The Life 400 North ~ April / May 2015

THE

LIFE 400 NORTH

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of a kind A device in Forsyth could change the world of autism

Fine Thai Nahm’s new take on old cuisine in Alpharetta

HGTV’s Chip Wade GROWING FROM HOME

Other facilities might treat children, but they’re not Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. From broken bones to cancer, we’re the only healthcare system in Atlanta 100% dedicated to treating kids. To learn more or to find the location near you, visit choa.org/locations.

IF YOU DON’T SEE HOPE & WILL,

IT’S NOT CHILDREN’S

©2015 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. All rights reserved.

HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA.

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April•May 2015

Proudly presents the

Join us May 11, 2015, at Polo Golf & Country Club for the premier fundraising event of the year!

Since 2013, the Forsyth BYOT Benefit has raised over $80,000 to enhance the “Bring Your Own Technology” Initiative in the Forsyth County Schools. The BYOT Golf Tournament is our largest fundraiser. Please help us in our effort to increase students’ access to devices and the Internet. .

April•May 2015

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E ditor

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pring is a time for growth, right? We at The Life tried to take that to heart with this issue. We wanted to show you, our readers, that we are here to stay. We are planting our roots in the area, and we want you to be a part of the journey with us. You are the stories that we want to tell. In this issue, we look at four unique takes on life from the 400 North corridor. From a Thai native making her mark on the high-end culinary world, to an HGTV television star, to a Forsyth County native who has been amassing a memorabilia collection for over 60 years, to a device that has a good chance of changing how the medical field treats autism (and could end up in the Smithsonian). The stories are diverse, but that’s the point. Ga. 400 North’s platinum corridor is a field of beautiful, unique, wild flowers, and we are just trying to pick the right ones to share.

—

Micah Green

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4165 Old Milton Parkway, Suite 200 East, Alpharetta, GA 30005 THE LIFE 400 NORTH

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Contents 9

Teeing off in the Metro

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The Sultan of Souvenirs Forsyth County native shows off extensive, decades-old collection

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Cover Story: Chip Wade HGTV star calls Forsyth County home

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Vacation Getaways Seven Southeastern destinations for the entire family

High Thai Veteran chef brings new class to old cuisine

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The Future is Now (Kind of)

From the Editor

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Sports Gallery

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Events 29

Device could help early detection of autism

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April•May 2015

Our forward-thinking global practice integrates architecture, the arts, technology and human activities to provide our clients with high-quality design across a multitude of capabilities anchored by an unwavering commitment to provide exceptional service. WBA is a diverse, knowledgebased firm informed by research and experience in all areas of our practice: retail/mixed-use, corporate office, higher education, entertainment, civic, sports, industrial, religious, multi-family residential, municipal, financial, senior living, master planning, interior design and healthcare. Utilizing contemporary technologies and working closely with our clients in order to realize their futures, we design functional, programmatic hybrid and sustainable buildings that embody and enhance our clients work. We are a source of new ideas for positive change to the built environment, and we embrace complexity as the basis for designing innovative and high performance projects: “From our inception, we have understood that knowledge begets positive change,” says John Beasley, “and we have built a team of 120 talented professionals, from a broad array of disciplines, who are constantly exploring new ideas as they elate to project type and program. We strive to push the boundaries of convention practice with new ideas that challenge the common understanding of what is possible.” No matter the project type, size, or location, our number-one priority is meeting and exceeding our clients needs. We are committed to providing a consistent level of top-quality service by working closely with each client to help achieve your design, cost and timing goals at every step of the planning, design, and build process.

Forsyth County Courthouse The Wakefield Beasley & Associates/ HOK team was selected by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners to provide design services for the $85M Courthouse and Jail addition project. A Neoclassical style was used to match the fabric of downtown Cumming. The SPLOST VII funded project includes a jail with approximately 175,000 sf, a 160,000 sf courthouse, and two parking decks to accommodate 700 vehicles. The 608 bed jail facility features direct and indirect supervision models for the housing units. The courthouse features space for State Court, Superior Court, Clerk of Court, District Attorney and Solicitor Offices. The design also includes a secure bridge connection between the court and jail facilities to allow for safe transportation of inmates.

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Contributors Content Director

Micah Green mgreen@forsythnews.com 770-887-3126

Advertising

Ryan Garmon - Director rgarmon@forsythnews.com 770-205-8960 Cheri Boghos cboghos@forsythnews.com Connor Kelly ckelly@forsythnews.com

Graphic Design

Thank You for voting us #1 in Forsyth!

A proud supporter of Forsyth County Schools.

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Copy Editor/Paginator Tracie Pike

Contributing Writers Kelly Whitmire Kayla Robins Brian Paglia

Executive Staff

Publisher Vince Johnson vjohnson@forsythnews.com Editor Kevin Atwill katwill@forysthnews.com Circulation Director Lisa Salinas lsalinas@forsythnews.com Online Editor Jim Dean jdean@forsythnews.com

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April•May 2015

TEEING OFF IN THE METRO

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April•May 2015

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The Sultan of Souvenirs Forsyth County native shows off extensive, decadesold collection Story by Brian Paglia Photographs by Micah Green

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usan Tallant walked out to meet us in the driveway with a suspicious look and her arms crossed. Three strangers had pulled in unannounced in the middle of a Friday morning. It’s a familiar scene for Susan, but, honestly, she’s become weary of it over the years.

“I worry about other people coming,” she would say later. “I worry about getting robbed.”

When we introduced ourselves and told her the purpose of our visit, Susan’s mood seemed to turn from suspicion to resignation (with a slight eye-roll in the transition). Politely, she recommended we park our cars in a lower driveway on the other side of the house.

“Closer to the sacred ground,” she said in airquotes.

We pulled around into the lower driveway in front of a closed garage. Nothing about its appearance suggested this was a destination for Atlanta Braves dignitaries or former professional baseball players or hundreds and hundreds of baseball enthusiasts. The only distinguishable hint was a Braves sticker on the electrical box right next to the door leading in.

Johnny Tallant walked out to greet us. He wore a Georgia State baseball cap leaning back on his head

to reveal a brim covered with signatures in hasty scribble. He opened the weather-worn door to the garage, and we walked in to the Tallant Baseball Museum.

Like his hat, almost everything in the Tallant Baseball Museum is signed. Baseballs upon baseballs, bobbleheads upon bobbleheads. Complete sets of cards dating back to 1957. Issues of Sports Illustrated all the way back to 1964. Two seats from old AtlantaFulton County Stadium he bought for $100 before it was demolished. Mini-bats hung on two walls in alphabetical order. Minor league team pennants pinned according to geography on the walls along the staircase leading upstairs. Baseball caps from various eras and teams lined in a converted cellar. A chunk of marble.

The sight of Tallant’s memorabilia collection is astounding and overwhelming, though he downplays it.

“It looks bad,” Tallant said, “but there’s a lot of stuff down here.”

Here, tucked along a bucolic north Forsyth road, is something more than a museum. For a baseball historian, it’s an archeological dig site. For a Baby Boomer, it is the last vestiges of a sport’s Golden Age.

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Tallant grew up in Forsyth County a baseball fanatic without the talent to match (“I couldn’t throw, hit or run, but other than that I was good,” he said). His uncles took him to his first games when he was 8.

Eventually, he started to come home with batches of collectables.

The museum began to take shape in 2000 soon after Tallant retired from coaching and teaching in Forsyth County. Two coaching friends painted a baseball field on the concrete garage floor, complete with bases, grass, infield dirt and all. A local company made him a sign to hold signatures from the museum’s most notable visitors – Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez; pitching coach Roger McDowell; Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro; the Braves’ late broadcaster, Pete Van Wieren; Georgia baseball coach Scott Stricklin; Walter Banks, the private usher for Ted Turner during his ownership of the team;

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a dozen former MLB players; and accomplished coaches from around the metro Atlanta area.

Now it’s filled with baseball cards, baseball puzzles, baseball foosball tables, baseball uniforms, baseball moments on the front of old newspapers.

It is a space layered with stories, and visitors get Tallant going.

He spends 10 minutes alone

talking about the sign with the signatures, recalling when 30 to 50 people crammed into the garage to hear Niekro speak at one of Tallant’s monthly meetings he hosts during baseball’s winter offseason. Then it’s over to the old scoreboard from Bremen High School that took five men to load into a pickup. Above it is the 1,600 by 1,600 baseball crossword puzzle Tallant and some of his fellow

April•May 2015

teachers completed (“We did it, of course, during non-teaching time,” he said). Nearby are old baseball jerseys worn by local teams in the ‘50s with a player’s dad’s contracting company advertised on the back with a four-digit phone number.

Then there is the collection of bobbleheads. Tallant has one that sings “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” another that recites the classic “Who’s on First?” skit

by Abbot and Costello, one that commemorates Seward’s Folly, the U.S.’s once-maligned purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.

He eyes each one, its story bouncing from his brain to his tongue, but he stops when he spots Jonny Gomes in a Cincinnati Reds uniform frozen in his backswing.

“Hey, I didn’t realize I got a Jonny Gomes bobblehead,” Tallant said. “That’s good now since he’s with the Braves.”

Tallant moves on, and we’re pulled along by the anticipation to hear the next story. Eventually, the only story left to hear is the one to explain all the others collected and kept in Tallant’s monument to baseball: why? But there’s no existential answer.

“It’s just something that I do,” Tallant said.

So the last thing to do is the most expected: we sign our names in a small baseball calendar to mark our attendance. Tallant gives us each a micro-bat with TALLANT BASEBALL MUSEUM inscribed on the side.

Another visitor satisfied.

April•May 2015

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www.ghms-inc.org THE LIFE 400 NORTH

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High Thai

Restaurant veteran bringing new class to old cuisine Story and photographs by Micah Green

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alance. Aesthetic. Simplicity.

Nature. Passion.

These five words make up Chef Nahm Thongyoung’s cooking philosophy.

“I think because I grew up with the whole experience of cooking with my grandma,” she said. “The smell and beauty of Thai food, it really reformed me and made me want to share this beauty.”

Thongyoung moved to the United States nearly 12 years ago,

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but crafting elegant Thai cuisine has been a part of her life since she can remember.

Her grandmother, she said, was probably her first influence in the kitchen, but it was a member of Thai royalty that really helped her hone her craft and appreciate those five words that have stuck with her.

“My aunt was a friend of King Rama IX’s daughter,” Thongyoung mentioned casually. So casually, in fact, I nearly missed it. “When she would come over, they cooked royal cuisine, so very delicate plates.”

As owner and executive chef of

‘The smell and beauty of Thai food, it really reformed me and made me want to share this beauty’

400 NORTH

Nahm Thongyoung

April•May 2015

Nahm Fine Thai Cuisine in Alpharetta, she puts the techniques she brought from home into practice every day.

Everything (within reason) is made from scratch, prepared daily and served as fresh as possible. And it’s obviously working. After eight and a half years in the same spot, Thongyoung is eyeing a second location, though she did say that was maybe a couple of years down the road.

Despite her success and tenure at Nahm’s location on Windward Parkway, Thongyoung has yet to throttle down her hands-on approach.

This struggle to let go of the process is due to her devotion to an experience.

“I really care about my quality of work,” she said. “I

April•May 2015

want to transport people to where I grew up.”

“I want people to get lost in a moment, lost in the beauty. I want my cooking to keep progressing so that when you see it, that’s the only place you are in the world.”

But growth is important to Thongyoung too. She said that because she is growing and becoming a new person every year, she believes her menu should reflect that.

The chef also talks a lot about high-end cuisine. Think Bordeaux in France or Bologna in Italy. These places represent the best of the best in high-quality food, from presentation to taste.

Thongyoung wants to represent Thai cuisine in the same way. With her outlook, discipline and commitment, she is undoubtedly on her way.

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Sports on 400 North

Our favorite portraits of some of the area’s most talented athletes.

Photographs by Micah Green

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April•May 2015

Left: Erika Cross, midfielder, West Forsyth High School; Top: Luke Del Balzo, goalie, Pinecrest Academy; Bottom (L-R): Andres Perez, catcher, Pinecrest Academy

The Future is Now (Kind of ) Device could help early detection of autism Story and photographs by Micah Green

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April•May 2015

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itting just off Ga. 400, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Forsyth has a device that very well may change the world.

The device, no larger than an old standalone Pac-Man arcade game, sits on four wheels and moves from observation room to observation room at CHOA’s Forsyth County office in The Collection.

It would be easy for a researcher to roll right past it and to miss it completely.

A child’s car seat is attached to the back of the machine, facing a small television monitor with wires still visible in the rear.

Despite the advanced prototype look, there is something about the gray rubber, metal and cloth device that exudes greatness.

Beth Buursema, community outreach liaison for Children’s in Forsyth, may have said it best.

“Nothing less than groundbreaking,” she said without a flinch. “That machine is going to change the lives of so many people.”

There is no simpler way to put it.

One of the most important medical research devices in recent history sits in Forsyth County: The Marcus Autism Eye Tracker.

Buursema said when the opportunity to be a part of the research with this device presented itself, it was a “nobrainer” to the community board.

“We wanted the opportunity to fund something

April•May 2015

of this caliber,” she said. “That was presented to the board and we were given a dollar amount — $250,000 — to get the machine here.

“We reached out to the community, and it reminded us how fortunate we are.”

The community answered quickly, with money coming from all corners. Tommy and Chantal Bagwell of American Proteins promised to donate $75,000 through the Bagwell Foundation if the community would match it. That was too easy.

Not only did individuals come forward, but every single one of the schools in the Forsyth County system contributed, as well as countless local businesses.

People held fundraisers in their own homes, they went door to door. The people of Forsyth County obviously saw the potential in this incredible opportunity.

The Marcus Autism eye tracker made its debut at CHOA in Forsyth County back in August. Since then, and through March, 55 children have participated in the study. The families and the clinicians are not getting to see the results of the eye tracker yet, since it’s still in the research phases, but each one of those children got a full top-notch clinical evaluation.

According to Cheryl Klaiman, senior psychologist at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta, 78 percent of the children tested have been diagnosed with some form of autism.

“Right now, it’s just an investigational device,”

Klaiman said. “We are testing it to see if it can be effective in diagnosing autism in toddlers.”

The bulk of the nearly decade-old study is focused on children ranging in age from 16 to 30 months, but has also been conducted on children as old as 18. Hundreds and hundreds of kids have been tested with this device, with most of that research happening in Atlanta.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in 68 births results in a child who will eventually be diagnosed with autism. It’s more prevalent than childhood cancer, diabetes, and really any other disorder that affects children.

As staggering as that number may be, it’s been growing exponentially over the past couple decades and shows no signs of slowing down.

A trained clinician can diagnose autism in children in as early as 18 months, but the national average is still about 4 years old. It is something CHOA and Marcus representatives think is unacceptable.

The reason CHOA, Marcus Autism and countless other families and physicians are excited about this device is because of how quickly research suggests that it is identifying autism-related eye movements in children as young as 16 months.

One of the most difficult parts of dealing with an autistic child is actually getting the child diagnosed. It’s an arduous process, complete with year-long waiting lists and uncertainty. Even when a

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family is able to get their child in to be seen, only about 2 percent of kids in the country are getting what Klaiman called, “state-ofthe-art behavioral assessments.”

“So the other 98 percent, a physician is talking to a family, and the doctor is putting their eyes on a kid,” Klaiman said.

“We know about 30-40 percent of those types of evaluations are incorrect. So their child is getting misdiagnosed, either being told that nothing is wrong, or told that something is wrong when it’s not.”

“The best practice assessments are time consuming,” Klaiman added. “They can take up to three or four hours, so clinicians just can’t see many kids a day.”

If the research conducted with the Marcus Autism eye tracker is on point, the device could remedy three of those ills. It would cut down on wait time (the average test takes less than 30 minutes), take a large chunk of the uncertainty and human error that can come

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with clinical tests administered by family physicians out of the equation, and may help diagnose autistic children early enough to circumvent secondary symptoms associated with the disorder; symptoms that can severally hinder a child’s social and cognitive skills.

“If we can intervene before all the secondary symptoms, then we can save families a lot of grief and a lot of money,” Klaiman explained. “The secondary symptoms can be what are really expensive to treat, all the aggression and the self-injurious behaviors. If we can increase their communication capabilities early, the less expensive it can be.”

Less expensive may even be a huge understatement. If an autistic child has developed the necessary cognitive skills by age 3, it costs about $6,000 a year to continue teaching the child. Conversely, if that child is diagnosed two years later, it could cost up to $80,000 a year

to care for them.

The device works by recording and monitoring, frame by frame, the eye movements of a child who is watching age-appropriate videos (something as simple as an adult playing peek a boo).

Their results are then compared to thousands.

The research with the device is still ongoing. If you or someone you know would like to participate, please visit www. marcus.org/research to see if you fit the criteria and find out how to sign up.

And don’t think you have to have autism risks or signs to participate. “[That’s] one of the coolest things about the research to me,” said Carrie Moyer, public relations coordinator for CHOA. “A typically developing child can be part of it and still help us.

They are constantly publishing these eye-tracking sessions. And even those without autism are helping us create a solid base for contradictory results.”

April•May 2015

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From The Cover

No matter how you measure it, Forsyth County’s Chip Wade is buidling up his name on HGTV Story by Kayla Robins Photographs by Micah Green He’s the host of a hit reality show on a popular home improvement network, but he personally sifts through applications. Hundreds a week. He has filmed a few episodes in California, but he chooses to remodel metro Atlanta homes because his family lives nearby.

And he knows that makes him happy. Family. Creativity. Home.

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ehind the scenes of a popular Atlanta-based do-it-yourself design and renovation show on HGTV, a 6-year-old gives his handdrawn instructions on how to build a Transformer to the crew. They’ll build it for him, and he and his younger sister and brother will test the kids’ room they built for an upcoming episode.

“When I do kids’ spaces, we’ll bring them in to try it out and see how they interact with it. They’re always there. They think it’s normal,” said Gwinnett Countynative Chip Wade.

Wade, 32, is the host of “Elbow Room,” an HGTV show with four seasons under its tool belt. A couple of years ago, he may have been labeled as an up-and-coming face on the home improvement network. But now he’s sitting atop that hill, surrounded by a wide family support system that spans three generations in the metro area.

April•May 2015

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“I’m a huge family guy,” Wade said. “I have a huge family, and we still get together as often as once a week. I have two sisters, and we all live close by each other.”

After growing up in Gwinnett County, Wade moved to Midtown, where he attended Georgia Tech and met his wife, Pauli, on the cheerleading team. Good thing he didn’t play football, for which the school approached him.

He left college with a degree in mechanical engineering and earned his certification in residential construction, working as a structural engineer for an Atlanta-based custom home builder.

“Making one-of-a-kind solutions really resonates for me, to be able to do the construction and design, of course, but with creativity,” he said.

Wade and his wife moved with their three kids — Mac, 3-year-old Mara, and JT, 1 — and Wade’s parents to Cumming about two years ago.

Doctors placed Mac on the autism spectrum when he was 2, though Wade said he “is doing so much better now. He has made tremendous strides forward.” “[Forsyth is] an area that we love to be in, even though it’s a bit of a destination because it’s in the mid-

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dle of nowhere compared to Atlanta,” Wade said. “But we love it.”

Designing a home, not a house

His TV audience won’t look at his on-screen projects and see the middle of nowhere, nothing homes, though, and his target houses haven’t taken him far from home.

Before landing his first host job with “Elbow Room,” he proved his c a r p e n t r y s k i l l s o n H G T V ’s “Designed to Sell” and has since appeared on the network’s “Curb Appeal: The Block,” “Showdown” and “Design Star.”

“I did one stint for ‘Curb Appeal’ in California, but otherwise it’s all been in [metro] Atlanta,” Wade said. “ L ast season, the far thest south I went was Dunwoody.”

He has renovated “hundreds of Atlanta homes.” He’s even host of a ne w, still untitled, show this summer.

“The area provides a nice diversity of architectural style that ’s identifiable internationally. The weather is nice longer, so we can film longer. And the network is here, too, so the production value increases,” he said.

He recently finished a project in

south Forsyth that he said will be “more of an iconic landmark” visible from the Big Creek Greenway.

The fully exterior project boasts “sculptural pavilions and floating structures all made out of wood blocks.”

Projects on “Elbow Room” — he recently finished filming its fourth season — showcase Wade helping a family who has outgrown their space over time or circumstance.

Sometimes he completes a largescale renovation. Other times he builds an addition to the home.

Every design is personalized to the family who will live in and use the space when the cameras and Wade’s team of six — and a larger production staff — clears out.

Wade picks the projects himself.

Homeowners apply to the show through his website, and he vets through hundreds a week.

From design to family time, the process takes between two and three weeks. He’ll work on as many as six at a time.

His method is founded on innovation and originality, and he is always looking for new materials and to “ look at problems.”

Everything should serve a purpose. “ I like doing indoor-outdoor spaces, creating connectivity April•May 2015

between them, opening spaces up.

Creating furnishings that can be used in both settings. It reflects the lifest yle that families live,” Wade said.

His on-screen work attests to that thought. One custom element that has multiple purposes rather than purc hasing and instal ling multiple pieces.

April•May 2015

It’s hard to do that really well, he said.

That ’s where his engineer ing background comes in, to make sure “that they work and last.”

“All about the details”

His own home reflects a side he often does not translate into his network projects.

“I’m more classic in my personal style, but I like to design modern,” he said of his home that displays all stone, brick and cedar elements. “ I t ’s a l i t t l e m o r e o l d - w o r l d .

Simplicity but with quality materials.”

His home and work life blend together more through people.

W hen Mac tests another family’s

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play space. Or when Wade’s dad often stops by the set to “throw ideas around.” How his wife is a licensed Realtor and CPA and runs their local real estate group.

“There’re elements of each project I’m drawn to. It’s all about the details for me,” Wade said. “The large-scale has to be right, but once it is, I pride myself in the work if the flow and feel and functionality of the space works.”

He said with customization naturally comes individualized opinions, and the design may speak to the homeowner in a different way than he imagined.

“My favorite projects are when I’m not only in love with them but the client really resonates with them,” he said. “S ometimes they ’re the simplest ones.”

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NOW OPEN AT AVALON www.johnscreekdentaltown.com Avalon

770-622-1515 5260 Avalon Blvd Alpharetta, GA 30009

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The Collection At Forsyth

770-887-8807

410 Peachtree Pkwy • Bldg 400 Suite 4250 • Cumming, GA 30041

Most Dental Insurance Plans Accepted

Johns Creek Dental Town

770-622-1515

4300 Johns Creek Pkwy Suite 100 • Suwanee, GA 30024

Off of 141 & McGinnis Ferry, Behind Kohls

February•March April•May 2015

Georgia Dermatology Center offers the world’s most innovative and effective techniques for the diagnosis ofDermatology skin diseases as well asoffers skin the rejuvenation, Dr. Alex Gross receiving the ‘2015 Best of Forsyth’ award on Georgia Center world’s behalfwrinkle of Georgia Dermatology Center reduction, and body contouring. most innovative and effective techniques for the Georgia Dermatology Center offers the world’s diagnosis of skin diseases as well skin rejuvenation, most innovative andaseffective techniques for the Dr. Alexander Gross is a respected leader in physician Beautiful Skin Starts Here wrinkle reduction, and body contouring. diagnosis of skin diseases as well as skin rejuvenation, medical and cosmetic dermatology, Theeducation, NewesT TechNology Nd TechNiques For contouring. skiN wrinkle A reduction, and body laser technology.

-A ANd Bsurgery, ody coNTouriNg ANTidermatologic Dr.giNg Alexander Gross isand a respected leader in physician Board Certified in both Dermatology and Internal education, medical and cosmetic dermatology, Dr. 3Alexander Gross is a respected leader in physician OurMedicine, focus is on the P’s of Anti-Aging Skin: Protection, Dr. Gross provides histechnology. patients with 20 years dermatologic surgery, andmedical laser education, and cosmetic dermatology, Products and Procedures. Protection means sun avoidance practical experience and treatments.

Board in both Dermatology and and of the useCertified of sunscreen, level 30state-of-the-art or greater, to Internal limit effects dermatologic surgery, and laserthe technology.

Medicine, Gross provides his patients with 20 of sun exposureDr. andBoard damage.

Products help repair and reverse Certified in both Dermatologyyears and Internal your issueimprove is medical cosmetic, my goalskin. the “Whether signs of aging and the or appearance of the of practical experience and state-of-the-art treatments.

Medicine, Dr. Gross provides his patients with 20 years Procedures can comfort smooth and wrinkles and fill folds the face,acheek is to ensure satisfaction by providing of practical experience and state-of-the-art treatments. andcomprehensive around the mouth.

Also available are laser “Whether your approach issue is medical cosmetic,treatments my goal to yourorconcerns.

We offer to improve skin color, tone and texture, and tighten sagging skin to ensure comfort for andreversing satisfaction providing aisvariety of options skinby damage anda on the face and body.

“Whether your issue is medical or cosmetic, my goal comprehensive to your concerns.

We offer enhancing yourisapproach look by combating the signs of aging. to ensure comfort and satisfaction by providing a a variety ofofoptions for reversing skin you damage and Regardless your age, we can help comprehensive approach toachieve your concerns. We offer Services and Treatments Include: enhancing your look by combating the signs of aging. younger and healthier a varietyappearing of optionsskin.” for reversing skin damage and *Liposuction Regardless of your age, we can help you achieve enhancing by combating the signs of aging. *Botox, Dysport, Voluma, Restylaneyour Silk,look Soft Tissue younger and healthier appearing skin.” fillers Regardless *Exilis, Matrix-Refirme, Velashape of your age, we can help you achieve youngerResurfacing, and healthier appearing skin.” *Laser Resurfacing, Fractional Micro Laser Peels,

Beautiful skin starts here.

Beautiful skin starts here.

Call and schedule your consultation today!

Beautiful skin starts here.

Call and schedule your consultation today!

FotoFacial *Laser Hair removal, Microdermabrasion, Facials, Chemical Peels Dr. Alexander Gross is a *Pharmaceutical Grade Skin Care Products respected leader in medical *Introducing VANQUISH, the newest in RF Laser technology.

Medical Degrees and cosmetic dermatology, Vanquish is a non-invasive fat melting procedure for your BS Biology University; MD University Certified Internal Medicineskin body...no down time,Call no surgery! and schedule yourEmory consultation today!South Florida: Board dermatologic surgery, Medical Degrees Emory University and Dermatology Vanderbilt University cancer, and laser technol-

BS Biology Emory University; MD University South Florida: Board Medicine ogy.Certified He isInternal Double Board Areas Of Expertise complimeNTAry cosmeTic coNsulTATioNs Medical Degrees Emory University and Dermatology Vanderbilt University Certified, in both Dermatology Dermatology; SkinUniversity; Cancer Treatment; Liposuction; Botox; Soft Tissue AvAilABle By AppoiNTmeNT.Adult and Pediatric BS Biology Emory MD University Florida: Board Certified andSouth Internal Medicine and Internal is Areas Of Expertise Fillers; S-Lift Facelift;Emory Laser Resurfacing; Excilisa fat reducing, skin tightening procedure.

University and Dermatology University a trainer for otherVanderbilt physicians.

He is the current Adult and Pediatric Dermatology; Skin Cancer Treatment; Liposuction; Botox; Soft Tissue of the Georgia Society of Dermatology Med Spa Services Include Of President Expertise Fillers; S-Lift Facelift;Areas Laser Resurfacing; Excilis- a fat reducing, skin tightening procedure. and Dermatologic Surgery Resurfacing, and a member of the FotoFacial, Microdermabrasion, ReFirme, VelaShape,Skin Profractional Micro Laser Adult and Pediatric Dermatology; Cancer Treatment; Liposuction; Botox; Soft T Med Spa Services Include American Society of Dermatologic Surgeons. Dr. Peel, Laser Hair Removal, Facials, Chemical Peels, pharmaceutical grade skin care products.

Fillers; S-Lift Facelift; Laser Resurfacing; Excilisa fat reducing, skin tightening proce GrossProfractional was recently named FotoFacial, Microdermabrasion,Alexander ReFirme, VelaShape, Resurfacing, Micro the Laser 2015 Advocate of the Year by thegrade American of Med Spa Services Include Peel, Laser Hair Removal, Facials, Chemical Peels, pharmaceutical skin care Academy products.

FotoFacial, Dermatology.

Microdermabrasion, ReFirme, VelaShape, Profractional Resurfacing, M

Peel, Laser Hair Removal, Facials, Chemical Peels, pharmaceutical grade skin care

Dr. Alexander Gross Dr. Alexander Gross

1505 Northside Boulevard, Suite 1500, Cumming, Georgia 30041 | Northside Hospital Campus Dr. Alexander Gross | 678.845.7494 Med Spa | gadermctr.com Office 1505 Northside 770.781.5077 Boulevard, Suite 1500, Cumming, Georgia 30041 | Northside Hospital Campus February•March 2015

770.781.5077 Office | 678.845.7494 Med Spa | gadermctr.com THE LIFE 400 NORTH | 27 1505 Northside Boulevard, Suite 1500, Cumming, Georgia 30041 | Northside Hospital Ca

SOUTHEASTERN GETAWAYS 1. Pigeon Forge

Sitting just north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge offers dining, shopping and outdoor activities for all ages. Other activities include Dolly Parton’s theme park Dollywood, rafting, golf and several dinner shows.

2. Gulf Shores Gulf Shores takes advantage of its location on the Gulf of Mexico, offering ocean activities like parasailing, fishing and dolphin watching tours. The city is also home to Alligator Alley, which holds over 200 alligators, the Amphitheater at the Wharf and, of course, sugar-white beaches.

3. Charleston The oldest city in South Carolina delivers an Old South feel with horse carriage tours of the city, plantation tours and riverboat rides. Charleston also offers more modern attractions including the Whirlin’ Waters Adventure Park, paddle boarding and numerous restaurants and bars.

4. Destin Often called the world’s busiest fishing village, it’s no shocker than Destin offers some of the best fishing in the country, along with dolphin tours and water sports. For those wanting to stay on land, Destin also offers golf, shopping and the Emerald Coast Winery.

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5. Hilton Head Though the island is only 12 miles long and five miles wide, Hilton Head packs a lot to do in a small area. The island touts 24 golf courses, 350 tennis courts and more than 250 restaurants, plus mini golf, children’s museums and Pirates of Hilton Head, a boat ride and pirate experience, for kids.

6. Tybee Island Between the Tybee Museum, Marine Science Center and Tybee light station, Georgia’s oldest and tallest lighthouse, you can come home a little smarter from vacation on Tybee Island.

Tybee also features watersports, biking and a number of bars and restaurants.

7. St. Simons Recently named America’s No. 1 Favorite Romantic Town by Travel and Leisure Magazine, St. Simons offers restaurants, lighthouses and moss-draped oaks for an idyllic night out. For the whole family, St. Simons offers bike rides, ghost walks and watersports.

Suddenly, you’re in a whole different state of “Wonder Women!”

“Can’t catch us!”

“Follow that dolphin!”

The magic truly begins the moment you mix uncrowded, sugar-white beaches and turquoise water with a variety of family-friendly attractions and accommodations. Come be transformed.

GulfShores.com 877-341-2400

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CUMMING

City honors veterans Flags unfurled for Memorial Day

By Crystal Ledford

cledford@forsythnews.com Micah Green Forsyth County News

Soldiers release doves Friday during the Memorial Day ceremony at the Veteran’s Memorial in Cumming.

Eleven more veterans have joined the ranks of those who are honored by the city of Cumming every Memorial Day weekend.

On Friday, city leaders held their annual holiday observance at the Veterans War Memorial.

As part of the ceremony, the families of the 11 deceased veterans unfurled flags in their memory, joining the city’s Avenue of Flags along

Veterans Memorial Boulevard across from the Cumming Fairgrounds.

Each year, during Memorial and Veterans Day events, the Avenue of Flags is displayed. Each American flag represents one or more veterans from the Forsyth County area.

The display has grown to include more than 200 flags, which are See VETERANS | 5A

Teachers Last day excitement finish up first year edUCAtIoN

Feel mix of relief, accomplishment

By Jennifer Sami

jsami@forsythnews.com

Photos by Micah Green Forsyth County News

Kaitlyn Woodcock and Raine Wilson, second-graders at Chestatee Elementary, wait for the bus to pull out Friday, the last day of school before summer vacation.

Chestatee Elementary teachers wave goodbye to their students Friday as they head home for summer vacation. The 2014-15 school year begins on Aug. 7.

As they approach the end of their first school year as teachers, Megan Barton and Kendall Robinson are both tired and inspired.

It’s been a year of learning. It’s been a year of firsts. But both young educators said they are more confident in their career decisions now than they were on the first day back in August.

As part of an occasional series, the Forsyth County News has followed Barton and Robinson throughout the school year. For the final installment, the FCN caught up with them last week as they prepared to release students Friday for summer vacation.

Megan Barton Barton is going to miss her first fourth-grade class at Midway Elementary, whom she said taught her so much during her first year as a teacher.

They were a great group to learn from and one that she’s really “grown to love.” Their parents have been even more helpful and generous during her first year, according to Barton.

As she heads back for a few days of post planning this week before her summer officially begins, Barton paused to reflect on the past 10 months.

“It’s definitely been a learning year for me, but it went really well,” she said. “You never have another first year ... I’ve experienced See TEACHERS | 5A

Optimists award scholarships Recipients include students from each public high school

By Crystal Ledford

cledford@forsythnews.com Crystal Ledford Forsyth County News

West Forsyth senior Carlos Lopez, center, receives a scholarship from Forsyth-Cumming Optimist Club member Mike Miller on Thursday as teacher, Erik Moore, right, watches.

Members of the Forsyth-Cumming Optimist Club awarded $10,000 in scholarships during a meeting Thursday.

The club honored 10 members of the class of 2014 from all five of

Inside Volume xx, 105, Number xx 62 © 2014, 20xx, Forsyth County News Cumming, Georgia

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Forsyth’s public high schools.

Bob Flowers, vice president of the club, said most of the funding for the scholarship program comes from the club’s Avenue of Flags program, in which club members places American flags in front of homes or businesses on certain holidays.

“All the flags you see in neighborhoods that are about to pop up over this weekend, that’s our doing and that’s how we fund these scholarships,” Flowers said.

For a fee of about $35 a year, the See OPTIMISTS | 5A

Jennifer Sami Forsyth County School

Midway Elementary teacher Megan Barton is nearing the end of her first year as a teacher.

tease to story 3B tease to story xA County 2A xA Retirement goes here preparing goes here beckons for new gun law.

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The perfect gift for every occasion 

gift cards order online or call 678-425-0900 www.chateauelan.com

Château Élan | 100 Tour De France, Braselton, Georgia 30517 Located I-85 North, Exit 126 - 30 Minutes North of Downtown Atlanta

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EVENTS

• Shaky Knees Music Fest 2015 The 3rd Annual Shaky Knees Music Festival returns to Atlanta May 8-10 with The Strokes, The Avett Brothers, Tame Impala, Wilco, Pixies, Social Distortion, Ryan Adams & many more! Full lineup and ticket info online now at ShakyKneesFest.com. This year’s festival hits Central Park in Midtown Atlanta, Friday, May 8 thru Sunday May 10… don’t miss Shaky Knees 2015!

Growing together and depending on each other.

Cumming 1505 Northside Boulevard Suite 2000 770.781.4010

Dawsonville 81 Northside Dawson Drive Suite 305 770.781.4010

Specialists in the Detection and Treatment of Digestive Diseases, Hepatitis and Colon Cancer

www.atlantagastro.com AGA is a participating provider for Medicare, Medicaid and most healthcare plans offered in Georgia.

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Southern Surfest 2015

EVENTS

This year’s Southern Surfest runs May 2-3 at Laurel Park on Lake Lanier, with pro clinics on May 1. In 2014 over the course of two days, 8 boats, 60+ boards, 34 riders and 4 pro riders participated.

The structure of the event is for each rider to ride in every boat, and they can select any board on that boat to try. Each boat has a variety of skim, surf, long, hybrid and grom boards. Pro riders will be present, not only to show off their skills, but to also give tips and pointers so everyone can improve their riding. There are few events where you can demo this many boats and boards over the course of two days, and currently, Southern Surfest is the only one in the southeast. For more information, visit www.southernsurfest. com.

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(678) 947-4040

www.ScottsAutoCenter.net

(With Coupon, Exp 06/01/15)

820 Peachtree Pkwy I Cumming, GA 30041 Business Hours: Mon-Fri: 8:00a-6:00p I Sat: 8:00a-3:00p

(With Coupon, Exp 06/01/15)

(With Coupon, Exp 06/01/15)

“OUR REPUTATION RIDES ON EVERYTHING WE | DO” 35 April•May 2015 THE LIFE 400 NORTH

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