NEW for 8/13: On hospice, Geoff Duncan and Scotland

GwinnettForum  |  Number 23.63  |  Aug. 13, 2024

SIX VACATIONING GWINNETTIANS: They are on a visit to Scotland.  From left are Woody and Beth Bell,  Mike and Kay Montgomery and Susan and David Baker, all of Duluth. For a description of their trip, check  out Kay Montgomery’s telling of their trip in Another View below.  

IN THIS EDITION

TODAY’S FOCUS:  Learn how home hospice care is a blessing
EEB PERSPECTIVE:  Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan continues to surprise us
SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Gwinnett College
ANOTHER VIEW: Six Gwinnettians enjoy two weeks in Scotland
FEEDBACK: Remembers scary blackouts during World War II
UPCOMING: PCOM names Dr. Mandy Reece interim Pharmacy dean
NOTABLE: Mark Wilson is Lilburn’s Citizen of the Month
RECOMMENDED: Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Dr. Joseph White, a mighty warrior fighting yellow fever
MYSTERY PHOTO: Expansive lawn, silhouette are key clues today
LAGNIAPPE: Duluth DAR chapter honors two nonagenarians
CALENDAR: Open House at the Centerville One Stop on August 14 

TODAY’S FOCUS

Learn how home hospice care is a blessing

Via Pixabay

By Andy Brack
Editor and Publisher, Charleston City Paper

CHARLESTON, S.C.  |  Part of life is death.  It can be painful, agonizing, emotional, numbing and scarring – for patients and surviving family members and friends.

Fortunately, there are good people who provide trained care to help make the passing of someone easier for the person who is departing and for those preparing to mourn.

These are the professionals of hospice, who step in at the end of one’s life to make the last days easier, more comfortable and of better quality when pain from cancer or crippling dementia from Alzheimer’s takes over.  Home hospice caregivers generally work at a patient’s home where they team with primary caregivers, often loved ones, to help the person who is transitioning to manage pain and deal with everything from keeping clean to going to the bathroom.

In recent years, about 1.5 million to 1.7 million Americans used hospice services annually at the end of their lives, much of it paid through Medicare for people 65 and over.  But according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, twice as many people could benefit from soothing hospice care.  And more than 80 percent of Americans don’t really understand what hospice is.

So here’s an easy-to-understand explanation:  It’s care, not a cure.  It’s a way for someone to die with dignity and compassion in their home, often surrounded by family members.  

In a powerful book titled Being Mortal, Rhodes Scholar and Harvard-trained surgeon Atul Gawande concluded while modern medicine can keep people alive longer, its use at the end of someone’s life – particularly those with terminal illness – might be less appropriate than for someone to die at home and in some comfort.  The end of the life of his father, also a doctor, at home had a particular impact.

“We’ve been wrong about what our job is in medicine,” he wrote. “We think our job is to ensure health and survival, but really it is larger than that.  It is to enable well-being.  And well-being is about the reasons one wishes to be alive.”

Later he wrote it was encouraging that more patients were seeking palliative care at the end of life.

“Sometimes we offer a cure, sometimes only a salve, sometimes not even that. But whatever we can offer, our interventions, and the risks and sacrifices they entail, are justified only if they serve the larger aims of a person’s life.  When we forget that, the suffering we inflict can be barbaric.  When we remember it, the good we do can be breathtaking.”

One South Carolina hospice professional said giving end-of-life care is the kind of work most people would find incredibly tough because it involves helping people at what may be the hardest time in their lives.

“Yes, there are very hard days, and yes there are those patients and families that you inevitably take home with you and cry with or cry for,” she said. “But guiding people through the difficult time, empowering them with the knowledge and ability to make those difficult decisions a bit easier and more peacefully is extremely rewarding.

“The hospice philosophy of not seeking aggressive treatment can be difficult for people to wrap their minds around, but offering someone the chance to die living instead of live dying – and to understand they can make those choices – is often the last and most dignifying opportunity we can give them.”

Hospice care really helped my sister, Catherine, who died two weeks ago.  And it helped our family.  For that, we are eternally grateful.

EEB PERSPECTIVE

Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan continues to surprise us

By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum

AUG. 13, 3024 | One of the most interesting and outspoken political operatives in Georgia is former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan of Cumming. We’ve never met him, but Geoff Duncan keeps coming up with positions that are distinctive, often original, and must certainly confuse some Republicans, and make other Republicans mad.

To put it mildly, he thinks outside the box.

And in the meantime, it makes you wonder what his future political  plans could be.

First, some background: he and his wife, Brooke, have three boys. The couple met at Chattahoochee High School, and even attended Georgia Tech together. He was a scholarship athlete, a pitcher on the baseball team, who later was drafted by the Florida Marlins after his junior season. He spent six years working up to Class AAA before a shoulder injury ended his baseball career in 2001.

His online biography then says: “Geoff and his wife Brooke started a small marketing company out of their Forsyth County home with a focus on merging old-fashioned customer service with modern day technology. This unique combination afforded them the opportunity to work with several Fortune 500 companies across the country and their company grew with sales reps in several states. Four years after starting the company, Geoff and Brooke sold it to a larger Georgia based marketing company.”

Duncan. Credit: Jeremy Harwell – Harwell Photography

Today he’s an entrepreneur with a focus in the venture capital space. He served as CEO of Wellview Health, a health tech startup company based in Nashville, Tenn. In post-public office life, Duncan serves as a frequent commenter on  the CNN network, and is a public speaker with The Harry Walker Agency.

Along the way, he got interested In Republican politics, winning a seat in the House of Representatives in 2012, where he served until 2017.

Then he did something, for a politician that was unusual: he resigned from the Georgia House in 2017 to focus to run for lieutenant governor. Few politicians resigned from one elected position to run for another. That’s distinctive, and to us, says much about the person we have never met.

Duncan won a three-way race for lieutenant governor, but just barely. Former Gwinnett Rep. and GOP Chairman  David Shafer nearly won the Republican nomination, polled the most votes in the 2017 primary, 48.91 percent,  or 268,221 votes. Duncan finished a distant second, with 26.65 percent, to Rick Jeffares 24.4 percent.

Then Duncan won the run-off primary, squeaking by with 280,465 votes, or 50.14 percent. Shafer gained 10,000 more run-off votes than in the first primary. But Duncan polled a whopping 135,308 more votes than he polled in the first primary. In the General Election, Duncan beat Sarah Riggs Amico by a 52-48 margin to become the lieutenant governor.  He did not seek re-election in 2022.

Another surprising element: Duncan has been among the few Republicans who openly criticized Donald Trump’s false claim that the Georgia election was stolen. He and Gov. Brian Kemp also put out a joint statement maintaining that calling a joint session of the Georgia Legislature to appoint their own electors to the U.S. Electoral College would be unconstitutional. 

Then later on, continuing to surprise people, Geoff Duncan authored an op-ed in the Atlanta newspaper with a headline: “Why I’m voting for Biden and other Republicans should, too.”  He characterized Donald Trump as a “criminal defendant without a moral compass.” 

Then, after President Joe Biden said he would not run again,  Duncan endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

It’ll be interesting to watch what Geoff Duncan’s next political turn will take. He continues to surprise us.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Georgia Gwinnett College 

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to readers at no cost. Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) is a public, four-year and accredited liberal arts college that provides access to baccalaureate level degrees that meet the economic development needs of the growing and diverse population of Gwinnett County and the northeast Atlanta metropolitan region. GGC’s mission is to produce future leaders for Georgia and the nation who are inspired to contribute to their local, state, national and international communities and are prepared to engage in an ever-changing global environment. GGC currently serves about 12,000 students pursuing degrees in 27 programs of study and more than 60 concentrations. Visit Georgia Gwinnett College’s website at www.ggc.edu.

  • For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.

ANOTHER VIEW

Six Gwinnettians enjoy two weeks in Scotland

Inveraray Castle. Photo provided.

By Kay Montgomery

DULUTH, Ga.  |  Recently, my husband, Mike and I traveled to Scotland for two weeks with two other couples from Duluth, Beth and Woody Bell and Susan and David Baker. We felt that an interior tour was best since most of the sights are not on the coast. 

Kay Montgomery

Our first two nights were in Edinburgh which was amazing, and the Royal Mile proved to be a wonderful experience. We especially enjoyed Edinburgh Castle, the ancient architecture, the bagpipes, and the historic flavor of the city. 

Our very nice, small 15-passenger bus took us away to St. Andrews with its fabulous golf courses and beautiful views where we met up with our niece, Maggie Fincher Hunter, who’s husband, Jonathan, is studying theology at St. Andrews University.

Then, on to the town of Aberdeen with its incredible beauty and  historic Falkland castle. That night we tried the Scottish food, haggis and black pudding, at our dinner.  None of us liked it, and we all enjoyed the Scotch whiskey tastings much better. 

Next, we left for Inverness in the beautiful Scottish Highlands.  Because we had watched Netflix’s Outlander, we really enjoyed the area where the Battle of Culloden took place plus all of the other great scenes shot throughout the country. After that we took a large boat across Loch Ness, although we did not see the fabled monster, Nessie.  

The natural beauty of the Isle of Skye on the west coast is amazing. It is unbelievably gorgeous in every way with its mystic mountains of green, grand, glorious vistas and yes, Fairy Pools. This island is a must-see!

On through to Fort William, Glencoe and the southwest part of the country. 

St. Andrews Cathedral. Photo provided.

When we arrived at Stirling Castle, I felt as if I were really discovering my past.  Because I’ve been going to Ancestry.com for the past five years, I had learned that some of my ancestors had lived in this castle 500 years ago, and that was exciting. I had found that King James the IV, V and VI of Scotland ruled from this very place, and that King James VI had also later become King James I of England and Ireland. 

 I had also found that I was related to Mary, Queen of Scots. These ancestors were traced through my fourth great-grandfather’s line, Evan Howell (the founder of Duluth, Ga.).We also found that my family had ancestors from the Campbell clan at Inveraray Castle.  I was humbled and overcome with happiness on these findings.

We stayed in different old inns on our trip. One of them was the oldest inn in all of Scotland, The George, (over 500 years old), in Inverary. The best meal was in Aberdeen of smoked salmon and Highland beef topped off with lemon tarts.  The best shopping was in Edinburgh.  We found scarves of the Family Montgomery plaid, crests and pins. And, Mike resisted buying a kilt!

The trip was well-planned by Nordic Visitor Co., and the people of Scotland were very kind, hospitable and happy to show us their wonderful country. In a land where there are more sheep than people, it’s a place of historic, mystic beauty. We highly recommend it for your next travel destination.

FEEDBACK

Remembers scary blackouts during World War II

Editor, the Forum: 

Donald  Trump stated that we are close to war. This triggered a personal memory of growing up in New York City during World War II. I remember the searchlights in the sky, the wardens telling us to close our blackout curtains. I remember how scared I was when I found out that a German submarine shelled our coast only a few miles from where I lived.  War is scary to a little kid.  It should be scary for everyone.

– Alan Schneiberg, Sugar Hill

Dear Alan: Yes, war is a scary time for everyone, no matter where. Growing up in a much smaller city, Macon, during World War II, my father was an air raid warden, knocking on doors to ask neighbors to pull down their shades during blackouts. We were also alert for enemy airplanes over Macon as you were in the much more key city of New York. –eeb  

Prefers for government to leave us alone if no hazard

Editor, the Forum: 

Just saw your article about whether we need all the used car dealers in Peachtree Corners.  I don’t know if we do or not.

A larger question is simply whether the state, in this case the city of Peachtree Corners, has an abiding or overarching interest in denying a particular business opportunity to someone simply because they deem such business to be ubiquitous, undesirable, or (fill in your own blank).

Many can and will disagree on their answer to this question.  I would prefer that local, state, and federal governments leave us alone unless we are creating hazards to people or property.  Those that create hazards are not good at self-governance so by default, are opting to be governed.  But otherwise?  Leave them alone and let the market decide if we need 300 more used car dealers.

And I do subscribe to Reagan’s comment about one of the Big Lies “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”  That is one of the big lies of all time.

Carry on with your good work.

Randy Brunson, Suwanee

More about zoning boards and used car dealers

Editor, the Forum: 

I read the article Friday morning on zoning boards.  Mayor Mike Mason has asked for a review, but we suspect most, if not all, the new business licenses reflected in the article were issued to owners that have use “by right.” That means that  the property was already approved for that use and did not come to the council or planning commission for approval.  

Unfortunately, in some cases, we don’t have the power to strip or change property rights.  We can only deal with proposed changes to the current zoning or requests for special use permits.   I’m sure we will follow up with more specific information if needed.

– R. Weare Gratwick, city councilman, Peachtree Corners

Editor, the Forum:

Councilman Eric Christ wrote to me after GwinnettForum’s article on new businesses and zoning came out last week. I am copying GwinnettForum with his response. The Forum is always fair in its reporting so I know it would like to put out your information. 

Here is what Eric wrote:  

  • Zoning Boards and City Councils don’t review or approve individual businesses. They set the zoning for a particular piece of land and businesses that meet the requirements of the zoning category are then eligible to operate there. The parcels on Wetherburn Way and on Holcomb Bridge Road are zoned Office-Institutional (O-I). That category permits a wide range of professional, financial, and service businesses.
  • The businesses that Elliott is concerned about are not used car lots. They are automobile brokers renting office suites in office buildings on Wetherburn Way and on Holcomb Bridge Road. Under Georgia law,   even if your automobile resale business is entirely conducted online, you still have to have a physical office. Yes, their business category is titled “Used Car Dealer,” but they are not permitted to operate a used car lot at that location.

– Cathy Loew, Peachtree Corners

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:  ebrack2@gmail.com.  

UPCOMING

PCOM names Reece to be interim pharmacy dean

A new interim dean has been appointed at the School of Pharmacy at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is Dr. Sara (Mandy) Reece, who will be responsible for enhancing academic programs and fostering innovative approaches to pharmacy education.

Reece

The provost and senior vice president, Dr. Kenneth Veit, says: ““Dr. Reece brings a wealth of educational experience, cultural understanding, and commitment to the School of Pharmacy. “We are pleased to welcome Mandy to this role as we continue to enhance our pharmacy program in Georgia.”

Reece is well-versed in developing interprofessional education curricula and mentoring junior faculty. She has also served in various leadership roles at PCOM Georgia, including vice chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and director of interprofessional education.

Reece’s promotion to interim dean highlights her significant contributions to PCOM Georgia since she joined in 2010. In her new role, she will leverage her extensive experience in education and leadership to advance the School of Pharmacy’s mission and objectives. 

A certified diabetes care and education specialist, Reece is board-certified in ambulatory care and advanced diabetes management. She also serves as core faculty, ambulatory care pharmacist, and diabetes specialist with the Northeast Georgia Medical Center Family Medicine GME Program. She is most known for her national presentations on diabetes and technology-related topics and manages a blog and YouTube channel, “Reece’s Pieces in a Diabetes World” and “Reece’s Pieces Diabetes,” respectively.

Her previous roles have included serving as a pharmacy director and diabetes educator at District 2 Public Health in Gainesville, Ga., where she oversaw medication distribution and drug assistance programs. In addition, she contributed to diabetes education programs and coordinated employee wellness initiatives.

In 2019, Reece was named PCOM School of Pharmacy Teacher of the Year for Pharmacy Practice and Faculty Preceptor of the Year in 2022 and 2023. Most recently, she was awarded the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Endocrine and Metabolism Practice and Research Network Leadership Award in 2023.

She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Mercer University in Atlanta and has held a Georgia pharmacist license since 2001.

Property tax bills should be in your mailbox this week

Gwinnett property tax bills are coming your way. The tax bills for owners of property in 2024 were mailed on Monday, August 12, and will be arriving at  your home soon. The tax bills are due to be paid by October 15.

Starting Monday, taxpayers will also be able to view and pay their bills online at  www.GwinnettTaxCommissioner.com/pay. Payments can be made with an e-check, debit card or credit card, including an American Express credit card. 

Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner Denise R. Mitchell said property owners can pay with the AMEX card this year. “I am pleased that we can offer AMEX as an additional payment option. Many of our customers have asked for it, and we want to make the payment process as easy and convenient as possible.”

Mitchell recommends paying online with an e-check because it is a safe, secure process and it is easy and free. Using an e-check avoids waiting in line and delayed deliveries with mailed payments. Payments made online or in-person with a credit card incur a convenience fee of 2.30 percent. Debit cards incur a flat fee of $3.50.

If a property was sold after January 1, both the buyer and seller will receive a tax bill. For more information visit www.GwinnettTaxCommissioner.com/sold. Mortgage companies have owners’ property tax information, but owners with tax escrow accounts are responsible for ensuring their taxes are paid on time.

NOTABLE

Wilson is Lilburn’s Citizen of the Month

The city of Lilburn has named Mark Wilson as its August Citizen of the month. 

Wilson

He discovered the Yellow River about the same time he discovered the joy of kayaking. It didn’t take long for the artery to become his favorite go-to for paddling and exploring nature. Now retired, the 30-year Lilburn resident and Barbara, his wife of 39 years, enjoy paddling and exploring rivers and lakes throughout the Southeast. 

Wilson has “adopted” the Yellow River as a caretaker of sorts. He conducts water tests monthly at several sites on the Yellow River in Gwinnett and Dekalb counties as part of Georgia Adopt A Stream. He leads paddle trips on the river, too, and often hears from participants who had no knowledge the tributary exists. 

Earlier this year, Wilson was honored by the Georgia Water Coalition for his efforts of nearly two decades to preserve and protect the river.  He was named to the Georgia Water Coalition’s Clean 13. The Air Force veteran, who moved to Gwinnett County in 1993, is chairman of the Yellow River Water Trail, one of 39 Georgia Water Trails certified by the Georgia River Network. He’s also a board member of the Georgia Canoeing Association and the Georgia River Network.

Hendrickson named to national body 

Hendrickson

After Gwinnett County received top honors from the National Association of Counties (NACo0 for 31 of the County’s groundbreaking programs, now Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson, has secured one of the top positions within the NACo leadership. NACo President James Gore has appointed Chairwoman Hendrickson to lead the Community, Economic and Workforce Development Steering Committee as the Subcommittee Vice-Chair. Hendrickson will also serve as the Vice Chair of the Large Urban Caucus. Gore said he chose Hendrickson because of her commitment and dedication to NACo.

RECOMMENDED

Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen

From Rick Krause, Lilburn: I found this book in one of the Littlest Libraries; don’t recall having heard of it; and the rest is history. An absolutely fascinating read that is incredibly well-researched, having exhaustive references of primary sources, resulting in a balanced presentation. Loewen’s conclusion, which really isn’t refutable, is that our history textbooks used in classrooms propagate false, Eurocentric, and mythologized views of American history and have clung to cultural and societal biases, heroicfixation, mindless memorization, and that the problem lies in all parties—publishers, authors, textbook adoption boards, angry parents, teachers, and to a lesser extent students. A glaring example of sweeping heroification in the textbooks is that of Columbus, in contrast with an absence of factual discussion of native Americans. There also are biased treatments of more recent events, such as the Vietnam War, Gulf War, and 9/11. Loewen points out blatant errors and documents them with sound primary sources. The full title is Lies My Teacher Told Me—Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong.

  • 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.  Click here to send an email.

GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA

Dr. Joseph White, a mighty warrior fighting yellow fever

Joseph Hill White entered the Marine Hospital Service, later known as the U.S. Public Health Service, in 1884, and served until his retirement in 1923. During his distinguished career the Georgia native was appointed assistant surgeon general and was posted throughout the United States and abroad to manage outbreaks of communicative disease. His fieldwork in the use of mosquito eradication measures to combat yellow fever laid important groundwork for scientific research in combating the disease.

White was born in 1859 in Milledgeville, where his family was prominent during the period in which the city served as Georgia’s capital (1807-68). His grandfather, Benjamin Aspinwall White, was president of the Georgia State Board of Physicians for most of his career and was appointed Georgia’s surgeon general in 1861. 

Joseph White received his initial medical training under his uncle, Samuel Gore White of Milledgeville, and received his M.D. from the Baltimore College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore, Md., in 1883. He married Emily Hurt Humber in Putnam County in 1885. Early in his career he commanded the South Atlantic Quarantine at Blackbeard Island, supervising the disinfecting of crews and cargoes en route to southern ports of the United States.

In 1899 White was placed in charge of the Marine Hospital Domestic Quarantine Division, based in Washington, D.C. That same year a yellow fever outbreak occurred at the National Soldiers Home near Newport News, Virginia. Before departing for Virginia, White indicated to fellow physician Walter Reed that he planned to use mosquito control as well as the requisite quarantine to limit the outbreak. 

The link between the mosquito and yellow fever had been suggested by another physician, Carlos Juan Finlay, but had not yet been scientifically proved and was considered controversial in medical circles. Despite the close quarters at the home, there were only eleven fatalities. In 1900 Reed and the U.S. Army Yellow Fever Commission definitively identified the Aedes aegypti mosquito as the vector for the disease.

In 1905 a yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans, La., proved to be the last in the United States. Fearing the interruption of commerce necessitated by a quarantine, business and civic leaders initially downplayed the situation, allowing the caseload to reach epidemic proportions. White was posted to New Orleans, where he skillfully brought the outbreak under control before the first frost.

In 1914 White was loaned to the Rockefeller Foundation, under whose auspices he was posted to Central and South America to further the foundation’s work against various communicative diseases. In 1921 the foundation appointed him director of the Worldwide Campaign against Yellow Fever.

Through the publication of articles in medical journals and appearances at professional conferences, White devoted his career to convincing the medical community and the general public of the importance of preventive medicine and public health measures in the control of disease. White died in Washington, D.C., in 1953 and is buried in Milledgeville’s Memory Hill Cemetery.

MYSTERY PHOTO

Expansive lawn, silhouette are key clues of mystery

The major clue in today’s Mystery Photo is the expansive front lawn, and the distinctive silhouette of the main building. Can you figure it out?  If so, send your guess to ebrack2@gmail.com, and tell us your hometown.

The most recent mystery was of the Sir Walter Scott Monument in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Scott Spire. The photo came from Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill.

Among those recognizing the spire were John Talipsky, Lawrenceville; Kay Montgomery, Duluth; Margot Ashley, Lilburn; Gloria  James, Lawrenceville; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; and Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C., who said: “On the death of Sir Walter Scott in 1832, the great and good of the city came together to agree on a fitting monument to this outstanding Scottish literary figure. In 1836, an architectural competition was launched, inviting designs for an appropriate memorial. Two years later, the trustees approved the design submitted by George Meikle Kemp, and construction began in 184I an was completed in 1844. It is just over 200 feet tall.”

Allen Peel of San Antonio, Texas, added: “While difficult to see in the mystery photo, there are a total 68 statues in the monument. Of these there are 16 busts of famous Scottish poets and writers (including James Hogg, Robert Burns, Tobias Smollett and Allan Ramsay). However, there are 32 unfilled niches at the higher levels, and there is some growing interest and advocacy in the writer’s community to fill some of the empty niches with a more inclusive set of statues that better represent the diverse nature of more contemporary and modern writers. Many believe that if Sir Walter Scott were alive today, he would support such an effort.”

  • 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:  ebrack2@gmail.comand mark it as a photo submission.  Thanks.

LAGNIAPPE

Duluth DAR chapter honors two nonagenarians

Ann Odum and Kathryn Willis

Duluth’s William Day Chapter National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution saluted the Parsons sisters Kathryn Willis, 93, and Ann Odum, 92, with its Women In History Award. The event was held at an afternoon tea at the home of Debbie Bush on Sunday, August 4. The sisters  grew up in small-town Duluth under the influence of their enterprising, community-centered parents, Calvin and Kate Parsons. They both worked in the family stores in several North Georgia locations for many years; Kathryn retired in 2015.

The sisters are no strangers to volunteerism. Their father was 1982 Gwinnett County Citizen of the Year, and Kathryn held the honor in 2018. She is also founder of the iconic Duluth Fall Festival. A local hospital claimed her to be “the heart and inspiration of Gwinnett Medical Center.” The Georgia State Senate calls her life “a salute to service.” Both women love and are deeply committed to Duluth First United Methodist Church.

Founded in 1871 by their third great-grandfather, Evan Howell, Duluth is commemorated in Ann’s book, Duluth, Georgia: Through the Eyes of One of Its Own. She is a painter, and holds many art awards, including Member of Excellence in the Southeast Pastel Society, and Best Artist in Gwinnett. Ann: “I’m famous for about one square mile.” Among her outstanding paintings are the large wall murals at the Southeastern Railway Museum.

CALENDAR

Centerville OneStop plans open house Aug. 14

Open House at the Centerville OneStop to share your feedback on project recommendations and redevelopment ideas on Wednesday, August 1from 3 to 7 p.m. Have a hand in shaping the future of Centerville. Get involved and learn more about the plan by visiting GwinnettCounty.com/CentervillePlan.  OneStop Centerville is located at 3025 Bethany Church Road in Snellville.

Old Enough: Book Signing and Author Talk will be August 15 at 7 p.m. at the Duluth Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library. Attend a lively discussion with the editor and two contributors of Old Enough: Southern Women Artists and Writers on Creativity and Aging. Books will be available for sale and signing. 

Promoting self-care is the theme of an interactive session at the Peachtree Corners Branch of Gwinnett Public Library on August 15 at 1 p.m. It will be led by registered nurse Audrey Boyce. Engage in storytelling, trivia, and evidence-based tips to enhance your self-care routine and improve overall well-being.

Jazz in the alley will be August 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Betty Mauldin Park in Norcross. Enjoy a night of smooth rhythms and vibrant melodies with top jazz artists. Headlining the event will be Teresa Kay Williams, followed by Tulani, a harpist known for her high energy  performances. 

Author Talk with Josh Malerman is scheduled at the Lilburn Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library on August 20 at 7 p.m. He is the author of Bird Box, and will discuss his newest horror novel, Incidents Around the House. Books will be available for sale and signing. 

Visit the new home of the Norcross Welcome Center and History Museum. It is now located at 17 College Street in The Rectory.  An Open House will be held on Thursday, August 22, from 5-7 p.m. Tour the space, enjoy local bites, refreshments, and entertainment, and hear from Mayor Craig Newton. 

Women’s Sexual Health program will be held at the Norcross Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library on Thursday, August 22, at 7 p.m. Calling women and girls aged 15 and up! Attend for a fun and interactive event featuring sexual health and wellness education, information on HIV/STI prevention and community resources, and more.

ArtRageous Festival is coming to Braselton on the weekend of August 23-25. Braselton’s Historic Downtown will become a veritable artist colony when art lovers from around the region converge for the August Art-Tiques Vintage Market and a host of other pop-up galleries and art-inspired activities. Immerse yourself in creativity at this event. 

OUR TEAM

GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday.   

Meet our team

More

  • Mailing address: P.O. Box 1365, Norcross, Ga. 30091
  • Work with us:  If you would like to learn about how to be an underwriter to support the publication of GwinnettForum as a community resource for news and commentary, please contact us today.

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE

Subscriptions to GwinnettForum are free.  

  • Click to subscribe.
  • Unsubscribe.  We hope you’ll keep receiving the great news and information from GwinnettForum, but if you need to unsubscribe, go to this page and unsubscribe in the appropriate box.
  • © 2024, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.
Share