cornerstone for live entertainment and a premier destination for the community, generating over $1 billion in economic impact. The county’s investment allows Gas South Arena to stay competitive, offer diverse and first-class entertainment options, and continue attracting top-tier events to this area project. We look forward to sharing this renewed facility with the community soon.”
The Board has authorized the County Administrator and his team to work with the GCVB to develop a refined cost estimate for the project and identify financing sources for the improvements, including engagement of specialized counsel and professionals to perform necessary studies and prepare required reports.
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Why a shovel stays at home today in my shed
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JULY 25, 2025 | Nearly every week in Gwinnett, there’re official groundbreakings of new businesses.
New firms frequent this county of one million people, as entrepreneurs develop new opportunities to serve this vast county. It may be a new doctor’s office, a new restaurant, or a CPA starting out on his own. Sometimes it’s a major new employer.
Just think of the many firms that have opened their doors in Gwinnett in the last 50 years. In 2022, Gwinnett County, Georgia had 22,440 employer firms. This number includes 13,691 men-owned and 5,386 women-owned businesses. And new ones open so frequently!
It’s also instructive at how groundbreakings have changed.
Can you believe this: Back in the 1970s, when at the Gwinnett Daily News, I would arrive at a groundbreaking….to find that the organizers weren’t entirely versed on what was to happen. They were opening a new business, and wanted to “break ground.” Mainly, they wanted press coverage for their new venture.
In reality, they often didn’t know the procedure. It didn’t happen only once, but often. It got to the point that I started hauling a shovel in the trunk of my ’74 Pontiac. For I would get to the groundbreaking, yet the participants sometimes did not think to provide a shovel for this ceremony. What were they thinking? So, I would open my trunk, and pull out my shovel to be in many a photo in the newspaper in the “early days” of Gwinnett groundbreakings.
Back then, the owner of the business would actually man the shovel and dig into the tough Gwinnett dirt. The owner often had to stomp on the shovel to overturn the dirt. If the new business owner was a woman, often a man would do the shoveling and then the woman would pose with the upturned dirt.
A few years later, a change had taken place. By then, shovels would be thought of, and sometimes there would be several. Often these were new shovels, sometimes each sprayed with gold paint, and not just your ordinary grimy home shovel.
Then later on, when arriving at groundbreakings we would find that someone had dumped a small batch of sandy soil for the shovels to dig easily into. No more hard stomping on the shovel, but an easy penetration of the dirt by the clean new shovel. Man, we were getting uptown! My old shovel in the trunk was seeing no activity.
Today, groundbreakings sometimes find bulldozers or back hoes there to overturn the dirt. And since press photographers have themselves routinely done groundbreakings, they often help to line up the participants and guide them. After all, today’s photogs have become experts in this.
Wonder who added a new element to groundbreakings? Instead of the staid photo of people pushing on the shovels before groundbreaking, it got to be a fad to have the participants on the count of three, to toss a shovelful of dirt in the air toward the cameraman, so the photographer can get this “action shot.” So much for action shots.
Today the new business may have already completed their building, and instead of groundbreakings, it is a grand opening. And in Gwinnett you usually see at least one, if not more, such openings each week.
My once-useful shovel is quietly at home in my shed, no longer at work in photos. And no, there’s no giant pair of scissors in my auto today for ribbon-cuttings!
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Keeping a newspaper afloat years ago in Darien
(Editor’s Note: We are continually amazed at what our readers send to us. We were completely surprised when one of our neighbors sent in this story. –eeb)
By Jim Brooks
Special to GwinnettForum
NORCROSS, Ga. | My wife, Cindi, and I fell in love with a small community in South Georgia on the coast called Sutherland Bluff 30 years ago. Over the ensuing years, we have met many interesting people; one of the most accomplished is the editor of The Darien News, Kathleen Russell, whose father, Charles, founded the paper in the 1951.
Many of the locals talked of the turbulent times that previously existed in Mcintosh County, and many referenced a book titled Praying for Sheetrock. After reading it, I went to see Kathleen in her office at The Darien News to discuss the book, which tells of the rampant corruption plaguing Darien and all of McIntosh County from the late 1950s through the 1970s. It details the clip joints, drugs, prostitution and other illicit activities all being carried out with no law enforcement or judicial constraints of any kind.
Was this true, did it really happen? Kathleen responded “yes” – it was true and it did happen. In fact, her father was instrumental in fighting crime through his newspaper.
She explained that her father, Charles Williamson, as a young editor of The Darien News, writing extensively about this criminal activity, beginning in the late 1950s, questioning why it was allowed to go on unabated, with no enforcement from the local sheriff’s office or “others.”
As you can imagine, the perpetrators and their well-heeled collaborators did not take kindly to the newspaper’s scrutiny of their activities .
Kathleen’s father, family and associates were fearful of what might happen to them. Anonymous threats were received over several months.
They were right to be fearful. A few months after publishing several more articles about this blatant corruption, The Darien News, its printing presses, materials and the building itself in downtown Darien were burned to the ground!
Then a sophomore at the University of Georgia, Kathleen received a phone call from her father telling her what had happened and that all was lost – that he would be unable to continue publishing until he came up with the funds to rebuild and refurnish everything.
As Kathleen further explained, that’s when something amazing occurred. The publisher of a newspaper in the nearby town of Jesup heard what had happened and called Kathleen’s father, Charles, and to quote Kathleen, said: “Charlie, they may have burned your building down, but they didn’t burn your brains out! Go buy some newspaper racks, and we’ll print The Darien News at the Wayne County Press in Jesup and put papers in those racks.” And that is exactly what happened!
That is the true spirit of journalism, courageously informing the people no matter the consequences.
There is a happy ending to this story. Charles rebuilt The Darien News, and Kathleen is proudly continuing her father’s legacy at the newspaper. As a matter of fact, Kathleen recently served as president of the Georgia Press Association.
As for the publisher from Jesup who stepped up to help his fellow newspaperman? He had a pretty remarkable career as well… his name is Elliott Brack!
The spirit of journalism lives in McIntosh County because of the courageous dedication and professionalism exhibited by local newspeople like Charles Williamson, Kathleen Russell … and our own Elliott Brack.
Jim Brooks, a Norcross resident, is a retired commercial Realtor.
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Public radio and television will survive if played right
Editor, the Forum:
Cutting funding of public radio and television because, as Trump says, they are biased, which they are not, is wrong.
If someone can tell me that Masterpiece Theater is biased, I would like to have examples. I watch PBS every day for certain shows.
The shows aimed at children, like the Muppets, kept my children’s attention for hours and taught both of them to read in a soft and gentle way. I do not think that there was any bias in I. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Public television did not make my children Democrats; pure reason on their parts did it.
There is no politics in Ken Burns, but as a historian we disagree on some of the things he puts in or omits, it has nothing to do with politics and anyway, there is no bias insofar as I can see.
Public television and radio will find funding. They will go into advertising which does not upset me. They could not use advertisers heretofore.
They will have a new audience, a new educated elite instead of the insipid advertising that other channels put on the air.
It is useless, for me at least, for some entities to advertise, to have to see car advertising with a loud mouth man screaming out what deals he has, emphasizing leasing and how much their customers will have to pay per month for so many months. They are merely selling debt, and that is all, regardless of the interest rates.
I am, or have, been bored to kingdom come with GMC truck ads. I am old and my memory escapes me for a little while now and then, but I would bet that Prevagen will not be accepted to advertise on public television.
But public television will be here to stay if they play their game right. Advertisers are ripe for new places to hawk their goods.
– Raleigh Perry, Buford
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute hits nail on head
Editor, the Forum:
Staci Fox of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute sums up the financial problem clearly in Tuesday’s GwinnettForum, when she says what the Congress recently passed represents one of the most regressive federal policies in modern history.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s dictate to department heads puts him squarely in the same category as Trump.
I was hoping for more insight and compassion for hard working Georgians.
– Billy Chism, Toccoa
- Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 300 words, and include your hometown. The views of letters are the opinion of the contributor. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: ebrack2@gmail.com.
Federal grant will improve water supply near Snellville
By Brian Arrington
U.S. Congressman David Scott has successfully secured $1,092,000 in federal appropriations to support critical infrastructure improvements just outside of the Snellville city limits.
Rep. Scott said that the House Appropriations Committee has provided over $1 million in federal funding to upgrade the drinking water infrastructure for Gwinnett County, particularly Snellville. He says: “This investment to enhance the Walton Court Booster Station will ensure access to clean drinking water for residents in the surrounding area. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to ensure that this funding is signed into law.”
The funding, which was requested on behalf of Gwinnett County, will be used to modernize the aging booster station located along Walton Court.
Mayor Barbara Bender was pleased with the announcement: “This federal investment will directly benefit residents in Snellville by ensuring more reliable and secure water infrastructure. We are grateful to Congressman Scott for advocating on behalf of our community and to Gwinnett County for prioritizing these critical upgrades.”
The Walton Court Booster Station currently supports approximately 1,750 people through numerous water connections. Built more than 40 years ago, the station faces several operational and safety challenges, including:
- Corroded and leaking piping and pump surfaces
- Outdated and undersized electrical systems
- A deteriorated building secured only by a single manway door with a keyed lock
- No perimeter fencing or enhanced site security
Planned improvements will address these issues through a comprehensive infrastructure upgrade, including:
- Replacement of booster pumps
- Upgrades to electrical and power systems
- Building renovations
- Installation of standby power for emergency operation
- Enhanced on-site security measures
The funding is part of the Fiscal Year 2026 Federal Appropriations Bill which still has to be passed by Congress. Federal lawmakers aim to pass the bill by Sept. 30, though final passage may occur later in the fiscal year.
Sugarloaf Rotary planning 11th annual Duck Derby
The Rotary Club of Sugarloaf will host the 11th Annual Gwinnett Duck Derby on September 11. Follow us on Facebook to view our live event (drawing scheduled for 5:30 p.m.) and find out who will be a lucky duck this year! The winners will be chosen through a random number generator provided by GAME fundraising services. Those who adopt a duck will have the chance to win a cash prize of $2,500 along with other great prizes!
As the largest fundraising event for the Rotary Club of Sugarloaf each year, net proceeds from past Duck Derbies of more than $100,000 have benefited many local charities.
- Help the Sugarloaf Rotary reach its goal of 5,000 duck adoptions by clicking the link below. Any support would be much appreciated. Donate through this link.
Lower back pain will be a problem for most people
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 80 percent of the world’s population will experience lower back pain (LBP). The causes of LBP range from injuries to the spine, muscles or ligaments to poor muscle tone and joint problems.
Dr. Lauren Tapp, Georgia Gwinnett College’s associate professor of exercise science and Exercise Science and Physical Education Department chair, says that one aspect of daily life is a contributing culprit to lower back pain – how we sit.
“One of the biggest causes of chronic lower back pain has to do with how much sitting we do each day,” says Tapp. “A lot of jobs are sedentary in nature, and most people don’t practice good sitting posture. It’s important to take breaks, stand up and move if you spend a lot of time sitting.”
For those whose jobs are physical in nature, Tapp says much of the same precautions are true. When lifting items, she said it’s important to use the correct technique, which means bending your knees and keeping you back straight. Additionally, she said it’s good to take advantage of available equipment designed to help move heavy objects.
Good posture also helps prevent problems when doing everyday activities outside of exercise.
“A common scenario resulting in an acute injury can be as mundane as picking up a basket of laundry, twisting and then putting it on a counter,” says Tapp. “When extending and then twisting at the same time, we can pull a muscle or displace a spinal disk, leading to sometimes debilitating lower back pain.”
During winter months, many have prepared their homes for colder temperatures. Some of those activities may include cleaning gutters or replacing insulation around doors and windows. Other examples may also include taking down holiday lawn displays, lights and interior decorations. All of these activities, maintains Tapp, can lead to lower back pain.
There are several ways to help reduce your risk of lower back pain, like maintaining a healthy weight and performing daily mobility and/or strengthening exercises.
“There are plenty of exercises you can do at home using your body weight that will help strengthen your back muscles,” says Tapp. “The key is to not overdo it. More is not necessarily better.”
Some home exercises that Tapp recommends include the Cat Cow, Kneeling Supermans or Bird Dogs, and Prone Back Extensions. The Cat Cow stretch involves two yoga poses that stretch the back, neck and abdomen. It helps improve spinal flexibility. The Kneeling Superman or Bird Dogs helps strengthen the back. Like its name, it’s done on all fours and alternating extending the arms and legs with the right arm, left leg, and then the left arm, right leg. Prone back extensions can help improve posture and range of motion in the lower back. They are done by lying on your stomach, extending both arms back and raising your chest.
Tapp recommends that before starting any exercise regimen, seek professional advice.
The Fractured Kingdom by Jean-Pierre Isbouts
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: This is an in-depth account of how Christianity was born and is now ensnared in culture wars that do not support the overall goal which is compassion for others, social justice, and an abiding love for God. There is a full glossary that explains the time periods and names and defines the role of major personages that had an impact on the emergence of the Christian Faith. Part I is titled Rediscovering the Historical Jesus. Part II presents the Lord’s Prayer as a Blueprint for Unity. It is a compelling and challenging reading experience that shows humanity how to truly follow the truth of Christianity by discarding Greed, Ego, Hatred and Ignorance about what is right and wrong for all people. If a few suffer, everyone suffers unless changes happen within each person from the inside out. Don’t miss reading this one. It is worth your time and your thought. The full title is: The Fractured Kingdom: Uniting Modern Christianity Through The Historical Jesus.
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Dahlonega, Lumpkin County associated with gold
Dahlonega, the seat of Lumpkin County, lies about 65 miles north of Atlanta in the Blue Ridge area. The town is closely associated with Georgia’s gold history; its name derives from a Cherokee word referring to the yellow color of gold.
The Dahlonega area was part of the Cherokee Nation when European settlers first arrived. After the 1828-29 discovery of gold, thousands of miners—known as “Twenty-Niners”—poured into the area, and the Georgia gold rush began. Beginning in 1832, Cherokee territory in Lumpkin County, as well as in several other counties in north Georgia, was sold by the state to Georgia residents through a land lottery. A separate lottery was held in 1832 to distribute 40-acre “gold districts” for $10 each in the same Cherokee area. The discovery of gold was one of the major reasons behind Cherokee Removal, in which the state of Georgia expelled Cherokees from their ancestral lands in 1838.
Formally established in 1833, Dahlonega replaced Auraria as the Lumpkin County seat.
So much gold was extracted that the U.S. Congress chartered a Branch Mint at Dahlonega in 1835, which produced $6 million worth of gold coins before closing in 1861.
By the mid-19th century, Dahlonega faced difficulties with lowered gold production and disruptions during the Civil War (1861-65). During the war, nine military companies were organized at the Dahlonega Mustering Grounds. The Confederate government seized the mint but made little use of it, and it never reopened.
In 1871 the former mint facility became North Georgia Agricultural College (later North Georgia College and State University.) When the old mint building burned in 1878, a new administration building was erected on the old foundations, and the school continued to grow.
At the end of the 19th century, Dahlonega experienced a new wave of gold interest, and the population reached 1,255 by 1900. Several companies set up new facilities, including the Dahlonega Consolidated Gold Mining Company, the largest gold-processing plant east of the Mississippi River, with a four-story mill and 120 stamps. But by 1906 most of the new plants had closed, at a great loss to their investors. The population dropped to just 690 by 1920.
In 1958 Dahlonegans proudly transported local gold by mule-drawn wagon train to Atlanta for installation on the state capitol dome.
Gold-related tourism has proved successful. Visitors to Dahlonega experience its gold history and enjoy festivals, accommodations, dining, and shopping. The original 1836 Lumpkin County Courthouse has been restored and now houses the Dahlonega Gold Museum. The Crisson Mine and reopened Dahlonega Consolidated Mine offer tours and gold panning. Dahlonega also benefits from extensive tourism related to the natural features of its beautiful mountain setting.
One of the largest local employers, North Georgia College and State University, with a student body of about 4,500, plays a major role in the Dahlonega community.
Agriculture has always been an important economic activity in Dahlonega. The poultry industry, introduced locally in the 1940s, dominates today, but there are also strong beef cattle, wine-making, and greenhouse industries. Transportation improvements were also important. Road access to the remote mountainous location was historically difficult, but the completion of Georgia Highway 400 by the 1990s improved access to Atlanta.
With enhanced access to Atlanta’s growing metropolis, and an ongoing interest in its own gold heritage, Dahlonega’s future growth seems assured.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Another issue and a reader sends another lighthouse
Another mystery, another lighthouse sent in by a reader. Figure out this lighthouse location, and send your thoughts to ebrack2@gmail.com.
The last mystery photo turned out not exactly as several of our readers thought. While most correctly identified the location and what it is, another part of the story turned out differently.
Several people identified the photo as Memory Chapel in Townsend, Ga., the ‘smallest church in America.’ Those included Dick LoPresti, Berkeley Lake; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Tracy Brookshire, Duluth; Lori (Medlock) Anderson, Suwanee; and George Graf, Palmyra, Va. The photo came from Rick Krause of Lilburn.
But Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas, found out that there is more to this story. He identified it as Memory Park Christ’s Chapel, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 17 and Old Highway 17 NE, approximately 10 miles northeast of the small unincorporated community of Townsend in McIntosh County, Ga.
“The chapel was built in 1949 by Mrs. Agnes Harper, a local grocery store owner, who wanted to create a permanent and peaceful place of rest and meditation for weary highway travelers. She even deeded the property in the name of Jesus Christ, ensuring it would remain a non-denominational sanctuary open to all. The quaint little chapel measures a mere 10×15 feet, or 150 sq ft, in size. Inside, there are 12 chairs, facing a tiny pulpit. Outside is a sign that claims that the chapel is the ‘Smallest Church in America’….but.
It seems that one mystery leads to another. In this case, it raises the question as to whether this really is ‘the smallest church in America but is it really the smallest? Nope!
“While there is no official recognition or title for the ‘Smallest,’ if there was one, it would likely be assigned to the Morning Star Chapel, a 1951 church built by Charles Johann Walensky, an 83-year-old Danish immigrant. The Morning Star Chapel is now located on the grounds of the Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn, Iowa. At only 48 square feet (6′ x 8′), it can only seat 4-5 people.”
- 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.
Keeping Gwinnett beautiful is the result of maintaining its public facilities and roadways. Here is an example of a handsome planting along Interstate 85 near the Jimmy Carter Boulevard bridge maintained by Gateway85 Community Improvement District, and its contractor, Gibson Landscaping Service. For the first time, the CID is using annual plantings, which adds to the color of the area.
Hazardous Waste Collection Day event is Saturday
Braselton Police Foundation 5K Run will be Saturday, July 26. Pick up packets at 6:30 a.m. at Braselton Brothers Department Store, 9924 Davis Street.
Clear out your garage and basement and dispose of your household hazardous waste! Join us at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day event on Saturday, July 26 from 8 a.m. until noon at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in Lawrenceville. Residents can bring up to five disposable containers of waste products. For a complete list of acceptable waste products, visit GwinnettCB.org. If you’d like to volunteer at this event, visit VolunteerGwinnett.net.
Lionheart Theatre will present Senior Moments Tour 2025, for one-night-only on July 27 at 7 p.m. It presents The Paris Dancers and 2nd Act Performing Company, featuring song, dance and fast-paced, energetic fun. The show starts at 7 p.m.
Georgia State College and University President Cathy Cox will address the July 29 meeting of the Gwinnett Rotary Club at the Gwinnett Chamber building at 12:15 p.m. She is the past dean of Mercer University Law School; previously was president of Young Harris College; and served for eight years as Georgia’s secretary of state.
Hear Author Valerie Burns at the Snellville Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library on July 29 at 6:30 p.m. Get ready for a murder mystery with a dash of romance and a whole lot of cake! Although it’s book four in the Baker Street Mystery series, Icing on the Murder can be read as a standalone cozy mystery! Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Celebrate the release of Bones at the Crossroads with USA Today and New York Times bestselling young adult fantasy author LaDarrion Williams in conversation with actor Jalyn Hall. This will be at the Duluth Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library on July 30 at 7 p.m. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Registration is now open for the 12th annual Extra Mile 5K and 1 mile run/walk hosted by Annandale of Suwanee. The event will be August 23 at Suwanee Town Center. Help reach the goal of $160,000 to support the programs and services directly impacting Annandale’s Villagers. Your participation supports individuals with developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries, while advancing Annandale’s mission to empower every Villager to reach their fullest potential and independence – one gift, one registration, one team and one step at a time.
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