Chairwoman Cindy Mills

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – The State of the Union address Tuesday was as much a tribute to the resiliency of Forsyth Countians during and after the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 as it was about the promise of 2021.

One of the most powerful State of the Union Addresses in many years featured a cast of elected officials, city and county employees, volunteers and volunteer organizations, business owners and just everyday people sharing their personal stories about how they survived the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and how they helped their neighbors survive – together!

“2020, a year all of us will never forget and yet, we can all learn so much from,” said Forsyth County Commission Chair Cindy Mills. “I wanted this to be a program that would reflect back on this past year and not gloss over it as if the pandemic did not occur.”

As the program unfolded, it became a celebration of the people of Forsyth County, highlighting the good things that happened along with the bad that brought out the best in people.

People like Michael Kruger, a volunteer with Forsyth Services who delivers food to the elderly and shut-ins who may be living alone. When the pandemic forced the Senior Center to close its doors, Kruger said, “I was concerned about how these people were going to eat,” he said. Senior Services not only delivers food, but friendship and wellness checks. “In some cases, I may be the only person they see that day or maybe even that week.” Senior Services Director Ruth Brew coordinated a drive-by, or driveway, program where her staff reached out to seniors by providing goodie bags and activity kits. “We had to go out and meet them in their yards and let them know we cared about them.”

EMA Director Chris Grimes

The hotel/motel industry and restaurants were hit as hard, or harder, than most by the pandemic. So many struggled just to keep the doors open that it is hard to imagine that one restaurant that was doing well, would be willing to throw a life line to help another survive. But that is what Steve Hartsock, owner of Socks Love Barbecue did.

“I found out (Lake Burrito) was struggling,” Hartsock said. “They were understaffed and had to shut down for a few weeks and when they reopened, they had no customers.” He went to his social media outlets and produced a video to let the community know how Lake Burrito was struggling. He also donated 100 percent of the next day’s profit to their business. When the staff at the Kelly Clarkson Show got wind of Hartsock’s generosity, they invited him on their program and he and the staff of Lake Burrito filmed a cooking segment for the show.

Members of the Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative worked hard to produce fliers in many different languages to make sure the message to get vaccinated reached everyone in the community.

The county Finance Department and Chamber of Commerce worked together to facilitate the Forsyth County CARES Small Business Relief Grant Program that distributed 319 grants to local businesses to help keep them afloat. “The grant from the County was one of the best things to come our way,” said Parish Patel, owner of the Holliday Inn Express.

Perhaps one of the best examples of a community coming together is in the critical on-going vaccine distribution effort coordinated by the County EMA Director Chis Grimes.

“I don’t know how he pulled it all together but he did it seamlessly.” Mills said. The collaboration included the Department of Public Health, Northside Hospital Forsyth, Emergency Management Agency, Fire Department, Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff’s volunteers, the IT Department, Communications Department and an army of volunteers, the unsung heroes of the effort.

County Manager Kevin Tanner

“No single agency could do this by themselves,” Grimes said. “This vaccine, what it is doing, is giving some people the first little bit of a ray of hope they haven’t had in a long time.”

For a look at Forsyth County’s future, Mills turned to new County Manager Kevin Tanner. Tanner served four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives where he was Chairman of the Transportation Committee.

“Forsyth County has made tremendous progress in the area of transportation,” he said. “I can tell  you from having travelled all over the state that Forsyth County is routinely referred to as the best example of a county working to solve its own transportation needs.”

Tanner signaled there could be a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) in the County’s future.

“A recent poll by the Chamber of Commerce shows the No. 1 concern citizens have is transportation and congestion,” he said.. “Sixty percent of those polled said they would be willing to support a one-cent TSPLOST.”

“I can report I have met with GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry and he stands ready to partner with Forsyth County in a much larger way than ever before. With the support of GDOT and a Forsyth County-passed TSPLOST our citizens would see a total transportation investment of $700,000,000 over the next decade.”