NEW for 12/13: On Rowen project; Rejecting political ads; Hiking surprise

GwinnettForum  |  Number 21.93  |  Dec.13, 2022

HERE’S A PERSPECTIVE RENDERING of what the new Rowen project in eastern Gwinnett County might look like once it matures. Groundbreaking ceremonies, which included the planting of trees, was held last week. For more, go to Today’s Focus below.

 IN THIS EDITION

TODAY’S FOCUS: Start of Rowen project means new focus for Gwinnett development
EEB PERSPECTIVE: One publisher has new policy: rejecting some political ads
ANOTHER VIEW: AT thru-hikers surprise TV crews awaiting The Freedom Train
SPOTLIGHT: Gwinnett County Public Library
FEEDBACK: Carpet bombing of TV political advertising leads to flipping
UPCOMING: Georgia Gwinnett researchers study food insecurity
NOTABLE: Gwinnett Chamber announced winners of 10 Small Business Awards
OBITUARIES: James “Jim” Wesley Ellis Jr. 
RECOMMENDED: Resie’s Restaurant in Duluth
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Architect William Jay designed many historic Savannah landmarks
MYSTERY PHOTO: First, find two people; then tell us where this photo was taken
CALENDAR: Gwinnett Parks plans holiday tour of Gwinnett

TODAY’S FOCUS

Start of Rowen project means new focus for Gwinnett development

Dignitaries at the Rowen ceremony on Friday included former County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash, current Chairman Nicole Hendrickson and Rowen President Mason Allstock. Photos provided.

By Brian Brodrick

AUBURN, Ga.  |  Gwinnett County began a new focus of activity last week, as ground was broken for Rowen, a 2,000-acre, non-profit-led knowledge community located near Auburn, equidistant from Atlanta and Athens off University Parkway. 

The Rowen Foundation hosted a formal groundbreaking and tree planting ceremony with more than 150 dignitaries on hand, including Governor Brian Kemp, Gwinnett Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson and Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux. During the ceremony, the Governor, chairwoman, congresswoman and others planted the first tree on site to signify the beginning of a growing, thriving community. Rowen President Mason Allstock said this “was the beginning of accelerating economic, educational and community growth in Georgia and beyond.”

“The site that will house all kinds of businesses driven by innovation,” said Governor Kemp. “This project both connects our universities physically and also connects their programs, their research, and most importantly, their students. Because of the foresight of local and state leaders and the team at Rowen, Georgia and the world beyond will benefit from the ideas of the future in agriculture, environment, and medicine that will originate here.

“We are blessed in Gwinnett County to have a wealth of economic opportunities that support innovation and job growth, but one of our greatest is Rowen, the first of its kind in Georgia,” said Gwinnett County Commission Chair Nicole Hendrickson. “This groundbreaking is the culmination of key partners coming together over the past two years to lay the foundation for this vision initially set by my predecessors. This vision and foresight is the epitome of the Gwinnett Standard and I could not be more excited to see Rowen finally getting underway.”

The site will eventually include more than 22 million square feet of lab, office and civic spaces alongside a mix of multi-family residential, cafes, start-up hubs, parks and public trails. Initial work will include horizontal infrastructure such as SITES-certified complete streets, trails, sidewalks and a variety of utilities. The new roads will create access to the Rowen Village area as well as medium- and low-density areas of the site for development. 

EEB PERSPECTIVE

One publisher has new policy: Rejecting some political ads

By Elliott Brack 
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum

DEC. 13, 2022  |  Georgia’s runoff election put the state in the political spotlight. With the way political campaigns work, it also targeted the state for a barrage of political advertising that the two Senate runoff candidates generated. Boy, did they fund them! And boy, did we all get tired of them!

Besides the constant barrage of television commercials, another aspect was the harsh way many of the advertisements railed against their opponent. It certainly could propel some would-be candidates to think “I’m not putting my family through that.”

However, don’t primarily  blame the politicos for these drawbacks to democracy. After all, there is no requirement that TV stations (or newspapers) must run these advertisements. A new development came recently when one media company decided that it had enough of the political attack advertisements, in particular. All Trib Total Media of Tarentum, Penn. has a new policy in regard to these commercials, as it told its audiences: “They (political ads) can be about the candidate, but not about the opponent.”

Hurrah for Jennifer Bertetto, president and CEO of All Trib Total Media, of suburban Pittsburgh. 

Bertetto

She said in announcing the policy: “First, this change is meant to better serve our readers. Candidates will seek votes by describing their virtues and explaining their platforms. The reader can decide if the pitch adds up — without being confused by claims and criticism about another candidate.

“But, overall, this new policy is our response to political ads that coarsen and cheapen politics. We’re just one media outlet, serving a local audience in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Yet, as we act to create a more constructive setting for political advocacy, we also hope that other media consider a similar move.”

You also need to know that this new policy does not come from some upstart publication or radical publisher. Jennifer Bertetto, before the new policy was announced, was recently named “Publisher of the Year” by the national trade journal Editor and Publisher. It cited her previous experience as someone “who has risen above the rest and accomplished what seems like the impossible, outmaneuvering the competition, outthinking the future and maintaining profitability.”

She became head of All Trib Total Media in 2014, after the death of the previous company owner, Richard Scaife. Wikipedia notes of Scaife: “Richard Mellon Scaife was an American billionaire, a principal heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and the owner and publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In 2005, Scaife was number 238 on the Forbes 400, with a personal fortune of $1.2 billion.” Scaife was known for his conservative instincts. 

What the new publisher, Ms. Bertetto, has shown is that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Media people don’t have to automatically accept every new dollar that is thrown their way. They can have policies about what they accept for publication or be aired.  Freedom of the press can also mean that they can reject what to them is offensive  – in any way. 

However, for certain, it’s not every day that newspapers or TV stations put up a defensive net for their readers and viewers, and reject advertising money aimed at them.  We would like to see them reject more advertising….including some of the outlandish claims that advertisers make.  But all too often, principle is out the door, and going to the bank reigns.

Hurrah for Jennifer Bertetto. The trade journal knew what it was doing when it named her Publisher of the Year.

(Thanks to Tommy Purser of the Jeff  Davis Ledger in Hazlehurst for putting us onto to this story.) 

ANOTHER VIEW

AT thru-hikers surprise TV crews awaiting The Freedom Train

By David Simmons

NORCROSS, Ga.  |  Back in 1988, my best friend, Dave Morley (DAM, his initials) and I were about to begin our thru hike of the Appalachian Trail (AT) after months of planning.

Two Daves, Dave Simmons and Dave Morley, in hiking garb.

Amtrak was our chosen method of transportation to get us from Dallas, Tex. to Gainesville, Ga.  Our train route took us up through St. Louis, to Chicago. There our train continued eastward through the visually impressive confluence of the mighty Allegheny and Monongahela rivers that form the Ohio River at Pittsburgh, Penn. and to Washington, D.C.,  then south to Gainesville.

Unbeknownst to us, our train once in Chicago was to be labeled “The Freedom Train.” There it filled with hundreds and hundreds of Democratic Party loyalists, who gathered together in Chicago, to catch the train to Washington, D.C., for a rally in support of the overthrow of Reaganomics and Republican Presidential Candidate George Herbert Walker Bush. There had to be thousands of details that went into making the Freedom Train happen. And it was well publicized, though we didn’t know of it before we got to Chicago.

We had commandeered the very last row of seats in the last car, no caboose, well before we got to Chicago, and it was to become the Freedom Train.  If you have ever gone to Union Station in D.C. by train, you would know that the trains pull past the station and then back up to the unloading platforms there. When we backed into Union Station all the local TV news crews were there with their cameras rolling, live on air.  It was a big deal, locally and nationally.

So, as the train backed into the station, we saw the TV news cameras rolling, recording the historic moment, as they filmed the arrival of the “Freedom Train.” As the train shuddered to a stop, the cameramen turned their cameras to the back of the train to record the arrival and the Freedom Train and disembarking of the Democratic party loyalists.

In professional hushed tones, the reporters spoke of the historic arrival and the great societal impact of “The Freedom Train.” As it worked out, DAM and I, grungy and bearded after two and a half  days on the train, backpacks on and walking sticks in hand, were the first off the train and into the glare of the television lights as the reporters rushed up.

Surprised and amused by all the attention around our arrival in D.C., we raised our staffs in salute to the assembled media, and just about then one of them yelled out, “CUT…….… dammit!” Ahhh….fleeting fame, it just wasn’t to be for us!

The two AT hikers were not what the media wanted. All that planning and preparation they must have put in for “The Freedom Train” arrival and they never realized who was to exit the train into the spotlight.  Like they say, the best laid plans…..

The newsmen had no interest in us, so we switched trains for the next Amtrak to Georgia. There the two of us caught a ride to the AT at Springer Mountain and hiked our way 708 miles into the Shenandoah National Forest in northern Virginia. 

At that point we realized our meager finances and equipment were not suitable for finishing the thru-hike. While DAM’s circumstances prevented him from continuing, I scrimped and saved, and resumed my hike in 1990.  I became the 2,048th person to complete the AT on October 22, 1990.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Gwinnett County Public Library

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  • For more information about Gwinnett County Public Library programs and services, visit www.gwinnettpl.org
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FEEDBACK

Carpet bombing of TV political advertising leads to flipping

Editor, the Forum: 

Let me say that I cannot understand the value of the constant barrage of political ads on television on both sides. Are there really studies that show by carpet bombing the voters with the same advertisement day and day out that it really makes a difference?  

We are so worn down that we either mute the ads or record the show and flip through the commercials.  

– Wes Nettleton, Grayson

Dear Wes: You are not alone in your thoughts. And you are the inspiration for the comments by the editor in the Forum today. –eeb

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.

UPCOMING

Georgia Gwinnett researchers study food insecurity

Student Brittany Conklin is conducting ethnographic research as part of her internship with the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry. Photo provided.

By Collin Elder  |  The growth of food insecurity among families has accelerated in recent years, according to Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) faculty members Dr. Jenna Andrews-Swann and Dr. Gregory Gullette.

Elder

The pair, who teach anthropology at GGC, along with their students, seek to study the physical, social and emotional effects of food insecurity among underserved populations in the Atlanta metro region (AMR).

Students on the research team are interning with local nonprofits like the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry and Harvest Gwinnett, a network of community gardens throughout Gwinnett County, to conduct ethnographic research. This includes noting the observations and behaviors of people depending on these community entities for food, conducting interviews and collecting survey responses to better understand these organizations and the clients they serve. This data will be carefully analyzed and shared so the project might positively impact efforts to improve food access in the region. 

Dr. Andrews-Swann says:  “a thing that people often feel shame about – not being able to provide for yourself or your children – and the students go above and beyond to be as open and warm as they can be.”

Dr. Gullette says research collected so far is compelling and paints a picture that is complex and moving. One of the students’ interview recordings details the story of an older woman who recently lost her husband and now goes to one of the co-ops for food and advice.  “She’s never had a job, never handled her own finances,” says Gullette.  Such people often rely on nonprofit staff to learn skills they’ve been unable to acquire.

Brittany Conklin, 25, an environmental science major living in Grayson, is working with these communities. She recalled one man, a favorite of the other volunteers, who picks up food for four of his neighbors.  “A volunteer told me that the man, a native of Uganda, has chosen to live well below his means here in the U.S. so he can do more to help those in his community,” says Conklin. 

Christin Cain, 19, a junior environmental science major from Norcross, finds that:  “This research project is teaching me the ropes of community outreach. It allows me to see firsthand how the people of low-income communities are affected by issues like affordable housing or food access.”  

Cain said those issues also include access to dependable retail stores for clothing, access to greenspaces and safe parks, and even healthy air quality. Individuals who utilize food banks and community gardens gain access to some of those amenities. 

Andrews-Swann adds: “All of this is made possible through a GGC seed grant that funds our student research.” The grant provides students the opportunity to complete their required internship as well as earn a paycheck, all while interacting with and supporting each other. “The students are doing great work,” says Andrews-Swann, “which is testament to the impact that these students can have on their communities.” 

Gullette follows with: “While other types of experiential learning programs advanced by colleges and universities might focus on breadth, or a high number of experiences, we wanted to focus on depth by giving students the opportunity to connect with one project over a longer period of time – one year. The research will continue through mid-2023.

Deadline is Jan. 31 to apply for Washington Youth Tour

 Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) is accepting applications for the annual Washington Youth Tour, sponsored by the nation’s electric cooperatives. Jackson EMC will send four student delegates on an all-expense paid leadership development experience to Washington, D.C., June 15-22, 2023.

Current high school sophomores and juniors in the Jackson EMC service region who have demonstrated leadership potential, academic success and community service may apply directly online at www.jacksonemc.com/wyt  or through their high school guidance counselor or teacher, who may nominate candidates for consideration.  Applications must be received at Jackson EMC by 5 p.m. on January 31, 2023.

Finalists will interview on Feb. 20, 2023, with a panel of business, community and university leaders to be one of Jackson EMC’s four delegates to receive the Washington Youth Tour leadership experience. 

Sponsored by the nation’s electric cooperatives since 1958, the Washington Youth Tour is a weeklong, intensive tour designed to build leadership skills while educating young people. 

NOTABLE

Gwinnett Chamber announces winners of 10 Small Business Awards

Winners have been announced of the Gwinnett Chamber’s annual Small Business Awards. The program named ten winners among the best in the region for exceptional business practices and entrepreneurial excellence.

Nick Masino, president and CEO, Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett, noted in the awards presentation that “Ninety-nine percent of all businesses in Georgia are small businesses, making this industry a critical component to the future of our economic health and well-being. We are honored to champion these amazing individuals and organizations through today’s program and want to congratulate the nominees, finalists, and winners on their incredible success this year.”

Rikki Klaus, producer for CNN, emceed the awards program, calling out each of the ten winners by name and category to come to the stage and receive their award. Category winners included:

  • Community Contributor Award – Annandale Village;
  • Culture Creator Award – Virguez Law;
  • Emerging Entrepreneur Award – Elizabeth M’balu Oke – PivotPath;
  • Founder Award – Grace Fricks – Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs;
  • Launch Award – Byron Hospitality;
  • Minority-Owned/Woman-Owned Business Award – 32 Pearls Family Dentistry;
  • Small Business (0-5 Employees) Award – Cartridge World (Lawrenceville);
  • Small Business (6-24 Employees) Award – El-Amin Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Institute;
  • Small Business (25+ Employees) Award – Capital Restoration;  and
  • Support System Award – Atlanta Chinese Entrepreneurs Club
  • Have a comment?  Send to: elliott@brack.net

OBITUARIES

James “Jim” Wesley Ellis Jr. 

James “Jim” Wesley Ellis Jr., age 90, of Duluth, peacefully entered into the presence of his Lord and Savior on Friday, December 9, 2022, at his residence surrounded by his loving family.

Ellis

Funeral services for Jim will be held on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 11a.m. at Johns Creek Baptist Church with Dr. Shaun King and Rev. David White officiating. Burial will follow at Peachtree Memorial Park, Peachtree Corners. The family will gather on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. in the Peachtree Corners Chapel of Crowell Brothers Funeral Homes and Crematory.

Jim was born January 5, 1932, in Atlanta to the late James Wesley Ellis and the late Elizabeth Freeman Ellis; also preceding Jim in death were his sons, William Gregory Ellis and James “Jimmy” Edward Ellis; sisters, Ann Hayes and Betty Turner.

Jim was a member of Johns Creek Baptist Church for over 15 years where both he and Billie were active in Sunday school. Jim enjoyed golf, tennis and fishing. Times dearest to Jim were trips to Vero Beach with his family where he enjoyed time spent with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Mr. Ellis was known for his generosity, his concept of giving back is something that he and Billie instilled in their children and it now has carried on from generation to generation to become part of the Jim Ellis Automotive Group DNA. Through the Jim and Billie Ellis Foundation, the company has donated over $50 million to local organizations. He and Billie’s leadership has inspired their children and the company’s employees to give back to the community.

Struggling to make something out of limited resources was not foreign to Mr. Ellis. When he was 10 years old, he and his family moved to the Atlanta Prison Farm property. His father was the foreman of the prison farm and his grandfather was the superintendent. Growing up, Mr. Ellis worked on a farm, had a milk and paper route, did construction, ran a concessions business at Grant Park, and ran a laundry route. By the time he completed West Georgia College and Georgia State University in 1957 with a BBA in general management, he had worked as a prison guard and foreman, sold insurance, IBM Machines and real estate, and held various other jobs to work his way through college. 

After returning from serving two years in the U.S. Army, Mr. Ellis held a variety of jobs until he found his place in the automobile business with General Motors in 1960. In 1970, Jim Ellis and his wife Billie had an opportunity to establish their own automobile dealership. They took the biggest financial plunge of their lives, sold several of their assets, used all of their savings, cashed in Billie’s retirement fund from over 15 years at Georgia Tech, and borrowed the balance to begin Jim Ellis Volkswagen in 1971.

What began as a significant business risk turned into a growing and thriving business for the Ellis family over the years to follow. As a result, the Ellis family has been able to offer employment to thousands of Atlantans over the years and provide a business for future generations of the Ellis family to grow into and eventually manage.

Jim is survived by the love of his life of 69 years, Billie Sammons Ellis; daughters, Karen Ellis Black and Kristi Ellis Cohron; grandchildren, Stacey Ellis Hodges and husband Gregory; Brooke Ellis Gatlin and husband James, James Wesley Ellis III and wife Monica, Taylor Elizabeth Cohron, Trey Ellis Cohron; Tara Keltner and husband Jason, Sheyanne Navarro and husband Scott, Caroline Cohron; daughter-in-law, Glynnell Ellis; sister-in-law, Patricia Johnson; great-grandchildren, Ivie Ellis Gatlin, Tyler Gregory Gatlin, Ellen Grace Hodges, Andrew Davis Hodges, Asher Jacob Ellis, James Ryland Ellis, Camden Grant Ellis; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, extended family and dear and close friends

The family would like to contribute a gratitude of love and thankfulness for the care of Jim to Wendy Agbemashior, Jocely, Edetson, Georgia Mensah, Delphine Kedze, Sarah Johnnie and Lisa Aigbe.

In lieu of flowers Jim’s specific requests were that contributions be made to Atlanta Mission, or Norcross Cooperative Ministries, or Eagle Ranch, in honor of James “Jim” Wesley Ellis Jr.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.crowellbrothers.com. Arrangements entrusted to Crowell Brothers Funeral Homes and Crematory, Peachtree Corners.

RECOMMENDED

Resie’s Restaurant in Duluth

From Cindy Evans, Duluth: My husband, Mark, and I just ate at the newly_opened Resie’s in downtown Duluth for brunch, housed in the former Knox House.  They served food family style so all the food is brought to each table. There was fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, bacon, sausage, eggs, grits, potatoes, biscuits and much more! Our food was flavorful. The new dining spot is in a historic house and you can eat in different beautifully decorated rooms. There is space available upstairs for private parties as well. The service was excellent and it was a fun and different eating experience. It was $23.95/person. I would recommend it as a special splurge to do with friends and family over the holiday season. It  is located at 3579 West Lawrenceville Street in Duluth, and open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Sunday and closed Mondays. The web site is www.resiesrestaurant.com

  • 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 

GEORGIA TIDBIT

Architect William Jay designed many historic Savannah landmarks

William Jay was an English-trained architect who, from 1817 to 1820, practiced in Savannah, where he built Greek revival–style public buildings and fashionable neoclassical houses for the city’s wealthiest residents.

Jay was born in 1792 or 1793 in Bath, England, to a family of stonemasons. From 1807 to 1813 he apprenticed in London with the architect David Riddall Roper, who built mostly in the Greek revival and Gothic revival styles. Jay’s only known commission in London is the neoclassical-style Albion Chapel (1816), Moorgate, a square-shaped church with a recessed Ionic entry and a Pantheon-like dome.

In December 1817 Jay arrived in Savannah as the city’s premier architect and one of the best-trained architects in America. The Owens-Thomas House (1819), a commission he received through a family connection, was the first of a series of neoclassical-style mansions Jay designed and features a Regency-style side porch supported by foliated consoles (leaf-shaped decorative brackets). 

The interior plans of the William Scarbrough House (1819), which later became the headquarters for the Historic Savannah Foundation (1976-1991) and the Ships of the Sea Museum (1996-present), and the Alexander Telfair House (1819), which later became part of Telfair Museums, are configured in circular, oval, and elliptical shapes. In the Bulloch House (1818-19) Jay called for a dramatic spiral stair surrounded by Corinthian columns. Jay’s last commission in Savannah was the Bank of the United States (1821), an early Greek revival–style building dominated by a hexastyle (six-columned) Doric portico. During the years he worked in Savannah, Jay also practiced in South Carolina. In 1820 he was appointed architect of the South Carolina Board of Public Works, for which he provided designs for district courthouses and jails.

After returning to England in 1822, Jay produced designs for Pittville Parade, a large, six-unit row house. When the speculative Pittsville development failed in 1829, Jay went bankrupt and in 1836 was forced to accept the position of colonial architect and civil engineer on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. Jay worked on the island until his death in 1837 in Port Louis, Mauritius.

MYSTERY PHOTO

First, find two people; then tell us where this photo was made

Look carefully. Can you see two people in this photo?  Now, can you tell us where this photograph was taken?  Send your answers to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown. 

Several people recognized the most recent Mystery Photo.  Among them was Steve Ogilvie, Lawrenceville: “It’s the Hui Tz Tao Temple, which is a Taoist temple located at 1225 Satellite Boulevard in Suwanee. Never heard of Taoism before, but it made an interesting read this morning.”  

Stewart Woodard of Lawrenceville: “I believe this is the Hui Tz Tao Temple on Satellite Boulevard. It is Gwinnett county’s first Tao Temple.  And, Hui Tzi means ‘wisdom and mercy.’”

Allan Peel reports: “Today’s mystery photo is of the Hui Tz Tao Temple. Construction was started in 2007, and was built mostly by volunteers. The roof is made up of over 60,000 terra cotta tiles imported from Taiwan. There are two main floors of worship area inside the temple, and there is another section of the temple where Sunday school classes for children are held and where Tai Chi and Chinese painting techniques are taught.

“So what is Tao (which is pronounced ‘Dao’)? The general foreman of the construction site, Min Nan Sze, explains that ‘Tao is not to be confused with Taoism; Tao is for everyone with a conscience, and is not a religion. Tao is the basic truth of all teachings, and it includes all religions. If they drink the water and breathe the air, they belong to God, even if they don’t believe in God. Everybody has Tao’”

Also recognizing it were Lindsay Borenstein, Atlanta; Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; and Tim Sullivan, Buford.

The photo was made by George Graf of Palmyra, Va., during a recent visit.

(Editor’s note: there may have been others, but a computer glitch lost their names.—eeb)  

CALENDAR

Authors and desserts in Duluth: Join the Gwinnett County Public Library in Duluth for this event on December 15 at 7 p.m. Bestselling fiction authors Kimberly Brock, Piper Huguley and Alayne Smith will be in conversation with Emmy winner Kolinda Scialabba. Books will be on sale and signing.

Two concerts are scheduled by the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra on December 17,both at Johns Creek United Methodist Church, 11180 Medlock Bridge Road.  At 2:30 p.m. there will be a kid’s Christmas concert.  Then at 7:30 p.m., the orchestra will present a Christmas Pops Concert. To purchase individual concert tickets, visit johnscreeksymphony.org or call 678-748-5802.  

Holiday bus tour of Gwinnett will be December 18 from 3-7 p.m. provided by the Gwinnett Parks. Stops on the tour will be McDaniel Farm Park in Duluth; Chesser-Williams House in Buford; Gwinnett History Campus in Lawrenceville; and the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse. The bus will leave from the Lawrenceville female Seminary, 455 South Perry Street in Lawrenceville. Admission is $11. Guests must register at GwinnettParks.com.

The 14h annual Father-Daughter Valentine Dance will be February 10-11, being put on by the Kiwanis club of North Gwinnett. This year the event will be at the Braselton Civic Center.  Three dances are scheduled, from 7-9 p.m. on February 10; and on February 11 from 5-7 p.m. and from 8-10 p.m. All dances are $90 per couple, with $10 for each additional daughter. For tickets, visit: https://ngkc.bigtickets.com/father-daughter-dance-2023

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