Special Section - Suwanee Post: February 2012

I drive by Suwanee’s Town Center every night on my way home. Often, as I’m stopped at the light in front of the park, I take time to watch the many folks who always seem to be enjoying the space. From people walking their dogs, to parents playing with her kids to the occasional guitar player picking a tune, they all likely have interesting stories.

The Suwanee Post, which debuts today, will help us bring you more of those stories. Whether it’s news from the city council, results of a local road race or features on local residents, it’s our goal to bring you all

the news from the city you call home. We’ll bring you that news in many ways, includ-ing the Suwanee Post, which will be delivered

Delivery Problems? Your satisfaction is our number one priority. If we miss delivery of your Gwinnett Daily Post, call our circulation department customer service line, 770-339-5845, or e-mail the cir-culation department at [email protected] between 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Customer Service is staffed until 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. weekends and holidays to handle your sub-scription questions.

www.suwaneepost.com $2.00 ©2012 SCNI Vol. 1, No. 1

SuWanee POSTGwinnett Daily Posta publication of the

SundayFebruary 5, 2012

Meetings and events happening this week. Meetings are held at City Hall, 330 Town Center Ave. in Suwanee unless otherwise noted.

TueSDAY• Planning & Zon-ing Commissionwill meet at 6:30 p.m.

WeDNeSDAY• Suwanee Business Alliancewill meet at 6 p.m. at Bill Baraban’s Academy ForeGolf – 3985 Lakefield Ct.Suite 204 in Su-wanee

SATurDAY• Suwanee Sweet-heart 5K Sprint will be held at 9 a.m.

FeB. 16 • City Council Workshop held at 5:30 p.m.

FeB. 21 • Zoning Board of Appeals held at 6:30 p.m.

• Downtown Development Authorityheld at 7:30 a.m.

FeB. 28• City Council Meeting held at 7 p.m.(Public hearing, 6:30 p.m.)

This week in suwanee

By Ben BeitzelStaff Writerben.beitzel@

gwinnettdailypost.com

SuWanee — There’s only been a few sisterly spats between alexis and alyssa Munlyn this year and they’ve all blown over quickly.

It’s easy to see how. The younger, freshman

alyssa, got first pick at a quirky question on her fa-vorite athlete. She answered Blake Griffin, the Los an-geles Clippers highlight reel dunker. Older sister, inde-

pendently, came up with the same answer.

When she learned her sister had the same answer, there was a smile, then a head shake.

“I can’t believe she said that,” alexis Munlyn said of her younger sister.

It’s a bit of sibling sparring, but with the Munlyns it feels like two friends feigning an-ger.

There’s always been a friendship between the sis-ters, separated by four years in school, but this year it’s

grown. For the first time, the senior alexis and the fresh-man alyssa are on the same basketball team. They dis-cussed the possibility over

summer and alexis told her younger sister to shoot to make the varsity team at

Sister, sisterNorth’s Munlyns relishing

chance to play hoops together

By Camie YoungSenior Writercamie.young@


SuWanee — Jimmy Burnette grew up on Main Street, when it really was the main street in town.

Peachtree Industrial Boulevard didn’t exist, and Interstate 85 stopped in Suwanee. So people would wind along Main Street of the tiny town on their way

to the lake.“We just sort of roamed

all over,” Burnette said of life as a boy in Suwanee.

His grandparents lived down the street, and a gro-cery store, dry goods store and post office were about all there was to the rural community, built around a railroad more than a cen-tury ago.

Growth was slow to come to the community,

but by the 1990s Burnette barely recognized the town he has known his whole life.

But that doesn’t mean he loves Suwanee any less.

In fact, the hometown man is one of the reasons the city has stepped up to become one of the most desirable places to live in the country.

a laid-back politician willing to see and even en-

courage change, Burnette now sits at the city’s helm as mayor, continuing its growth and shaping its fu-ture.

“usually people who grow up here want to keep it under their wings ... and hold onto the past,” Bur-nette said. “(But) you have to embrace change.”

City provided opportunities

Burnette always knew Suwanee would become someplace.

For decades, residents had to go to atlanta or Gainesville for a nice res-taurant or entertainment.

Grocery shopping was a shorter trip, but you still had to go to Buford.

and as far as jobs go — Burnette’s father worked

Staff Photo: John Bohnnew Suwanee Mayor Jimmy Burnette is a native of Suwanee. Mayor Burnette and his family have been a part of politics in Suwanee for many years.

Staff Photo: John Bohnalexis, left, and her sister alyssa Munlyn play bas-ketball for north Gwinnett. They began playing bas-ketball while very young as their parents played basketball for Georgia Tech.

HOMeTOWn Leader

Burnette bridges old and new as Suwanee mayor

•See Sisters, Page 5

•See Burnette, Page 6

Suwanee Post is your newspaper

viewpoinTs

Todd clineediTor

•See newspaper, Page 2

www.gwinnettdailypost.com • sunday, February 5, 2012 • 22 • sunday, February 5, 2012 • www.gwinnettdailypost.com

With the start of a new section devoted to suwanee, I was asked a few weeks ago if I’d be interested in writ-ing about the city. I knew I wanted to do it because I think it’s a cool area with a lot of different things to do.

I’ve lived in Suwanee for a year now, 10 years in gwinnett, and i have to say it’s my favorite city in the county. Here’s five things I recommend to do next time you’re in the area:

1. go to the suwanee gre-enway. Whether you enjoy walking or running, the trails on the greenway stretch 9.5 miles and offer multiple creekside views and forested wetlands. It’s also a great place to see all kinds of dogs

and meet other runners. And who knows, you might even see some deer like I have.

2. stop by dress up boutique. this shop, located in suwanee town center, has dresses, skirts, shirts,

shoes and accessories for the young, professional woman. Prices range anywhere from as low as $15 to $50 and there are only three of each item of clothing and they’re never duplicated.

3. Have lunch or dinner at Ippolito’s. This Italian res-taurant, located in suwanee town center, is one of my favorite places to eat. The cheese tortellini is hearty and delicious and their home-made garlic rolls are made fresh daily. For vino lovers, every Monday and Tuesday they offer half off bottles of wine.

4. For a cool place to hang out after dinner or to just have a drink, stop by after Five, located off of peachtree

industrial boulevard. this lounge is connected to Cinco Mexican Cantina and offers free, live music some nights.

5. if you want to give back to the community, stop by the Georgia SPCA off buford Highway. the facility is always in need of volunteers to help clean the building and walk the dogs up for adoption. The next volunteer orientation is at 5 p.m. Feb. 19 at the facility. For more information, visit www.georgiaspca.org.

Stop by these places and let me know what you think about them. If you have a favorite spot in Suwanee you like to go to, email me at [email protected].

Five places to see, eat, shop and have fun in Suwanee

viewpoints

tori Boone scenes from

suwanee

suwanee post reporter

meet Keith farner

the rotary club of bu-ford/North Gwinnett will host a 5K run at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The Suwanee Sweetheart Sprint is an annual fundraiser for the club, and registration is $25 for individuals and $40 for pairs. you can register at www.active.com and www.northg-winnettrotary.org.

registration and race packet pickup will begin at 7:30 a.m. at town cen-ter, which is at buford Highway and Lawrencev-ille-suwanee road. runners will receive long-sleeve shirts at reg-istration.

The race will start on the other side of the pe-destrian tunnel on Main Street and wind through Old Town.

“The race offers a rea-

sonable goal for New Year’s resolutioners to check their progress,” organizer Duane Cham-plin said. “and, the race course provides a variety of sights and topography that will offer a challenge even for those who’ve been running for a while.”

the rotary club of buford/north gwinnett provides service and sup-port for a variety of com-munity needs and organi-zations. the rotary club meets at noon on Wednes-days at the Home Plate club at coolray Field, 2500 buford drive, in su-wanee. Meetings are open to guests and those inter-ested in learning more about rotary. For registra-tion and more informa-tion, call 404-583-1595.

— From staff reports

Rotary Club to host Sweetheart 5K run

When it comes to cov-ering the city of suwanee, Keith Farner is your man. The Suwanee Post is Keith’s beat and you’ll see him around town, from city council meet-ings to events at Town Center. If you have in-formation or story ideas, email him at keith.farn-

er@gwinnettdailypost,com.Keith is from louisville, Ky., and graduated

from western Kentucky university, where he re-cieved a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and land-ed newspaper internships in st. louis, clarksville, tenn. and lexington, Ky. He previously covered high school sports for the Anderson (S.C.) Inde-pendent-Mail.

He and his wife Kristi married in 2010, and have an 8-month old basset hound named earl.

to homes and newstands every Sunday as part of the gwinnett daily post, and through around-the-clock coverage on the web at www.suwaneepost.com and via social media.

The Suwanee Post is your newspaper, cover-ing the issues, trends and news that affect your town. And because of that, we want you to be part of what we’re doing. Whether it’s by writ-ing letters to the editor, becoming a community blogger, submitting calen-dar items or even sharing your favorite photos, we encourage you to not only read the suwanee post, but contribute to it. You can’t be the community

paper without the commu-nity’s involvement.

While there will be many ways to contribute (please email me at the address below this column if you have any ques-tions), we are also com-mitted to bringing you pertinent stories from our quality staff. in fact, we have one reporter devoted to covering all things Su-wanee, and his coverage will be supported by other writers as well.

Over the coming weeks, you will become very familiar with Keith Farner, who is covering the suwanee beat. Keith previously worked for the Anderson Indepenent-Mail in South Carolina and also did freelance writing before joining us.

He will be out and about in the community looking for stories and features, but he’s also open to sug-gestions for stories he can pursue. You can reach him via email at [email protected] or by phone at 770-963-9205, x1324.

The exciting thing for us with this endeavor, is the ability to narrow our focus and drill down to find the stories that matter most to you. In addition to reporting about city gov-ernment and local clubs and businesses, we’ll also cover the local schools, all the way down to weekly lunch menus. We’ll also spotlight Suwanee resi-dents and events through our Spotted photo galler-ies dedicated to the city.

to review, here’s what you need to know about the Suwanee Post:

n It will appear in print every Sunday

n You can access daily and breaking Suwanee news any time at www.suwaneepost.com

n You can suggest story ideas by emailing our Suwanee reporter at [email protected]

We’re excited to bring you the most comprehen-sive coverage of your city. And we look forward to your contributions as we strive to tell the stories of Suwanee.

Email Todd Cline at [email protected]. His regu-lar column appears on Wednesdays.

Newspaper•From Page 1

Find it in Suwanee!Gobs of free concerts, festivals & other events coming this spring and summer!The � rst concert is April 14 with a new event, Suwanee’s Super Incredible Race, on April 21.

In May, you won’t want to miss Game on the Green with the Atlanta Braves and Arts in the Park. And, the Farmers Market opens!

See the full 2012 event calendar at www.suwanee.com.More information about events will be posted to the website as available.

Plus, Suwanee’s got kickin’ parks, interesting public art, and great eats.

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www.gwinnettdailypost.com • sunday, February 5, 2012 • 3www.gwinnettdailypost.com • sunday, February 5, 2012 • 3

suwanee Posttoday and each sunday, the gwinnett daily post will be bringing you the city’s own newspaper devoted to the people, events and stories that make up all things suwanee.

you can also keep up with the latest news around suwanee at www.suwaneepost.com or following @suwaneepost on twitter.

welcome to theSculpTour art initiative earns city two awards

By Keith Farnerstaff Writerkeith.farner@


suwanee — based on awards alone, suwanee is beginning to be a trendset-ting city around the state.

the city was recently honored with two public arts awards for its inaugu-ral sculptour exhibit. the georgia municipal associa-tion honored suwanee as a trendsetter, one of six cities in the state. and artworks! gwinnett highlighted the city as a co-winner, with the gwinnett county public library, for a community impact – community arts program award.

the exhibit, which in-cludes a podcast as part of the walking tour, features 15 sculptures around town center.

amy Henderson, public information manager for the gma, said the gma judges were impressed by the city’s vision to add art alongside economic development.

“they knew what they wanted to do for their eco-nomic development plan, and this is how they’ll get there,” Henderson said.

Henderson added that su-wanee offered a blueprint for what other cities “could and should do” to blend art with economic development. she said that coincides with gma’s mission, which is to help communities become innovative, effective and re-sponsive. the gma also appreciated that city officials worked with the community and requested community input.

this is the fourth trend-setter award the city has won since 2005, which is among

the most in the state, Hender-son said. suwanee also won for the creation of the town center, community input in local government and its open space and parks initia-tive.

Henderson said the gma put suwanee in the middle of three population groups, those cities with a population between 5,000 and 20,000. but it easily stood out among the 41 entries and 11 finalists.

artworks! gwinnett saw many of the same qualities that gma did.

sally corbett, the execu-tive director of artworks! gwinnett, said sculptour provides a new tourism des-tination, and gives working artists an opportunity for ex-posure.

“it was clear that suwanee sculptour was the most

ambitious and bold public art project during that time frame, and needed to be rec-ognized,” corbett said, refer-ring to dec. 1, 2010 through dec. 1, 2011.

lynne dewilde, public information officer for the city of suwanee, said the city wanted to use public art for several purposes: economic development, quality of life and local identity.

when the exhibit closes in march, suwanee’s public arts commission will pur-chase the most popular ex-hibit to display on a perma-nent basis. there have been more than 6,000 votes so far, dewilde said.

dewilde said there are plans to open another display in may, but funding is en-tirely through corporate and private donations.

Special PhotoThis little girl is one of the 15 sculptures around Town Center.

4 • Sunday, February 5, 2012 • www.gwinnettdailypoSt.com

Spotlight on SchoolS

By Frank ReddyStaff writer

[email protected]

Suwanee — ed Shaddix sees the big picture.

He sees meshing personalities, a breakdown of responsibilities, the complexity of each role.

Shaddix loves the “enormity” of his job as principal at north gwin-nett High School, overseeing the facility and the people who work there.

“i enjoy trying to put all the pieces together to make it func-tion,” Shaddix said. “i thrive on that. i love it.”

in his fourth year at the high school’s helm, Shaddix, 39, feels lucky to be an educational admin-istrator in a town like Suwanee.

“i like the community here,” he said. “Suwanee has been able to maintain the sense of commu-nity despite its rapid growth in recent years, and that’s hard to do, to know your past but at the same time look at your future.”

the feeling of community ex-tends into each and every class-room, he said.

“Kids are proud to say they go to north gwinnett High School,” he said. “they’re proud to say they’re a bulldog. the sense of ownership is overwhelming, and i don’t use the term ‘ownership’ lightly.”

it’s that sense of ownership that has made students strive for suc-cess and community involvement, he said.

last year, teachers administered 2,200 advanced placement exams, handed out more than $13 million in scholarship money not includ-ing Hope and the senior class ac-cumulated more than 55,000 hours of community service.

Shaddix also brags on the arts programs, athletics and 109 clubs and activities for students to join.

“we encourage involvement,” he

said. “Kids that are plugged in do better in school. they’re more ac-tive and more motivated.”

Shaddix attributes the success of students at the school to the overall north gwinnett cluster.

“the results we get at north gwinnett High School are great, but it’s not all north gwinnett High School. it’s the elementary school and it’s the middle school that allow us to do what we do,” he said. “if we weren’t getting the

raw materials we get in the ninth grade we couldn’t produce the ap numbers and test scores that we do.”

Setting and keeping the bar high is a tough task, but Head of curriculum liz rieken said Shaddix is the man for the job.

“He always puts the kids first, and he has an excellent way of communicating with them as well as with the teachers,” rieken said.

part of his success lies in “the confidence he has in his staff to make good decisions,” rieken said.

“He sets the direction, but he lets the teachers use their skills,” she added.

Student matheus mauricio, 18, said Shaddix has “incredible” leadership skills.

“He is a great model for all the people of north gwinnett High School,” mauricio said. “i admire that.”

discipline coordinator brad Siegfried agreed.

“(Shaddix) gives you the free-dom to do your job, but then he

also asks for input on decisions about where the school is head-ed,” Siegfried said.

“He tries to include everybody that is involved in the school: stu-dents, custodians, teachers and parents,” Siegfried said. “He tries to get input from all of them and make the best decision from what they’ve given him.”

rieken chimed in: “i think the entire staff really appreciates him as a leader and colleague, and that’s very exciting going forward with north gwinnett. He’s the per-fect leader for us.”

His desire to be in a leadership position goes back to his days of teaching and coaching at Shiloh High School in 1995.

“when i started education i wanted to be a head football coach,” Shaddix said. “through chance and luck i was afforded some opportunities to get into ad-ministration through the athletic director’s route.”

Shaddix said he was offered a job as head football coach at the time. “when i didn’t take the job,

i knew the avenue i wanted was administration and being a princi-pal. i felt like could do more in that role than as a head football coach.”

He worked at Shiloh High School for 11 years, spent two years at dacula High School as an assistant principal and came to north gwinnett High School in 2008 to take the helm.

Shaddix feels that being the principal means putting trust in the people you hire to do the job right.

“when you hire quality, com-petent people to do a job, give them the structure and the tools necessary to do that job, you will have good results,” he said.

“my job is to help set north gwinnett High School’s vision, create the atmosphere for that vision to take place and give the necessary tools to do that.”

Shaddix is working toward a doctorate at liberty university. He and his wife, brooke, have been married for 15 years. they have two children, payton, 14, and nick, 9.

Shaddix always ‘puts the kids first’north gwinnett principal loves job

Staff Photo: Jason BravermanNorth Gwinnett principal Ed Shaddix monitors the halls after school on Tuesday afternoon. Shaddix has been at the school for four years.

ElEmEntary• Monday: choice of pizzas, premium roasted chicken pinwheels, veggie burger, sea-sonal fresh fruit, cheesy broccoli, veggie variety and zesty frijoles• Tuesday: Asian to go, Get Along Little Doggies, Scrumptious Subs, hummus with dippers, seasonal fresh fruit, garden salad, veggie variety and all natural dried fruit• Wednesday: Gwinnett’s Best Burger, mozzarella sticks, signature salads, veggie burger, seasonal fresh fruit, broccoli salad, veggie variety, corn on the cob• Thursday: grilled chicken sammie, Totally Taco, Scrumptious Subs, veggie burger, seasonal fresh fruit, garden salad, veggie variety and fruit juice bars; • Friday: pasta bolognese, fish sandwich, signature salads, pasta and marinara, sea-sonal fresh fruit, roasted asparagus, veggie variety and creamy pudding.

MiDDLe• Monday: premium breaded chicken, BBQ sandwich, robust wraps, featured salads, veggie burger, seasonal fresh fruit, Groovy Garden Salad, veggies variety, broccoli and cheese and edamame succotash• Tuesday: baked potato bar, choice of pizza, sensational subs, featured salads, veg-gie burger, seasonal fresh fruit, Groovy Garden Salad, veggies variety, oven baked okra and all natural dried fruit;• Wednesday: fiesta fajitas, crispy chicken sammie, turkey club, featured salads, hum-mus and heartzels, seasonal fresh fruit, Groovy Garden Salad, veggies variety, zesty frijoles and fruity yogurt;• Thursday: Asian to go, choice of pizza, sensational subs, featured salads, veggie quesadilla, seasonal fresh fruit, Groovy Garden Salad, veggies variety, stir fried cab-bage and creamy pudding;• Friday: cheesy mac and cheese, Catch of the Day, robust wraps, featured salads, veggie burger, seasonal fresh fruit, groovy garden salad, veggies variety, cole slaw and crunchy broccoli salad.

HiGH SCHooL• Monday: homestyle dumplins, selection of pizza, spicy chicken sammie, robust wraps, featured salads, Tex-Mex Tacos, vegetarian choice, seasonal fresh fruit, Groovy Garden Salad, eggplant fries, veggie variety and creamy yogurt; • Tuesday: baked potato bar, selection of pizza, Gwinnett’s Best Burger, Sensational Subs, featured salads, vegetarian choice, seasonal fresh fruit, Groovy Garden Salad, Summer Squash Bake, veggie variety and Souper soup; • Wednesday: cheesy mac and cheese, selection of pizza, crispy chicken sammie, homestyle sandwich, featured salads, pizza quesadilla, vegetarian choice, seasonal fresh fruit, Groovy Garden Salad, broccoli and cheese, veggie variety and breaded okra; • Thursday: boneless wings, selection of pizza, Philly cheese steak, sensational subs, featured salads, Asian rice bowl, vegetarian choice, seasonal fresh fruit, Groovy Garden Salad, zesty frijoles, veggie variety and cauliflower gratin; • Friday: sliders, selection of pizza, grill choice, robust wraps, featured salads, meat-ball sub, vegetarian choice, seasonal fresh fruit, Groovy Garden Salad, oven baked fries, veggie variety and creamy pudding.

Source: Gwinnett County Public Schools

what’S for lunch?School menus for the week of Feb. 6 through 10.

By Frank ReddyStaff writerfrank.reddy@


Suwanee — Students at Suwanee elementary re-cently learned the power of teamwork to accomplish a common goal.

Students there set out on a mission to collect as many canned goods as pos-sible — aiming for more than 100 cans per class-room.

they accomplished their mission. From Jan. 9-19,

students at the school col-lected 3,000 cans to benefit north gwinnett co-op, a local food ministry.

“we had amazing partic-ipation from staff and stu-dents,” said second-grade teacher wendy leo.

She noted that certain classes went above and be-yond, including students from rhonda terranova’s class and laura thomas’ fifth-grade class collected 300 cans each.

according to its website, the north gwinnett coop-

erative was formed in 1991 as a ministry that provides food, clothing, financial as-sistance and spiritual sup-port to those in need in bu-ford, Suwanee, and Sugar Hill communities.

originally formed by Sugar Hill united meth-odist church in 1991, the ministry is now supported by additional congrega-tions, area businesses, civic organizations, schools and individuals who generous-ly donate food, clothing, and financial resources.

Elementary students collect 3,000 cans for local ministry

Special PhotoStudents at Suwanee Elementary collected more than 3,000 cans in Janu-ary for the North Gwinnett Cooperative, a local food ministry.

Scan the following QR code or visit www.su-waneepost.com to see a video of Shaddix at work.

SCAN IT

www.gwinnettdailypost.com • sunday, February 5, 2012 • 5

sports

By Ben BeitzelStaff Writerben.beitzel@


suwanee — as retire-ments go, chris culpepper started his off right.

when he left as athletic and Activities Director at north gwinnett following the 2007 school year cul-pepper and his wife, laurie, went on a 10-month rV jour-ney across the united states, canada and up the alaskan Highway to the country’s northernmost state.

“unbelievable. it’s the most beautiful drive,” cul-pepper said. “the alaskan Highway is an adventure in itself. it’s so much fun. they say 90 percent take a cruise, 8 percent fly and 2 percent drive to alaska, so we are part of that 2 percent.”

but he never really left north gwinnett.

part of the road trip took the couple to las Vegas where they met up with oth-er gwinnett county people and watched the bulldogs’ state championship football loss at Lowndes.

“we had the wall blown up (with a projection of the

game) and had a whole bunch of people rooting for north gwinnett,” cul-pepper said.

when he returned home it didn’t take long for cul-pepper to re-embrace the community he’s called home since 1991. He took a part time job as the direc-tor of the north gwinnett community school, still at-tended most high school sporting events and kept his presence strong in suwanee.

“I was very engaged. I live here in the community as well,” culpepper said. “i am familiar with the peo-ple of suwanee and have worked with almost all of the coaches here at north before i left, most of them are still around. the one i miss the most is mark Kar-en.”

which brings us to now. Karen left north gwin-

nett to take the athletic di-rector position in Myrtle beach, s.c., following last season, reopening culpep-per’s old job. culpepper signed up.

“when this came open, i said yes i would be glad to come back and work with these people,” culpepper

said. “it’s kind of a win-win when you work with good people. it’s like if you have a bunch of good players, who wants to coach them? i do.”

not much had changed at north gwinnett during the four school years culpepper was away. Teams were still winning, not many coaches had left and the slight rule changes were a quick study.

the stability of su-wanee’s oldest high school is in part a tribute to cul-pepper’s initial tenure. He

helped establish the link between the school and the community, supported ev-ery program and demanded success.

“i guess the big part there is the communication be-tween the youth levels to the booster club level and to the community,” culpepper said. “Keeping that commu-nication where these are the expectations that we have of our program. we understand how they run their pro-grams, we understand how

they are benefitting our kids and making the community understand how we benefit kids.”

working in the communi-ty school only strengthened his ties to the youth com-munity, but culpepper’s is a life of coaching and impact-ing youth and high school athletes.

in stints at briarcliff, cross Keys and redan High schools, culpepper coached football and basketball, in-cluding leading the girls

varsity at redan. the two-sport college athlete at gil-ford college in greeneboro, n.c., has been a football offensive coordinator and a youth coach for baseball, softball and soccer.

even now, at age, 60, culpepper oozes energy. He gushes easily about the ath-letics at north gwinnett and quickly credits the coaches in place. it’s not the alaskan Highway, but the journey at north gwinnett seems to excited culpepper just the same.

i am having fun, i am enjoying it,” he said. “it’s a pleasure to be here. my wife knows that i am addicted to high school sports and that’s oK with her as long as i am not addicted to anything else.”

Staff Photo: John BohnChris Culpepper, has returned as Athletic Director at North Gwinnett High School.

Retirement doesn’t take for Bulldogs’ AD Culpepper

nortHhoMe

IS

north gwinnett in her first year. Just like big sister.

“she’s very nonchalant about things,” alexis said. “when it comes to basket-ball she sometimes doesn’t have that much enthusiasm so i have to kind of try to push her.”

the encouragement helped alyssa reach that first goal and led to a better sister-sister relationship.

“we’ve definitely become closer,” alyssa said. “she is my best friend, i talk to her about everything.”

alexis doles out advice and she expects alyssa to listen. Her biggest piece came after alyssa learned she would be on varsity.

“i told her to always play hard,” alexis said. “i know when i was a freshman, i didn’t play much. if you play as hard as you can and work as hard as you can to make yourself better, there is no way that you won’t make it on the floor.”

she was right. it’s hard for head coach bryan sellers to keep the younger munlyn off the floor. alexis starts and alyssa comes off the bench. alexis is a heady defender, alyssa a raw speedster with eyes on scoring. they both play under the basketball. they both rebound.

“the best thing i can say about them is that they are good sisters,” sellers said. “they are fun to coach.”

sellers didn’t originally plan to keep alyssa on his bench all season, but during tryouts she established her-self as the best athlete on the bulldogs’ team. and sellers includes maryland-bound lexie brown in that compari-son.

alexis didn’t need to see tryouts to know her sister was varsity-worthy.

“i knew it was coming,” she said. “there was no way,

coach sellers is a smart man.”and he’s been so in his

treatment of the sisters. sell-ers knows each has different value on his team and uses them accordingly. He knows Alyssa is a raw talent and trusts alexis to always make the best decisions on the floor.

“she has consistently got-ten better over the four years,” sellers said of alexis. “she is just, as far as rebounding the basketball and just playing good defense, she is just one of those kids that does the little things that makes your team better. she is not go-ing to do anything to get you beat.”

the munlyns come from a basketball family. both mom and dad played basketball at georgia tech. but the two came to the sport free from parental pressure. alexis started in fifth grade when the family moved back to geor-gia from maryland. alyssa started as a fourth-grader be-cause she asked to play.

“my parents didn’t re-ally pressure basketball too much,” alexis said. “it actu-ally hasn’t been basketball all the time, it was something i chose to do. there wasn’t a whole lot of pressure.”

but here they are. the sisters’ one chance to play together, to be on the same team. alyssa is soaking up the experience and alexis fo-cuses on each day.

the elder munlyn doesn’t want her final season to end and pushes the thoughts away. she calls the basket-ball team her second fam-ily but with a sister to share it with its more family now than ever.

“it’s been a lot of fun,” alyssa said. “it’s just like a whole new thing, high school. i love basketball and being here with my sister. i am not here on my own, my sister is here to help me through the way and it’s been really good.”

Sisters

By David Friedlander

Staff Writerdavid.friedlander@


suwanee — national Signing Day is special to most high school football coaches any year.

However, wednesday night’s celebration at north gwinnett that capped this year’s signing day was particularly special to bulldogs head coach bob sphire.

and it wasn’t just be-cause of the 10 players who secured their college football future — nine by signing National Letters of intent to accept scholar-ships and one committing as a preferred walk-on.

“this group was very special from the standpoint of this group was very team oriented, unselfish and a

lot of fun,” sphire said. “they loved the game of football. they loved each other. this was a very tight group.

“i’ve been in (the game) 31 years, but i had more fun coaching this year than any.”

it was a theme that was echoed as all 10 players shared their thoughts with a few hundred family mem-bers, friends, teammates and classmates gathered in the school’s commons area wednesday night.

and perhaps that theme was best summed up by defensive end Justin alabi, who faxed in his national letter of intent early on Wednesday to accept an appointment to the u.s.

air Force academy.“i’d like to thank these

guys up here for making the last three and a half years the best years of my life,” alabi said from the dais.

alabi was one of two bulldogs seniors who will be moving on to major Division I programs next season, joining fellow de-fensive lineman Jordan washington, who signed with mississippi state.

“growing up at north gwinnett, i’ve been a bull-dog since i was 10 (years old),” washington quipped to the audience. “i’m still going to be a bulldog.”

of the 10 players hon-ored wednesday seven — alabi, washington, mal-colm Jackson (charleston southern), J.d. dillard (Howard), carl rider (Fur-man), austin parker (Jack-sonville state) and chad

scott (Furman) received full scholarships from di-vision I or I-AA programs.

of the other three, run-ning back Joe Jones signed with division ii lane uni-versity in Jackson, tenn., and quarterback scotty Hosch has been accepted to prestigious Harvard university and will play for the ivy league school’s non-scholarship program, while receiver tyler nem-ec accepted a preferred walk-on spot at georgia State.

the events of the day made for a satisfying evening for the players, their families and friends, and especially the north coaches.

“For these 10 young men to sign (wednesday) to go on to that next level, to achieve that goal, i’m proud like a papa,” sphire said.

North dogs have their dayNational Signing Day special for 10 senior football players

Photo: Brian KamerNorth Gwinnett had 10 players take part in Wednesday’s National Signing Day ceremony at the school.

t‘‘it’s kind of a win-win when you work with good people. ”

north gwinnett athletic director

Chris Culpepper

•From Page 1

To see photos from the North Gwinnett Signing Day ceremony, go to spotted.gwinnettdailypost.com.

on the web

6 • Sunday, February 5, 2012 • www.gwinnettdailypoSt.com

at a general motors plant dozens of miles away and his grandfather was a farmer.

“there was not a whole lot going on in Suwanee,” he said.

when burnette brought his bride caron home to Suwanee to settle down after college, her sister in albany teased her for moving to the “boon-docks.”

but burnette knew there were good things in store for the town, especially as he watched suburbia grow from western gwinnett.

with his father on city council, he knew the town was taken care of. but when the elder burnette retired, his son knew it was his turn to make an impact on the community.

the former north gwin-nett High School quarter-back ran for his father’s seat in 1996, and he was so popular that he didn’t draw competition for his first three terms in office.

it wasn’t until 2007, when the population had more than skyrocketed, that burnette had to knock on doors to get votes, intro-ducing himself to people in a town where he once knew everyone. and he did it again last year when he stepped up to run for may-or.

by now, Suwanee na-tives are scarce and barely a fraction of the city popu-lation, which hit 15,355 in 2010, compared to the 615 who lived there when bur-nette graduated from high school in 1970.

but the campaign was a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends, he said.

“it was good to meet with them and visit with them,” he said, adding that the successes of the city council the past decade weren’t hard to sell.

even the oldest residents have been proud of the growth, which has brought neighborhoods, shopping and new parks, including the premiere town center park, which has made Su-wanee a big destination.

in most towns, the na-tives have been hesitant to embrace change. but burnette has had a bigger vision for Suwanee than holding onto his small town roots.

“it used to take 10 to 15 minutes to go to buford, now it takes two minutes to go to the grocery store,” he said, adding that traffic in the once sleepy town may have made that trip a little longer. “it may take you an extra five minutes but we can still get there without

driving to atlanta.”by taking steps early

to plan for the growth, he said, the city was able to capitalize and control its fate, building more quality developments and creating a place where people love to live, work and play.

“i always felt like Su-wanee was going to be a lot more than what i grew up with,” he said. “once i got on council and we saw the magnitude we decided if we were going to have any say on what goes on, we better sit down and talk about it. ...

“as thing started to hap-pen and being willing to look at new ideas and ac-cept new ideas and sug-gestions, that helped me appreciate more the op-portunities the city could have.”

Bridge to the pastdespite his willingness

to welcome new things, burnette, who works in residential remodeling, isn’t all about the modern.

He worked with his son several years ago to bring new life to his grandparents home on main Street, and that is where he lives now.

dave williams remem-bers joining the Suwanee city council just two years after burnette did — and just months after he moved into

the city.the respect, he said, was

instant.“i remember him very

much serving as a bridge,” between the Suwanee natives and the newcomers, williams said. “that’s a very important perspective for us to have.

“with so much growth so fast, it would be really easy to turn our back on our history,” williams said, adding that burnette became the cham-pion for that history, which dates back a century. “as a results, we all have a greater respect for our history.”

burnette loves the his-toric old town area, but he is proud of the city’s new amenities, especially the parks and trails.

“i don’t miss a whole lot. it’s a lot better to buy your groceries nearby,” burnette said.

williams, burnette’s pre-decessor as mayor, says the two are very different. wil-liams said he is probably a lot more impulsive than he should be, but was glad to have burnette there to help steady the course.

“Jimmy was always very measured and very thought-ful and very deliberate,” williams said. “it’s a good quality in a leader.”

The road less traveledburnette’s willingness to

embrace change can be en-

capsulated in one story.in the 1970s, when his fa-

ther was on the city council, officials went about naming some of the old, sometimes still dirt streets. one, near his greatgrandfather’s old farm and homestead, be-came known as burnette road.

no pomp and circum-

stance, he said, just a ca-sual mention from his dad and the honor was be-stowed.

last year, though, with the opening of the mc-ginnis Ferry extension, one of the most recogniz-

able portions of burnette road — the one that goes by the school named in the burnette family’s honor — was changed to mcginnis Ferry.

at the time, burnette was running for mayor, and friends began to call when they saw the road signs coming down.

but burnette was busy that day and didn’t bother getting a relic. a friend eventually grabbed one and it is nailed to the wall on the back porch.

“you hated to see it gone, but you realize it’s just part of the change,” he said.

“i’m proud of what we’ve done. we’re moving in a good positive direction,” burnette said. “i want to keep this moving forward, to keep this city vibrant.”

Staff Photo: John BohnSuwanee Mayor Jimmy Burnette discusses his restored family home on Main Street in Suwanee. Mayor Burnett’s family has resided in the residence for several generations. The restoration work on the home was done during 2003 and 2004.

Burnette

Staff Photo: John BohnSuwanee Mayor Jimmy Burnette shows a photograph of a vegetable garden grown by his grandfather during 1960. Mayor Burnette has restored his fam-ily home, at left, on Main Street in Suwanee. The Burnette family has lived at the residence for several generations. The restoration work on the home was done during 2003 and 2004.

Scan the QR code below or visit www.suwaneepost.com for a video of Mayor Burnette.

SCAN IT

•From Page 1

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Special Section - Suwanee Post: February 2012

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