Seven new members to the board of the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia (CFNEG) have been announced for 2026. Newly appointed board members include:
Brad Beisbier, area executive, First Citizens Bank;- Paul Farley, field chief information security officer, Optiv Security;
- Jamie Hamilton, executive director and CEO, Special Needs Schools of Gwinnett;
- Sarah Hathorn, CEO, Hathorn Consulting Group;
- Michael Lan, co-founder and partner, Landmark;
- Brandon Odum, senior vice president, Pinnacle Financial Partners; and
- Wanda Weegar, community banking development officer and vice president, Georgia Banking Company.
DePriest Waddy of CFNEG says: “Their leadership will help ensure CFNEG continues to be a trusted philanthropic partner for generations to come.”
City of Mulberry seeks legislative change to charter
Gwinnett’s newest city, Mulberry, is seeking a legislative change to its charter, to allow council members to have staggered terms.
The city seeks to create staggered terms for City Council members. Under the current structure, all five council members are elected at the same time every four years and are limited to two terms. This system creates the risk that, at some point in the future, all five council members could be new at the same time, leaving the city without any experienced leadership.
To establish staggered terms, at least two council members must agree to shorten their second term from four years to two years. This permits two council seat elections to be held in 2029, and the other three seats to be held in 2031.
For that reason, two councilmen have agreed to shorten the second terms for District Two (Michael Coker) and District Four (Michael Rudnick) to two years. This means that even if they are re-elected, their service would conclude in 2029 rather than 2031, if the legislative request is passed.
button size=”small”]NOTABLE [/button]
GGC’s second King Day hears from Coleman
When you reflect on some of the most impactful speeches in history, many point to Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream.” His words of resilience and hope continue to inspire millions of people today.
Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) celebrated Dr. King’s message and enduring influence with its second annual MLK Day keynote address. This year’s speaker was actress, producer and host Monique Coleman, who held the attention of several hundred students, faculty, staff and community members.
Among her thoughts: “I’ve never seen Dr. King as someone to simply quote or admire from a distance. I’ve always understood his work as a blueprint for how to live and advocate for humanity in real, practical ways. When I traveled the world as the first-ever United Nations Youth Champion, his words guided me, especially the idea that ‘everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.’ Across cultures and communities, I saw how service rooted in dignity and compassion creates meaningful change. Dr. King’s legacy isn’t something we honor once a year. It’s something we practice every day.”
The event opened with a unity step presentation by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., performed as a tribute to Dr. King.
The audience then listened to a living-room style conversation between Coleman and GGC student Avanti Moore, a health science major and Buford resident. Moore asked Coleman what she hoped the campus community would carry forward from this day.
“I encourage the GGC community to find one way, large or small, to live out his message. That might look like serving your community, standing up for someone who feels unseen, or questioning systems that no longer serve us,” she said. “You don’t have to be perfect to make a difference. Dr. King asked us to be brave, consistent, and compassionate, and to remember that meaningful change is built through everyday choices.”
