By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | It’s a beautiful story of a Mexican and his wife coming to this country, working hard, and finding success. He’s one of the most achieving of Gwinnett businessmen, building a multi-company empire since arriving at Georgia Tech to pursue a master’s in engineering in 1980.
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Though Jim Ellis has 13 auto dealerships around Atlanta, many of them are concentrated on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard at I-285. Here’s why.
Jim says: “Once we started getting multiple brands, in those days you had to physically visit each dealership each day to look over the accounting and check the sales. It was far different than today. Now with the Internet, you can examine the books no matter where you are. So we originally grouped the dealerships close together as an advantage. Today it also helps having them close, for we can easily offer common training to the different staffs.”
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Drive off I-285 toward Atlanta on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, and immediately there is a host of Jim Ellis auto dealerships, to eight all, bunched together. Over in Cobb County, there are four more Jim Ellis dealerships, and another in Buford, for a total of 13 in all, with 12 brands. (Click here to see all dealerships).
So people ask, “Who is Jim Ellis?”
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Gwinnett motorists going into Atlanta will have to find new routing after a portion of the Interstate 85 collapsed last Thursday from a fire under the bridge. It drastically affected Express bus routes originating from Gwinnett.
GC Transit says that all Express bus routes from Gwinnett will not operated via I-85 to I-295 to I-20, with return buses running in the opposite direction. Plan extra time for all Express trips.
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | For years now, there has been debate on how many county and school board districts Gwinnett needs to best govern ourselves.
Currently there are five school board districts, and four county commission districts. Each board has five members. However, there are only four county commission districts since the chairman is elected on a county-wide basis, and makes up the fifth board member.
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Returning from South Georgia after attending a funeral this week, we got off the Interstates for a while, and enjoyed the less stressful driving on the back roads. All in all, it‘s much more enjoyable, too, as you see how the crops are doing (the Vidalias are green topped and ready for harvest), check out the small communities, and see Georgia in a way as it was in the past.
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | At least two times a year, we make a circular tour of Gwinnett County, to keep up with the continued change in the landscape. Every time we travel this route, we find new activity.
This week we found some overnight activity: a Tuesday night storm inflicted tree damage all around the county, as we encountered Georgia Power and Jackson EMC (and surely Walton EMC) crews around Gwinnett repairing damage from the storm. The damage was scattered, but seen through much of Gwinnett.
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | A Peachtree Corners bank is expanding into three additional Northeast Georgia communities by acquiring the Mountain Valley Community Bank of Cleveland.
The Piedmont Bank, for which Piedmont Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company, has entered into an agreement with Mountain Valley Bancshares Inc., the holding company for Mountain Valley Community Bank, with a plan to merge the two companies. It is expected that the merger will be completed in the third quarter of 2017.
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | In a constitutional republic where new legislation is constantly being pushed by many elements, all citizens must be vigilant.
For every time you gain a victory, that doesn’t mean that the victory will last. You may have to go all-out to insure that the victory remains in place, since there are usually major opponents to almost every bit of legislation.
“When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people.”
– Polish-American rabbi, theologian and philosopher Abraham Joshua Herschel (1997-1972), via John Titus of Peachtree Corners.
Gwinnett Forum publisher Elliott Brack suggests Gwinnett County needs a long-range list of continuing objectives for improving the county. His 2025 list:
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