Lifelong Duluth resident and its most recent Mayor Nancy Harris has become chair of the Hudgens Center for Art and Learning. Her two-year term began on Jan. 1, 2024. This will be the second time Harris has served as chair.
Harris
Laura Ballance, the executive director of the Hudgens Center , says: “We are fortunate to have someone with Nancy’s experience and passion for the arts as our chair. She has been a valuable asset and understands our needs and goals. She is the ideal person to move into this important role.”
Harris replaces Kate Awtrey-King, owner of Awtrey Media Group, whose tenure as chair began in 2020. Awtrey-King has now joined the Hudgens board of trustees.
Harris says: “Our main focus is going to be just keeping the Hudgens Center for Art and Learning alive and active. We will continue to send a message to the region and the county leadership that the Hudgens is an invaluable resource for our region. Our county is lucky to have it. I’m very passionate about the Hudgens and I’ve seen the positive value it brings.”
Harris has deep roots in the community. B.B. Harris Elementary School was named in honor of her father, B.B. Harris, a former Gwinnett County school superintendent. She served as principal there, as well as at Suwanee Elementary and Norton Elementary.
“When I was a principal, I pushed for my schools to be art-based schools,” Harris says. “All those experiences were preparing me to chair an art board. I’ve always had those passions to push forward.”
Harris was elected Mayor of Duluth in 2007 and recently completed her fourth term. She did not seek re-election. Under her guidance, Duluth experienced transformative construction projects that allowed the city to grow, yet still retain its historic charm.
Among her efforts was the creation of the non-profit Duluth Fine Art League. “This grassroots group helped the Duluth citizens start to want art and expect art,” she says. “It laid a good pathway for us to bring public art to the city.”
Harris holds her undergraduate and graduate degree from the University of Georgia and earned a specialist degree in educational administration from Georgia State University.
Her previous community involvement includes: the advisory board for Artworks! Gwinnett; past president of the Gwinnett Municipal Association; the board of the Gwinnett County Public Library Foundation; and the board of the Duluth Fall Festival.
Duluth group produces quilts for HelpingUkraine.us
Note the distinctive pattern in this Duluth quilt.
A dedicated quilting group known as “Nesty,” comprised of 15 retired women from Duluth, have completed 35 quilts to be donated to HelpingUkraine.us.
Established with a mission to combine camaraderie and community service, Nesty meets monthly to craft quilts destined for charitable causes. Through their collective efforts, they have not only formed deep friendships, but also found a meaningful way to give back to those in need.
Through her long-time-Rotarian husband, Bob, Nesty member Elleda Rule was connected to HelpingUkraine.us and was moved by their mission. She and her fellow Nesty members decided Ukraine should be the focal point of support for their latest endeavor. The Odesa People’s Church, in collaboration with Helpingukraine.us, will facilitate the delivery of these handcrafted quilts to villages in need across the region.
The hand off of the quilts will be on Monday, February 12 at 2 p.m. at the Millennium Gate Museum in Atlantic Station. Nesty quilters and Ukrainians will be in attendance to share their experiences.
The quilts will be on display at the Millennium Gate Museum until February 19 when the Frontlines Chaplain and Organization Director at Odesa People’s Church, Marina Serdichenko will leave for Ukraine.
Walton EMC grants 23 Gwinnett schools $130,868
It’s no secret that teachers often spend their own money in the classroom. Most could use more funds to help students learn and succeed.
Since 2016, Walton Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) has pitched in to help local educators accomplish their learning goals through its School EmPOWERment Grant program. The cooperative just completed the 2023-24 round of grant distributions across its 10-county service area.
A total of 59 public and private schools received 70 grants totaling almost $370,000 for programs spanning technology to literacy to fine arts and more. Grants ranged from $264 to $20,300 with the average being $5,243. Walton EMC CEO Ron Marshall says: “Many of these grants touch every student in the school that receives them.”
The grant money giveaway – almost $2.7 million since the program began eight years ago – doesn’t affect customer-owners’ power bills. That’s because the funds come from unclaimed refunds due to former customers whom the co-op can’t find.
“Our first priority as an electric co-op is providing safe, dependable and affordable electric power,” says Marshall. “Serving our community runs a close second. Our School EmPOWERment Grant program is a perfect example of how we bring community service to life.”
- To see where the EmPOWERment grants went in Gwinnett County, CLICK HERE.
Spring enrollment up 4% at Georgia Gwinnett College
With a new year comes new growth at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) as spring enrollment continues its upward trend. Preliminary numbers from the college’s enrollment management office place GGC’s student enrollment at 11,115, which is up four percent from this time last year.
Michael Poll, GGC’s vice president for enrollment management, says new student admission applications for the fall 2024 semester are currently running six percent ahead of fall 2023, which is an all-time high. Poll says he expects the trend to continue.
GGC’s retention rate, which measures the percentage of students who returned to the college from the previous year, has seen steady growth. Sixty-seven percent of first-year students returned to GGC for their second year in 2022. That retention number rose to 69 percent in 2023. The percentage of second-year students who returned to the college for a third year jumped to 50 percent in fall 2023, up from 43 percent the prior year.
Poll credits the upward trend in admissions to several strategies. The college’s Instant Decision Day events, where GGC admissions counselors provide on-the-spot admission decisions to eligible high-school seniors, have been expanded.
“Now, our goal is to offer that program twice a year – once in the fall and once in the spring – to all Gwinnett County public high schools,” he said.
Other recruitment strategies include expanded visits by the GGC admissions team to all five states that border Georgia, including Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. GGC offers a waiver to high school students in Georgia’s bordering states that allow them to attend the college as in-state students, paying in-state tuition.
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