Johns Creek Welcomes Ben Song as Community Development Director The City of Johns Creek recently appointed Ben Song as its new community development director. Song comes to Johns Creek from Gwinnett County where he served as director for the countys Real Estate and Records Management Division. Bens familiarity with the City of Johns Creek coupled with his decade-plus experience across other cities and counties make him a good fit for Johns Creek and the needs of our community, said Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker. Song has held supervisory roles, overseeing land use, zoning, and real estate in Gwinnett County and in the cities of Peachtree Corners and Brookhaven. Earlier in his career, Song served as a planner in Johns Creek.I am passionate about planning and land use, and I am quite familiar with building consensus within the community through transparent and active civic engagement, said Song. My goal is to provide honest and reliable guidance in order to better the community, deliver excellent customer service, and promote a strong system of accountability.
Sunshine on a Ranney Day Reveals 100th Makeover in Roswell Sunshine on a Ranney Day (SOARD), a Roswell-based nonprofit that provides home makeovers for children with long-term illnesses, recently revealed its 100th home makeover for Bennett and Lacey Key.Siblings Bennett and Lacey were both born with a very rare genetic disorder called Joubert Syndrome. On average, the Key family attends seven therapy appointments and two doctors appointments each week. SOARD renovated a basement room to give Bennett and Lacey an in-home therapy room, so they can work daily on their physical needs. A chair lift was also added to help the siblings get down to the new therapy room in the basement.Thanks to all makeover sponsors, and a special thanks to FinListics Solutions for a $15,000 match to SOARDs social media fundraising platform, which allowed the organization to raise over $30,000 toward this renovation. For more information about Sunshine on a Ranney Day, visit SOARDCharity.com.
GNFCC Selects Nonprofit Leader of the Year The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce recently named Dr. Steve Palmer of The Cottage School (TCS) Nonprofit Leader of the Year. Dr. Palmer serves as head of school for TCS, which provides a unique approach to students with learning differences through an atmosphere that offers individualized teaching plans catered to each students needs. Arriving at TCS in 2015, Dr. Palmers influence during the past four years has broadened the scope and vision for a growing TCS community while maintaining the integrity of the schools mission. He was instrumental in the addition of the elementary grades and the opening of the Discovery Cottage. The program started with five students and has now grown to 35 students. The school is proud of its highest enrollment to date at 257 students, up 72% over enrollment in 2015. The monumental growth has allowed TCS to begin plans for construction of a new building on campus, slated to break ground later this year. With all these accomplishments, Dr. Palmer remains student and staff focused, striving to provide as many tools for their toolbox as possible. He plays an active, regular part of the daily community at TCS. However, if asked, Dr. Palmer would credit his exceptional staff for most of the schools progress.
Pennies for Pets Raises Over $14K for Canine Assistants in Milton Earlier this year, 14 VCA Animal Hospitals in Georgia and Tennessee collected donations by encouraging clients to round up their transaction amounts to the nearest dollar or donate online, enter raffles, get one of the famous VCA Woof or Meow hats, or give whatever was comfortable.The local campaign raised $14,645 for Canine Assistants, a nonprofit service dog program based in Milton. The donation will enable them to provide care to at least 15 Canine Assistants recipients for after-care needs. Whatever the dogs need such as food, vaccinations, surgery for the life of the dog is provided by Canine Assistants if the families cannot afford it. Its a growing need, says Jennifer Arnold, founder and executive director of Canine Assistants. Canine Assistants is a nonprofit service dog school based in Milton, whose mission is to educate and empower people and dogs, so they may enhance the lives of one another. Canine Assistants has graduated over 2,000 service dogs from its program and has placed them, free of charge, with both children and adults.
Alpharetta K-9 Unit To Be Featured on Americas Top Dog This winter, Alpharetta Police K-9 Mattis and Sgt. Mark Tappan will compete on Americas Top Dog, which is similar to the American Ninja Warrior TV show, but for dogs and their handlers. Americas Top Dog brings together top K-9 cops and civilian dogs alongside their handlers, as they compete on a K-9 obstacle course. In each one-hour episode, four police K-9 teams and one civilian team face off for the title of Top Dog in three rounds of high velocity, furry competition. The skilled teams are tested on speed, agility, and teamwork by completing expert tasks on a massive obstacle course. Challenges include navigating a complex maze for scented items and apprehending and taking down a suspect in a bite suit. Each weeks winning team receives $10,000 and an additional $5,000 to donate to the animal charity of their choice. In the final week of competition, top competitors return to battle for the title of Americas Top Dog and an additional $25,000 prize.
North Fulton Community Charities Names Community Ambassadors Eighteen community volunteers have recently graduated from the North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) Ambassador Program. This new program trains volunteers to go out into the community and act as a representative of NFCC by staffing information tables and speaking to community groups, schools, and churches. The graduates underwent four hours of training in addition to volunteer hours for the organization. Creating an ambassador program was important to us because NFCC was founded by individuals and faith partners in the community, and we continue to be community driven, said Director of Development Holly York. We often get requests to come out into the community and talk about our mission, what we do, and how people can get involved. We couldnt think of anyone better to deliver that message than our community volunteers that know us best. The newly trained ambassadors are Carole Babis, Bill Baxley, Susan Busch, Kris Carter, Michael Cote, Janet Dahlstrom, Ellyn Dinnerstein, Teresa Dore, AnnMarie Giglio, Sharon Heys, Lia Jeffries, Ameera Joe, Denise Kudla, Laura Losson, Monica Malires, Allison Mann, Pam Page, and Troy Stowe. To schedule NFCC to come to your organization, please fill out the form at NFCCHelp.org/request-a-speaker.
Roswell Inc Partners With Service Corps of Retired Executives Roswell Inc recently entered into a partnership with the North Metro Atlanta chapter of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), a national nonprofit and partner organization of the U.S. Small Business Administration that focuses on providing mentorship and resources to established and aspiring business owners. SCOREs North Metro Atlanta chapter covers all of Cobb, Gwinnett, north Fulton, and Forsyth counties and will now be able to support Roswell area business owners and professionals. Our partnership with SCORE is a natural fit for the entrepreneurial spirit of Roswell businesses, said Steve Stroud, executive director of Roswell Inc. We look forward to working with SCORE to mentor, train, and educate new and existing businesses to expand within the city of Roswell.Through this partnership, Roswell-based SCORE mentors will hold weekly one-on-one mentoring sessions at Roswell Inc. The North Metro Atlanta SCORE chapter will also work with Roswell Inc to host business-focused workshops on a quarterly basis. The two organizations are in the beginning stages of planning these workshops, which will be open to businesses across Roswell and the north metro area. Our North Metro Atlanta Chapter, with its 15 offices and 62 mentors, is uniquely equipped to help people start or grow their businesses through one-on-one mentoring, workshops, and webinars, said Bill Foust, chairman of SCORE. We are Roswell based and focused, and we look forward to serving the needs of Roswells future and existing businesses. For more information, visit NorthMetroAtlanta.score.org.
Roswell Appoints New Police Chief The City of Roswell has appointed James W. Conroy as its new police chief to lead the Roswell Police Department. Conroy is an accomplished law enforcement officer, who has served as a transformational leader with the Dekalb County Police Department for 28 years. He recently retired from the department after serving as its police chief since 2013. As the Dekalb County police chief, Conroy oversaw the operation of all police department services, and led a department of 1,200 employees, including 900 sworn police officers. He led a major command and management staff restructure, which resulted in a more streamlined and efficient operation. During his tenure as Dekalbs police chief, the county saw a 27% reduction in Part I crimes (which include murder, robbery, and theft). He attributes the reduction in crime to applying effective models of police management. I am honored and excited to be joining the Roswell Police Department as the next chief of police. The Roswell Police Department has a long history of providing excellent service to their community, and I look forward to building on that tradition, said Conroy. We will continue to focus on community policing by embracing the pillars of 21st Century Policing and the principles of procedural justice. After a nationwide search, City Administrator Gary Palmer said Conroy was his top choice for the job. The City of Roswell is fortunate to have an outstanding team of law enforcement professionals willing to go out every day to safeguard our community and put their lives on the line. They deserve to be led by an experienced chief who understands the dynamics of policing in the 21st century, and the challenges our officers face day in and day out. Our officers deserve to be led by a chief who understands that those officers out patrolling our streets, interacting with our kids, responding to emergencies, and serving our community are the backbone of a police organization. Our officers deserve a chief that has come up through the ranks and has a firsthand understanding of what it means to be a front-line officer in a large metropolitan area. Our community deserves a chief who is responsive, open, collaborative, and has the gravitas to cultivate successful relationships in our ever-changing environment. Jim Conroy checks all of those boxes, said Palmer.
Computer Museum of America Grand Opening The Computer Museum of America recently celebrated its grand opening on July 20, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Included with the ticket price, visitors can tour these special exhibits: A Tribute to Apollo 11 Guests will see a replica of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle perched on a simulated lunar surface. The exhibit will capture the lunar landing experience and the advancement of space exploration and computer technology leading up to the moon landing. Vanquishing the Impossible A varied collection of super computers will illustrate how these remarkable machines lead to dramatic improvements in weather forecasting, aircraft design, national security, and more. Historical Timeline Exhibits illustrate the advancements in information and data technology from the early abacus and slide rule right up to the ubiquitous super computers we call smart phones.For more information, visit ComputerMuseumOfAmerica.org.
Roswell Gymnasts Awarded at 2019 Junior Olympic Nationals After being awarded full athletic gymnastics scholarships earlier this year, Roswell gymnasts Caroline Williams and Lauren Rutherford now have additional accomplishments to celebrate along with their entire competitive team. Williams and Rutherford recently attended the 2019 Junior Olympic Nationals in Indianapolis, where they both placed second in the nation in floor exercise in each of their respective age groups. Additionally, both athletes contributed to the overall success of their teams in Region 8 competitions, consisting of eight southeastern states. To add to their achievements, both Williams and Rutherford have maintained a 4.0 or higher grade-point average throughout their high school careers, perfectly balancing academics and athletics. At the conclusion of the competition season, the top four all-around athletes in each of the 12 age divisions sanctioned by USA Gymnastics are named to the 2019 Junior Olympic National Team. Many Junior Olympic champions have gone on to make the U.S. National Team and represent the United States in international competitions and /or compete in the Olympics or collegiate gymnastics. Currently, Williams and Rutherford are training to qualify for the 2020 Nastia Liukin Classic and the 2020 Junior Olympic Nationals.