GwinnettForum | Number 22.24 | April 7, 2023
A NEW CONVOCATION CENTER is coming to Georgia Gwinnett College, with a groundbreaking scheduled for April 11. The three-level, 72,280 square-foot building will feature a collegiate-sized basketball arena, a main event space with a seating capacity of 2,800, and a fitness/wellness space. The convocation center is part of a state-funded capital project that will include an infrastructure upgrade on GGC’s campus. University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue will speak at the April 11 groundbreaking. A release says that the new facility “will reshape life on the college’s campus for students, faculty and staff, and the community for generations to come.” Sports enthusiasts are asking: does this mean that GGC will get an intercollegiate basketball team? GwinnettForum will have more on that later.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Match Day: PCOM grads head for their residencies
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Native of Ecuador finding success in Gwinnett County
SPOTLIGHT: Mingledorff’s
ANOTHER VIEW: For the first time, Major League Baseball has added a clock
FEEDBACK: Most of our leaders have irresponsible fiscal policies
UPCOMING: Gwinnett buys parcels for new park at Promised Land
NOTABLE: Gwinnett Tech wins $25,000- Ellucian Impact Award
RECOMMENDED: Violeta by Isabel Allende
GEORGIA TIDBIT: New Hampshire native first UGA national history professor
MYSTERY PHOTO: Here’s a Southern mansion for you to identify
CALENDAR: Take online survey concerning the Piedmont Pathway
Match Day: PCOM grads head for their residencies
Chris Staley, left,of Atlanta is all smiles, shown with his family. The new PCOM grad, who attended Marist High School before graduating from Emory, is now headed to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for his residency
By Barbara Myers
SUWANEE, Ga. | One of the most important days in a medical student’s journey occurred this year on March 17. That was the day when PCOM Georgia’s fourth year medical students learned where they matched into residency programs and where they’ll spend their next three to seven years training in a specialty.
Prior to this day, students decided on their specialty of choice, interviewed, and ranked programs of interest. In turn, following interviews with students, residency program directors ranked their choices and a complex algorithm aligned the students and programs.
Tina Woodruff, senior advisor to the provost, PCOM Georgia, says that students achieved a 100 percent placement rate into postgraduate positions, as did students from PCOM South Georgia in Moultrie and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
According to residency placement lists, 34 percent of PCOM Georgia’s students will stay in Georgia to complete their residency programs. This percentage is an 85 percent increase in students staying in Georgia to complete residencies since 2016.
Students matched to such programs as anesthesiology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, emergency medicine at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, family medicine at Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta, Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Houston Healthcare in Warner Robins and Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta.
They also matched to programs including interventional radiology at Emory School of Medicine, pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia, psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and Piedmont Macon Medical Center in Macon, and surgery at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
Forty-nine percent of PCOM Georgia students matched to primary care specialties including family medicine, internal medicine, OB/GYN and pediatrics. Seventy four percent matched into programs identified by the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce as core specialty programs, including the four primary care specialties, in addition to psychiatry, emergency medicine and general surgery.
Andrea Mann, dean and chief academic officer of PCOM Georgia’s osteopathic medicine program said, “I am pleased that a large percentage of the PCOM Georgia Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2023 have chosen to continue their training in Georgia. Additionally, almost three quarters of our fourth year students will pursue careers in Georgia’s targeted core specialty areas. I could not be more proud of all of our students.”
The graduating students will start the next step in their journey on July 1 when they report to their residency positions as full-fledged doctors following commencement on May 23.
A separate military match occurred in December in which PCOM Georgia’s five students who are entering the armed services matched into medical specialties. They include emergency medicine at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, family medicine at Darnell Army Medical Center in Fort Hood, Texas, general surgery at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, internal medicine at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and psychiatry at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Michael Goodall, who grew up in Peachtree City, matched to pathology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. An Augusta University graduate, he said, “I am excited for this opportunity to learn pathology in the building across the street from where I first found my passion for laboratory medicine – the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University.
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Native of Ecuador finding success in Gwinnett County
Tomala. Photo provided.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
APRIL 7, 2023 | It’s been enjoyable to get to know Wilson Tomala, now a Gwinnettian, who came to this country from Ecuador as a 16 year old in 1975, who has a knack for business, and has become a success through his innovations and drive.
He is the owner of a Paul Davis restoration firm off Reps Miller Road in Norcross.
He has an entrepreneurial spirit. One of his early jobs was installing whitewall tires on automobiles. “Back then, vehicles were more appreciated if they had whitewall tires. I rented a machine and started working with dealers, charging $3 per tire. I sometimes had 15 cars to put the whitewall tires on. It was very profitable.”
That led to repairing what was then new…electric windows on automobiles. “People thought it was a mystery, but it was a simple mechanism, and I made a lot of money.”
Later he worked his way through college at Stony Brook University on Long Island, graduating as a mechanical engineer at age 22.
“I worked for Ebasco Services on the 83rd floor of the World Trade Center, signing off on air conditioners for nuclear power plants. After the Three Mile Island problems, I realized that it was unlikely there would be more nuclear plants built, so was with Brooklyn Union Gas for 16 years as director of research before being recruited by an air conditioning firm to come south in 1998.”
Two years later, after taking retirement from the corporate world. “My wife said it was now or never on opening my own business.” He purchased a Paul Davis franchise for restoration and remodeling work.
“By getting a franchise, I had a business model, but it was up to me to do what we could to find work. The franchisee gave you some of the tools, and given that I was an engineer, and had done some remodeling myself, for me the barriers were not significant.”
The company started out “with myself and one other person. We were in a 500 square foot office in Stone Mountain.” Today he has a staff of 30, and 26 vehicles emblazoned with the Paul Davis name.
The firm now has activity in five area counties. The firm does water, fire, smoke, wind and storm damage repair, mold remediation, and trauma and biohazard cleanup.
One of the reasons for his success is that the firm has built a solid reputation with insurance companies “…since we make repairs correctly, and stay focused on value.” The company also has ties with property management firms, business development people, and property improvement companies.”
Tomala works closely with county fire departments. “For fire calls, we respond within one hour , and within four hours on insurance calls. For the Red Cross, we provide emergency clothing needs, find people a place to stay and initiate claim processes.”
Though Tomala is now age 64, he has no plans to retire. “My father sold his last business when he was 84. I’m now the president and general manager; I want to be just the president, and not deal with day-to-day items, but be the visionary.”
Tomala and his wife, Alexandria, originally from Colombia, live in Peachtree Corners and have three sons. Gabriel, 27, and Sebastian, 24, live in Atlanta, while Nickolas, 15, is a student at St. Pius High.
- 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.
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For the first time, Major League Baseball has added a clock
(Editor’s note: the following was an invocation given for The Rotary Club of Atlanta, on March 27, 2023, and is reprinted with permission.–eeb)
By the Rev. Sam Candler
Dean, Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip
Candler
ATLANTA, Ga.—Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock is ticking. Tick. Tick. Tick.
The major league baseball season is about to start, and they have added a clock to baseball.
Let us pray! O Lord, my God, they have added a clock to baseball, the sport we once worshipped for its lack of a clock.
Many of us have adored the sport of baseball, because it has been like you, O God. It has not been run by clock. It has been like God, everlasting and eternal, unable to be contained by our human-made concoctions, like time.
Theoretically, baseball has had no boundaries. If a player reaches over beyond the fence and catches a ball in the stands, beyond the bounds of the field, the play is valid and the batter is out. In that same spirit of no boundaries, the Savannah Bananas say that even if a fan catches a foul ball in the stands, the batter is out.
Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken, Jr. both played in the famous minor league baseball game, on April 18 and 19, 1981, that lasted 33 innings. It was suspended at 3:30 am on Easter morning; as they were headed home, players saw people going to the Easter sunrise services.
Baseball has shown us the eternal, limitless, no-boundaried God.
But now, O God, Tick. Tick. Tick.
There is a clock.
There is a clock limiting the amount of time it takes a pitcher to throw the ball. The batter, too, has to be ready with eight seconds to go. Well, despite some alarm, spring training baseball seems to be working even with these new limits!
And, come to think of it, there should be a limit on how long the invocation at a Rotary meeting should take.
O Lord, our God, teach us to live within the constraints of “Chronos” time. Tick. Tick. Tick. It tells us when to show up. It tells us when time is up.
But teach us, also, to live in “Kairos” time, the beautiful time that is outside time. Show us moments of glory, that are so powerful that they exist beyond the clock. They are the moments in which we lose ourselves by serving someone, the moments in which we lose ourselves by loving someone, the moments in which we are taken outside ourselves. The moments when we are in touch with You, O glorious God.
We gather today in the name of the God who is outside time. The God of service. The God of love.
And, one more thing: Go Braves!
AMEN.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Most of our leaders have irresponsible fiscal policies
Editor, the Forum:
The April 4 GwinnettForum was another good issue, Mr. Editor, particularly the Gwinnett ties to the MLK statue. We could sure use some of his perspective these days. Most politicians (both sides of the aisle) are very adept at politics especially when it comes to fund raising activity!
I’m convinced that our “leaders”( including former leaders) do not understand or refuse to consider how irresponsible our fiscal policies have become, and have little common sense in the “social” policies being implemented. We shouldn’t let politics give us heartburn.
– John Moore, Duluth
Wants media to be more even-handed in reporting
Editor, the Forum:
Mike Eberlein of Peachtree Corners recently castigated me for implying I didn’t want Trump criticized for anything. Totally false. All I really want is for media to be even-handed and at least half way fair. There is no law law requiring media to be impartial but at least media of the past gave some semblance of fairness. If Trump does bad things, then criticize Trump for his offenses and when President Biden acts badly, shouldn’t we expect to see his transgressions similarly broadcast to the world instead of hearing “crickets”?
I don’t like Donald Trump and don’t want him to run in 2024. However, anyone who is paying attention can see that the media leans hard “left” and holds Trump to a much higher and different standard. Journalism schools no longer produce reporters but produce left-leaning activists as evidenced by the fact that over 93 percent of journalism students identify as Democratic. Some feel the active media financially support Democrats by a similar amount. How dare they call themselves journalists because they are now reduced in stature to being media hacks.
I might caution those Democratic journalists that the current protections are provided by the First Amendment, but by only supporting the Democratic Party, they are supporting the very party most likely to remove the protections they currently enjoy. Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Americans deserves media that practices honest journalism and is willing to criticize the wrongdoings of all politicians regardless of party affiliation. Mr. Eberlain, am I really asking for anything unreasonable?
– Ernest Wade, Loganville
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.
Gwinnett buys parcels for new park at Promised Land
Gwinnett County plans to acquire two parcels of land and create a new park at the Promised Land community off Georgia Highway 124 south of Snellville.
Gwinnett County already owns four adjacent parcels of land, including the historic Maguire-Livsey Big House at the Promised Land.
The acquisition of these remaining parcels will be the culmination of years of work with the Livsey family, and in particular, Thomas Livsey Sr., to restore and preserve the area in and around the Maguire-Livsey Big House. Gwinnett County purchased the house from the Livsey family in 2017, followed over the next two years by the purchase of three adjacent properties necessary for the park.
When combined with the properties already owned by the County, the two additional parcels will allow Gwinnett County to develop a park to preserve the Big House and adjacent land along with its 200-year history. The past century of the property’s history represents a time when descendants of slaves from the plantation that once occupied the area purchased land and created a thriving African American community.
Criterium 2023 Bike Race is April 16 in Peachtree Corners
The Curiosity Lab Criterium 2023 bike race will be held in Peachtree Corners on April 26. Professional cyclists will descend on Technology Parkway as part of “Speed Week” and participate in a series of races on the streets of Peachtree Corners within the living laboratory environment of Curiosity Lab. The six-race series will begin at 3:30 p.m. with the women’s amateur division and conclude with the men’s professional division beginning at 8:10 p.m.
The Speed Week Series is a premier week-long event on the USA Cycling professional circuit that draws cyclists from around the world, including Olympic Medalists as well as world and national champions. In 2022, the professional men’s and women’s events drew cyclists from 36 states and 19 countries.
Bring the whole family and enjoy the racing, the food trucks, and the exhibits featuring new cycling and safety technologies. Bring a bike for your little ones as we will hold kids’ races at 5:45 p.m. (in three age categories of 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8) along a 100-yard flat course in front of city hall.
Library Foundation gains four board members
Gordon
McCormick
McCurdy
Four people have been named to the Gwinnett County Public Library Foundation board of directors, Chair Erica McCurdy announces.
They are Erin McCormick, general manager, Gwinnett Stripers; Claire Gordon, vice president and senior relationship manager for commercial banking at Bank of America; Paul Oh, director of public policy and community affairs for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce; and Aysha Treadwell, author and business consultant.
Treadwell
Oh
The foundation is a separate legal entity formed for the purpose of enhancing and expanding library programs and services. Its primary function is to secure financial and in-kind donations for programs, services, collections, and capital projects.
Mercer Pharmacy and GGC enter into transfer agreement
Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) recently signed a transfer admission agreement that will enable GGC students to receive priority applicant status for the College of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy program.
Under the terms of the agreement, students in this pathway program will complete their prerequisites and part of their bachelor’s degree requirements at GGC before enrolling in Mercer’s Pharm.D. program. They will then be able to transfer back the first year of Mercer’s Pharm.D. program credits to fulfill the requirements for their bachelor’s degree at GGC. An advantage of the program is that it will save GGC students a year in earning their bachelor’s degrees. The program also provides enhanced advising from a Mercer pre-pharmacy adviser each year of their undergraduate studies.
Dr. Chavonda Mills, dean of GGC’s School of Science and Technology, says: “With this agreement, our students now have a guided and accelerated pathway to Mercer University’s Pharm.D. program, saving them both time and tuition dollars.”
Spring brings plenty of shows to Aurora Theatre
Spring has officially sprung, and Aurora Theatre invites the community to join in for a month filled with fun! Children’s Playhouse shows include The Princess and the Pea, Y’all and Digger’s Dino Show. Brenda Nicole Moorer and the Sistas of Soul are set to bring the house down with concerts this month, while comedian David Perdue is sure to have audiences in stitches. Teatro Aurora has a busy month ahead with an outdoor extravaganza in honor of Día de los Niños y Niñas and a comedy show, Comedia: Ni De Aquí, Ni de Allá. Aurora Academy will give families a preview of what’s to come this summer at the Summer Camp Open House & One-Day Sale. To see the schedule, visit this link.
Gwinnett Tech wins $25,000 Ellucian Impact Award
Gwinnett Technical College has been awarded the Ellucian Impact Award for Staff Empowerment at the 2023 Ellucian Live Conference in New Orleans, La. The award recognized Gwinnett Tech for its work utilizing technology to retain and grow staff and enabling staff to be change agents for student success. Aside from the physical award received at the conference, winning means Gwinnett Tech will receive a $25,000 prize. The College will use the prize money for the Student Affairs team’s training and professional development opportunities and celebrate their accomplishments and hard work. Felicia Ailster accepted the award for Gwinnett Tech at this conference. The Ellucian Impact Award recognizes institutions using technology to solve challenges, operate more efficiently, and offer a better student experience.
GGC introduces autism endorsement program
Georgia Gwinnett College’s (GGC) School of Education has introduced an autism endorsement program for licensed teachers and other certified professionals. An autism endorsement program increases one’s knowledge in the area of teaching students with autism spectrum disorders. The program consists of nine hours of training that will be delivered online. GGC is one of nine USG institutions offering the Autism endorsement.
Dr. Matthew Boggan, professor of special education at GGC, said the program was created to respond to an increase in the number of students with autism in Gwinnett County K-12 students.
He adds: “Working closely with Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), we learned there has been a rapid rise in students enrolling in GCPS who have autism – an increase of about 1,400 students with autism from 2013 to 2020, according to the school systems data,” he said. “Knowing that these numbers were rising at a fast pace in the local area and the emergent need for expanded teacher training, we modified our curriculum to include more training in autism for GCPS and other Georgia school districts.”
Boggan said GGC students who graduate with a Bachelor of Science in special education will earn both a special education teaching license in the general curriculum, along with the autism endorsement, which was approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. He said the standalone nine-hour autism endorsement program for licensed educators and other certified professionals will be available in the summer.
Violeta by Isabel Allende
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: Violeta born in 1920 is the only girl in a family of five boys. Her life is marked by momentous events, including the Great War, Spanish Influenza and division in her country. As Violeta moves through life, she meets events with courage, gusto, and passion. Early in her life she meets a man who will dominate a large portion of her life until she builds the strength needed to forge her own way. She assumes leadership in her family through many perilous situations, including the collapse of the family fortune. Even the most perilous and painful circumstances are shared with a pragmatism that makes her a relatable and admirable person. As she moves forward, aging gracefully, she remains active with a grateful heart. Violeta is one of Isabel Allende’s most moving and event- filled novels. It is not to be missed.
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
New Hampshire native first UGA national history professor
Malthus Ward was the first professor of natural history at the University of Georgia, as well as a founding member of the Horticultural Society of Georgia.
Malthus Augustus Whitworth Ward was born in Haverhill, N.H., on February 11, 1794, to Elizabeth Whitworth and Joshua Ward. As a young man, Ward apprenticed to a local doctor and attended a course of lectures at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire before striking out on his own in 1815. After working for a time in Pennsylvania and Indiana, Ward returned to the Northeast in 1823 to pursue a degree from the Medical School of Maine at Bowdoin.
Upon graduation, Ward moved to Salem, Mass. There, with the assistance of old family ties and the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was a college friend, he set up a medical practice. In addition to medical work, Ward participated in a number of social and scholarly associations. He lectured on botany, horticulture, and chemistry and was a founding member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
In 1825 Ward became superintendent of the East India Marine Society, which later became the prestigious Peabody Essex Museum. While there, he supervised an update of the museum’s catalog of artifacts and organized the opening of a new hall to house the society’s extensive natural history specimens.
The University of Georgia elected Ward to fill its chair of natural history in 1831. He settled in Athens with his family and taught mineralogy, geology, and botany. As part of his duties, Ward created a university botanical garden adjacent to his residence. Though the garden disappeared long ago, Ward’s home on Dearing Street, including some of the trees he planted, is now part of a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1842 the university experienced economic problems, resulting in Ward’s dismissal. His zeal for the natural world undiminished, he operated a commercial garden in Athens and helped found the Horticultural Society of Georgia and the Pomological Society.
Ward died on May 7, 1863. He and his wife, Eliza Cheever Ward, had three daughters. His grave in Oconee Hill Cemetery remained unmarked until 1987, when the Athens Garden Club restored the grave site and installed a stone recognizing his significant contributions to Georgia horticulture.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Here’s a Southern mansion for you to identify
The Mystery Photo today is a classic southern house. Your job is to identify where this was taken. Send your ideas to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
Wow! Many Gwinnettians must have visited Bar Harbor, Maine, as 18 readers got the recent Mystery Photo correct.
Fran Worrall of Lawrenceville wrote: “This is beautiful Bar Harbor, a coastal town on Mount Desert Island in southern Maine. Settled in 1763, the present name was adopted in 1918. Bar Harbor is linked to the mainland by bridge and is the terminus for the ferry service to and from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The town’s namesake—a sandbar—reveals itself at low tide and is used by kayakers to launch into the harbor or by hikers who want to explore Bar Island, which is part of Acadia National Park. As an aside, Bar Harbor is one of my favorite places, and I’ve eaten at Testa’s (in the photo)!”
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. sent along other details:
- Vice President Nelson Rockefeller was born in Bar Harbor and during the Gilded Age (1878 – 1889), the town rivaled Newport Beach as the summer resort for wealthy prominent families, including the Rockefellers, Fords, Vanderbilts, Carnegies and Astors.
- “Bar Harbor has only 5,200 year-round residents but receives over 3.3 million visitors each year, making it one of the top ten most popular summer destinations in the USA.
- “Bar Harbor visitors consume roughly 5,316,000 lobsters every year!”
Others getting this spotting correct include Steve Spellman, Dunwoody; Billy Chism, Toccoa; Lindsay Borenstein, Atlanta; Virginia Klaer, Duluth; Dan Mackaben, Lawrenceville; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; Stew Ogilvie, Lawrwenceville: Michael Blackwood, Duluth; Jim Cofer, Snellville; Mikki Dillon, Lilburn: “I know it’s Bar Harbor, Maine and it’s the street that leads down to the harbor and docks. Been there photographing at sunrise twice and sunset once. That lobster sign gave it away;” Mickey Merkle, Berkeley Lake; John Moore, Duluth; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; Kay Montgomery, Duluth; and Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.
>>> SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: elliott@brack.net and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
POSTPONED: Duluth Rotary Club’s Car Show, originally scheduled for April 8, has been postponed after a weather forecast predicted rain. The show will be rescheduled for a later date to be determined.
Piedmont Pathway survey: Gwinnett County is seeking input from residents on the development of a trail that will ultimately connect several counties. The Piedmont Pathway Study explores how the 28-mile, cross-county trail can be built and its impact on the environment. The County will use the Piedmont Pathway to address connectivity needs in Gwinnett and provide alternate modes of transportation for residents and visitors. The trail will also increase access to recreation and greenspace and enhance connectivity to Gwinnett’s neighboring counties — DeKalb, Fulton, and Barrow. To take the online survey, visit GwinnettCounty.com/PathwayStudy.
Lunch and Learn: How to Become an Entrepreneur. Learn how to start your own business and how to create a lender-ready business plan. Lunch will be provided. This will be held on Tuesday, April 11, at 11 a.m. at the Norcross Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library.
Social Security 101 Workshop will be held Thursday, April 13, at 11 a.m. at the Five Forks Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library. Join a Social Security Administration Specialist to learn about retirement benefits, Medicare, and services the Social Security Administration provides.
Heritage Hall Lecture Series No. 2 will be held April 15 at Salem Missionary Baptist Church, 4700 Church Street, in Lilburn. The special guest lecturer will be Dr. Michael Gagnon, professor of History, Georgia Gwinnett College. The subject will be ‘Slavery In Gwinnett. Come hear and learn about an important aspect of our history!
How Georgia Turned Purple is the title of a new book by Greg Bluestein of The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. He will appear at the Duluth Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library on Thursday, April 20 at 8. p. m. to host a lively look at the players and issues reshaping Georgia and American politics. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Citizenship Clinic will be Friday, April 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lawrenceville Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library. Invest in your future by applying for United States Citizenship. Get free assistance in completing your naturalization application. Pre-registration is required.
The Braselton Artisan Festivals are held throughout the year, with the two biggest Artisan Festivals featuring 300+ vendors in April and October. In addition to vintage treasures and handmade finds, the April 21-23 show includes plants, yard art, outdoor furniture, and everything needed to celebrate spring. The event in 2023 is the festival’s 20th year!
Community Recycling will be Saturday, April 22, from 9 a.m. until noon at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, sponsored by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, Co-hosted with Gwinnett County Solid Waste. Items to be collected that day will include latex and oil-based paints, electronics, tires, clothing, sneakers, and paper for shredding. This is an Earth Day event, and will include Touch-A-Truck, refreshments, a chance for residents to meet their haulers, opportunities to learn more about programs and services from various county departments, and more. It will be a “rain-or-shine” event.
Canning Workshop will be Saturday, April 22 at 11 a.m. at the Centerville Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library. Learn from Gwinnett County UGA Extension agents the different types of canning processes and prepare your own apple preserves. Limited space. Registration is required.
Climate Intervention Workshop will be held on Saturday, April 22 at 11 a.m. at the Norcross Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library. Are you concerned about climate change or just want to know what all the fuss is about? Join Climate Interactive Ambassadors to learn about MIT’s En-ROADS and explore solutions with this dynamic, interactive tool.
12th annual Family Promise Bed Race will be April 22 on the Historic Square in downtown Lawrenceville. The Parade of Beds is scheduled for 1030 a.m., with the races to begin at 11 a.m.
Join with the Gwinnett Historical Society for a new event at the Elisha Winn House on Sunday, April 23, from 2-4 p.m. It is co-hosted by the Society and Gwinnett County. Named “Way Back Winn,” it is intended to give attendees a chance to learn about times gone by with some fun thrown in, especially for kids. It showcases the most significant historic site in Gwinnett County, the place where the county took its first steps after creation by the Georgia Legislature on Dec. 15, 1818. There will be outdoor games, music, tours and refreshments.
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