North Fulton Community Charities Recognizes Partners of the Year North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) recently recognized Partners of the Year, including a business partner, civic partner, faith partner, and volunteer of the year. The Business Partner of the Year was awarded to DataScan, a technology company based in downtown Alpharetta that has been volunteering and partnering with NFCC for more than 10 years. Matt Powell, DataScans CFO, serves on the NFCC Board of Directors. DataScans parent company, JM Family Enterprises, donated $50,000 to NFCC last year in recognition of the good work DataScan has done with the charity in the community. The Civic Partner of the Year was awarded to the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (GNFCC). NFCC has worked with the GNFCC from the beginning. NFCC participates in and is a beneficiary of their Leadership North Fulton program and enjoys the many opportunities to connect the charity to other partners. The Faith Partner of the Year was awarded to Cross of Life Lutheran Church, which has been a supporter and donor of NFCC since the 1980s. The church volunteer Geaners pick up and deliver recovered food from area grocers for the NFCC Food Pantry. Cross of Life has been one of the primary partners of the North Fulton Warming Center. The Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Mark Owens. Owens retired from Norfolk Southern company in 2017 after a 40-year career. He quickly found himself looking for his next project. He started as a food recovery volunteer in the NFCC Food Pantry with his wife one day a week, and he now spends up to four days a week volunteering at NFCC. Owens also serves on the NFCC Advisory Board. NFCC Executive Director Barbara Duffy was surprised at the end of the breakfast when she was presented with a proclamation from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, honoring her as an Outstanding Georgia Citizen. Roger Wise presented the proclamation to Duffy. North Fulton Community Charities serves as a human service agency dedicated to building self-sufficiency and preventing homelessness and hunger for residents in north Fulton in the cities of Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, and Roswell.
Local Equestrian Receives National Award Officials with the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) recently honored lifelong horsewoman Sunny Stevens of Ball Ground with the Jane Marshal Dillon lifetime achievement award at the organizations annual convention in Denver, Colorado. The award was created to recognize equestrians who have devoted their lives to teaching and mentoring riders in the hunter/jumper riding discipline. Stevens, owner of Stevehaven Stables, has been involved in the sport for more than 50 years and has been based out of several farms in north Fulton and Cherokee County. She has focused her time on teaching, coaching, and developing students into well-rounded horse people. Throughout her career, Stevens has helped to improve countless riders while providing them with a positive experience in the show ring and beyond, as they progress from novice to national level riders.
Roswell Garden Club Names Writing Competition Winners The award-winning Roswell Garden Club recently sponsored a Blog-Post Writing Competition for high school students. Three Roswell High School students took top honors in the competition: 1st place, Emma Guglielmo; 2nd place, Ana Clara Ferreira; and 3rd place, Ava Weinreb. The winners received cash prizes, and their entries will be posted on the Roswell Garden Clubs website (RoswellGardenClub.com). The prompt for the persuasive piece was inspired by 16-year-old Greta Thernbergs speech to the United Nations and the National Garden Club, Inc.s Conservation Pledge to protect and conserve the natural resources of the planet earth and promise to promote education, so we may become caretakers of our air, water, forest, land, and wildlife. Students were asked to write a blog post exploring how the citizens of Roswell can become better stewards of the environment and our natural resources. The topic, Moving from consumers to caretakers of our air, water, forest, land, and wildlife, lent itself to a variety of perspectives. Students were encouraged to blog about ways communities, organizations, families, and/or individuals can make a positive impact on the world. The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. features a variety of opportunities for youth. Please visit GardenClub.UGA.edu/youth.html for more information. Also, National Garden Clubs, Inc. offers numerous awards, grants, contests, programs, writing, and art competitions for students in all grade levels (GardenClub.org/youth). These amazing activities are designed to educate and motivate young people to explore the natural world, increase awareness of dangerous legal policies relating to the environment, and encourage study of the importance of conservation and sustainable practices. For more information about the Roswell Garden Club, visit RoswellGardenClub.com.
Visit Roswell Launches New Destination Website Visit Roswell, the official destination marketing organization for the City of Roswell, is pleased to announce the launch of its new website VisitRoswellGA.com, which is now live. Last February, Visit Roswell bid out the project to five creative agencies. The winning company, Tempest Interactive Media, worked together with the Visit Roswell team to ensure a cohesive creative vision on the destinations positioning statement and the websites visitor user experience. The highly visual website features a wide variety of destination photography with concentrations on true Roswell experiences. The site also includes the integration of CrowdRiff, which allows the Visit Roswell team to infuse authentic user-generated content from its Instagram followers who use the organizations hashtags. Additionally, the website is filled with robust content, recommendations, and motivation for visitors considering planning a first-time or repeat trip to Roswell, or those looking to hold a meeting or special event in the city. From a functional perspective, the website has been simplified with a concise navigation menu and comprehensive search function. When any of Visit Roswells partners are featured in editorial mentions or blog postings, the feature is automatically imported into the respective partners listing on their page. The site also features an elevated Film Roswell webpage that links to the Citys ReelScout system, which includes business and property owners open to films being produced within their homes, businesses, or on their properties. Our goal was simple here. We worked with Tempest to create a beautiful website that elicited a lot of positive emotion enough to influence someone to say, Wow, we have to check this place out. We also wanted it to be particularly easy to navigate, so that our viewers can quickly get to the information they desire, said Andy Williams, executive director of Visit Roswell.
Roswell Arts Fund Wants To Thank You! In 2019, Roswell Arts Fund accomplished the following: Brought the ArtAround Sculpture tour to new heights by adding nine engaging temporary sculptures that join the 10 permanent works of art that Roswell Arts Fund gifted to the City of Roswell. Added functional art to Roswells pathways with artistic bike racks. Facilitated creative conversations between artists and city planners through the new Artist Around the Table initiative. Completed the final phase of the Performance Venue Feasibility Study. With the support of the community, Roswell Arts Fund will continue to develop art projects in Roswell, adding to the vibrancy of the city, driving tourism to local businesses, and sparking creativity and innovation.
Crafted in Roswell Visit Roswell is pleased to announce the kick-off of a newly created marketing promotion, Crafted in Roswell. This promotion highlights the destinations vibrant and growing local beer, wine, and craft cocktail scene.Breweries, tasting rooms, and a long list of restaurants call Roswell home. To further drive business into many of these establishments, and to give visitors a culinary and spirit-based activity in which to participate, Visit Roswell launched the program as an evolution of their previous Roswell Brews promotion. Currently, 34 locations are participating in the first round of Crafted in Roswell. Visit Roswell plans to continue to grow this promotion and its inventory of participating establishments throughout the city. The process for participation is simple. Participants stop by the Visit Roswell office (or any participating location) to pick up a Crafted in Roswell passport. Participants then take the passport to any of the establishments listed and order food or drink, for which they obtain a signature from any staff member. After obtaining six signatures, participants are eligible to bring the passport back to the Visit Roswell Visitors Center to receive a free engraved pint glass. There is no expiration date, so participants can take their time gathering signatures, making it perfect for those who reside in Roswell and those who visit for a weekend.Roswell has an impressive group of breweries, tasting rooms, and restaurants that continue to elevate the menu items they serve and craft beer and cocktails they create. Each day, our mission is to help showcase this segment of our tourism product and encourage visitors and residents to try something new, says Danielle Purdie, marketing manager at Visit Roswell.For more information, log on to VisitRoswellGa.com or pick up a passport at the Roswell Visitors Center, 617 S Atlanta St, Roswell, GA 30075.
North Fulton Community Charities Welcomes New Executive Director On December 1, North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) welcomed Holly M. York as its new executive director. She succeeds longtime Executive Director Barbara Duffy, who worked with NFCC since its formation in 1983 and served as the executive director since 1990. York was formerly the director of development for NFCC. During her time at NFCC, she led the development team, including overseeing marketing and fundraising, cultivating partnerships in the community, and working with the board of directors and management team on strategic planning.Before coming to NFCC, York was the director of development for The Drake House, a Roswell-based nonprofit serving homeless mothers and children. She has spent the last 20 years working for the needs of the north Fulton community through several different organizations. We are all excited to offer Holly this position and look forward to the next chapter of North Fulton Community Charities, said Mary Good, president of the board of directors. The board and staff have had the chance to work with Holly over the last year, and her successes as development director and her passion for the mission of NFCC speak for themselves. While we will never be able to replace Barbara Duffy and the legacy she leaves for all of north Fulton, we feel that Holly will be an excellent leader for the future of NFCC. Founded in 1983, NFCC serves as a human service agency dedicated to building self-sufficiency and preventing homelessness and hunger for north Fulton residents in the cities of Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, and Roswell.
Northwest Corridor Express Lanes Give Motorists Their Time Back When the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes opened in September 2018, it couldnt have come soon enough for our region. Approximately 30 miles of reversible express lanes extend along I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties. On day 347 of operation, the system reached seven million trips almost equivalent to every metro Atlanta resident taking a single trip in the lanes. Motorists taking advantage of the express lanes have enjoyed travel speeds 20% faster than the general-purpose lanes. Rush hour has also been reduced by over one hour in both morning and evening commutes, giving significant time back to all commuters. As part of the Georgia Express Lanes network, the express lanes are designed to manage congestion by providing more reliable travel times. The Georgia Department of Transportation is planning five more express lane projects as part of the Major Mobility Investment Program. Upcoming projects include the SR 400 express lanes, I-285 top end east express lanes, I-285 top end west express lanes, I-285 eastside express lanes, and I-285 westside express lanes. Once completed, the growing metro Atlanta region will see a more connected transportation network benefiting both motorists and transit riders.
Roswells Assistant Fire Marshall Named GA State Representative for Women in Fire The City of Roswell is proud to announce Jamie Leavell, Roswell Fire Departments (RFD) assistant fire marshal, has been named the Georgia State Representative for Women in Fire.With nearly 17 years of service in fire, Leavell has left an impressive mark on the communities she has served. Leavell is a certified fire instructor, fire inspector, emergency medical technician, arson investigator, life safety educator, and peer support/crisis intervention expert, to name a few accomplishments. In her role as assistant fire marshal for the City of Roswell, she is responsible for fire inspections, investigations, and public education.I am honored to be chosen to represent my home state of Georgia. I am very proud of Georgia and the amazing firefighters we have. I am committed to improving fire service through education, training, and networking, said Leavell.Roswell Fire Chief Ricky Burnette says Leavell is a huge asset to the City of Roswell. One of the highlights of my career was hiring Leavell. She is an extraordinary employee who will do an excellent job representing the City, RFD, and the state with honor, said Chief Burnette. An interactive nonprofit network, Women in Fire provides education, support, and advocacy for fire servicewomen. The goal of the State Representative Program is to bring more awareness within the fire and emergency services through local events and outreach. State representatives work in conjunction with departments to increase the awareness of the mission and goals of Women in Fire.
Volunteer for Roswells Community Emergency Response Team The Roswell Fire Department is accepting applications from residents who are interested in becoming part of the Citys Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a volunteer group of trained community members who will be integrated into emergency response efforts in their area. Training for the CERT program consists of eight classes, most of which are held at Roswell Fire Station 7 (8025 Holcomb Bridge Road). Classes take place on Thursdays from 7:00-10:00pm, beginning February 6, 2020. Class size is limited to 16 Roswell residents. Participants must be at least 18 years of age. The CERT program educates participants about disaster preparedness and trains them in basic response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. The training prepares CERT members to assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available for help. CERT members are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community. Only Roswell residents may take part in this program. Residents who are interested in becoming a CERT member should contact Lt. Ed Botts. Send completed applications to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or mail the application to Roswell Fire Station 7, Attn: Lt. Ed Botts, 8025 Holcomb Bridge Road, Alpharetta, GA 30022.