The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce celebrated the county's finest citizens, as well as one of the most successful years in the Gwinnett Chamber's history, Friday at the 61st Annual Dinner.
The dinner was held at the Thomas P. Hughes Grand Ballroom at Gwinnett Center.
Sharon Bartels, president of Gwinnett Technical College, received the prestigious Citizen of the Year Award. Bartels joined the college's leadership team in 1986 as the school's director of marketing and worked her way up to president just 10 short years later. Under her leadership, she led the institution to become one of Georgia's largest two-year technical colleges and directed Gwinnett Tech's initial accreditation visit from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
As a result of the visit, the institution gained accreditation in record time for a state technical institute, making it one of a handful of technical schools with this accreditation. In addition, Bartels not only has a high profile in Gwinnett County, but throughout the state of Georgia as well. She has been named one of Georgia Trend's 100 most powerful and influential Georgians, and was named Gwinnett Magazine's 2005 Woman of the year.
The chamber also introduced its 2009 chairman, Kerry Armstrong. He joined outgoing 2008 Chairman and President Jim Maran in giving several prestigious awards to Gwinnett's pacesetters.
The five Public Service Awards were presented to Linda Storey, Storey Residential Properties, Inc.; Mike Levengood, partner, McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP; Renee Byrd-Lewis, director of community relations, Cisco Systems, Inc.; Raymer Sale, president, E2E Resources, Inc.; and Dr. Manfred Sandler, Cardiovascular Group, PC. These awards were given to individuals who have gone above and beyond over the years in their service to the community and its residents.
The Legacy Award, which honors the memory and legacy of an individual who has made a difference in the history and progress of Gwinnett County, was awarded posthumously to Bartow Jenkins. The award was accepted by Bartow's wife, Mary Anne Jenkins. Jenkins was a Lawrenceville councilman, Gwinnett County commissioner and mayor of Lawrenceville for 14 years. He led efforts to revitalize the downtown Lawrenceville square, increase benefits for city employees, establish a well-water system and completed the new City Hall.
This year's D. Scott Hudgens Award was presented to the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia. Accepting the award on behalf of the foundation was President Joe McCart and Executive Director Judy Waters. The award is given in honor of Scott Hudgens, a respected developer and philanthropist. The Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia was established in March 1985. Today, they administer funds for such notable organizations as Gwinnett Gladiators for Kids, the Cobb County Community Foundation, the Greater Purpose Fund for Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, the Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation, as well as Senator Jack Murphy's Scholarship Fund, the Wendy Murphy Young Artists Scholarship Fund, the Chamber's Partnership Gwinnett Charitable Fund and many more. Despite the challenge of this year's economy, the gifts to its funds totaled $7.2 million dollars, with another $6.2 distributed to non-profits.
"Leaders such as Bartow Jenkins have blazed the trail to success and the end result has been a Gwinnett that is one of the most innovative, diverse and dynamic communities in the nation," says Maran. "Through the strength and vitality of leaders like Linda Storey, Michael Levengood, Renee Byrd-Lewis, Raymer Sale, Dr. Manfred Sandler, Sharon Bartels, Bartow Jenkins and Judy Waters our community continues to flourish, so that people from every race, religion, culture, and creed can call Gwinnett home."
