Cherokees Top 10 in 10 Honorees Named The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce recently recognized the 2016 group of Cherokee Countys Top 10 in 10 Young Professionals to Watch. The Top 10 in 10 initiative is designed to cultivate and showcase exceptional Cherokee County young professionals, said Pam Carnes, Chamber President and CEO. This recognition program focuses on Cherokee County residents under age 40, who are considered to be Cherokee Countys up-and-coming leaders over the next 10 years. We were extremely pleased with the number and caliber of candidates for this years recognition. Far more than 10 nominees were submitted. Each application was carefully reviewed by a panel of judges that found the task of only choosing ten honorees challenging, shared Chamber Board Chairman Steve Garrison, owner of Canton Tire & Wheel. Judging criteria included past professional achievements and awards, 5-10 year professional goals as well as the nominees volunteer and community activities.
GA All-Star Gymnastics Raises the Bar with Rising Star Sydney Barros Woodstocks Georgia All-Star Gymnastics (GASG) is all about striving for the best and giving each one of their gymnasts opportunities to shine in their own light. Recently, one of their very own stars, Sydney Barros, was able to travel to Texas to compete in one of the hardest Elite meets, The Hopes Classic. This meet is all about giving young gymnasts an opportunity to enhance their career and compete with the very best in the nation. While Sydney was competing with 150 other young, aspiring gymnasts, she was able to come out on top by placing 10th in the Hopes division. This qualified her to move on to the Hopes National Championship. Only the top .002 percent of gymnasts in the country make it to this level. Sydneys journey began two years ago with her coach, Jorgen Falk. The training process involves not only countless hours and days of working on skills and originality, but also building up confidence. Mr. Falk stated, We are aiming for the highest rank possible. They were successful. Sydney became the first ever gymnast from GASG to qualify for the Hopes Nationals.
Woodstock Named One of Georgias Fastest Growing Cities According to new population estimates recently released by the United States Census Bureau, Woodstock ranked ninth in the states top 10 fastest growing cities, seeing a population increase of 7.6 percent. City Manager Jeff Moon contributes that growth to Woodstocks safe community, great schools and amenities. Theres probably no one thing you could put your finger on, Moon said. I think all of those things contribute to make it a desirable place to liveIts still got a small town feel to it. Its still got a strong sense of community. Recently, the Woodstock City Council began considering the approval of a 69-acre, mixed-use development to include a Costco and a slew of residential units near The Outlet Shoppes of Atlanta and Woodstock City Church. Mayor Donnie Henriques also said Woodstock still has room for improvement in terms of parts of the city that are unincorporated or undeveloped. With growth, comes issues and structure, but we have plans in place to make things better, Henriques said. The citys population was 27,823 as last reported by the U.S. Census.
Cherokee Countys Michael Gustafson Achieves Rare Boy Scout Honor Michael Gustafson recently became the first Boy Scout in Cherokee County to ever earn all the merit badges that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) offers. Currently, there are only 136 merit badges. But in addition to those 136 badges, Michael also earned the only 4 historical merit badges earned in 2010, and he earned a computers merit badge before it became digital technology. So Michael has 141 total merit badges. There have only been 7 other Boy Scouts in Georgia to ever accomplish this goal in the past 100 years, and no Boy Scout in Cherokee County has ever accomplished this feat. Judge Frank C. Mills was Michaels first merit badge counselor in swimming in 2009, and he recently presented Michael with his 141st merit badge at the Boy Scout Court of Honor at the Cherokee Arts Center. To understand how rare it is for a Boy Scout to accomplish this, there are only about 2 or 3 Boy Scouts in the U.S. who reach this goal each year.
Main Street Woodstock Named Quarterfinalist for Americas Main Streets Contest The national small business movement, Independent We Stand, announced the quarterfinalists for its 2016 Americas Main Streets contest, which included Main Street Woodstock. As the lifeblood of our cities and towns, Main Streets play an important role in the long-term success of communities and help build a sense of place. If Main Street Woodstock wins the contest, it will receive the grand prize of $25,000. Main Street Woodstock has seen tremendous revitalization and growth since it became a part of the Main Street program in 2010. It has seen over $250 million dollars in public/private investment made in the downtown area, 280 new businesses opened, 1,975 new jobs created, 1,140 new residential units and over 800,000 event attendees. Downtown Woodstock is a true Main Street success story.
Local Youth Selected for Extreme Mustang Makeover Molly Johnston of Ball Ground, GA has been selected to compete in the Fort Worth Extreme Mustang Makeover held in Fort Worth, TX. Molly will have approximately 100 days to gentle a randomly assigned, wild horse and compete for cash and prizes. Molly is a 7th grade honor roll student at Teasley Elementary, and she loves riding and training horses. Her love for horses began when she started volunteering at Trinity Horse Rescue in Acworth. The mustangs competing in the Extreme Mustang Makeover challenge, which were virtually untouched prior to being picked up by the contestants, will compete in Fort Worth in September. The youth, ages 8-17, and the mustangs will compete in a series of classes that will showcase their new skills. The horses will compete in handling and conditioning, leading trail and a freestyle class. Event information about the Fort Worth Extreme Mustang Makeover is available at ExtremeMustangMakeover.com. The purpose of the competition is to showcase the beauty, versatility and trainability of these rugged horses that roam freely on public lands throughout the west, where they are protected under federal law.
Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce Teen Leadership Class of 2016 Graduation The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the graduation of the participants in the 15th Annual Teen Leadership Cherokee (TLC) Class. Of the 53 Cherokee County high school sophomores who applied, 19 students graduated from the program. Over the past three months, the TLC Class attended an orientation with their parents, an all-day retreat and several class sessions that were planned by local business leaders. The classes addressed topics such as community involvement, economic and educational responsibility, personal development and team building.
CTCs Executive Director for Adult Education Recognized Nationally Chattahoochee Technical Colleges Executive Director for Adult Education, Tamika Phillips, has been named runner up for Outstanding Administrator of the Year by the Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) an award she was nominated for by Beverly Smith, assistant commissioner over the adult education programs for the Technical College System of Georgia. COABE is a 13,000 member organization that exists to provide leadership, communication, professional development and advocacy for adult education and literacy opportunities. The commissions mission is to inspire educators so adults succeed and communities thrive. COABE provides a variety of services, including competitive national-level awards, incentive grants and scholarship opportunities through special funding provided by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
B.J. Weeks Chairing GA Farm Bureau Honeybee Committee Cherokee County Farm Bureau member B.J. Weeks is serving as chairman of the Georgia Farm Bureau Honeybee Committee for 2016. Weeks maintains 500 bee hives, selling honey to 65 local grocery stores and providing limited pollination services. He also raises queen bees and sells packaged beehives. The 10-member GFB Honeybee Committee is made up of fruit producers from around the state. Weeks leads the committee in making recommendations to Georgia Farm Bureau regarding issues that impact the states honeybee industry. Weeks has previously served on the Cherokee County Farm Bureau board, including a stint as vice president. He has also served as vice president for Georgia Beekeepers Association and helps teach classes and workshops for the Cherokee County Beekeepers Club.
Moving On Up: Chattahoochee Tech Police Chief Rounds Out Command Staff Two Chattahoochee Tech Campus Police Officers are moving up in rank, bringing an additional wealth of law enforcement knowledge and experience to the departments already skilled command staff. Wayne Bennett, CTCs executive director of Facilities Management and Public Safety, recently announced the promotions of Jeffery Youngkin and Robert McDowell to the rank of sergeant. Sgt. Youngkin will supervise the Marietta, Paulding, Mountain View and Austell campuses and Sgt. McDowell will oversee the Appalachian, Canton, Woodstock and North Metro campuses. Sgt. McDowell joined CTCs Department of Public Safety as a part-time police officer in August of 2010 after retiring from the Cobb County Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer and as an investigator in felony crimes against persons, as well as internal affairs. McDowell, from 1998 to 2005, also worked as a departmental polygrapher, conducting more than 700 polygraph tests. He additionally served as a member of the Cobb County Police Crisis Negotiation Team from 1994 to 2010. Sgt. McDowell rose up the ranks at Cobb County Police, serving as a sergeant and supervisor over uniform patrol.