Gwinnett’s oldest locally owned newspaper - established 1988. Covering Snellville, Grayson, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Loganville
Vol. 30 No. 3
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Genevieve’s journey
Make 2018 about YOU page 6
By Carole Townsend Gwinnett Citizen
Happy Birthday Gwinnett page 8
Genevieve
Happy Anniversary Judy and Gene! page 18
Hernia Q & A
Paige Beni Photography
Nadine McTaggart sits curled in a cushy oversized chair, one that diminishes her size and gives her the illusion of being even tinier than she is. Her long brunette hair and big dark eyes might give one the notion that she’s a bit sad, but the circle of women who have surrounded her for the past months knows something very different about Nadine. She is a strong, courageous and yes, a wiser woman than she was just a short year ago. Nadine’s mom Lori sits at the table next to her daughter, her face alive and animated, her voice ripe with the passion that she feels for her daughter, and for her granddaughter, now just barely a month old. The road that led these two women to this place, to tell this story, has been paved with fear and uncertainty; it’s been washed with a thousand tears. Here both women sit, and no matter what else one might see in their faces, strength and courage
Gwinnett Pulse 3 Weddings 18 Gwinnett Road Runner 20 Health & Wellness 22
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overshadow all else. Nadine gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in November, a child who already possesses her mother’s striking features. Lori held her daughter as Genevieve arrived in this world – “with just 11 minutes’ pushing,” according to a proud Nadine. The tiny little girl went home with Nadine, Lori and her husband Mike; she stayed there for two weeks until Abiding Love Adoption Agency came to take her to the adopting family from North Carolina. Many adoption stories might end right there, with emptiness and loss felt on one end, the boundless joy felt on the other, and nothing in between. But Genevieve’s journey is a different one. A new kind of family. “Today, birth moms have a lot of say in adoption. You can choose a closed adoption, but more women are choosing open,” said Nadine. And more adoptive parents are choosing open adoptions, as did Becky and Nate,
See GENEVIEVE on Page 28
National recognition for Veterans Services
page 25
INSIDE
JANUARY 2018
Photo by Paul Kakos
US Navy Petty Officer John Galusha
Ranked 4th in Nation by Military Times® and 8th in Nation by Military Friendly®
Special Photo
their Military Times Best: Colleges 2018 rankings, formerly known as Best for Vets and Gwinnett Tech is ranked 4th among career and technical colleges in the nation; for By Staff Reports its commitment to education and Gwinnett Technical College providing opportunities to Amerhas once again been recognized as ica’s veterans, service members, one of the best in the nation. The and their families. This marks the College has earned significant na- second consecutive year Gwinnett tional recognition for their outstand- Tech has moved up in the rankings. ing Veterans Services in Military In 2017, the College was ranked 19 Times® and Military Friendly®. • Military Times released See VETERANS on page 10
Mountain View High School graduate, John Paul Kakos
Kakos Lands Leading Role in Full Count By Paige Havens Gwinnett Citizen In the spring of 2017, when John Paul Kakos walked off the Mountain View High School baseball field for the last time as a senior, it was a bitter sweet moment. It was the end of his baseball career and the start of a new chapter in his life. John Paul had dreamed of playing baseball in col-
lege and beyond, but several shoulder injuries caused him to rethink his path. As John Paul made plans to attend Kennesaw State University to pursue his college education, he thought he’d revisit an old interest, acting, to help earn some money for college. In middle school, John Paul had dabbled in acting and won
See
KAKOS on page 12