Chamber Announces 2023 Leadership and Teen Leadership Cherokee Classes (2) The 20 members of the Leadership Cherokee (LC) class were chosen following participation in a nomination, application, and interview process. After attending a nine-month program, the class will graduate in September.Members of the Leadership Cherokee Class of 2023 include Delease Chester, Canton Tire & Wheel; Sheila Keeffe, His Hands Church; Barbara Corey, Wellstar; Kristin Norton Green, City of Canton; Jenna Geary, MUST Ministries; Anna Teal, Teal Marketing, LLC; Rebekah Gibson, Soil Erosion and Education, LLC. Jenn Goddard, RE/MAX Town & Country; Katy Leggett, City of Woodstock; Laura Gentilello, Woodstock West by Walton; Heddy Proctor, Next Step Ministries, Inc.; Mark Smith, Cherokee County School District; Chyretta Fullmore, Georgia Division of Family & Children Services; Courtney Argo, Goshen Valley Foundation. Chad Davis, Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services; Kayla Cleveland, Cherokee County Office of the Solicitor-General; Casey Barton, City of Holly Springs; Lynne Saunders, Encompass Ministries; Michelle Meek, The Children's Haven, Inc.; Marc Liscio, Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services. The Chamber also selected its 2023 Teen Leadership Cherokee Class (TLC). The applicants, all high school sophomores who live in Cherokee County, were asked to submit an in-depth application including their school and community involvement as well as a video answering the question “Why should I be selected for Teen Leadership Cherokee?” After reviewing the applications and videos, local business leaders selected the class.Students of the Teen Leadership Cherokee Class of 2023 include Zuri Maina, Woodstock; Brett Fillar, Woodstock; Lavanya Shankar, River Ridge; Abby Gillis, Woodstock; Riley Schultz, River Ridge; Elizabeth Hebert, Sequoyah; Felisa Vazquez, Cherokee; Emma Miller, Cherokee; and Isabella Benavides, Creekview. Leia Lankford, Woodstock; Caleb Miller, Creekview; Cade Smith, Creekview; Revis McClairen, River Ridge; Carrington Presley, River Ridge; Isabel Harper, Sequoyah; Melanie Rein, Sequoyah; Emily Wilson, River Ridge; Lois Dwomoh, Woodstock; Chair Emili Roman; and Vice-Chair Todd HayesFor more information on the Chamber and its programs, visit CherokeeChamber.com.
Explorers Bring Home Trophy From BSA Winterfest In January, Explorer Post 469, a junior firefighter program in Cherokee County, competed in the annual BSA Winterfest Competition at Rocky Top Sports World and the Gatlinburg Fire Training Center in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. More than 1,000 explorers and venturers from across the country attended the event. Explorer Post 469 placed 3rd in the Bleeding Wounds & Shock event and competed well in other events against nearly 30 other fire and EMS teams. Explorers performed tasks including interior searches, removal of victims, hose deployment, and emergency medical treatment.For more information about Explorer Post 469, visit JoinCherokeeFire.com.Explorer Post 469, Coleman Gwinn, Colton Liam, Colton Lusk, and Garrett Bowers. Simon Velardez, Bryson Vaughn, Seth Stephenson, Colton Grier, and Lucas Holden
48th Annual First Citizen of Cherokee County Announced The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce announced Kendall Jones as its 48th recipient of the First Citizen of Cherokee County Award.Jones is the Cherokee Community Liaison at MUST Cherokee. He also volunteers with the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce (2021 Volunteer of the Year), Cherokee’s Homeless Coalition, Cherokee FOCUS, and Canton Housing Authority, where he holds the title of board chair. Jones is an active member of Canton First United Methodist Church, serving as missions chair for three years and a member of the Men’s Prayer Group and the choir.The title of First Citizen is bestowed upon a resident who has lived in the county for at least five years and has significantly served the community through family, civic, and/or religious involvement. A panel of out-of-town judges reviews the accomplishments of each applicant and chooses the winner based upon merit.
Staff Changes Announced in Office of District Attorney On January 31, 2023, Chief Superior Court Judge Ellen McElyea swore in Susan K. Treadaway as acting district attorney of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit and Katie Gropper as chief assistant district attorney. The change in leadership comes following former District Attorney Shannon Wallace being sworn in as Superior Court judge in Cherokee County. Treadaway, who has served the citizens of Georgia as a felony prosecutor for nearly 20 years, will hold the position of acting district attorney pending Gov. Brian Kemp’s appointment of Wallace’s successor. She was previously the chief assistant district attorney. Gropper, the new chief assistant district attorney, has been a prosecutor for more than 15 years.Other staff members who received new assignments include Damion Overstreet who will serve as deputy chief assistant district attorney for the new courtroom, Rachel Hines who will move into Gropper’s previous position of deputy chief assistant district attorney for the Special Victims’ Unit, and Kimball Murdock and Dan Worrell who were promoted to senior investigators.
Cherokee County History Center Wins Awards History Cherokee won Special Projects #2 and #4 Awards at the Georgia Association of Museums conference in January. These awards were given for the History Center’s new exhibits and for the documentary, The Way It Was: Stories of Cherokee County's Desegregation, created in partnership with Scrapbook Video Productions.Harvee White, education manager; Thomas Paterson, development and communications coordinator; Stefanie Joyner, executive director; Kaylee Johnson, exhibits and collections manager
Cherokee County School District Announcements STAR Students and Teachers AnnouncedThe STAR, or Student Teacher Achievement Recognition, student honor is awarded to the high school senior from each Georgia public and private high school with the highest score on any single test date of the SAT and who also ranks in the top 10% or top 10 students of his/her class based on grade point average. Each honored student is invited to select his or her favorite teacher to be named that school’s STAR Teacher.The overall Cherokee County winner is the school honoree with the highest eligible SAT score, which was a three-way tie between Griffen Bon, Braden Flournoy, and Avi Stein. They now advance to regional competition, and the 12 region winners will contend for the State PAGE STAR Student title. STAR Teachers continue with their students through these additional levels of recognition.The CCSD honorees are Cherokee HS’s student Griffen Bon and advanced placement (AP) chemistry teacher Mark Segall and student Braden Flournoy and AP computer science teacher Carla Thornton (tie between two students); Creekview HS’s student Kylie Buchanan and AP chemistry teacher Jason Hardin; Etowah HS’s student Avi Stein and AP English teacher Tina Parmar; River Ridge HS’s student Nandita Bipin and honors English teacher Wendy Vander Veen; Sequoyah HS’s student Taryn Mareau and AP English teacher Dr. Cathy Murphy; and Woodstock HS’s student Lydia Lord and AP English teacher Jacqueline Vance.Seven CCSD Students Named U.S. Presidential Scholars Program CandidatesAs candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, these seven students are among only 5,000 from the more than three million graduating seniors in the nation’s class of 2023 selected to participate in the prestigious recognition program. Only 173 students from Georgia were named candidates. Established in 1964 by executive order of the president, the program was designed to honor and recognize extraordinary graduating seniors. Candidates for the invitation-only recognition program are initially selected based on outstanding performance on the ACT or SAT. For the next round of competition, semifinalists will be selected based on an application that considers overall academic excellence, personal character, leadership, and service activities. Finalists will be selected based on further review of their success in these areas, with 161 Scholars to be named in the spring. Scholars receive national recognition and an invitation to an all-expenses paid trip to the White House. Mill Creek MS Teacher Named Georgia Science Teachers Association 2022-23 Teacher of the Year Ann-Margaret Somers has been recognized as “a distinguished teacher who exhibits ongoing excellence in the teaching of science and commitment to its improvement.” One winner at each level — elementary, middle, and high — is selected statewide. Winners are chosen based on an outstanding record of exemplary classroom instruction, demonstrated innovative teaching strategies, strong professional engagement, and recommendations by colleagues and supervisors.Liberty ES Earns Recertification as Georgia School of CharacterLiberty ES is one of only 73 schools around the world, and one of only two in Georgia, to be recognized by the nonprofit Character.org as a state 2023 School of Character. The organization advocates for all people to become “educated, inspired, and empowered to be ethical and compassionate citizens.”
County Farm Bureau Receives Award During the 85th Annual Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) Convention in December, Cherokee County Farm Bureau (CCFB) received the GFB Rewarding Excellence in Ag Program (REAP) Harvester Award in the organization’s large membership division. This award honors county Farm Bureaus for their organization/membership, advocacy, leadership development, education, and outreach activities. “Our organization has thrived since 1937 because of our dedicated volunteer leaders and county staff who work to promote agriculture in their local communities by visiting schools to teach students how farmers grow our food and meeting with their elected officials,” said GFB President Tom McCall.
Office of Cherokee County Elections and Voter Registration Honored The Georgia Secretary of State’s office awarded the Office of Cherokee County Election and Voter Registration with the 2023 Foundation Builders Award. “It is essential that all counties have a solid foundation of knowledge and leadership. The Foundation Builders Award recognizes the county that is dedicated to getting the little things right. They believe that no detail is too small and that successful elections are conducted on a basis of transparency and hard work,” said Georgia State Elections Director Blake Evans. For more information on Cherokee County Elections and Voter Registration, please visit CherokeeGaVotes.com.
Cherokee County School District Announcements 02-23 • Three Teams Succeed at Regional Robotics Competition Cherokee County School District teams succeeded at the regional First Lego League robotics competition, with three earning trophies and one advancing to super regionals. During these competitions, elementary and middle school students, working in teams, build robots using the LEGO Mindstorms system. Teams design and program their robot to solve missions on a tabletop playing field with models made with LEGO bricks. Each team also completes a research project to analyze and solve a problem. This year’s theme was developing solutions to improve the energy journey — how energy is produced, distributed, stored, and used. Trophies are given for four categories of competition: Robot Design, Core Values, Robot Performance, and Project, with an overall Grand Champion trophy for the event’s highest score. Teams advance to super regionals based on their score and can advance further to a state championship. • Students Selected for Elite Flight Academy Cherokee HS Air Force JROTC Cadet Andrew Solano and Etowah HS Air Force JROTC Cadet Luke Foresman have won the competitive Air Force Chief of Staff 2023 Flight Academy Scholarship valued at $25,000. Cadet Sydney Watson of Cherokee HS was selected as an alternate. The Flight Academy is an eight-week summer program designed for Air Force JROTC cadets to earn private pilot certification. The program’s overall goal is to improve the recruitment, retention, and diversity of the Air Force and aviation industry. • CCSD Celebrates Its First REACH Georgia Scholars REACH Georgia is the state’s first needs-based mentorship and college scholarship program for middle and high school students. An eighth grader from each CCSD middle school has been selected as one of the District's first REACH Georgia scholars: Braxton Cox of Creekland MS, Violeta De la luz Mendoza of Dean Rusk MS, Caleb Massey of E.T. Booth MS, Patricia R. Garcia of Freedom MS, Matthew Green of Mill Creek MS, Ingrid Osorio-Carreno of Teasley MS, and Ashley Gaspar-Morales of Woodstock MS. As part of Georgia’s Complete College initiative, REACH seeks to identify rising eighth-grade students who display academic promise and provide them with the academic, social, and financial support they need to graduate from high school as well as attend and complete college. REACH Scholars who complete the program requirements receive up to $10,000 in scholarships. In addition to meeting eligibility requirements, students must meet expectations for academic achievement, attendance, behavior, and participation in academic coaching and mentorship meetings. • Sequoyah HS Teacher Wins Superintendent's Game Changer Award Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower presented the 2022 Game Changer Award for Instructional Excellence to Career Pathways teacher Brandon Grummer, who leads the school’s engineering drafting and design program and architectural drafting and design program. Grummer designed a successful architecture and drafting Career Pathway program at Etowah HS, building it with experience from his first career working in the industry. He earned Etowah’s 2018 Teacher of the Year and Golden Apple honors and later joined the staff at Sequoyah HS, where he has crafted a successful program for future architects and engineers. • Media Specialist Wins Superintendent’s Game Changer Award Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower presented the 2022 Game Changer Award for Instructional Support to Oak Grove ES STEAM Academy media specialist Denise Lewis. Dr. Hightower thanked Lewis for her contributions to student learning, especially her role in helping lead the school in its recent successful transition from a Fine Arts Academy to a STEAM (STEM plus the arts) Academy. Lewis, a 22-year educator and past Innovation Zone Media Specialist of the Year, also was praised by Principal Penny Valle for her leadership in developing a 21st century media center and earning Common Sense national digital citizenship certification for the school.
Rotary Club of Towne Lake Gives Back to the Community The Towne Lake Rotary Club Foundation (TLRCF) raised $7,000, with the help of sponsors and golfers, at the 7th Annual Glowball Golf Tournament. The Foundation disperses about $8,000 a year to local nonprofit organizations.TLRCF also recently donated $5,000 to Ferst Readers of Cherokee County, ensuring that 130 local children receive books throughout the year. “Basic Education and Literacy is one of the seven areas of focus for Rotary International. We feel it’s important that we look right here in our own community to ensure the children in Cherokee County are supported,” said Club President Jim Klynman. Each month, Ferst Readers provides age-appropriate books and a corresponding newsletter to children up to 5 years old. In Cherokee County, 240 children receive Ferst Readers’ services.“Having sufficient funds allows children to continue to grow their love of reading each month with a brand-new book,” said Michelle Maddox, program manager for Ferst Readers. “The Club’s support has also allowed our local volunteers time to reach out to the community in hopes to establish a team who can keep the program sustainable for years to come.”Ferst Readers is looking for more Community Action Team members. To sign up or learn more, fill out the form at Tinyurl.com/ferstreaderscherokee or visit FerstReaders.org. To learn more about the Rotary Club of Towne Lake and how you can support the Towne Lake Rotary Foundation, please visit TowneLakeRotary.org.