“The Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest”

Gary Webb provided information to his fellow Rotarians about the Georgia Rotary Districts Character Education Program at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on Monday, March 18. The program, known as the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest, is fourteen years old. Over 400,000 essays have been submitted over those years and more than $200,000 in prize money passed along to 49 participating Georgia high schools. The goal of the essay contest is to have an impact on lives of students. It fills a need in schools to explore shared ethical values. Students compose an essay related to a saying which applies to their lives with the emphasis being on the personal reflection, not correct grammar or mechanics. Gary introduced Horace Buckley, a ninth-grader at Gwinnett High School, who was there with his father. Horace read his winning essay based on the saying “Life is short. Just go.” Gary then told stories of particular students who had success stories related to their participation in this program. He is a judge for this competition and acknowledged how difficult the judging often was.

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Five Gwinnett County high schools participated in this year’s Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest, which is the largest character education writing competition in North America. Statewide, nearly 40,000 high school students wrote a Laws of Life essay, and 6,314 of those students were residents of Gwinnett.

The Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest asks students to select a “Law of Life” or maxim (such as “Honesty is the best policy,” or “To give is better than to receive”), and to write about how the character value contained in the quote applies to the student’s life. Some of the maxims selected by Gwinnett students include, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” (Eleanor Roosevelt), “To listen, when nobody else wants to listen, is a beautiful thing” (Mother Teresa), and “Count your blessings.”

In writing their essays, students are challenged to examine and reflect upon core values such as generosity, courage and compassion. The contest, which rewards students who are willing to take a stand for their beliefs, provided more than $17,000 in student awards and teacher honoraria this year alone.

The Georgia Laws of Life contest is a program of the Georgia Rotary Districts Character Education Program, Inc. (GRDCEP), a Rotary-based nonprofit organization. The Rotary Club of Gwinnett and the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville are contest sponsors, along with 40 additional Rotary Clubs throughout Georgia including the Rotary Club of Stone Mountain which sponsored Shiloh High. The Georgia Power Foundation is one of several Presenting Sponsors, and Gwinnett-based Peach State Federal Credit Union serves as one of several Silver Level sponsors.

The national model for the contest was created in 1987 by Sir John Templeton, a noted philanthropist and the founder of The John Templeton Foundation. The Georgia contest is in its 14^th year, and since its inception more than 406,000 Laws of Life essays have been written by Georgia teens.

This year’s participating Gwinnett County high schools include Berkmar High, Brookwood High, North Gwinnett High, Peachtree Ridge High, and Shiloh High. We thank the schools’ Laws of Life contest chairs – Ms. Dennise Peagler, Mr. Dana Kling, Ms. Barbie Nelson, Ms. Leigh Ann Danley, and Ms. Gayle Bankhead – for championing the program within their schools.

Student winners from Gwinnett include:

Berkmar High School: School Winner Lizabeth Pena; Grade Winners Kimberly Salas, Alexandra Pearlstein, and Jenny LeNguyen

Brookwood High School: School Winner Nicholas Na; Grade Winners Cindy Nguyen and Lauren Jones

North Gwinnett High School: School Winner Horace Buckley; Grade Winners Eunbi Kim, Kaycee Shuler, and Alex Kario

Peachtree Ridge High School: School Winner Jessica Palencia; Grade Winners Tatiana Patino, Benjamin Scott, and Navera Tahamddin

Shiloh High School: School Winner J’Markus George; Grade Winner Jaylin Wiggins

High schools that are interesting in participating in the 2013-2014 contest, and individuals and corporations that are interested in serving as contest sponsors, should visit www.georgialawsoflife.org   thank you Gwinnett Citizen for Sharing

David O. Crews is the CEO of View Point Health, formerly called GRN Community Service Board.  View Point Health is a public provider of services to adults and youth who have a mental illness or a substance abuse addiction.  Additionally, services are provided to adults who are developmentally disabled.

While Gwinnett, Rockdale and Newton have traditionally been View Point’s core service area for approximately 12,000 clients annually, VPH owns and operates a regional twenty-seven bed adolescent facility in DeKalb County.  Additionally, the agency, with a $35 million budget and 400+ employees, has staff stationed in Augusta, Athens, Savannah, and Albany providing care management services to youth and families who are striving to avoid a residential out-of-home placement.

Prior to his August 11, 2012 appointment as CEO by the View Point Board of Directors, David served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at View Point for twelve years.  Previously, he served twenty years as CFO and Associate Superintendent for Gwinnett County Public Schools.  As Associate Superintendent for ten years, David directed all business, construction and planning functions for the district that grew from serving 35,000 students to 100,000 students during his tenure.  His forty plus years of governmental experience also includes serving as CFO for the Georgia Department of Human Resources and as a Senior Auditor for the State Auditor’s office.

https://vimeo.com/61569726

At their noon meeting on March 4, members of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville learned about the week-long summer camp, Camp Kudzu, where children with type 1 diabetes can be educated, inspired, and empowered.  Alex Allen, the Executive Director, shared a video about the programs offered in the child and teen programs and then discussed the history of this organization which depends heavily on volunteer efforts and donations.  Camp Kudzu has been in operation for 14 years and serves children from 69 Georgia counties.  Over 300 volunteer workers help with the three camp sessions they offer each year.  Six hundred children participate in the camps held at Camp Twin Lakes and at Cabbage Patch Kids.  She demonstrated the steady growth of the organization over the years.  The program helps families so they can gain confidence, make connections with other like them, and learn more about handling the disease.  For more information, the website is www.campkudzu.com.

https://vimeo.com/61496379

The Effects of the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act, which goes into effect January 1, 2014, has many people puzzled about what effects it will have on their lives and businesses. Al Hombroek shared his insights with his fellow Rotarians at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on February 25. He defined key terms of the Act, such as minimal essential coverage, full-time equivalent employees, subsidized coverage, and inadequate coverage penalty, and passed out a flow chart that clarified the process. He focused on the possible effects the Act will have on decisions about hiring and about what coverage to offer employees (if any). He speculated that some companies may drop insurance benefits or develop some ways to get around paying the inadequate coverage penalty. In short, the Act raises many questions and will necessitate some basic changes in the way employers handle benefits.

https://vimeo.com/60490133

The speaker at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville was Stan Hall, who provided information about the upcoming PGA Champions Tour. He discussed the history of PGA tours in Gwinnett County and was pleased to report that the tour would be returning this year as the Greater Gwinnett Championship. It will be presented by Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating. This charity golf tournament will be take place at the prestigious TPC Sugarloaf the week of April 15-21, 2013. All three official rounds will be nationally televised on the Golf Channel and proceeds from the event will benefit local charities through the Gwinnett Championship Foundation, Inc. Helping to sell tickets (for a share of the proceeds) will be Rainbow Village and Relay for Life. This year’s recipients are Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia Gwinnett College, Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation, and Gwinnett Tech Foundation. The event promises to have an $18-25 million economic impact on the Gwinnett County area and will provide national exposure on the Golf Channel. Those interested in helping to sponsor the event can get information atwww.greatgwinnettchampionship.com

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Linda Cerjan, a staff member of the American Cancer Society, gave the program at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on February 11. She shared information about the mission, programs, and services provided by the ACS. Focusing on helping cancer patients and their families, the association supports research, education, and counseling. They rely on thousands of volunteers to make their programs a success. Most are familiar with the Relay for Life program, which is their main money raiser for research and the top fund-raising event in the nation. Gwinnett County has sponsored the largest event in the country for 10 years out of the last 11. But the ACS does much more. They have sponsored three research studies, one focused on the relation between cancer and tobacco, one on the relation between obesity and cancer. The third and current study focuses on genetic and environmental issues; volunteers for that study are being solicited until Feb. 18. They also provide support through numerous programs, including the National Cancer Information Center, the Cancer Survivors Network, and the Clinical Trials Matching Service. They provide cosmetic advice, wigs, and positive motivational programs for cancer patients. Celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, the American Cancer Society has proven of great benefit to many people.

https://vimeo.com/59436343

Speaking at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on February 4 was Debra Proulx, the program manager for the Center for Surgical Weight Management at Gwinnett Medical Center Duluth.  Debra is a Certified Bariatric Nurse who coordinates all services and education for the bariatric program.  She opened her talk with statistics outlining the obesity problem in the United States and in Georgia.  In the U.S. 35.7% of adults are overweight; in Georgia 65% of adults and 40% of children are overweight.  The medical costs resulting from these statistics are significant, since hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and Type II diabetes are related to weight.  She then gave information about the Medical Center’s program.  Dr. Robert Richard, a bariatric surgeon heads a team of nurses, dieticians, and counselors.  The first surgery was performed in March of 2010.  Patients are required to undergo an extensive preparatory process before the actual surgery and have follow-up for the rest of their lives.

https://vimeo.com/58919384

At Monday’s noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville the speaker for the day was Ron Tant, Georgia State Director for Child Evangelism Fellowship International. He explained that the Fellowship is 75 years old and operates in 50 states and 180 countries. The group has reached more than 12 million individuals. He focused on the work of the Good News Clubs in Georgia elementary schools. The Clubs are after-school clubs which help children become successful by providing moral and religious training. He asserted that there is a severe need in today’s world for mentors and models for young children and that the 200 plus Clubs in Georgia elementary clubs have had a tremendously positive influence on Georgia’s young people.

https://vimeo.com/58401335

Rotarians at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on January 21 met the Coordinator for Volunteer Programs in Gwinnett County, Kay Sibetta. She spoke to the group about her commitment to centralize volunteer opportunities and initiatives throughout the county. Her position grew out of the Engage Gwinnett program recommendations. Her office aims to involve more residents in volunteer activities to support the functions of the County’s 24 departments . She is tremendously encouraged by the rapid manner in which the department has reached its goals of service hours: the goal was to reach one million service hours by 2016 and already in 2012 a total of 991,000 hours have been reached. Volunteer opportunities vary from one day commitments to on-going more long range services and internships. Volunteers are encouraged to register online and report their hours so that a record can be compiled and maintained. Information is available at www.volunteergwinnett.net or at volunteergwinnett@gwinnettcounty.com.

https://vimeo.com/57884433