GwinnettForum | Number 21.95 | Dec. 7, 2021
SUPPORTING the Salvation Army’s Can-A-Thon has been an annual tradition at Greater Atlanta Christian School. Realizing the need was more significant than ever because of the pandemic, the administrators challenged the students this year and raised an astonishing 34,000 cans, achieving beyond its goal of 30,000 cans. GACS students rallied their efforts for three weeks in varying ways to accomplish their goals. Different competitions (social media, boy-girl, grade-level) all spurred the number of cans to grow. A unique twist for the High School was that as each “can goal” was met, a selected faculty member committed to doing karaoke in front of the whole student body. On Can-A-Thon collection day, 80 students from the Performance Training, Swim, and Student Ministry classes volunteered their strength to load the boxes into Salvation Army trucks.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Peachtree Christian Health offers temporary respite from caregiving
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Two scary instances when driving for take-out food
SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Banking Company
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
UPCOMING: Overcoming doubt, Filipino native among new GGC grads
NOTABLE: County to provide warming stations when temps under 35 degrees
RECOMMENDED: Three Men on a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Emory, Berry, Ga. Tech benefit from foundations
MYSTERY PHOTO: Older building is today’s Mystery Photo
CALENDAR: Job Fair Wednesday at Gwinnett Planning and Development Department
Peachtree Christian Health offers respite from caregiving
By Ann Mancini
President, Peachtree Christian Health
DULUTH, Ga. | Gwinnett is home to nearly 95,000 people age 65 and older, many of whom are living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. These residents and their caregivers strive to maintain a quality of life challenged by ongoing health, financial, safety, and social issues. Caregivers are often overwhelmed with the responsibilities of caring for their loved ones day and night, which is emotionally and physically draining, putting themselves at greater health risk.
Mancini
Dementia is now the fourth leading cause of death in Gwinnett County according to the 2020-2021 Community Health Needs Assessment. A 2020 survey conducted by the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving revealed 83 percent of caregivers reported increased stress since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, 42 percent noted a decline in the number of people and resources available to help them with caregiving duties. Isolation, diminished support, added responsibilities, trepidation about COVID-19 infection, and resource insecurity were top stressors.
Though overwhelmed, caregivers often resist seeking care options outside the home, because they feel they should be able to provide the care themselves and seeking outside support means failure. But that is simply not the case. It can actually be a much healthier option for all involved.
Keeping loved ones isolated at home can be a detriment to their health. Loneliness and seclusion increase the risk of mortality, negatively affect physical and mental health, contribute to cognitive decline and dementia, and make loved ones more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors that often lead to worsened health and need for long-term care.
Peachtree Christian Health (PCH) in Duluth offers hope for Gwinnettians needing relief from the pressures of caregiving. PCH provides an exceptional daytime, health-centered program for aging adults experiencing physical and/or cognitive decline that enables a better life balance for the family and delays more expensive care options. The average annual cost for adult day services at PCH is $17,250, versus $44,616 for “homemaker” home care or $45,760 for a home health aide. Assisted living averages $43,200, with nursing home care ranging from $80,300 to $91,250.
PCH’s specialized healthcare team develops individualized care plans centered around the unique health conditions, abilities, and interests of each participant. They are immersed in clinical and personal care, educational programs, physical activities that improve wellness and reduces falls, and meaningful friendships. Enriching horticulture, art, pet, culinary, and music, and therapies are plentiful. Convenient physical, speech, and occupational therapy services are also available onsite via PruittHealth to further boost health and well-being. Participants enjoy their independence and being in an environment that meets them where they are each day.
In turn, caregivers benefit greatly from being able to let go for a bit, breathe, and recharge, a respite. Knowing their loved one is in a safe, supervised environment doing the things they love gives caregivers peace of mind to continue to work, attend school, manage household duties, or focus on self-care. Some seize the opportunity to redirect attention to other family members, enjoy hobbies, or lean into their support networks.
PCH offers daily tours and free three-hour trials for families to test the waters, meet the staff, and experience the hope. Whether you need support now or see it coming, we invite you to start the conversation and explore this great care solution proven to help everyone live healthier and happier. PCH is located at 3430 Duluth Park Lane in Duluth. Its phone is (770) 624-2727.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Two scary instances when driving for take-out food
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 7, 2021 | Headed out last week to pick up take-out food, two incidents gave me pause.
It was about 6:15 p.m. when I turned on Holcomb Bridge Road, heading west, with little traffic in this lane. However, oncoming easterly traffic was unusually heavy. By then, it was fully dark, as we were back to standard time.
One of the oncoming vehicles had on bright lights as I neared a small curve. It nearly blinded me. Time I got through the curve, another vehicle also had on bright lights, temporarily making me wonder if I was safely within the outgoing lane.
Why did these two inconsiderate drivers have their bright lights on? Luckily, no others I met had undimmed lights, though I fumed about it all the way to Peachtree Parkway, before turning right. This four lane road’s traffic was moving smoothly. No bright light problems here, with me not having to stop until I turned into a shopping center just past Spaulding Drive.
After I picked up our order, I drove to exit the parking lot, finding a steady stream of traffic to my left. About that time the traffic light at the main intersection changed, and traffic started coming from the right. By that time, two cars had stopped on Spalding, wanting to get into the parking lot where I was attempting to exit. It took about two minutes before the cars to my left stopped coming. I pulled out of the exit, and headed toward the right lane.
Just as I turned into the lane, in my rear mirror, I saw first a car with headlights on, but in front of that car was another dark car with no headlights. What? Had I pulled out a second or two later, I would have been smashed. Lucky me.
In front of Norcross High, there was good street light. Then I could clearly see an older model Honda tailing me with no lights. I was about to turn right onto Medlock Bridge Road when I saw his right blinker (remember no headlights) signaling his turn.
Traffic was backed up at Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and I pulled to a stop, got out of the car, walked back and pointed and yelled to the driver: “You don’t have on your lights. Switch them on. This is dangerous.” As I returned to the car, he did. In about five second the light changed, and traffic moved forward. The former lightless driver turned south on PIB, thankfully, and I was rid of him.
These two instances really shook me up. Someone could have been injured because of a stupid mistake of driving with no headlight on. Absent-minded, drunk or crazed? We never found out. But it was scary.
Next time, I’ll go for take-out well before dark.
Just making sure, we checked. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is actually in Atlanta. After Alabama demolished Georgia for the SEC championship again, I was wondering if that stadium might be located in Alabama. For sure the Tide owned it again this year. This is the second consecutive time that ‘Bama has defeated Georgia for the championship in this stadium.
One possible way for Georgia to beat Alabama in Atlanta is for the conference to schedule the championship at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Bulldogs did well, as they blanked Ga. Tech 45-0 this year.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Georgia Banking Company
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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: elliott@brack.net.
Overcoming doubt, Filipino native among new GGC grads
Le Quang Greatzel Unabia, 26, of Norcross, grew up in Digos City on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. She was raised in a home of women – just her and her mother, grandmother and aunt – so she didn’t have to look far to see first-hand how strong a woman can be.
Unabia
Unabia will join more than 600 of her classmates at Georgia Gwinnett College’s fall commencement, scheduled for 10 a.m., December 7 (today) at the Gas South Arena.
It was a hard-scrabble life at times for the four women. Her father was a Vietnamese refugee who moved to America when Unabia was 10, leaving her mother, Annaliza, to largely make ends meet on her own. She would wake up at 3 a.m. and drive her tricycle into town to buy two baskets of bibingka – a sweet pastry made with coconut and flour – which she would take to the local marketplace to sell. On a good day she would earn a little more than two dollars, but that was enough.
“It showed me what women are capable of,” said Unabia. “Seeing how hard my mom worked just to get me through high school.” Unabia graduated from high school, charged right into college in the Philippines and spent three years studying psychology.
That trajectory changed dramatically in 2016, when Unabia realized she could study in the U.S. as a permanent resident thanks to her dad, but she’d have to do it before she turned 21.
She moved in with her father and set about finding a college that fit her personality and ambition. She looked at larger schools, but their sheer size seemed daunting. A family friend suggested she look at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC).
Unabia’s life changed courses once again when GGC advisors noticed she was attending STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) events by herself and suggested she join the Women in Technology (WIT) club. “WIT really empowered me,” she said. “I didn’t think I could do software development, but WIT showed me that maybe it was possible. I decided to give it a go — so I could prove to myself again that I am capable of doing things I previously thought I couldn’t.”
She will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in information technology with a concentration in software development. For the next chapter, she hopes to find work as a back-end developer.
That’s not bad for a woman who was raised on a little more than two hard-earned dollars a day.
Gravina is new chairman of board of PCOM
Gravina
Thomas J. Gravina of Haverford, Pa. has been named as the next chairman of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (PCOM) Board of Trustees. A member of the board since 2003 and vice chairman since 2015, Gravina is the fourth board chair to serve in this singular role in the institution’s history. He will succeed chairman John P. Kearney, who served as chairman since 2014, and will remain on the board as vice chairman through 2022. The college is headquartered in Philadelphia, Penn. and has campuses there, and in Suwanee and in Moultrie, Ga. In Philadelphia, it has 1,742 students; 1,127 in Suwanee; and 192 in Moultrie, in several disciplines.
Gravina is currently executive chairman of Evolve IP, a company he co-founded in 2006. Evolve IP is a cloud technology company, serving commercial clients in the U.S. and various other countries around the world. There are 19 members of the PCOM board.
Three Georgians, Wayne Sikes of Snellville, David McClesky of Hoschton and Tim Burgess of Athens serve on the board.
Burgess, Sikes and McClesky
County to provide warming stations when temps under 35
Gwinnett County will open warming stations for residents to receive temporary, overnight relief from long-term exposure to frigid temperatures of 35 degrees and below. The warming stations will be available from 6 p.m. until 7 a.m. Residents who visit the sites can warm up, eat a meal and get some rest.
The County will announce the availability of the warming stations at GwinnettCounty.com and to local media outlets. The locations are listed below:
- Best Friend Park Gym, 6224 Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Norcross,
(Bus route 35, stop 407 and 906); - Buford Senior Center, 2755 Sawnee Avenue, Buford,
(Bus route 101 I-985, stop 19);
- Centerville Senior Center, 3075 Bethany Church Road, Snellville;
- Lawrenceville Senior Center, 225 Benson Street, Lawrenceville,
(Bus route 40, stop 836 and 337); and - Shorty Howell Park Activity Building, 2750 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth,
(Bus route 10B, stop 542 and 108). - To get more information on warming stations or to volunteer, call 770-822-8850.
Good Samaritan names 5 Good Neighbor award winners
Good Samaritan Health Centers of Gwinnett recently announced five winners of its third annual Good Neighbor Awards this month. They are:
- Jill Edwards of Duluth, incoming chair of Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce;
- Ann Patrick of Peachtree Corners, caseworker at St. Vincent de Paul charity;
- Kati Tait of Snellville who has helped foster children by opening up her home to them;
- Sherwin Levinson of Lawrenceville, the volunteer executive director of the Medical Reserve Corps Georgia East Metro;
- The non-profit is the Medical Reserve Corps Georgia East Metro; during the pandemic, more than 1,300 of their volunteers provided more than 17,000 hours primarily helping with testing and vaccinations, which would be worth more than $700,000.
Foundation awards grants to agencies serving Gwinnett
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded $74,705 in grants during its November meeting, including $30,000 to agencies serving Gwinnett County.
- $15,000 to For Her Glory, a Gainesville agency that provides breast cancer patients throughout the Jackson EMC service area with items that are not covered by insurance, such as wigs, bras, compression sleeves, gloves, and nutritional supplements.
- $15,000 to Nothing But the Truth, Inc., a Dacula faith-based organization dedicated to meeting needs in the community, to purchase food for the Weekend Food Bag Program that provides food for the weekend to Gwinnett County public school children who have been identified by counselors as food insecure.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Three Men on a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
From Shyla Nambiar, Norcross: First serialized in 1889, this timeless novel by British Author Jerome K. Jerome concerns a boat trip down the Thames River in England by three bachelors, accompanied by a dog with the improbable name of Montmorency. The humorous and charming novel details their journey and various stops, a metaphor for the journey through life. The narrator interweaves the story with philosophical commentary, observations about nature and passages on English history. The book is an example of the famous dry British humor, combined with slapstick comedy as the three undergo a series of adventures. The book was included in the 100 Great Novels list by The Guardian newspaper.
An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Emory, Berry, Ga. Tech benefit from foundations
(From previous edition)
Ernest W. Woodruff and investors acquired Coca-Cola from Asa Griggs Candler and family in 1919. His son Robert Woodruff became president of the company four years later, and by 1928 bottle sales had exceeded fountain sales. Robert Woodruff became a mentor, close friend, and advisor to Evans. In 1932 Coca-Cola expanded its bottling plants to England, and two years later Woodruff and the Coca-Cola Company bought the Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Company from the Whitehead family, exchanging ownership for shares of Coca-Cola stock. At this time Woodruff appointed Evans to the board of directors, a position she held for almost two decades as one of the first women in America to sit on the board of a major corporation.
A generous philanthropist himself, Woodruff led Evans in setting up three foundations as charitable trusts for focused giving, a relatively new concept among the very wealthy business people of the era. In the three decades after World War I (1917-18), following Woodruff’s example, Evans and her sons gave away millions of dollars. Today the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, and the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, all administered by the staff of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, continue to grant millions of dollars to individuals, communities, and institutions.
The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation is dedicated to the support of women in nine southern states through funding to institutions that serve elderly women, and through the Lettie Pate Whitehead scholarship program. These scholarships support women studying at more than 200 institutions. The Lettie Pate Evans Foundation is dedicated to education and the arts in Georgia and Virginia, and the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation provides support to a variety of charitable institutions in the Atlanta metropolitan area, with a particular emphasis on those serving children and youth.
Evans was a trustee of Emory University and Agnes Scott College, both in Atlanta, as well as of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. Extending her largess beyond the United States during World War II (1941-45), Evans made personal donations to the Queen’s Fund for air raid victims in England and served on the board of directors for the American Hospital in France.
At Emory University, where her papers and writings are housed at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, numerous buildings are named for Evans. Among other major recipients of significant donations from Evans are Berry College in Rome and the Georgia Institute for Technology in Atlanta.
Evans survived her two sons and her two husbands. Joseph Whitehead Jr. died in 1935; Conkey Pate Whitehead in 1940; and Colonel Evans in 1948. She died on November 14, 1953, having left her estate to the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation. At her death the Coca-Cola Company remembered Evans with accolades: “Endowed with material things, she had a conviction that she held them as trustee for the poor, the meek and the unfortunate.”
In 1998 Evans was inducted into Georgia Women of Achievement.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Older building is today’s Mystery Photo
Here’s an older, not well-cared-for building somewhat off the beaten path. It has its own history which may intrigue you. Tell us more about this Mystery Photo, sending your ideas to elliott@brack.net, and include your hometown.
It always amazes GwinnettForum at how easily some people recognize the Mystery Photo. Last week what we thought would be difficult found several correct respondents. First in was Bob Foreman of Grayson, followed soon by his architectural colleague, Jeff Seely of Winder, who wrote: “That is the newly restored stained glass windows on the north side of the newly renovated Norcross Presbyterian Church!” (He was the architect for the restoration of the church at Foreman Seely Fountain of Norcross.) Foreman sent in a photo which shows Rocky Littlepage, the superintendent who works for Lusk and Company, general contractor of the church, working in the building with the windows in the background.
Others recognizing it included Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; George Graf of Palmyra, Va. and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex., who wrote: “Today’s mystery photo is of three stained glass windows in the Norcross Presbyterian Church (NPC ) at 89 Jones St in Norcross, Ga. In 1899, the congregation built a charming white chapel with a mellow-toned bell in its tower. It was their home for 73 years, but they moved out of the historic church building in the early 70s to a new location on Medlock Bridge Road. Fifty years later on October 17, 2021, having completed renovations on the old building, the NPC held a dedication ceremony to reinstate the congregation back home to the Norcross Presbyterian Church building that has been on site since 1899.”
How Allan came up with the answer is interesting. ”A clue popped out at me in the bottom-right of the photo which reads “In Memoriam – Mary Richardson – 1827-1896.” I found that she was buried in the old Norcross City Cemetery. This let me narrow the search to the Norcross area, and I ran across news that dedication ceremony for the historic Norcross Presbyterian Church building at 89 Jones Street, Norcross. The article included the picture of the stained glass windows.
“One more thing: who was Mary Richardson? Well, she was born as Mary Ann Carroll, with roots back to the Carroll family patriots in the Revolutionary War. At age 31 she married Dr. Moses Richardson, and they moved to Norcross (which was called Pinckneyville at the time) where they would live for the rest of their lives. When Norcross was founded as a city in 1870, Moses Richardson was the only doctor in town and Mary dedicated her time and efforts to supporting the families of patients who her husband was treating. Mary Richardson died suddenly in 1896, and the church’s congregation decided to memorialize her with the addition of the stained glass window in the Norcross Presbyterian Church.”
NOTE: We regret that we misidentified the contributor of the photo of the Nubble Point Lighthouse. It was Stewart Woodard of Lawrenceville.
Job Fair on Wednesday, December 8 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. for jobs with the Gwinnett County Planning and Development. The department wants to fill several positions including code enforcement, inspections and planning. The location will be held in the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Conference Center on the second floor, 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville.
Vaccination Clinics on the COVID-19 Omicron variant will be held at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville on Dec. December 7, 8, 14 and 15 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.The clinics, open to all – students, faculty, staff and community members, will be held at the third-floor lounge in the college’s Student Center (Building E).
Redistricting Open Houses: County commissioners will help local citizens understand how redistricting of the county government works. Under current law, political boundaries must be drawn every decade to match a county’s changing population. State legislators are charged with the task, which can also determine how people may vote. The open houses will take place:
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- Thursday, December 16 at 6 p.m.: Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville with Commissioner Fosque;
- Monday, January 10 at 6:30 p.m.: Dacula Park Activity Building,2735 Auburn Avenue in Dacula with Commissioner Watkins;
- Thursday, January 13 at 6: p.m.: Bogan Park, 2723 North Bogan Road in Buford with Commissioner Fosque; and
- Thursday, January 20 at 6p.m.: Centerville Senior Center, 3025 Bethany Church Road in Snellville with Commissioner Watkins.
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