GwinnettForum | Number 21.39 | May 24, 2022
MANY GEORGIA COMMUNITIES in recent years have produced distinctive and high quality murals of their area and their history. Clayton County calls itself “The home of Gone With the Wind” and signs of its connection to the popular movie and book abound in Jonesboro. This mural was exhibited by Vanishing Georgia Photographer Brian Brown of Fitzgerald depicting the character Scarlett O’Hara and one of her many comments. This mural (circa 2018) is by Shannon Lake. To see more of Brown’s work, go to www.vanishinggeorgia.com. (Used by permission.)
TODAY’S FOCUS: Distinctive Computer Museum of America is in nearby Roswell
EEB PERSPECTIVE: American companies leaving Russia “in droves”
SPOTLIGHT: Gwinnett County Public Library
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
UPCOMING: City of Norcross gets $200,000 planning grant from ARC
NOTABLE: Chamber recognizes local public safety officials for valor
RECOMMENDED: What Happened to You? by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Aflac of Columbus concentrates on the U.S. and Japan
MYSTERY PHOTO: Low-light photo has a story behind it
LAGNIAPPE: Jackson EMC crew is top team in Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo
CALENDAR: Gwinnett schools to offer summer meal program
Distinctive Computer Museum of America is in Roswell
By Rena Youngblood
Executive director, Computer Museum of America
ROSWELL, Ga. | Computer Museum of America (CMoA) is located mere minutes away from Gwinnett in Roswell, and is an area attraction with a growing fan base.
Youngblood
With a mission to preserve the artifacts and stories from the digital age, while educating and inspiring visitors of all ages and backgrounds, CMoA works tirelessly to locate artifacts, create exhibits that tell the stories of technical innovation, and build relevant, relatable, and fun programming. CMoA opened on July 20, 2019, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, and is one of the Southeast’s most unique attractions.
The museum currently occupies 34,000 square feet with exhibits that include A Tribute to Apollo 11; Supercomputer: Vanquishing the Impossible; Timeline of Computing History; The BYTE Magazine Collection’ a fully restored and operational Enigma Machine; Computers in the Movies which opened in 2021; and a new temporary exhibit, Love Bytes, available to view through 2022. This exhibit explores the role of technology in the history of dating and romance. It includes stories from early matchmaking to dating apps and features technological artifacts that reinvented romance for the digital age.
Enigma machine
CMoA was founded by local collector and enthusiast, Lonnie Mimms. Why did he start the museum? He says: “To bring such a unique museum to the metro-Atlanta area, since technology is moving so fast that it’s being forgotten. Here at CMoA, we are capturing the stories and artifacts that have brought us to where we are today. In addition to the preservation of these artifacts, we are working to inspire, educate, and empower generations to come.”
There are many ways to experience Computer Museum of America this summer including:
- Summer camps will be held throughout June and July and are filling quickly. Your future engineer, designer, or entrepreneur will find subjects to challenge his or her skills and imagination.
- Tech Tales: this story time for young explorers is a great activity for youngsters ages 5-10. Free with admission, this story time is full of space, drones, STEM s/heroes, and creative problem-solving. These are just a few of the topics covered in this seven-week series. After the story, children will use their imaginations to create something to take home.
- Bytes and Brews is an after-hours event for people 21+ and if you are interested in space, and Apollo history in particular, make plans to attend the Friday, June 24th event. CMoA is set to unveil an Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) and Display Keyboard (DSKY). These rare early navigational computers were instrumental in getting man to the moon and back. It is estimated there are fewer than two dozen AGCs remaining in museum and private collections.
In addition to world-class exhibits, CMoA has played host to events ranging from birthday parties and board meetings to fundraising events, mitzvahs, school field trips, and corporate gatherings inside the museum and in event spaces.
CMoA is open on Fridays from noon until 5 p.m. -and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. It is located at 5000 Commerce Parkway in Roswell, at the intersection of Holcomb Bridge Road and Georgia Highway 9. For more information visit computermuseumofamerica.org.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
American companies leaving Russia “in droves”
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
May 24, 2022 | The Russian advancement against Ukraine has backfired, in more ways than one. First, it has exposed just how inefficient the Russian military is.
Secondly, it has caused “droves” of western countries, including many American firms, to pull out of their operations in Russia. Recent figures show more than 300 firms have exited Russia.
That includes Atlanta’s Coca Cola and its competitor, Pepsi Cola. Other well-known firm pulling out are giants of commerce such as McDonalds, Disney, Starbucks, Estee Lauder, Ikea, Mars Inc., Spotify, H&M Group, Yum Brands, Warner Bros, Expedia, Boeing, Adidas, Harley-Davidson, 3-M, Papa Johns, General Motors, Ford, Volvo, Daimler Truck Holdings, BP, Apple, Hermes, Chanel, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Caterpillar, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Volkswagen, Microsoft, Netflix, Oracle, Google, and the list goes on. The big four accounting firms, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, are all pulling out of Russia.
These companies have decided that it is too costly for them, perhaps in financial reality and in policy, to continue doing business with the aggressive Russian state.
Take McDonalds as an example.
McDonald’s started operations in Russia in 1990, bringing a major Western brand and logo—the Golden Arches—to Pushkin Square in Moscow. This was shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This was the beginning of the arrival of many other American and worldwide consumer brands to Russia. The coming of these major segments of the Western world to a former communist dictatorship would be another signal of hope that perhaps the Cold War was no more.
Over the years, McDonalds, just as in America, has become a staple in many Russian communities. It had grown to employing 62,000 people in Russia, operating 850 restaurants. (Worldwide, McDonalds has 39,000 restaurants in 100 countries.)
Russia (in green)
While many companies are simply closing down operations, the French carmaker Renault has fashioned another way to limit operations in Russia. This automaker is selling its 68 percent of its operations in Russia to an automotive research institute for reportedly one dollar. Renault reserved the right to at some future date to buy back its stake within six years, presumably for that same dollar.
Renault seems to be saying: “We’re leaving now, but will be happy to return” when Russia either reforms, or perhaps gives up on Ukraine. It’s certainly an unusual and distinctive way for a private company to make a statement about the Ukraine invasion.
Also interesting is that the list of firms leaving Russia includes Pepsi Cola, the first American company to open a plant in Russia before anyone else, way back in 1974.
It all started when Pepsi was eager to enter the Russian market, especially since its key competitor, Coca-Cola, was not active there. It got a boost at a U.S. national exhibition in 1959, when a Pepsi official asked vice president Richard Nixon to help him “get a Pepsi in (Nikita) Khrushchev’s hands.”
The resulting photo was the beginning of a long relationship between Russia and Pepsi. It wasn’t until 1972 that Pepsi became the first capitalistic brand produced in the Soviet Union. It was a costly treat for Russians, used to paying 10 kopecks for bottled drinks, where Pepsi cost 45 kopecks. But you got 10 kopecks back when you returned the bottle.
You wonder if the resulting pullback by Western private companies from Russia was a surprise to President Putin. We bet it was.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Gwinnett County Public Library
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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.
City of Norcross gets $200,000 planning grant from ARC
The City of Norcross is one of 10 metro Atlanta cities to receive a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) planning grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). The $200,000 grant will be used to complete an update to the city’s initiative.
The ARC’s LCI grant program is designed to encourage local cities to reduce their reliance on motor vehicles and envision their communities as vibrant, walkable places with a variety of mobility options, healthier citizens and easier access to jobs and services.
With the LCI grant, the city hopes to expand the boundaries of the Town Center LCI to include both sides of Buford Highway and examine the development of a pedestrian-safe crossing. The update will also include plans to introduce electric vehicle charging stations into the downtown core, along with enhancing and upgrading the pedestrian experience across the railroad tracks.
The $200,000 award comprises $160,000 in federal transportation dollars with a $40,000 match by the city in the upcoming year. Upon completing the LCI study, Norcross will be eligible to apply for federal transportation funding to help implement the proposed projects.
County plans expansion of two facilities
Two recent developments came out of the Gwinnett commissioner’s meeting. They include:
- OneStop Centerville will soon expand to a new 42,000 square-foot, two-story facility. The expansion will include exam rooms, counseling, classrooms, pediatric dental care and a playground. View Point Health, Ninth District Opportunity, Inc. The Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Department will have space in the facility. Hogan Construction Group was awarded the $14 million contract, which is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
- The county will apply for a $8 million grant to expand Gwinnett Place Transit Center through the Federal Transit Administration. The grant would expand the Center into a hub to provide multiple modes of service and connections along with customer service amenities including restrooms and gathering spaces. The project requires a local match of $2 million to be funded by the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority’s rideshare revenue. The total estimated cost of the entire project is $20 million.
Chamber recognizes local public safety officials for valor
The Gwinnett Chamber VALOR Awards honor local public safety officials who were recognized for their exceptional acts of bravery and service to the local community last week.
The event celebrated award winners in nine categories with more than a dozen officers being recognized for their dedication to protect and serve the greater Gwinnett region. The Medal of Valor recognizes those individuals who exhibited bravery and heroism in situations of extreme danger, heightened emergency, and/or risk of injury and death.
- The Gold Medal of Valor was presented to Officer Shawn Humphreys of the Lawrenceville Police Department.
- The Silver Medal of Valor was awarded to five Gwinnett County Police Department officers: Corporal Daniel Werner, Master Police Officer William Bohn, Master Police Officer David Delshad, Senior Police Officer David Bautista-Martinez, and Senior Police Officer Alexander Elkins.
- The Bronze Medal of Valor was given to Senior Police Officer Cameron Turner with the Gwinnett County Police Department.
The Life-Saving Award, presented to a public safety professional who acted in a life-threatening situation where an individual’s life was in jeopardy, was given to Officer Aaron Devries of the Snellville Police Department.
Corporal Tracey M. Reed, Gwinnett County Police Department, was awarded the Medal of Merit for her outstanding contributions to the community both on and off the job.
The Public Safety Awards honored those individuals who have performed their jobs with exceptional skill, expertise, innovation, and results. This year, a person, a unit, and a communications officer received this honor.
- The Public Safety Person of the Year went to Senior Police Officer James Ross with the Gwinnett County Police Department.
- The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit received the Public Safety Unit of the Year award.
- Communications Officer Elizabeth Pizarro with the Gwinnett County Police Department received the Public Safety Communications Officer of the Year award.
Chief Bruce Hedley with the Lilburn Police Department received this year’s Leadership Award for his excellence in community-oriented engagement while fostering a departmental environment that values collaboration and cooperation at the command staff level.
Gwinnett Tech’s White wins Perkins award
White
The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) has named Gwinnett Technical College physics instructor Jeff White the winner of the Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction. White taught in the Gwinnett County Public Schools system for 34 years before coming to Gwinnett Technical College as a full-time physics instructor. White holds a Master of Science in Physics from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Science in Science Education from the University of Georgia. He also earned his Specialist Degree from the University of Georgia in School Leadership and his Gifted Endorsement. White was born and raised in Atlanta and lives in Flowery Branch. He and his wife enjoy camping, traveling, and spending time with their four children and six grandchildren.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
What Happened to You?
by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: This book is a series of conversations on trauma and how to heal from these psycho-spiritual injuries. The premise is that most of what becomes truth happens at a very early age and is recorded in the lower segments of the brain. The cortex, or the top level of the brain is the reasoning center. Problems occur when the child or person becomes deregulated and reverts to the fight or flight responses of the lower areas of the brain. The conversation is a revelation on what is happening in our culture that focuses less and less on the baseline areas that build relationships, which help regulate and keep the individual safe. This is a book that should be required reading for teachers, police officers, and others who serve the public. Informative, disquieting and also inspiring, It will shed light on the mysteries involved in human behavior. The full title is What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience and Healing.
- 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
Aflac of Columbus concentrates on the U.S. and Japan
Aflac, based in Columbus, is a leading writer of voluntary insurance coverage. Founded in 1955 by brothers John, Paul and William Amos and incorporated as American Family Life Insurance Company, the company grew from 6,426 policyholders in 1956 to more than 50 million policyholders worldwide today.
Viewed historically, growth followed a number of innovations and management decisions. Expanding from life insurance, American Family Life pioneered cancer insurance in 1958. Over the years the company added policies to cover accidents, disability, dental work, specified health events, hospital confinement, hospital intensive care, and long-term care.
Beginning in 1964 the company decided to focus sales on worksite settings. By 2003 more than 98 percent of the company’s policies were issued on a payroll-deduction basis, making Aflac the U.S. leader in that sales approach. The decision to sell insurance internationally grew from John Amos’s 1970 visit to the Osaka World’s Fair in Japan. In 1974 the American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, as it was then known, became the first U.S. company to sell insurance in Japan after the Allied occupation following World War II. For eight years the company monopolized Japan’s cancer insurance market. By 1994, 20 years after the company entered the Japanese market, its cancer life policy covered one out of four Japanese households.
In 1989 the holding company adopted a new trade name, Aflac. American Family Life had been unofficially calling itself Aflac since 1988. The name change set the company apart from the many others that included the word “American” in their names. Advertising campaigns of the 1990s dramatically increased name recognition of Aflac. In 2000 the company initiated an advertising campaign featuring a duck, which has become well known. A USA Today/Harris poll showed this campaign to be one of the best liked of that year.
John Amos, one of the original founders, served as president and chair of the company from 1955 until his death in 1990. After John’s death, his brother Paul Amos became chair, while his brother William Amos continued as an executive. At the same time, Paul’s son Daniel Amos, whom John had chosen as his successor, assumed the role of chief executive officer and later became chair upon Paul’s retirement in 2001. Daniel Amos had earned a degree in business and risk management from the University of Georgia before beginning work with the company in 1973 as a regional sales director.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Low-light photo has a story behind it
Today’s Mystery Photo we would rate as especially difficult. First, it’s not a high quality photo, and on top of that, it’s dark, to emphasize the decorations. But it is of some historic significance. See if you can determine where this was taken, and give some background about the photo. Send your answer to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown. And since this is the last day you can vote, have you cast your ballot in the Georgia primary today?
Several readers quickly recognized the recent and distinctive Mystery Photo. Holly Moore of Suwanee wrote: “This is The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala. Opened in 2018 this memorial reflects on and honors the victims of racial violence in the United States, particularly the victims of racial terror lynching. The six acre site also contains exhibits detailing the devastation and humiliation of segregation and Jim Crow laws and the resulting mass northern migration of many southern African Americans.” The photograph came from Pam Brooks of Norcross.
Others recognizing it were Michael Gagnon, Flowery Branch; Bob Foreman, Grayson; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; Virginia Klaer, Duluth; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex.
Graf wrote: “More than 4,400 African American men, women, and children were hanged, burned alive, shot, drowned, and beaten to death by white mobs between 1877 and 1950. Millions more fled the South as refugees from racial terrorism, profoundly impacting the entire nation. Until now, there has been no national memorial acknowledging the victims of racial terror lynchings. On a six-acre site atop a rise overlooking Montgomery, the national lynching memorial is a sacred space for truth-telling and reflection about racial terror in America and its legacy.”
Peel suggested: “I would encourage the readers to visit the web site of the Legacy Museum (https://museumandmemorial.eji.org) for more history and background.”
Jackson EMC crew is top team in Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo
A journeyman lineman team from Jackson EMC was named the top overall team competing at the Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo, held May 7 in Fort Valley, Ga. The event draws linemen from across the state to compete in a series of events in traditional lineman skills and tasks. Jackson EMC’s competitors for the Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo were (from left, first row): Jonathan Woodring, Jeremy Adams, Matt Tolar, Kaleb Chapman, T.J. Witherell, Michael Rodriquez, Walt Palmer, Carter Kelling, Devin Triplett, Salvador Mendoza, Austin Gragg, Josh Franklin and Justin Cash. On the second row are Bryan Futral, Ben Adams, Austin Yearwood, Shawn Thurston, Austin Crouse, John Wills, Matthew Nash and Austin Lewis.
Gwinnett schools to offer summer meal program
A new amateur group, Contemporary Classics Theater, will present a concert version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on Saturday, May 28 at 7 p.m. at the Norcross Community Center. Admission is $40 per person.
19th annual Memorial Day observance will be May 30 at 1 p.m. at the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial in Lawrenceville at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. Keynote speaker will be Gwinnett County Commissioner Lt. Col. (Ret) Jasper Watkins.
School may soon be out but summer meals are in! From May 31 through August 2, Gwinnett County is offering free grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. while supplies last. Curbside pick-up of nutritious meals is for 18 years or younger or those 19 years of age or older with a physical or mental impairment. See all 21 meal locations on GwinnettSummerMeals.com.
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