GwinnettForum | Number 21.10 | Feb. 8, 2022
WINNING PHOTO: This is the 2021 winner of “best in show” for the Gwinnett Chapter of the Georgia Nature Photographers Association. It’s “Water Stone Leaves Sky” from Charles Scheff of the Roswell chapter. For more details on the exhibit that opens Wednesday at the Hudgens Center for Art and Learning, see Upcoming below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Local group standing by in case emergency strikes in Gwinnett
EEB PERSPECTIVE: State of Georgia retirement funds have whopping good return in 2021
ANOTHER VIEW: How teaching at public schools has changed in the last 30 years
SPOTLIGHT: Mingledorff’s
FEEDBACK: If parties offer only rhetoric, they may fail in upcoming elections
UPCOMING: Six artists featured on exhibit opening in Norcross Feb. 11
NOTABLE: William Cossen named Lawrenceville DAR Top Teacher
RECOMMENDED: Goodbye, Things: the New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Tyler Perry brings new life to the Fort McPherson area
MYSTERY PHOTO: You can see for miles from this mighty tower
CALENDAR: Mountain Park group plans meeting for Thursday, February 10
Local group standing by if emergency strikes in Gwinnett
(Editor’s note: The author of the following item is vice president of logistics and a board member of Medical Reserve Corps-Georgia East Metro. She has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago, a law degree from Georgia State, and a master’s of law degree from Emory University. –eeb)
By Judee Levinson
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | Just imagine that a disaster has just happened. What will you do?
Levinson
It could have been a tornado or hurricane, a radiation emergency, a chemical spill, or a seasonal flu epidemic. Why, it could even be a Covid-19 pandemic! The local public health department, with only a few hundred employees, will be quickly overwhelmed and in dire need of surge capacity. It may take emergency responders precious time to arrive. What will you do?
When disaster strikes, the men and women of the Medical Reserve Corps-Georgia East Metro (MRC GEM) are Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale County’s best kept secret superheroes! These volunteers learn and practice how people should be safe in times of disaster, extend safety and security to family, friends, and neighbors, and make themselves available to help others when called upon.
MRC GEM recruits, vets, equips, and trains ordinary people…your friends, neighbors, and colleagues…maybe you???… to help address emergency situations. It’s an all-volunteer non-profit organization made up of medical professionals as well as others from every walk of life. Its members range in age from 18-year-old high school seniors to retirees, and include a number of multi-generational family groups.
MRC GEM is uniquely tailored to address the needs of the local tri-county population of over one million people. A bit of historical perspective: The unit evolved from a national network that includes hundreds of community-based units throughout the United States. In the aftermath of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks, many volunteer workers had to be turned away because there was no means of organizing and processing them so they could help. In response, the government-created Citizens Corps gave birth to the Medical Reserve Corps. Fourteen years ago, MRC GEM was established by founder and executive director, Sherwin Levinson.
MRC GEM helps prepare for disasters and strengthen community resiliency by providing support staffing when called upon. MRC GEM members train each month to learn and reinforce their skills and build collegiality. Its toolbox includes emergency first aid, psychological first aid, CPR/AED, radiation response, team building, triage, and shelter setup and operation.
In addition, it has members proficient in over 80 foreign languages and dialects, plus American Sign Language, potentially useful abilities in stressful situations. During the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic response, it has supplied over 17,000 hours of volunteer assistance, including testing, vaccination, and public education. If, instead, public health employees had been hired, those hours would have cost over $720,000! You may have met some of those volunteers when you went to get vaccinated.
So, who can wear those supercool MRC GEM T-shirts? Who can be a member of the Medical Reserve Corps? The door is open to anyone who can pass a background check and is interested in helping to build community strength.
In addition to the competing family and professional obligations, which are a fact of all our lives, burnout is a factor for volunteers as well as paid staff; therefore, MRC GEM is always looking to increase its ranks. Most training sessions are held at the East Metro Health District, 2570 Riverside Parkway, Lawrenceville, GA. 30046. Sign up to become a volunteer at mrcgem.com/join; learn more at mrcgem.com, or email membership@mrcgem.com.
And because more volunteers mean more T-shirts, and because those cool T-shirts cost us money, not to mention other supplies and equipment, all donations are gratefully acknowledged and tax-deductible, as it is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Georgia’s retirement funds have whopping 2021 return
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
FEB. 8, 2022 | News stories about this time of year cite the highest paid Georgia state officials. And yes, it is a sad state of affairs that we pay the top football coaches far more than our university presidents. We won’t go into this more here.
Other highly paid state officials are those running the state’s retirement systems. And why not pay them handsomely? For state government must guarantee that it’ll keep its word and adequately manage retirement funds contributed by teachers and other state employees to give them peace of mind in their senior years.
Charles Cary, chief investment officer of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, is the highest state agency official, making $1,018,236 last year.
And his two co-chief investment officers, Michael Majure and Thomas Horkan, both were rewarded with pay of $862,200 last year.
Sounds high? They are.
Yet there’s a reason that they make such salaries. That’s because all three are paid incentives based on the return of the retirement system investments.
You may be pleased that your own IRA funds may have seen a pretty good return last year, say in the range of 8-10 percent, depending on your risk factor. That’s a really good year for anyone.
But the investments for retired Georgia employees earned a whopping 29.3 percent last year. Few states or private investment groups make such returns. Now you can understand why these three state employees made such good salaries last year.
The pay rate of these top officials is set by a joint committee of the Teachers Retirement System, and the Employees Retirement System (retired state employees, not teachers.) The chair of the Teachers Retirement System board is Deborah Simonds, who for 27 years was a special education teacher at Berkmar High School, and has been on that board for 10 years. She is also a former state president of the Georgia Association of Educators.
“Yes, a joint committee set the salaries for these top investment people, and pay them for performance. In the long range, the teachers and state employees benefit, and so do the state and taxpayers. It’s a win-win all across the board if we can attract and retain quality people.”
So, how much do retired teachers in Georgia make from the retirement system? A teacher who retires after 30 years, with a master’s degree, would see a return of 60 percent of their highest two year salary. For this person, most would see a defined benefit plan check of $3,500 a month, or $42,000 a year. The teacher will have paid into the system six percent of their salary each year. Ninety percent of Georgia teachers also get a Social Security check in addition to their teacher retirement pay, once they reach certain ages. (A few county school systems do not participate in Social Security or other additional retirement plans.)
Joe Heffrond, the chief financial officer of Gwinnett County Public Schools, says that teachers in Gwinnett do not participate in Social Security, but pay into the Gwinnett Retirement System. On reaching age 65 (similar to Social Security), a teacher with a master’s degree and 30 years service would get an additional monthly benefit of $2,300, or $27,600 a year.
As a comparison, the Gwinnett Retirement System (GRS) rate of return for calendar year 2021 was 14.4 percent. Hmmm. Not bad. Many retirees don’t see their IRA funds that solid!
These guaranteed benefits for our retired teachers come as the investment officers of the retirement funds do their best to insure a solid return, and sound future for the pension of our teachers.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
How teaching at public schools has changed over 30 years
By Alexander Tillman
VALDOSTA, Ga. | In May 2022, I will be retiring after 30 years as a public school teacher. It has been a wonderful career, but it is time to go. Retirement sneaks up on you. One day you feel relevant and the next day you are a dinosaur.
Tillman
As I strike off the days on my calendar, I find myself being reflective. I started teaching with a set of textbooks, a box of chalk, and a black grade book. The film projector was 30 mm and the overhead projector was considered high tech.
I am often asked if the kids have changed. I think the person inquiring expects the answer to be yes. They usually want me to characterize students today as lazy and entitled. Let’s be fair. Every generation believes the next generation is doomed to fail.
What has changed in the course of my career is the over-use of statistical data. There is a place for data, but it has become overemphasized in education. Colleges of Education teach future teachers that everything must be measurable. I disagree with that statement.
I prefer the subjective. I am a social studies teacher. We ask questions with no clear, singular answer. Data does not measure maturity, character, or work ethic. These traits cannot be translated into sound bites to be released to further someone’s career. Test scores can be.
Our expectations of young people have been tainted by our obsession with statistics. As parents there is nothing we are more vain about than our children. It is unavoidable. Statistics give us the sound bites we need to measure our children’s success and to compare them to others.
In the last 30 years schools and parents have slowly lost sight of the subjective and replaced it with scores. We measure children by SAT and ACT scores, and GPAs.
When was the last time you heard a parent brag about their child’s character and work ethic?
Our expectations of young people have changed over the years to fit statistical goals. For the most part, the young people are the same. Because of laws such as “No Child Left Behind,” we expect all children to graduate from high school. We will never achieve that expectation.
We expect all students to be proficient in all subject areas as measured by standardized tests. Does anyone really expect that to happen? Most adults will admit that they struggled in at least one subject area in school. That builds character, but that is not measurable.
As a teacher I like what I call “The good old kid.” He had good manners. She was pleasant to be around. His word was his bond. She was present, on time, and completed her work. He made A’s, B’s and a few hard earned C’s.
The kids have not changed. Our value system has. As a society we need to stop relying only on data and give character, maturity, and work ethic its rightful place in the value system.
Give me a team full of good old kids. That is who I would build my organization around.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Mingledorff’s
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s featured sponsor is Mingledorff’s, an air conditioning distributor of the Carrier Air Conditioning Company. Mingledorff’s corporate office is located at 6675 Jones Mill Court in Norcross Ga. and is proud to be a sponsor of the Gwinnett Forum. With 40 locations in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina, Mingledorff’s is the convenient local source with a complete line for the quality heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration parts and supplies you need to service and install HVAC/R equipment. Product lines include Carrier, Bryant, Payne, Totaline and Bard.
- For all of your HVAC needs, and information on the products Mingledorff’s sells, visit www.mingledorffs.com and www.carrier.com.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
If parties offer only rhetoric, they may fail in elections
Editor, the Forum:
It will be interesting to see what decides the upcoming elections in 2022 and 2024. I have to think that the last few elections have been decided by what people were against rather than issues they supported. I believe Trump won because a large number of voters didn’t trust or believe Clinton, and I also believe Biden was elected because a large number of people detested Trump. These were emotional choices rather than a long list of issues or positions.
The virus and shutdown have brought about some discovery for the normally uninvolved voter. Issues have been forced upon their immediate reality. Their children and their employment goals have been examined in fine detail like never before. They are involved whether they wanted to be or not. They have strong feelings about their discoveries. The electorate may be more enlightened than ever before. Motivation to participate is very high.
I don’t think candidates are going to be able to get by without detailed positions on a wide range of subjects. Both parties seem to be selling that the country as we know it is threatened. The electorate will pierce this to get to actual positions. If rhetoric is all that is offered, I would expect that candidate to fail. Substance and details are demanded. We’ll see what we get.
– Byron Gilbert, Duluth
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.
Six artists featured on exhibit opening in Norcross Feb. 11
Norcross Gallery and Studios will open a new exhibit Friday, February 11. The show, Spotlight on Spring, features the works of 6 outstanding members – Mikki Root Dillon, Cynthia Corbin, Barb Boyer, Sharon Nichol, Lynda Ellis and Angelika Domschke in a varied, enjoyable exhibit. The show runs through Saturday March 26.
There will be a reception featuring the artists on March 17 from 4 to 7 p.m. The reception on Saint Patrick’s Day will be a wonderful social event with food, wine and an opportunity to meet the artists and purchase original works of art from new friends. Wear green!
Here are the artists participating, and a glance at their work:
- Mikki Dillon, a noted artist in pastels and photography, presents a stark black and white photograph titled “Stormy Sunset Coming, South of Taos.” She says she intended to capture the sunset but a storm blew in, adding to her adventure.
- “Felicity” by artist and outstanding graphic designer Cynthia Corbin is a work in collage and acrylic displaying an imaginative, appealing bouquet of flowers. Her composition and design talents are in full display in this happy painting.
- Barb Boyer has created a fun, summery outdoor still life, “Pears, Plein Air,” a pastel painting with three shapely pears and her dad’s antique marbles.
- Sharon Nichol’s watercolors in the show include “Desert Life # 2,” a realistic painting of the area’s amazing variety of colors and textures of the desert.
- “Evensong” is an oil painting of a quiet moment on a lake just after sundown by an artist well-known in the Atlanta area, Lynda Ellis, also active with Atlanta Artists Center in Buckhead and whose work is featured in many exhibits throughout the region.
- Angelika Domschke, another of the prominent artist members of Norcross Gallery and Studios, holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and also excels as a sculptor and illustrator. Her acrylic painting, “Cat Spirit,” in this show captures the cat’s magical moment of undivided focus and attention.
The gallery’s hours are 11 a.m., to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays at its location at 116 Carlyle Street in downtown Norcross.
Nature photographers’ exhibit returns to Hudgens Feb. 19
“Stand in Ansel Adams Footsteps” will return for the third consecutive year to The Hudgens Center for Art and Learning for a 10-week exhibition from February 19 until April 30, 2022.
The Gwinnett Chapter of the Georgia Nature Photographers Association (GNPA) is once again hosting the competition. This will be its seventh annual competition and exhibition. As most of Ansel Adams’ work was remarkably crisp, with detailed focus in black and white of landscapes, and closeups of textures and forms and the little details found in nature.
The concept and goal of the competition is NOT to copy his work, but to take photographs in black and white (monochrome) to emulate as close as possible to the style, look and feel of Adams’ work.
Professional photographers are not allowed to enter this competition: amateurs only. There are three categories: landscape, macro/close-up; and intimate spaces.
- To join GNPA and learn more about GNPA and its chapters go to its website, at www.GNPA.org/.
County offers plots to cultivate in community gardens
Dreaming of vine-ripe tomatoes and fresh green veggies? Now is the time to stake your claim at any of Harvest Gwinnett’s nine Community Gardens.
The cost is $35 per year for a 4-foot by 8-foot raised platform garden plot. Gardeners of all skill levels are invited to apply for the 2022 to 2023 growing year. Once payment is received, plots are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Harvest Gwinnett provides water, tools, soil, mulch and educational resources at each site; gardeners are responsible for maintaining and harvesting their plots. They are also required to participate in 12 hours of community service per year to maintain common areas.
Brad Livesay, program supervisor for Harvest Gwinnett, says: “Cultivating these sustainable gardens continues to yield fantastic results. Not only do the gardens provide a hands-on opportunity for families to grow their own fresh produce, but, with the shared rows, they’re also helping to close the meal gap for residents facing food insecurity.”
Live Healthy Gwinnett also offers an array of gardening programs for all ages and abilities, ranging from Gardening 101 to Pest Management through its Harvest Gwinnett initiative.
- View a list of all Community Gardens locations and visit LiveHealthyGwinnett.com to learn more about the program and download the garden plot application. For more details, email HarvestGwinnett@GwinnettCounty.com, or call (678) 277-0287.
Cossen named Lawrenceville DAR Top Teacher
Cossen
William S. Cossen has been named the 2022 Outstanding Teacher of American History for Lawrenceville’s Philadelphia Winn Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Dr. Cossen was honored at the chapter’s January meeting with a certificate and financial award. He is a member of the faculty at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (GSMST) in Lawrenceville. He considers the study and teaching of history to be his primary calling and finds the experience of engaging students tremendously satisfying.
Dr. Cossen’s principal, Mr. IV Bray, recognizes his enthusiasm and ability to challenge and inspire students, while having high expectations and a supportive relationship with his students.
Dr. Cossen once studied law, but his love of history caused him to overcome that choice. He gives credit to both a former high school teacher for inspiring him as “the most significant influence on my decision to pursue a history degree” and a college professor who “shaped my understanding of history as an academic field.” Another poignant credit was to his grandparents for taking him on childhood trips, a memorable one to Gettysburg. His mother told him he would make a wonderful teacher, and she was right!
Dr. Cossen grew up in Lexington, S.C. He is a graduate in history and political science from Emory University, and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Penn State University. He is married to Krista, and the couple have two children, a daughter and a son.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Goodbye, Things: the New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki
From Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: Japanese author and editor, Fumio Sasaki, went from owning a great deal of things (mainly to impress other people) to owning such a small amount of possessions it took him only 30 minutes to pack up all his worldly goods to move to a new apartment. That is extreme minimalism, I know. But the point is, reducing your possessions to only those things you actually use and really love frees up your time as well as the space inside your head. I didn’t find many new ideas in this book, but I do think it could prompt someone to downsize. This is not a how-to book. It doesn’t give you tips on how to declutter (except at the very end). It’s more of a point-by-point book describing the benefits Sasaki found after minimizing. It could help people get motivated, stay focused, keep on task and experience gratitude and freedom.
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
Tyler Perry brings new life to the Fort McPherson area
(From previous edition)
In 2005 Tyler Perry’s production company, Tyler Perry Company, teamed up with Lionsgate film studio for Perry’s first feature film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which debuted at number one nationwide. Produced in Atlanta, the film features Perry in three roles, including that of Madea. In 2010 Perry embarked on a national tour with a new stage play, Madea’s Big Happy Family.
Tyler Perry Studios, the first film studio in the country to be solely owned by an African American, opened in October 2008. The 200,000-square-foot facility, originally located in the old Delta Air Lines headquarters in Atlanta, featured a soundstage named for Georgia native Ossie Davis and his wife, Ruby Dee.
Perry’s streamlined method of filmmaking offered a striking contrast to that of most mainstream Hollywood films: his productions were generally completed much more quickly and with a lower budget, but generated significantly higher returns. Both Essence and Time magazine named him one of the most influential people of 2008.
The critically acclaimed Precious marked a new direction for Perry, and in 2010 he announced the formation of 34th Street Films, an art-house division of Tyler Perry Studios. The first project for the new venture was Perry’s film adaptation of playwright Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, which ran on Broadway from 1976 to 1978.
In addition to his work as an actor, producer, writer, and director, Perry expanded his business and philanthropic ventures. In 2015 he purchased most of Fort McPherson. The base had been closed since 2011, and Perry believed moving his studio to the area would revitalize the surrounding neighborhoods of Atlanta. While some nearby residents objected to exchanging one walled institution for another, Perry purchased 330 of the base’s 488 acres for $30 million.
In 2018 the new location opened, featuring 12 large soundstages, as well as several standing sets that included a replica of the White House. Perry retained other parts of Fort McPherson for additional sets, preserving the fort’s baseball field and post theater.
The Covid-19 pandemic threatened Tyler Perry Studios with a lengthy shutdown, but Perry determined to utilize his studio’s on-site residences (including several livable barracks from Fort McPherson) to isolate and test workers on set. With this and other safety precautions in place, Tyler Perry Studios was again shooting within months. Perry also donated to those affected by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. In recognition of his charitable efforts, Perry received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2021 Academy Awards Ceremony. Later that year, Perry purchased additional land from the former Fort McPherson, bringing his ownership to 368 acres.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
You can see for miles from this mighty tower
Today’s mystery photo is of a soaring tower. No doubt visitors can take elevators to the top of this tower and see an unfolding vistas for miles. Your job is to tell where this tower is located. Send your ideas to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
And by the way, GwinnettForum is needing more mystery photos. Send in yours today and see if you can also stump our panel of readers.
It doesn’t happen often, but the last Mystery Photo drew no responses whatsoever. When this happens, it often comes from a photograph that has not been seen anywhere on the internet.
The most recent mystery photo came from Ashley Herndon of Oceanside, Calif., and was taken near Tallulah Falls of the Athens, Ga. Valley of Youth YMCA camp. He says it is the second oldest YMCA camp in the country.
Meet the author: Alex Robson, author of The Freedom Cards, will be at the Suwanee Library Branch, 361 Main Street, on Thursday, February 10 at 7 p.m. Learn about one man’s journey to understand the meaning of freedom. He is a Gwinnett County Assistant Principal, and will be in conversation with Emmy winner Kolinda Scialabba.
The Mountain Park Community Association will have a February 10 Public Meeting with Commissioner Ben Ku and Gwinnett Code Enforcement. The meeting will be at the Mountain Park Aquatic Center, 1063 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain. This will be informative for everyone, and will also gauge interest in forming a Citizen’s Code-Enforcement Team. This will be the first in-person meeting in two years!
Your First Book: Start It, Finish It, Sell It. Attend this writer’s workshop on Saturday, February 12 at 1 p.m. at the Norcross Library Branch. 5735 Buford Highway, Norcross.Learn strategies to find time to write, motivate yourself to keep going, and finish your book. George Weinstein, Atlanta Writers Club executive Director and author of six novels, will lead the workshop.
Hazardous waste recycling: Do you have hard-to-dispose-of items like paints, pesticides, and batteries stacking up around your home? Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful is partnering with the Gwinnett Water Resources to host the seventh annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Saturday, February 12, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, 2405 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville. The event is at no cost to residents. For a complete list of acceptable items and guidelines or to volunteer, visit GwinnettCB.org/Event/HHW.
Live Healthy Gwinnett is sponsoring free health screenings and offering community wellness activities for all ages on Saturday, February 12 from 10 a.m. until 1 p. m, at the Lenora Park Gym. Participants can also enjoy fitness classes, watch cooking demonstrations, and win giveaways and prizes. The Lenora Park Gym is located at 4515 Lenora Church Road in Snellville. For more information and to learn how to become an exhibitor, contact Carion.Marcelin@GwinnettCounty.com.
The Duluth-Norcross Kiwanis Club will hear Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at its February 16 noon meeting. It will be at the Duluth City Hall community room. This special event will be catered by a local Duluth Restaurant. The club extends an invitation to the public to attend, at a cost of $10.
Sundays in Suwanee series: What Lies Beneath: “Exploring African American burial grounds” will be Sunday, February 27 at 3 p.m. at the Suwanee Library Branch, 361 Main Street, Suwanee. Join as Dr. D. L. Henderson discusses the history of Atlanta’s segregated Oakland Cemetery.
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