1991-2011 20th Anniversary Issue

Celebrating 20 years of DeKalb County news coverage.

In 1961
DeKalb Area Technical School
occupied temporary classrooms
at 3071 East Ponce de Leon
Avenue in Scottdale, Georgia
for eighteen (18) electrical
technology students.
Fify Years Later2011
DeKalb Technical College boasts
yearly enrollments of more
than 14,000 students, over 100
programs, and a 97% graduate
placement rate.
EnroLL now For FALL
DeKalb Technical College
www.dekalbtech.edu
404-297-9522
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 1

Publishers:
Dr. Earl and Carolyn Glenn
Chief Operating Ofcer:
John Hewitt
Editor:
Gale Horton Gay
Advertising Sales:
Louise Dyrenforth Acker
John Hewitt

Contributors:
Kathy Mitchell
Andrew Cauthen
Daniel Beauregard
Robert Naddra
Graphic Designers:
Travis Hudgons
Kemesha Hunt
Photographers:
John Hewitt
Travis Hudgons
3 A couples dreamborn on the Fourth of July
5 Champion founders make impact on community
8 Operation and technology changes abound as Champion matures
13 Memories: Significant news of the past 20 years
28 Milestones: Significant news of the past 20 years
36 Changing looks of The Champion front page
37 One mans salute
38 Q & A: Community response
40 Historical reflection on The Decatur-DeKalb News
41 Impacting generations, earning respect
42 Timeline: 20 years of unforgettable headlines
46 20 years of community champions
Organization of
CONTENTS:
8 13 28
40
Thank you to our Memories and Milestones sponsors

April 19, 2011
Carolyn Glenn
The Champion
114 New Street, Suite E
Decatur, GA 30031
Dear Carolyn:
On behalf of the Georgia Press Association, we would like to extend our congratulations
to The Champion on the celebration of its 20th Anniversary in the newspaper industry.
The Georgia Press Association has honored The Champion with numerous awards
throughout the years for its commitment to excellence in editorial coverage and quality
advertising. Your strong commitment to the community and your readers is a vital key to
your success. It has been our privilege to work with such an outstanding newspaper and
we look forward to our continued relationship in the many years ahead.
Best of luck and again congratulations on a job well done!
Warm regards,
Patrick Yost, President
The Morgan County Citizen, Madison
Georgia Press Association
G
eorgia Press A
ssociation
GEORGIA PRESS BUILDING 3066 MERCER UNIVERSITY DRIVE, SUITE 200 ATLANTA, GA 30341-4137 (770) 454-6776 FAX: (770) 454-6778
www.gapress.org
email: mail@gapress.org
Executive Director
ROBIN RHODES
2 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 3

A couples dream
born on the Fourth of July
by Kathy Mitchell
Theres a sign on the wall in Carolyn
Glenns ofce at The Champion that reads, All
because two people fell in love.
Thats the short version of what is actually
one of the most compelling stories in Georgia
newspaper history. In the past 20 years, The
Champion has grown from a publication cre-
ated to spotlight the achievements of south
DeKalbs African-American community to the
countys newspaper of record. It is the rst
and so far the onlyAfrican-American-owned
newspaper in Georgia to achieve that distinc-
tion.
When owners and publishers Carolyn and
Earl Glenn began their journalistic journey in
1991a year in which a large number of news-
papers across the country foldedEarl had a
thriving dental practice and she was a recently
retired educator raising a young son. Neither
had experience in the publishing business;
still they were eager to tell the stories of high
achievers they were meeting in their community.
They were amazing people doing amazing
things, yet most of them were relatively un-
known, Earl Glenn observed. On July 4 of that
year, the rst issue of The Champion appeared.
While still pursuing their busy lives, the
couple spent whatever time they could putting
together the newspaper. Working in a back
room of his dental ofce, they were the writ-
ers, designers, editors and advertising sales-
meneven the clerical staffat a time when
few newspaper functions were done by the
computer.
They kept up the demanding schedule,
adding a small staff over time. Five years into
this process, their printing representative, John
Hewitt, convinced them that the newspaper
had a good shot at becoming the countys legal
organ. He would later become The Cham-
pions general manager and is now its chief
operating ofcer.
It took an uphill battle in the courts, but
in 1997 The Champion became the ofcial
newspaper of the states second largest (now
the third largest) county. With its new designa-
tion, The Champion also had a new mission.
No longer directed primarily toward the African-
American community, The Champion started
to reect the fact that DeKalb is Georgias most
ethnically diverse county.
The Champion joined the Georgia Press
Association in 2001 and immediately began
winning awards in the press associations news-
paper competition. It is now one of the most
award-winning and respected weekly newspa-
pers in the state. The newspaper ofces walls
are adorned with dozens of GPA awards. In
several recent years The Champion won more
awards than any weekly newspaper in Georgia
in editorial and advertising categories, including
the top award for general excellence.
Overseeing the editorial production of a
newspaper is no small task and over the years
a number of exceptional individuals have served
as news editor, sports editor, lifestyle editor,
managing editor and all-encompassing posi-
tions with titles that dont fully reect the range
of their responsibilities:
Art Searles
Theresa Racine
Phyllis Brown
John Hewitt
Dolly Purvis
Gale Horton Gay
Kathy Mitchell
Robert Naddra
Today, a staff of 20 produces The Cham-
pion and its sister publication, Champion Free
Press, as well as such special publications as
an annual newcomers and neighbors guide. In
addition to producing 24 to 48 pages of news
and editorial copy, The Champion each week
prints an average of more than 200 pages of
legal advertising.
Community service is an important part of
The Champions mission, and owners and staff
are active in many civic and business organiza-
tions, including Georgia Perimeter College, the
DeKalb Community Service Board, the Atlanta
Business League, the DeKalb Chamber of
Commerce, the South DeKalb Business Asso-
ciation and Leadership DeKalb.
DeKalb County has a history of award-win-
ning community newspapers that goes back to
the 1800s. The Champion is the latest chapter
in that tradition.
July 4,2011
Earl and Carolyn Glenn
The Champion Newspaper
114 New Street, Suite E
Decatur, GA 30030
Dear Earl and Carolyn:
On behalf of DeKalb County, it is my pleasure to congratulate you on celebrating the 20th
anniversary of The Champion Newspaper.
Throughout the years, The Champion Newspaper has undergone many changesfrom a
newspaper that once focused solely on the Black community to one that focuses on the
diversity of the entire DeKalb community. I have enjoyed watching The Champion
Newspaper evolve into an award-winning publication, delivering news that enhances the
quality of life for residents of DeKalb County. I am con dent the success you enjoy
today has been built on the struggles you endured in the early days and during that
dif cult time when you foughtall the way to the Georgia Supreme Courtto achieve
the status of being DeKalbs legal organ.
As you celebrate 20 years of success in DeKalb County, I extend to you well wishes on
achieving this exciting milestone. May you continue your legacy of serving as the voice
of unity for DeKalb County.
Sincerely
W. Burrell Ellis, Jr.
CLARK HARRISON BUILDING
330 W. PONCE DE LEON AVENUE
DECATUR, GEORGIA 30030
(404) 371-2881
W. BURRELL ELLIS, JR.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
4 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 5

by Robert Naddra
The impact Dr. Earl and Carolyn Glenn
have on DeKalb County goes beyond their
roles as founders of The Champion News-
paper. The Glenns are members of Green-
forest Baptist Church and life members of
the NAACP. They have one son, William
Christian Glenn.
In 2008 they chartered the Earl and Car-
olyn Glenn Foundation and Unconditional
Love for Children Inc. to help address the
needs of abused and abandoned children.
Volunteering and serving their communi-
ty always has been important to the Glenns.
Dr. Glenn was born in Goldsboro, N.C.,
and is a graduate of North Carolina Central
University and Howard University School of
Dentistry. In addition to serving as a captain
in the U.S. Air Force for two years and op-
erating a successful dental practice for 28
years prior to retiring in 1999, he is a true
community servant.
He was founder and chairman of the
board of Opportunities Industrialization
Center Inc. (OIC) in his hometown, which
placed more 400 people in jobs and served
scores of children in their federally certi-
ed day care centers. He also served on
the board of education for Goldsboro City
Schools in North Carolina and was founder
of the Gold-Wayne Energy Company, a fuel
oil and petroleum products distributor.
Currently, Dr. Glenn is a member of the
100 Black Men of America and was a long-
time board member of the South DeKalb
YMCA. He has also volunteered with the
Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers Inc.,
and has been a leadership giver in the
United Way. Dr. Glenn was a charter board
member of Greenforest Christian Academy
and served as nance chairman.
Currently Carolyn Glenn is chairman of
the board of trustees of Georgia Perimeter
College, where she has served for more
than 12 years. She has also served on
the boards of DeKalb Rape Crisis Center,
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, DeKalb
Convention and Visitors Bureau, Leadership
DeKalb and DeKalb Council for the Arts.
She is a founding member of Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority Inc., Decatur Alumnae Chap-
ter, and a member of the Links, Inc.
In 1988 she retired from DeKalb County
Schools to raise her young son and assist
her husband in building his dental practice.
While working in our dental ofce, we
came in contact with so many new resi-
dents to DeKalb on a daily basis, and none
of us knew each other, the Glenns said.
With the growing population of intelligent,
afuent and trailblazing Blacks, we realized
that a forum was needed to help us gel as
a community and maximize our potential.
With the largely negative portrayal of Blacks
in the major press, we understood that our
story needed to be told and chronicled from
our point of view. We believed a community
newspaper could achieve this goalthus
the birth of The Champion on July 4,
1991.
Champion founders make
impact on community
Re: CONGRATULATIONS!
Mr. and Mrs. Carolyn and Earl Glenn:
The purpose of this letter is to congratulate both of you, The Champion
Newspaper and your devoted employees on its 20th anniversary. I am so
proud to see you reach this milestone with much success. I fondly
remember when both of you started this much-needed communication
vehicle for the citizens of DeKalb County.
Looking back over these last two decades you have not only provided
well written news, but also information about the community and its
citizens. This has given The Champion Newspaper the respect and the
ability to become the designated legal organ of our great county,
DeKalb.
While The Champion Newspaper has grown and prospered you both
have and continue to give back to the community. Your participation and
philanthropy has helped so many people, groups and nonpro ts provide
valuable help to those in need.
May the next decade continue your great service and dedication to
DeKalb County.
Best regards,
Thomas E. Brown
Sheriff of DeKalb County
TEB/cdb
Jeffrey L. Mann, Chief Deputy
4415 Memorial Drive
Decatur, Georgia 30032
(404) 298-8148
(404) 298-8101
Jail Division
4425 Memorial Drive
Decatur, GA 30032
(404) 298-8515
Court Division
556 N. McDonough Road
Decatur, GA 30032
(404) 371-3061
Administrative Division
4415 Memorial Drive
Decatur, GA 30032
(404) 298-8100
Community Relations Division
4415 Memorial Drive
Decatur, GA 30032
(404) 298-8045
Field Division
4415 Memorial Drive
Decatur, GA30032
(404) 298-8402
DeKalb County Sheriffs Headquarters & Jail
4415 Memorial Drive
Decatur, Georgia 30032
404-298-8100 Fax: 404-298-8101
Web Address: www.dekalbsheriff.org
Thomas E. Brown, Sheriff
May 12, 2011
6 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 7

Re: CONGRATULATIONS!
Mr. and Mrs. Carolyn and Earl Glenn:
The purpose of this letter is to congratulate both of you, The Champion
Newspaper and your devoted employees on its 20th anniversary. I am so
proud to see you reach this milestone with much success. I fondly
remember when both of you started this much-needed communication
vehicle for the citizens of DeKalb County.
Looking back over these last two decades you have not only provided
well written news, but also information about the community and its
citizens. This has given The Champion Newspaper the respect and the
ability to become the designated legal organ of our great county,
DeKalb.
While The Champion Newspaper has grown and prospered you both
have and continue to give back to the community. Your participation and
philanthropy has helped so many people, groups and nonpro ts provide
valuable help to those in need.
May the next decade continue your great service and dedication to
DeKalb County.
Best regards,
Thomas E. Brown
Sheriff of DeKalb County
TEB/cdb
Technology
by Gale Horton Gay
Throughout the past two
decades, developments, evolu-
tions and innovations have been
steady in DeKalb County. The
same is true of The Champion
Newspaper. In fact, once tech-
nological changes began at the
newspaper, they continued at a
rapid-re pace.
At its birth, The Champion
was a sweat equity project car-
ried out largely by Dr. Earl and
Carolyn Glenn and their good
friend Art Searles. That team
handled everything from writ-
ing and editing to paste-up and
advertising sales.
Back then, putting out the
paper was a major hands-on ef-
fort: articles and legal ads had to
be physically pasted onto boards
using a wax machine and Exacto
knives. Photos required delivery
of lm and pick up of prints from
a processing studio and then
halftones were produced by the
printer with images dropped onto
pages, and the newspaper was
delivered door to door.
However, it didnt take long for
the operation to evolve.
When The Champion was
awarded status as the county
legal organ and the legal listings
began being published in 1997,
the Glenns invested in an adver-
tising management system to
handle legal notices. By 2001,
Operation and technology
changes abound as
Champion matures
See Technology on Page 9
8 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 9

Relevant News: A
+
High Standards: A
+
Community Support: A
+
When it comes to serving the community, youve earned an A+

Thats why GPC is proud to celebrate a successful 20-year partnership with The DeKalb Champion.

Like you, GPC recognized an opportunity to serve the citizens of DeKalb County. In fact, our institution
grew out of a community need the need for citizens in this area to have access to a great quality
education close to home. Today, more than 80% of our 25,642 student body either live in or attend
college in one of our three DeKalb County locations: Clarkston, Decatur and Dunwoody.

And like you, we know what tremendous opportunities exist for DeKalb County residents. They continue
to choose GPC because of our excellent faculty, small classes and our 40 diverse programs of study.
Ambitious and hard working, they rank among the best and brightest in the country.

Its no secret that GPC students are going places, and no secret that weve kept pace with your growth
and longevity. Congratulations DeKalb Champion. Theres no hiding your success.
the paste-up of printed copy began to wane
as the production department became com-
puterized and graphic specialists began using
a computer software program.
In the early years, ads required manual
handling, including art and copy being pasted
to pages before color overlays were shot, and
ads required proofreading by staff and clients.
Over the years the ways in which ads arrive
at the newspaper also have changedfrom
sketches on a piece of paper to designed ads
delivered on a CD. Now 90 percent of the ads
are sent to the newspaper via e-mail. In fact,
The Champion currently receives hundreds of
legal notices electronically each week.
Around 2002 or so, the introduction of the
digital camera brought improvements to the
news operation. Images could now be down-
loaded to computers and directly imported
onto pages with articles. No longer were there
delays waiting for photos to be printed as well
as time expended for a staff member to drop
off and pick up photos.
Due to technology upgrades, the produc-
tion process has been reduced from four days
to 44 hours. When The Champion changed
to digital imaging and le preparation, color
and images in the paper became crisper and
more vibrant.
The Champion introduced its website in
2005 and began offering online subscriptions
in 2006. During 2007 and 2008, editorial
content on the site was expanded. In 2010,
a section was added to online articles for
readers to provide their comments, and the
newspaper began reprinting some of these
comments in the newspaper. The website has
received thousands of comments since then.
Delivery of the paper also has changed
dramatically. Door-to-door delivery was stan-
dard for The Champion Free Press until about
2003 when more efcient and effective means
were instituted, and the paper was distrib-
uted through retail establishments, schools,
churches and libraries. Currently The Cham-
pion and its sister publication The Champion
Free Press, which began circulating in 1997,
are distributed at more than 300 outlets in
DeKalb County.
Another recent innovation from The Cham-
pion has been sending out e-blasts about
breaking news stories and linking our audi-
ence to updates on our web page. The rst
one was dispatched in July 2006 with news of
the courts blocking the voter identication law.
The Champions rst Twitter message was
sent on March 25, 2009. The website now
averages more than 40,000 page views per
week.
Technology
Continued From Page 8
8 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
June 30, 2011
The Champion Newspaper
Dr. Earl and Carolyn Glenn
114 New Street, Suite E
Decatur, GA 30030
Congratulations to Carolyn and Earl Glenn, The Champion Newspaper
and its devoted employees on its 20th anniversary.

From such humble beginnings, the newspaper has evolved into a major
and in uential communication vehicle for our county. We have come to
rely on The Champion to deliver the news that is most important to us
and an integral part of our lives. You have always delivered.

And thank you, Carolyn and Earl, for being such strong leaders in the
community and making giving back a priority. You have taken corporate
community service to a new level.

I applaud your stellar accomplishments and look forward to your future
endeavors.
Liane Levetan,

Former DeKalb CEO and State Senator
Real Estate Broker
L
iane L
evetan
10 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 11

dekalb CEO ofce
The Greenest
County in
America
DeKalb County, GA: A
diverse community with
boundless possibilities
DeKalb County is Georgias third largest
county with more than 700,000 residents
calling it home. The county consists of a portion
of Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Chamblee,
Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody,
Lithonia, Pine Lake, Stone Mountain, and
Tucker and several unincorporated areas.
Four major interstates and MARTA
(Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority)
public transportation
are easily accessible.
DeKalb is also the
home of Georgias
second busiest airport
DeKalb Peachtree
Airport.
A Business and Education
Hub - DeKalb is the headquarters of some
of the countys most prominent businesses and
organizations, including the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the
only federal agency based outside of
Washington, D.C.; the Yerkes Primate Center;
American Cancer Society and Emory
Universitys Rollins
Research Center.
Emory University,
considered one of the
Ivy League schools of
the South, is located in
DeKalb as is Agnes
Scott College, one of
the top liberal arts colleges in the country.
Growing International
Community- DeKalb has emerged as
one of Georgias most culturally diverse
communities. More than 64 languages
representing Asian, Hispanic, European and
African cultures are
spoken. The county has
also become a haven
for African, Iraqi and
Latino asylum seekers
displaced by war or
turbulent political
circumstances.
Natural Wonders - One of DeKalbs
most well-known attractions is Stone Mountain
Park, home to the worlds largest free-standing
piece of exposed granite and the worlds
largest relief sculpture.
Another natural attraction
is Davidson Arabia
Mountain Nature
Preserve, 2,000 acres
of granite outcrop,
wetlands, pine and oak
forests, streams, and a lake.
DeKalb has Something for
Everyone - Living in DeKalb County
provides exposure to a variety of cultures, arts
and recreational activities. Getting around is
easy as DeKalb offers the option of public
transportation through MARTA (Metropolitan
Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) and access to
major interstates.
DeKalb offers both urban and suburban
living. One can choose to live in a subdivision
or city apartment with access to many hot spots
such as public libraries;
parks, shopping malls
and restaurants are
nearby. There are also
many public and private
schools, colleges and
universities to choose
from.
Whether youre a single
woman, family man, young
student or active senior,
DeKalb has something for
you.
Dear Friends:
Congratulations on 20 years of excellence in journalism. Throughout your history
while celebrating and embracing diversity, The Champion has delivered essential com-
munity news. As testament to your quality and excellence, The Georgia Press Associa-
tion consistently ranks The Champion as the best newspaper of its size in our state.
Carolyn and Earl Glenn and the entire Champion family deserve accolades for a job
well done. Your dedication to the highest standards of journalistic integrity enriches our
lives and keeps us informed and enlightened.
Today, we pause to say thanks for all you do to keep DeKalb County a great place to
live, work and play. We wish you great continued success and great joy. With gratitude
and best regards, I remain.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20515
May 12, 2011
Very truly yours,
Henry C. Hank Johnson
Member of Congress
12 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 13

VisitAtlantasDeKalbCounty.com
Congratulations
to the Champion Newspaper
on your 20th Anniversary!
DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureaus mission is to promote DeKalb County
as a destination across the Southeast and create programs to attract leisure
travelers, group tours and corporate meetings to DeKalb County.
Tourism plays a vital role in the local economy and benets local hotels,
attractions, restaurants and retail shops. While tourist activity means more jobs
created, more revenue for the county and economic gains for local
commerce, money brought into the county also translates into a tax break
for DeKalb County residents.
See Memories on Page 14
The Cathedral at
Chapel Hill, founded by
Bishop Earl Paulk, and
his brother Don Paulk,
in the 1960s, was the
rst megachurch in
DeKalb County. The
church was originally
called Chapel Hill Har-
vester Church and then
Cathedral of the Holy
Spirit.
In its heyday in the 1980s and
1990s, the church on Flat Shoals
Road had a congregation of more than
10,000 people.
Paulk built a ministry that included
24 pastors, a college, two schools
and a worldwide television ministry.
The actual church building was a $12
million structure on 100 acres in south
DeKalb.
But the ministry began to crumble
over the past two decades when
allegations surfaced of sexual
misconduct regarding the bishop
and parishioners. Paulk, who
was married with children and
grandchildren, admitted to hav-
ing an affair with his brothers
wife, but denied in a deposition
under oath that he had sexual
relations with other women.
While in poor health battling
cancer, Paulk was found guilty
in 2008 of lying under oath about his
sexual affairs. He was sentenced to 10
years probation and ned $1,000.
Paulk died on March 29, 2009
at 81. At the time of Paulks death,
church membership had dwindled to
approximately 1,000 parishioners and
his son D.E. Paulk was leading the
ministry.
D.E. Paulk preached his last ser-
mon at the church in August 2009 after
the church was sold for $17.6 million.
Rise and fall of Bishop Earl Paulk
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Memories
W
HERE AS,
The Champion Newspaper celebrates its 20th anniversary on
July 4, 2011; and
W
HERE AS,
Over the years, The Champion Newspaper has transformed from
a newspaper with a primary focus on the Black community to
one that highlights the rich diversity of DeKalb County; and
W
HERE AS,
The Champion Newspaper has evolved into an award-winning-
publication, showcasing a community linked by collective ex-
periences and enhancing the quality of life for citizens who call
DeKalb County home; and
W
HERE AS,
The Champion Newspaper serves as a progressive news source-
throughout DeKalb, cultivating relationships with clients, elected
of cials, businesses and subscribers; and
W
HERE AS,
The 20th anniversary provides an opportunity to illustrate The-
Champion Newspapers vision of serving as an ef cient legal
organ and the rst choice for local and community news among-
DeKalb residents.
NOW
THEREFORE, I, W. Burrell Ellis, Jr., on behalf of DeKalb County and its
more than 700,000 citizens, do hereby congratulate The Cham-
pion Newspaper on celebrating 20 years as the voice of unity
in our community and proclaim July 4, 2011 as The Cham-
pion Newspaper Day in DeKalb County.
PROCLAIMED, THIS 4th day of July 2011.
A
P
ro
cla
m
a
tio
n

W. Burrell Ellis, Jr.
Chief Excecutive Of cer
14 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 15

Friendly
Neighborhood
Banking!
DOWNTOWN DECATUR SANDY SPRINGS MT. PARAN / BUCKHEAD
678.553.1480 678.553.3500 404.601.1250
www.cornerstonebankga.com
Reserve our community room
for your organization, club or
non-profit group meetings
accommodates 85 people
with a catering kitchen.
See Memories on Page 19
Atlanta loses irreplaceable giant
with death of Hosea Williams
For decades he was known as
one of Martin Luther King Jr.s
lieutenants and as an unbossed and
unbought politician and community
activist, but in his later years Hosea
Williams was best known as a man
driven to care for societys least fortu-
nate.
Williams organization Hosea Feed
the Hungry and Homeless grew out
of Williams and his wife, Juanita,
preparing soup and cornbread for
homeless men at their modest home
in DeKalb Countys East Lake area.
By the time of his death, exactly a
week before Thanksgiving Day 2000,
the projectthen in its 30th year
had grown to massive Thanksgiving
and Christmas dinners for more than
115,000 homeless and low-income
people. The organization, now run by
family members, continues and has
even expanded to include Easter and
Martin Luther King Jr. Day dinners as
well as services year-round.
Williams death after a battle with
kidney cancer drew an outpouring
of tributes. Martin Luther King Jr.s
widow, Coretta Scott King, called
Williams a courageous freedom
ghter and an irreplaceable giant.
Then U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia
McKinney said Williams was a true
American hero who never turned
down an opportunity to ght for the
rights of the downtrodden or the
forgotten.
Just weeks before his death, the
city of Atlanta renamed a 3.3-mile
stretch of road from Moreland Avenue
to Candler Roada strip that runs di-
rectly past the Williams home in East
LakeHosea L. Williams Drive.
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Memories
May 17, 2011
Dr. Earl and Carolyn Glenn
The Champion Newspaper
114 New Street, Suite E
Decatur, Georgia 30030
Dear Earl and Carolyn,
Congratulations to The Champion Newspaper and your staff for 20
years of excellent service to the DeKalb community. We appreciate
your interest in keeping everyone informed of current issues. Wishing
you a prosperous future!
Best regards,
Jeff Rader
Commissioner
DeKalb County
District 2
J
eff R
ader
Keep DeKalb Beautiful
Manuel J. Maloof Center 1300 Commerce Drive Decatur, Georgia 30030 (404) 371-7004 Email: jrader@co.dekalb.ga.us
Jeff Rader
District 2 Commissioner
D
eK
alb C
ounty Board O
f C
om
m
issioners
16 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 17

Dear Friends:
I would like to extend warm wishes and congratulations to 20 years of
excellence in journalism. The Champion has delivered community news
which is essential in keeping our citizens informed.
Having been ranked by The Georgia Press Association as the best
newspaper of its size in our state is certainly well-deserved! Your
dedication to the highest standards of journalism integrity keeps us
informed and enlightened.
I wish you great continued success in keeping DeKalb County a great
place to live, work and raise our families.
Happy anniversary!
Sincerely,
Karla Drenner, District 86
State Representative
M
ay 17, 2011
KARLA DRENNER
REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 86
POST OFFICE BOX 348
AVONDALE ESTATES, GEORGIA 30002
EMAIL: dren16999@aol.com
COVERDELL LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING. ROOM 507
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30334
(404) 656-0202
(404) 463-6381 (FAX)


STANDING COMMITTEES:
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
ENERGY, UTILITIES. & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT
RULES
SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT AND JOBS CREATION
H
ou
se of R
epresen
tatives
18 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 19

21 North Avondale Plaza,
Avondale Estates, GA 30002
PH: 404-294-5400
FAX: 404-299-8137
Info@avondaleestates.org
Discover the difference
of Avondale Estates
See Memories on Page 22
The 1996 Olympic Games
One of the biggest events in Atlan-
tas history took place during the sum-
mer of 1996, the summer the Olympic
games came to town, and it ended
up being a summer that few residents
would forget.
As the Olympic torch made its way
through DeKalb County to the top of
Stone Mountain, hundreds gathered
along the road to show their support
and catch a glimpse of the ame. Sev-
eral DeKalb residents were honored
with the privilege of carrying the torch.
The Games of the XXVI Olympiad,
as they were ofcially called, were held
throughout metro Atlanta, and DeKalb
County played an integral role in the
ceremonies.
Southwest DeKalb High Schools
award-winning marching band was
the only band featured in the open-
ing ceremonies at Centennial Olympic
Stadium (now known as Turner Field).
Stone Mountain Park was also one
of only a few venues outside of Atlanta
chosen to host events. Competitions
for tennis, cycling and archery were
held there.
The Atlanta DeKalb International
Training Center was opened in 2002
and inaugurated by Ambassador An-
drew Young, who was also co-chair-
man of the committee that brought the
Olympics to Atlanta. Today, the center
trains athletes from around the world
and is a standing legacy of DeKalbs
involvement in the 1996 Summer
Olympics.
Unfortunately, for many, the sum-
mer games remain a bittersweet mem-
ory due to the Centennial Olympic
Park bombing, which tragically killed
two and injured scores of others. Eric
Rudolph, who later confessed to the
crime, is now serving a life sentence in
prison.
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Memories
DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
Commissioner Kathie Gannon, Super District 6
Manuel J Maloof Center 1300 Commerce Drive 5
th
Floor Decatur, GA 30030 Phone: 404-371-4909 Fax: 404-371-7004
Email: kgannon@
dekalbcountyga.gov Website: ww.kathiegannon.com
May 19, 2011


The Champion Newspaper
Dr. Earl and Carolyn Glenn
114 New Street, Suite E
Decatur, GA 30030
Congratulations to Dr. Earl and Carolyn Glenn and all the dedicated staff of The
Champion Newspaper on their 20
th
Anniversary.
Your newspaper has been instrumental in keeping the citizens of DeKalb well
informed of all local, city and state government, civic and social activities.
I wish you continued success and hope to be reading The Champion for the next
twenty years.
Sincerely,

~
.
.
.

Commissioner Kathie Gannon
Super District 6
DeKalb County
DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
Commissioner Kathie Gannon, Super District 6
20 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 21

Congratulations to
Te Champion
on their Twentieth
Anniversary!
Proud to Print Te Champion!
1585 Roadhaven Drive
Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083
770-621-8888
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National Award Winning
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From Concept to Reality
High speed quality turn key performance
Specialty Newspapers
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Nobody does it better!
Our 20-Year Champion.
The 132 employees and staff of Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead send best
wishes and congratulations to owner Juanita Baranco, a 20-Year Champion!
We salute your work toward a better Dekalb County.
2799 Piedmont Road | Atlanta, GA | 404.846.3500
www.mercedesofbuckhead.com
See Memories on Page 23
Shooting of a sheriff:
From triumph to tragedy
Four months after winning
a runoff election for the DeKalb
County Sheriffs Ofce and weeks
before he was to have been sworn
in, Derwin Brown was gunned
down in the driveway of his home.
The 46-year-old sheriff-elect,
who had risen to the rank of cap-
tain in the DeKalb Police Depart-
ment during a 23-year-career
in law enforcement, had cam-
paigned to quash corruption in
the sheriffs ofce. He was killed
in a hail of gunre after return-
ing from his graduation from
sheriffs school.
Browns rival, then-Sheriff
Sidney Dorsey, was con-
victed of masterminding the
murder in July 2002. Two ac-
complices were granted immunity
in exchange for their testimony.
However, two other men were
sentenced to life in federal prison
for their part in the murder.
Although Dorsey denied in-
volvement in the crime during his
trial, in 2007 he confessed to then-
DeKalb District Attorney Gwen
Keyes to ordering the murder-for-
hire.
In December 2010, Browns
family held a candlelight vigil at
the graves of Brown and his wife
Phyllis, who died in 2006.
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Memories
22 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 23

.

The Peoples Lawyer:
Boykin Edwards, JR., PC
EDWARDS PROFESSIONAL BUILDING
3735 Memorial Dr., Suite 100, Decatur, GA 30032
PH: (404) 284-2888 Fax: (404) 284-3545
Boykin.Lawyer@BoykinEdwards.com
Organization of DeKalb Educators
100 Crescent Centre Pkwy., Suite 290
Tucker, GA 30084
PH: 678-837-1170 FAX: 678-837-1178
www.odegaenea.org
Advocating Excellence in DeKalb Public Schools
The Organization of
DeKalb Educators
salutes
The Champion Newspaper
on 20 Years of reporting the news in DeKalb Co.
2010-2012 ODE Officers
President, David Schutten
1st. Vice President, Nicole Duff
2nd. Vice President, Lisa Morgan
Treasurer, Helen Zappia
Asst. Treasurer, Paulette Jones
Secretary, Shirley Weldon
2010-2012 ODE Officers
President, David Schutten
1st. Vice President, Nicole Duff
2nd. Vice President, Lisa Morgan
Treasurer, Helen Zappia
Asst. Treasurer, Paulette Jones
Secretary, Shirley Weldon
See Memories on Page 24
Sewer malfunction causes
10-million-gallon spill
It was a foul affair.
Ten million gallons of raw sewage spilled into
Snapnger Creek in southeast DeKalb County when a
valve failed at the nearby wastewater treatment facility
in January 2006.
Crews were performing a routine cleaning of a
discharge valve at the Snapnger Creek Wastewater
Treatment plant when the valve became stuck. Waste-
water ooded the plants control room, short-circuited
some panels and caused the plants four pumps to fail.
Three days after the spill, fecal coliform in the creek
were 11 times the acceptable level for swimming.
Eventually, the county was ned more than
$265,000 for several sewer spills, including this one,
the largest in county history, and one of the worst spills
in metropolitan Atlanta.
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Memories
See Memories on Page 25
After Hurricane Katrina destroyed their way of life
in August 2005, thousands of storm victims from
Louisiana and Mississippi ooded into DeKalb County
looking for help.
The Salvation Army, DeKalb County Schools,
American Red Cross and others opened shelters for
victims, while thousands of dollars in donations and
supplies poured in. DeKalb County reghters, local
pilots and many volunteers went to devastated areas
to offer relief in person.
The Red Cross opened a relief center for Katrina
evacuees, but long lines and extensive bureaucratic
red tape delayed their access to help. The organiza-
tion was asked to leave by then-DeKalb CEO Vernon
Jones, who complained that victims were treated like
cattle by overwhelmed volunteers.
In September 2005, DeKalb County opened its own
relief center, which was designed to be a one-stop
shop to help victims nd housing, register for school,
seek medical attention and apply for unemployment
relief.
DeKalbs Hurricane Relief Center eventually impact-
ed 27,000 individuals.
Hurricane Katrina evacuees
nd help in DeKalb
Former deputy convicted
of double murder
It was a crime that took police from DeKalb to
Belize.
In June 2008, Derrick Yancey, who at the time
was an off-duty DeKalb County sheriffs deputy, called
police after the killing of his wife Linda Yancey, a
detention ofcer, and day laborer Marcial Cax-Puluc,
in his home.
Initially, Yancey said that Cax-Puluc, an 18-year-old
Guatemalan immigrant, had shot and killed his wife
while trying to rob her. Yancey claimed that he killed
Cax-Puluc in self-defense.
A grand jury disagreed with Yanceys account
of the shootings and indicted him on two counts of
murder in August 2008. Yancey was allowed to remain
under house arrest. Eight months later, Yancey cut off
the GPS ankle bracelet and escaped house arrest. He
remained a fugitive until he was captured in Belize in
September 2009.
Yancey was convicted of the double murder and
in November 2010 received two consecutive life
sentences.
Hurricane Katrina
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Memories
24 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 25

The worst ood in the recorded history of DeKalb County
occurred during an eight-day period in September of 2009
when more than 14 inches of rain fell.
More than four inches of rain fell from 8 a.m. Sept. 21 to
8 a.m. on Sept. 22, triggering oods that washed out roads,
displaced in dozens of families and left 600 homes without
power. DeKalb was one of 17 counties in Georgia that was
declared a state of emergency by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Eight people in Georgia died from the ooding, although
there were no deaths reported in DeKalb County. Damage
from the storms was reported at $250 million across the
state.
Spaghetti Junction, where interstates 85 and 285 inter-
sect, was closed for the rst time since 2000 and a section
of U.S. Highway 78 was closed due to mudslides for the
rst time. A total of 58 roads were closed, four roads were
washed away and two bridges were destroyed due to storm
damage.
The hardest hit areas of the county were the Union Grove
Road-Harmony Hills area, the Lakes of Kilkenny neighbor-
hood in Lithonia, Pleasant Hill Road near the DeKalb/Rock-
dale line and the Stone Mill-Rockbridge Road area in Lithonia
in east DeKalb.
See Memories on Page 26
Rarely does a private citizen who never held public ofce have
a funeral that attracts more than 14,000 people and four U.S.
presidents, including the incumbent. But presidents Jimmy
Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
were among the thousands at Lithonias New Birth Missionary
Baptist Church on Feb. 7, 2006 to bid farewell to Coretta Scott
King, who died eight days earlier.
Although King at the time of her death was still a member of
Ebenezer Baptist Church where her late husband, Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., had been pastor, the 10,000-seat megachurch,
where their daughter Bernice King was a senior pastor, was
chosen to better accommodate the crowd.
The televised event was attended by many other prominent
people, including then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, but many more
who were simply admirers braved the early February chill to pay
tribute. Some were in line shortly after midnight to assure that they
would be part of the historic occasion.
Coretta Scott King had often said that she worked for the
cause of civil rights apart from her support of her husband and
was an activist before she met him. Congressman John Lewis
acknowledged that in comments following her death. She was
the glue that held the movement together.She was deeply
committed to the cause of equal justice in America, he said.
Coretta Scott Kings Lithonia
funeral draws thousands
Storms cause worst ood
in county history
Coretta Scott King
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Memories
In 1997, DeKalb County purchased from the state for $5.5
million the 102-acre campus of the recently closed Brook Run
Mental Hospital. With community input, a master plan started
to take shape.
The facility was to include a nature education facility, a vet-
erans pavilion, a skate park, a childrens adventure garden, a
dog park, walking trails, a picnic meadow and more. The park
opened to the public in 2003, although some of its facilities
were still under construction.
In 2006, the park was re-named Liane Levetan Park at
Brook Run. Levetan, a former DeKalb County CEO, worked
with state legislators to guide the decision to make the prop-
erty a park rather than a commercial facility. Her desire was to
honor the patients who had been treated at Brook Run Hos-
pital, noted Levetan, who had once taught people with severe
mental disabilities.
Dunwoody, where the park is located, became a city 2008.
In 2010, Brook Run and ve other recreation facilities owned
by DeKalb County were acquired by the city of Dunwoody,
which incorporated it into a new parks and recreation master
plan.
In late 2010, the city of Dunwoody led a lawsuit against
DeKalb County for more than $7 million it claims should go to
developing the park. In 2005, county voters passed a bond
referendum that contained $11.5 million for Brook Run Park.
To date about $4.5 million has been spent, according to the
lawsuit.
Four former New Birth parishioners
le lawsuit against Bishop Eddie Long
Former state hospital grounds
converted to premier park
Four former members of New Birth Missionary Church in Lithonia
led suit in September 2010 against Bishop Eddie Long, the churchs
pastor.
Anthony Flagg, 20, of Lithonia; Maurice Robinson, 21; Jamal
Parris, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Spencer LeGrande, 22, of
Charlotte, N.C., led separate lawsuits against Long, claiming that the
charismatic leader of the megachurch lured them into sexual relation-
ships with money, employment, gifts and lavish trips to New York, Las
Vegas, Africa and other.
Long, who is married, denied the allegations in a statement. He did
not speak publicly about the allegations until weeks after the charges
when he addressed his congregation inside the 10,000-seat church
during a Sunday service.
(Im) not going to try this case in the media, he told parishioners. It
will be tried in the court of justice and dealt with in the court of justice.
Thats the only place I think Ill get justice.
A court-ordered mediation took place in March 2011, and the case
was settled two months later.
Long was appointed pastor in July 1987 and helped the church
grow into one of the largest in metro Atlanta. By 1992, the church had
grown from 300 members in 1987 to more than 8,000. Membership
had reached more than 25,000 at one point.
Eddie Long
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Memories
26 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 27

Carolyn J. Glenn Dr. Earl Glenn John Hewitt Jenese Turner Dexter Redding Kathy Mitchell
Daniel Beauregard Andrew Cauthen Kemesha Hunt Ebony Taylor Jovan Harris Jackie Bryant Travis Hudgons
Louise Acker Mary Ann Thompson Nola Jones Perry Rose Roberson Joann Bowden Bill Crane Steen Miles
Robert Naddra Gale Horton Gay
Donna Turner
WE THANK YOU
DEKALB COUNTY
Because of our loyal readers and
advertisers, we have achieved success
and are happy to celebrate 20 years of
bringing the best local news coverage
available to DeKalb County.
26 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
DeKalb Medical proudly celebrates 50 years of providing quality healthcare to the community.
The Heart and Vascular
Institute was established
2011
1988
A Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) machine was
purchased and installed in the
Diagnostic Imaging Center
DeKalb General
Hospital opened
1961
1999
The Wellness on Wheels
(WOW) mobile health
van was purchased
2005
DeKalb Medical Center
at Hillandale opened
Operation and
management rights
were purchased for
Decatur Hospital
1994 2004
The Diagnostic Imaging
Center acquired a
PET/CT scanner
2007
The new $55 million
Womens Center and
Surgery Center opened
2008
The da Vinci robot
was acquired for
Surgical Services
The new WOW
coach was purchased
1993
DMC purchased
its frst primary
care practice and
established its
primary care division
The Maternity/Surgery Center opened
2010
The DeKalb Medical Physicians Group
was created
FROM BERRY PATCH TO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM 1961-2011
1985
The Womens Wellness
Center opened
11-06-042 Champion Timeline Ad2.indd 1 5/31/11 11:56 AM
See Milestones on Page 29
DeKalb elects rst female CEO and rst Black CEO
Mall nally comes to Lithonia
In less than a decade the voters of
DeKalb County passed two great milestones
in the countys history and paved the way for
others to come.
On Nov. 3, 1992, voters elected Liane
Levetan as their rst female chief executive
ofcer. Levetan, who won with 67.7 percent
of the vote, had been elected the rst female
county commissioner in 1972.
At a time when DeKalb County had the
second-highest county population in Geor-
gia, Levetan stepped into her position and
became the rst female responsible for man-
aging the then$270 million budget and pro-
viding basic services for a county containing
more constituents than Atlanta at the time.
Levetan was later replaced by Vernon
Jones, who beat county commissioner Ken
Davis with 63 percent of the vote and was
elected after a runoff on Aug. 8, 2000, to
become DeKalbs rst Black CEO.
Theres nobody who worked harder than
Vernon Jones, and I know he will live up to
the challenge and the responsibility, Le-
vetan, said of Jones at the time.
After more than a decade of rumors, talk,
ambitious plans, scuttled proposals and
negotiations, a major shopping mall was
opened in Lithonia in October 2001.
The 1.2 million-square-foot Mall at
Stonecrest is part of an 1,100-acre master-
planned community and has ve anchor
stores, some 120 specialty retail shops and
a multi-theater cinema.
Since its opening, the mall has created a
urry of development activity resulting in the
construction and opening of several res-
taurants, hotels, furniture outlets as well as
nearby condo and apartment complexes.
In May 2002, DeKalb County adopted a
Stonecrest Mall Overlay District to promote
quality design and increased opportunities
for ofce, commercial and residential devel-
opment.
Stonecrest Mall
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Milestones
28 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 29

DeKalb Medical proudly celebrates 50 years of providing quality healthcare to the community.
The Heart and Vascular
Institute was established
2011
1988
A Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) machine was
purchased and installed in the
Diagnostic Imaging Center
DeKalb General
Hospital opened
1961
1999
The Wellness on Wheels
(WOW) mobile health
van was purchased
2005
DeKalb Medical Center
at Hillandale opened
Operation and
management rights
were purchased for
Decatur Hospital
1994 2004
The Diagnostic Imaging
Center acquired a
PET/CT scanner
2007
The new $55 million
Womens Center and
Surgery Center opened
2008
The da Vinci robot
was acquired for
Surgical Services
The new WOW
coach was purchased
1993
DMC purchased
its frst primary
care practice and
established its
primary care division
The Maternity/Surgery Center opened
2010
The DeKalb Medical Physicians Group
was created
FROM BERRY PATCH TO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM 1961-2011
1985
The Womens Wellness
Center opened
11-06-042 Champion Timeline Ad2.indd 1 5/31/11 11:56 AM
See Milestones on Page 30
Davidson-Arabia Mountain recognized as
federal nature preserve
DeKalb County wins All-America City Award
The federal government recognized
the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature
Preserve as a National Heritage Site in
October 2006. It was a designation more
than six years in the making.
Arabia Mountain, much like Stone
Mountain and Panola Mountain, was
used for many years as a rock quarry
before it was designated as a nature
preserve. The area is also home to two
federally protected plant species: the
black-spored quillwort and the little am-
phianthus.
The 4,000-acre slice of land, located
in parts of DeKalb, Rockdale, and Henry
counties, is also home to Native American
village sites, homes from the rst Euro-
pean settlers, the oldest Black cemetery
in the region and the Trappist monks
Monastery of the Holy Spirit.
Under the leadership of county CEO
Liane Levetan, DeKalb became the only
county in Georgia to win the coveted All-
America City Award in July 1998.
DeKalbs win was rare because it was
the countys rst time applying. Usually,
it takes a community multiple attempts
before receiving the prestigious honor.
The award is given by the National
Civic League, which recognizes 10 com-
munities each year for outstanding civic
accomplishments. The county was re-
quired to feature three projects that
demonstrated its innovation, inclusive-
ness, civic engagement and cross sector
collaboration.
One project was the South DeKalb
YMCA Child Care Academy in which the
county, school system and local business-
es worked together to turn an abandoned
grocery store into a day care center to
serve teenage mothers at no cost.
Arabia Mountain
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Milestones
dekalb history center
Where
every day is
historic
Museum
Education
Preservation
Archives
Facility Rental
101 east court square, decatur, georgia 30030
404.373.1088
dekalbhistory.org
See Milestones on Page 32
When Cynthia McKinney was
elected in 1992 to represent the newly
created Georgia 11th congressional Dis-
trict, she became the states rst African-
American Congresswoman. Its a new
day in Georgia and Congress, she said
shortly after the election. She vowed to
work for a grass roots Congress, much
closer to the people.
She was re-elected in 1994 and
again in 1996 and 2000, even though
Georgias congressional district map had
been redrawn, requiring McKinney to
run for Congress from the 4th District. In
2002 she was defeated by fellow Demo-
crat and political newcomer Denise Ma-
jette. After Majette chose to run for the
U.S. Senate instead of a second term in
the House of Representatives, McKinney
reclaimed the 4th District seat in 2004. In
2006, she was again defeated by a fel-
low Democratthis time, former DeKalb
County Commissioner Hank Johnson.
McKinney often was colorful and con-
troversial during the six terms she served
in Washington, as she focused on anti-
war and human rights legislation. Among
her headline-grabbing actions was an
accusation that President George W.
Bush knew in advance of plans for the
terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001, but
chose not to act to prevent them. She
called for the impeachment of Bush,
Vice President Dick Chaney and Secre-
tary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Weeks before the 2006 Democratic
primary she made national news after
she attempted to enter the U.S. Capitol
without the pin that identied her as a
member of Congress and engaged in a
heated confrontation with a police ofcer.
Some observers say the event may have
cost her the election.
The third hospital in the DeKalb Medical Center
systemDeKalb Medical Center at Hillandale
opened July 18, 2005, as the rst master-planned
digital hospital in Georgia, showcasing state-of-
the-art clinical technology.
And in its rst year of operation, the six-story,
$65 million, not-for-prot hospital exceeded per-
formance expectations with 3,340 admitted pa-
tients and 44,554 emergency department visits.
The opening of the hospital culminated a 35-
year journey by DeKalb Medical Center to build a
hospital to meet the growing health care needs of
south DeKalb County and the surrounding com-
munities.
DeKalb Medical Center at Hillandale has 100
private patient rooms, 22 emergency department
exam rooms, ve operating suites, 12 post-anes-
thesia recovery beds, eight labor/delivery/recovery
rooms and 10 neonatal intensive care beds. The
191,000-square-foot community hospital is the
rst master-planned digital hospital in Georgia.
New hospital opens in
south DeKalb
McKinney becomes rst African-American
to represent Georgia in Congress
Hillandale Hospital
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Milestones
30 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 31

We especially appreciate Jackie Bryant, Jovan Harris, Ebony Taylor and Donna Turner in
the legal department. Tese professionals work tirelessly behind the scenes to make our
lives easier.
www.mccurdycandler.com 404.373.1612
Default Practice Ofce Location General Practice Ofce Location
3525 Piedmont Road NE, 250 E. Ponce De Leon Avenue,
Building 6, Suite 700 Suite 600
Atlanta, Georgia 30305 Decatur, Georgia 30030
McCurdy & Candler congratulates
Te Champion Newspaper
on its 20th anniversary.
Our hats of
to you!
See Milestones on Page 34
Creating paths through
the great outdoors
GMs Doraville assembly
plant closes
In November 2005, following the lead of many
companies in the auto industry facing a struggling
economy, General Motors decided to close the doors
of its Doraville assembly plant in 2008 as a cost-cutting
measure.
With the economic recession in full effect and the
auto industry facing a crisis never before seen, the
Doraville plant, which was built in 1947, shut its doors
on Sept. 26, 2008, putting more than 3,000 people out
of work.
After closing, several proposals were made to use
the 165-acre property: everything from building a
new stadium to host the Super Bowl to a multi-use
cityscape facility much like Atlantic Station. However,
every time it seemed as though there was a deal, plans
for the property fell through.
The skeleton of the old assembly plant still stands
by the side of the highway today and many residents
are hopeful that in the near future it will be developed
into a multi-use facility; many believe that its proximity
to MARTA and the highway makes it a perfect place for
new residents.
The PATH Foundation is celebrating 20 years of
building a network of off-road trails in and around metro
Atlanta for walkers, runners, cyclists and skaters.
The system of scenic greenways preserves the
regions forested character and offers residents and
visitors an abundance of opportunities to enjoy nature.
Over the years progress has been made on PATHs
network of trails, including: The Silver Comet, Stone
Mountain, Lionel Hampton, Westside, Arabia Moun-
tain, Chastain Park, South Decatur Trolley, Northwest
Atlanta and Freedom Park Trails.
Working with residents and county ofcials, the
nonprot PATH organization developed a master plan
for 124 miles of trails through DeKalb County. The most
recent addition for the DeKalb Trail System is the Arabia
Mountain Greenway Trail, which connects downtown
Lithonia to the Mall at Stonecrest, the Arabia Mountain
Nature Center and more than 1,000 acres of forest and
rock outcroppings.
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Milestones
PATH foundation
32 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 33

The Clerk of Superior Court is committed to serving the
citizens of DeKalb County just as The Champion Newspaper has
over the past 20 years. Our staff enjoys a progressive relationship
with your newspaper in moving from manual operations to leaner
more automated processes. The Clerk of Superior Court along
with The Champion Newspaper are providing a growing list of on-
line services as we move to a paperless, greener environment.
From our family to yours, Debra DeBerry, Clerk of Superior Court
and Staff congratulate The Champion Newspaper on 20 years of
Memories & Milestones!
Debra
Debra DeBerry, Clerk
DeKalb County Superior Court
556 N. McDonough St., Ground Floor
Decatur, GA 30030
C N O R / C N O R /
C N O R / C N O R / C N O R / u | / u | /
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| N S | N S | N S C N O R / C N O R /
C N O R / C N O R / C N O R / u | / u | /
u | / u | / u | / | N S | N S
| N S | N S | N S
C N O R / C N O R /
C N O R / C N O R / C N O R / u | / u | /
u | / u | / u | / | N S | N S
| N S | N S | N S
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Dunwoody struggled for more than two years to become the
successful city is it today. Now it boasts a sprawling business com-
munity and thriving neighborhoods and sets an example for other
growing communities in unincorporated DeKalb with an eye toward
cityhood.
The push for cityhood began early in 2006 after a feasibility
study was conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute at the Univer-
sity of Georgia. Soon after, then-Sen. Dan Weber (R-Dunwoody)
introduced legislation that paved the way for cityhood and allowed
certain areas to be annexed to Doraville.
Legislators went back and forth on the bill before nally pass-
ing it on March 20, 2008. Residents of Dunwoody then voted on a
referendum for incorporation in July and held a special election to
form a city council on Sept. 16, 2008.
The city of Dunwoody held its rst ofcial business meeting on
Dec. 1, 2008 at midnight.
Its the end and a new beginning, said Ken Wright, mayor of
Dunwoody at that time. Its the end of launching the city and the
beginning of giving citizens a stronger voice in their community.
During the past three years Dunwoody has grown rapidly and,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau, it had an estimated popula-
tion of 46,267 in 2010.
Foreclosures reach record
level in 2010
Dunwoodys ght for cityhood
The lingering effects of a faltering economy led to record
residential home foreclosures in 2010 in DeKalb County.
More than 2,000 foreclosure notices in a single month were
posted for the rst time in the county in March 2006. Accord-
ing to Alpharetta-based Equity Depot, 2,046 foreclosure notices
were posted in March 2010. In August 2010, a total of 2,031
foreclosure notices were listed, according to Equity Depot.
Through August of 2010, 12,588 foreclosure notices were
posted, up from 11,520 posted through August in 2009, ac-
cording to Equity Depot.
Realty Trac, a California-based company that tracks foreclo-
sures nationwide, reported that there were 14,510 foreclosed
homes in DeKalb County in July 2010.
The southern part of the county was the hardest hit
by foreclosures, according to the data. Two Lithonia area
codes30058 and 30038had more than 450 foreclosures in
August 2010, according to Equity Depot.
The creation of a foreclosure registry was approved in July by
the county commission. Creditors are required to register fore-
closed properties with the county. The ordinance is designed
to make nancial institutions responsible for maintaining the
properties and preventing blight.
Signi cant news of the past 20 years
Milestones
Foreclosure
34 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 35

34 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
Changing looks of
The Champion front page
1991 1995
1997
2001
2004
2010
2006
2011
2008
2011
2009
36 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 37

HEALTH CENTERS
Richardson Health Center
404-294-3700
East DeKalb Health Center
770-484-2600
Clifton Springs Health Center
404-244-2200
North DeKalb Health Center
770-454-1144
T.O. Vinson Health Center
404-294-3762
DeKalb County Board of Health
SERVICES & CENTERS
DEKALB COUNTY
Board of Health
HEALTH SERVICES
BreasTest and More
Family planning
Refugee health
Travel medicine
Tuberculosis (TB)
HIV/AIDS
STD testing
Back-to-School Services
for daycare, Pre-k,
middle school and college


For more information and a complete list of services call
(404) 294-3700 or visit www.dekalbhealth.net
Perinatal care/Obstetrics
Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
Dental health
Immunizations
Vision and hearing screenings
Childrens Medical Services
Children with Special Needs
Adolescent Health Youth
Development Services
At the DeKalb County Board of Health, we envision safe, healthy
communities in which all individuals have access to quality, affordable
health services.
Though born at Crawford
Long, as DeKalb Medical Center
was not yet open, I am a Decatur
and DeKalb County native. This is
home.
I am so deeply rooted here
thanks to my Yankee transplant
paternal parents and grand-
parents, who followed good
fortune here in the closing days
of World War II. First Bud and
Mary Crane, and later my father,
mother, aunt, uncle and a few
cousins made DeKalb County
their adopted home, and news-
paper publishing and printing
the family business. For just less
than 50 years, our clan published
a chain of suburban weekly
newspapers, all headquartered in
DeKalb County.
From those humble begin-
nings, the Crane and Sauers
families grew a modest com-
munity newspaper into a chain
of at one point seven weekly
newspapers. The successors to
our era, and days of publishing
the DeKalb County legal organ
became ACE III Communications,
owned by Dr. Earl and Carolyn
Glenn and The Champion as
well as its free circulation partner,
The Free Press.
For 20 years now, The Cham-
pion has chronicled DeKalb
Countys brightest and darkest
moments, playing the dual role of
lead cheerleader, and when called
for, the communitys harshest
critic. Joining the Glenns for din-
ner three years ago, and watching
them again ll a wheelbarrow full
of awards at the Georgia Press
Associations annual conven-
tion and awards banquet, I was
sharing memories and stories of
growing up in DeKalb, and in a
newspaper family with Carolyn
Glenn.
She listened, smiled and
remarked, You know you should
write a column. And from that
conversation, about a month later
we started doing just that. One
Mans Opinion, which typically
lands on page A-5 of The Free
Press, and page A-5 or A-6 in
The Champion is both an hom-
age to my grandfather who wrote
a similarly named column for a
quarter century, and my attempt
to look forward, with one eye
cast past and to share those
perspectives, hopefully with a
bit of humor, with the growing
circulation and readership of both
newspapers.
The Champion family, like my
own, has grown into this role, and
into the fabric of our community. I
tip my hat to the Glenns and their
growing family at ACE III Com-
munications, a family that like my
own, I am very proud to be a part
of. And even though Im the sole
Crane left here in DeKalb, it will
always be my home.
A tip of the hat to Dr. Earl & Carolyn Glenn and
their winning Champion
Bill Crane
Principal
CSI Crane
One mans salute
36 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
The diversity in DeKalb over the
past 20 years has been a driving
force in shaping our county and its
future. This has led to growth in the
southern part of the county. Eco-
nomic growth and need resulted
in both residential and commercial
growth. Stonecrest Mall became a
reality to serve this growing popula-
tion.
It was a collaborative effort
with the private sector, Forest City;
Cleveland, Ohio; and the DeKalb
Development Authority that made
the mall become a reality.
DeKalb has been shaped and
changed over the past 20 years
through an incredible increase in
our immigrant population. A multi-
tude of nationalities have come to
call DeKalb home. This is repre-
sented by the growth and change
to Buford Highway, the refugee
community located in Clarkston
and even the number of languages
spoken at the DeKalb Farmers
Market. These recent changes
have made a swift impact on our
county, with DeKalb schoolchildren
coming from 170 different coun-
tries.
After having arrived here only four-
and-a-half years ago, and hav-
ing become a student of DeKalb
County history, I have learned this
so far: The most instrumental
factor in shaping DeKalb County
has been its challenge related to
reduced success in K-16 reten-
tion and graduation of students,
which has impacted our ability to
create and sustain an educated
workforce, which has impacted the
success and viability of a strong
economic development activity in
the county.

Q&A
Community response
Q. What single factor has been most instrumental in shaping DeKalb in the past 20 years?
Liane Levetan
Melissa Forgey
Anthony Tricoli
Based on our extensive work in
neighborhoods throughout the
county, from my perspective,
the single factor that has been
most instrumental in shaping
DeKalb in the last 20 years is the
economic housing crisis that is
hurting communities throughout
the county, the state and the na-
tion. Individuals and families have
worked hard for more that 20
years to achieve the American
Dream. I represented DeKalb
County on the Atlanta Mortgage
Consortium Advisory Council fol-
lowing the Atlanta Journal and
Constitutions award winning
Color of Money series in 1988.
The overall goal was to identify
ways to help minorities achieve
homeownership.
Moving forward in the early
1990s, predatory lending and
subprime lending practices sky-
rocketed. The State of Georgia
was among the top areas for
predatory and fraudulent lend-
ing practices. From 1993 to
1998, the number of subprime
renance loans originated in the
metro Atlanta area increased by
more than 500 percent! Home-
ownership increased, but so
did subprime lending, predatory
lending and foreclosures!
As mortgages were bundled
and sold on Wall Street, the
negative impact on families,
communities and businesses
continued to increase. As more
families were provided loans that
they could never really afford,
the negative impact continued to
increase. The economic housing
crisis contributed substantially to
an increase in crime, high un-
employment, loss of jobs, loss
of businesses, deated prop-
erty values, substantial reduc-
tion in local tax revenue that is
needed to sustain core services,
and overall challenges to many
neighborhoods that were once
viable and strong.
Chris H. Morris
38 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 39

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The transition of the county
from a bedroom, suburban
majority community to an
urban diverse, predominate-
ly minority community.
Over the past 20 years,
the global workforce has
evolved and the community
we now serve is larger and
innitely more diverse. The
issues of immigration and
demographic diversity, and
the impact that these have
had, both educationally and
economically on the county,
are far-reaching.
Demographics The change in
racial composition and ethnic di-
versity has been pivotal in shap-
ing our government and busi-
ness leadership. The emergence
of DeKalb County as a minority-
majority, with an increasingly af-
uent African-American popula-
tion, has helped change us from
being a blue-collar community to
attracting more professionals.
Also, the increasing Hispan-
ic-Latino and Asian American
populations, as well as other
ethnic groups such as Slavic
immigrants, have created a
plethora of new businesses (par-
ticularly ethnic restaurants) and
changes in our schools.
Our aging population has
inuenced service demands
such as the rising need for se-
nior service centers and assisted
living facilities.
While bringing great diversi-
ty and value, these demographic
shifts also pose new challenges
to our county.
Leonardo McClarty
Robin W. Hoffman
Sara Fountain
Q. What single factor has been most instrumental in shaping DeKalb in the past 20 years?
38 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
Historical re ection on The Decatur-DeKalb News
by Bill Crane
A Modest Start...
Mary and Bud Crane, along with their son
Jerry and daughter Sheila, made the long trek
south from upstate New York to DeKalb County
in late 1946, searching for opportunity.
Bud found work at the Atlanta Journal &
Constitution, as the overnight manager of post-
press assembly. Mary decided that Decatur
needed its own community voice, so with a
typewriter, an orange crate and personal loan
of $500, she started a weekly shopper called
The Decatur News. Mary sold ads and wrote
the copy while recruiting local businesses such
as Belk-Gallant, H. H. Kress and McKinney
& Melton Plumbing to become early advertis-
ers, supporters and minor shareholders in The
Decatur News. Initially Bud secured a committ-
ment from Belk-Gallant to run an ad on the back
page of the Decatur News at the whopping rate
of $90 a week.
As the mid-50s arrived, the small paper had
grown in both readership and inuence. The
Decatur News challenged the power and lead-
ership of Scott Candler, sole commissioner of
Roads and Revenues in DeKalb County and a
member of the prominent Candler family that
birthed Coca-Cola
As the decade drew to a close, eldest son
Jerry Crane returned to Decatur from the U.S.
Army. Jerry took on the job of ad salesman for
The Decatur News, with the plan of graduating
from Emory and possibly practicing law. Jerry
would instead go on to run the family enterprise.
As readership across DeKalb County grew,
Jerry suggested a name change to The Deca-
tur-DeKalb News to reect the increased read-
ership and circulation. With the 1960s, Jerry
nished his undergraduate studies at Emory,
joining the company full time.
Mary Crane became an unofcial kitchen
cabinet advisor to many public gures and of-
cials, including former DeKalb CEOs Manuel
Maloof and Liane Levetan.
The boom years, 1970s and 1980s
As the fastest growing county in the state
into the early 1980s, DeKalb and its high-per-
forming public school system were mushroom-
ing, and The Decatur-DeKalb News grew too.
The company bought land and a building on
DeKalb Industrial Way in 1964, just around the
corner from DeKalb General Hospital and the
large Kraft plant at North Decatur Road.
In 1967, Rick Sauers, who had married
Sheila Crane joined the company from Winn-Di-
xie. Rick was trying to nish his undergraduate
degree, as well as wrap up his service com-
mitment with the Georgia National Guard. Rick
rst came on board at Decatur News Publishing
as publishers assistant but quickly moved into
management of commercial print sales. The
entity of NEWSprint was developed as a distinct
sub-brand and business within Decatur News
Publishing Co., occasionally allowing DNP to
print their competitors papers, including a one-
day printing of The Atlanta Journal & Constitu-
tion during a power outage at the AJCs printing
operations.
During these years, Jerry Crane foresaw
the potential for growth for suburban newspa-
pers in other parts of metro Atlanta. Starting
on Atlantas southside, in the late 1960s, Jerry
started The Southside Sun covering the Tri-
cities of East Point, Hapeville and College Park.
Over the next decade, the Clayton Sun, Fayette
Sun and Henry Sun and another re-naming of
the original paper to DeKalb News/Sun would
follow.
In 1977, DNP purchased the assets of the
New Era Publishing Company, which included
the names of the late DeKalb News Era news-
paper and again, the Lithonia Observer. This
gave birth to the Decatur-DeKalb News/Era
which also became designated as the subscrip-
tion-based legal organ for DeKalb County, while
the DeKalb News/Sun developed zoned North
and South editions, with continuing free circula-
tion serving the entire county.

Commercial printing and branching out
NewsPrint printed all of the News/Sun
papers, as well as the DeKalb legal organ, and
continued the long-standing printing relationship
began with the Atlanta Daily World.
In June of 1980, Rick and Sheila Sauers
5-month-old daughter Shaye was diagnosed
with a highly malignant brain tumor. Offered only
a 2 percent chance that their daughter would
survive long-term, Shayes parents began a
relentless campaign seeking knowledge and
treatment to save their child. Together with
several other parents, the Sauers began a local
parents support group. In 1983, Rick Sau-
ers, Julia Hartman and several other parents
established the Brain Tumor Foundation for
Children, Inc. Today Shaye Sauers is a healthy
and happy cancer survivor.
In 1988, the New York Times Newspaper
Group made an aggressive entrance into metro
Atlanta, purchasing and expanding the Gwinnett
Daily News. The battle was erce, and included
drastic advertising rate cuts, as well as dime
copies of the Gwinnett Daily in DeKalb County,
which was a primary battleground. Decatur
News Publishing and the Sun newspapers
fought to retain their hold on community news.
Mary Crane passed following a long conva-
lescence in late 1992.
In January of 1993, Jerry Crane closed the
free distribution weeklies, Motor Media and
most of the related subsidiaries of Decatur
News Publishing, while maintaining publication
of the DeKalb legal organ, The Decatur-DeKalb
News/Era. Brother-in-law Rick Sauers spun
out NEWSprint into a new commercial printing
venture called Atlanta Web, which went on to
become one of the metro areas largest and
best established web and heat offset printing
houses.
Transition and a new legal organ for DeKalb
County
In 1996, Jerry and Lynn Crane retired, and
The Decatur DeKalb News/Era was sold to pub-
lisher Neely Young, and then Southern Crescent
Newspapers.
Several years later, the Georgia Press Asso-
ciation honored Bud and Mary L. Crane for their
nearly 50 years of contributions to the Georgia
newspaper industry by induction into the Golden
Fifty Club of the GPA. Bud passed in 2001. The
Sauers family re-branded and diversied Atlanta
Web into the Sauers Group, as well as a wider
range of marketing, communications, printing
and logistics services, while still printing The
Champion. The Sauers family remain residents
of Decatur.
In cooperation with the DeKalb History
Center, a reading room and archives has been
established, including all published editions of
the Decatur-DeKalb News, the DeKalb News/
Sun and the Decatur-DeKalb News/Era on the
ground oor of the Old DeKalb County Court-
house. Its hoped that over time this collection
may be expanded to include The Champion
and other DeKalb community newspapers to
be housed in the Jerry & Lynn Crane, Decatur
News Publishing Reading Room. The author,
Bill Crane, a grandson of the founders of DNP,
writes a column for The Champion and Free
Press titled One Mans Opinion in honor of his
grandfather and family.
40 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 41

by Steen Miles
Hard to believe its been 20
years since The Champion
Newspaper rst appeared and
eventually became the legal organ
for DeKalb County, a designation
that is rare for an African-Ameri-
can-owned publication. But there
is nothing common or ordinary
about Champion owners Dr. Earl
and Carolyn Glenn. Their goal
from the outset was to introduce
us to each other in culturally di-
verse DeKalb. They have been
wildly successful, not just in the
short term, but in a sustained ef-
fort that bodes well for the future.
The Champion has won doz-
ens of awards for journalistic ex-
cellence as it chronicles DeKalb
news and information. But the
paper also has showcased the
best and brightest in the com-
munity. Through the Champion of
the Week feature, we have been
introduced to many of DeKalb
Countys nest citizens. Several
years ago for example, a signa-
ture event was the Champion
Awards acknowledging DeKalb
rsts: the rst female CEO, Liane
Levetan; the rst African-Ameri-
can woman elected to Congress,
Cynthia McKinney; the rst
African-American re chief and
later public safety director, Tom
Brown; the rst African-American
state attorney, Thurbert Baker;
the rst African-American and
youngest solicitor, Gwen Keyes-
Fleming; the rst African-Amer-
ican Superior Court judge, Mi-
chael Hancock to name a few.
I vividly recall pulling an over-
nighter at WXIA-TV, grabbing a
nap on a cot in my daughters
hospital room and then working
all day to make certain the video
vignettes for the Champion Firsts
event were completed on time.
My daughters gallstone surgery
might have been an excuse to
miss deadline, but such was
the dedication one gives to the
Glenns because of the dedication
and loyalty they so freely give to
us.
The Champion has been there
through so many of our com-
munitys triumphs and trials. They
were in Mobile, Ala., when we, a
county, became an All-America
City. CEO Liane Levetan led a del-
egation of county ofcials, corpo-
rate friends, neighborhood repre-
sentatives and others who braved
the searing summer heat of Mo-
bile to dance in the streets follow-
ing that prized designation. The
Champion recorded our collective
horror and grief when Sheriff-elect
Derwin Brown, a former Cham-
pion columnist, was murdered.
Later, we shook our heads in dis-
belief when then-Sheriff Sidney
Dorsey was convicted of ordering
Browns assassination.
The Glenns have championed
the cause of community through
their philanthropy and generosity.
They sponsor the annual recogni-
tion for our public safety workers.
They provide scholarships and
nancial help to students seeking
to further their educations and
have established an educational
foundation, not to mention spon-
soring many programs for social
and civic organizations such as
Leadership DeKalb. In one gen-
eration, The Champion has im-
pacted generations to come and
earned our respect and trust in
the process.
solicitor general
Congratulations to The Champion newspaper
for 20 years
of memories and milestones
To make The nexT 20 years even beTTer, my goal is To:
keep our community safe
improve our quality of life
keep our kids in school and out of trouble
protect the vulnerable
our new, frst-ever special victims unit handles high-risk domestic
violence, stalking, sex offenses, child-victim, elder and disabled abuse,
vehicular homicide, and animal cruelty cases so that we can restore
the dignity, safety, and well-being of dekalb county citizens who have
been victimized by crime.
Sherry Boston
dekalb counTy soliciTor-general
www.dekalbsolicitorgeneral.org 404.371.2201
Impacting generations, earning respect
Steen Miles
The Newslady
20 Years of Unforgettable Headlines
July 4, 1991:
The Champion:
Born on the 4th of
July
May 16, 1995:
Macys outlet to close
at Avondale Mall
Aug. 12, 1992:
Torrence dees
critics, strikes gold
twice
July 2, 1996:
South DeKalb having
twins Community gets
economic boost with two
hotels and more
Sept. 4, 1992:
Levetan rst female
CEO
July 23, 1996:
The torch comes to DeKalb
DeKalb County Public Safety
Director Thomas Brown
carries the Olympic ame in
Rome, Ga.
Feb. 3, 1993:
Clarkstongrowing up
is hard to do
Nov. 11, 1992:
Ms. McKinney goes
to Washington
July 10, 1997:
DeKalb County
government celebrates
175 years of public service
by employees
Oct. 6, 1993:
South DeKalb
hospital a possibility
by 1996 if
September 17, 1997:
Atlanta named number one
city for African Americans
June 29, 1994:
The Skin-game
Glenwood ghts
prostitution
February 19, 1998:
DeKalb resident sworn in
as surgeon general
TIMELINE
May 7, 1998:
ART Stations
Buck- nekkid story
of redemption
August 17, 2000:
Vernon Jones wins top
county seat
42 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 43

Bill Feldman jewelry
20 Years of Unforgettable Headlines
February 7, 2002:
Judge declares foster
care state of emergency
March 14, 2002:
DeKalb foreclosures
reaching 600-plus mark
Nov. 23, 2000:
Hosea L. Williams
Atlanta mourns the
death of civil rights
pioneer
Dec. 28, 2000:
Sheriff-elect Derwin
Brown laid to rest
January 13, 2005:
DeKalb CEO ned
for accepting illegal
contributions
Dec. 21, 2000:
County stunned by
Browns murder
January 6, 2005:
First patients seen at new
DeKalb Medical Center at
Hillandale
Sept. 13, 2001:
While we watched,
the country shook
July 7, 2005:
DeKalb County named
nature friendly place
January 3, 2002:
Reserved seating: Dorsey
trial will probably get
nastier with time
July 14, 2005:
Hurricane Dennis brings
death to DeKalb
TIMELINE
May 8, 2003:
Earthquake gently rocks
DeKalb
March 23, 2006:
Getting dumped on
Couple laments effects
of sewage spill
March 29, 2007:
Residents debate
Dunwoody at Capitol
44 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 45

NEW PROGRAM 2011
Saturdays only Complete Program in just 14 months
Lead where you are...
Take your organization Global
BEULAH HEIGHTS
UNI VERSI TY
MASTER
OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
892 Berne St, S.E. Atlanta, GA 30316
tel: 404.627.2681 toll free: 1.888.722.2422
www.beulah.edu located in Grant Park
Congratulates
The Champion newspaper
on 20-years of Publishing
DeKalb County News!
Wizard logo here
Wizard Systems, Inc. (770) 640.5020
League of Women Voters of DeKalb County
Making Democracy Work
www.lwvdk.org
Congratulations to
The Champion Newspaper
on 20 years of service to
DeKalb County
20 Years of Unforgettable Headlines
January 24, 2008:
Megachurch leader Earl
Paulk pleads guilty to
lying in sex scandal
Sept. 24, 2009:
Come hell, come high
water. Storm leaves many
residents displaced,
without power
June 11, 2008
Stone Mountain Park 50
years and still going strong March 18, 2010:
FOUR SCORECounty
pulls together for a record
basketball weekend
July 8, 2009:
School system to extend
judges bullying probe
January 6, 2011:
Dunwoody les $7
million lawsuit against
DeKalb for park
TIMELINE
Georgia Power is honored
to have been a part of your story.
Thank you for 20 years of enlightening
and empowering the community.
The Champion
Newspaper
Champions
picked from our
headlines
See Champions on page 47

Newsmakers
who have made
a difference
Newsmakers generally fall
into two categories those
making positive contributions
to society and those making
negative ones.
In DeKalb County were
fortunate to be surrounded by a
wealth of individuals who have
dedicated their careers and free
time to enriching our commu-
nity. In our eyes, they are true
champions who have helped to
shape the county, solve many
of its most challenging issues
and improve its less-than-ad-
equate situations. Theyre the
kind of newsmakers who often
dont get the praise and recog-
nition they deserve.
Were pleased to present the
following pages of champions
we culled from the headlines
of The Champion Newspaper
during the past 20 years and
whom we applaud for caring
enough to get involved, stay
involved and make a difference.
We know there are many
more community champions
out there, and were offering
our readers the opportunity to
recommend individuals and
organizations for recognition.
This is an opportunity to honor
a community servant, organiza-
tion or individual in the DeKalb
community who tirelessly volun-
teers his or her service for the
betterment of DeKalb County.
There are a number of
ways to nominate a community
champion: Visit www.
ChampionNewspaper.com
and click on the Community
Champions logo on the
home page. Nominations
can be completed and
submitted online or returned
via fax to (404) 373-7721.
Nominations may also be
mailed to: The Champion
Newspaper, Community
Champions Nominations, P. O.
Box 1347, Decatur, GA 30030
For additional information
contact Louise Dyrenforth
Acker at (404) 373-7779, Ext.
102, LouiseD@DekalbChamp.
com or John Hewitt at (404)
373-7779, Ext. 110, JohnH@
DekalbChamp.com
46 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 47

Theres a lot to love about our city
Chamblee
We welcome new businesses and residents.
Enjoy the simple pleasures of a small town and the conveniences of the city.
Transportation options range from air to rail; housing options from ultra-modern
condominiums to quaint bungalows along tree-lined streets. Our dining options
are unlimited and our community is simply a great place to be.
Chamblee City Hall | 5468 Peachtree Road | Chamblee, GA 30341-2398
770.986.5010 | www.chambleega.com
Chamblee:
Live here, work here,
be happy here!
Theres a lot to love about our city
Chamblee
Theres a lot to love about our city
Chamblee
See Champions on Page 48
Hosea Williams
Civil rights leader, businessman, politician and philan-
thropist all describe Hosea Williams. A former member
of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners in the
1970s, Williams, who died in 2000, founded Hosea
Feed the Hungry and Homeless from his home in East
Lake. The organization, which has moved its headquar-
ters to Atlanta, is run by his daughter Elisabeth Omi-
lami. The organization provides meals for thousands of
needy people throughout Atlanta each year on Thanks-
giving, Christmas, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Easter
Sunday. It also offers services year-round, including
providing clothing and haircuts.
20 Years of Community Champions
Work with
the Sun.

Here.
EastDecaturStation.com
Work with
the Sun.

Here.
EastDecaturStation.com
East Decatur Station, an
easy-going development
located in Decatur, is
more than merely a place
to work. This mixed-use
complex has something for
everyone as a destination
for great dining, theater, art
and retail. So just maybe,
going to work wont feel
like going to work.
urban edge
small town
&
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See Champions on Page 49
As the assistant city manager of De-
catur, Lyn Menne is well known for her
managerial responsibilities and juggling
multiple challenges. However, it doesnt
stop there.
Menne has spent a tremendous
amount of her time outside of work
assisting non-prots. She was instru-
mental in raising the funds to renovate
Decaturs old courthouse on the square,
and she has served as president and a
trustee of the DeKalb Historical Society.
Menne also helped establish the Deca-
tur Arts Alliance and was instrumental
in creating the popular Decatur Beach
Party, which is held each summer.
Menne also has served on the DeKalb
Medical Foundation Board and was one
of the founding members of the Decatur
Education Foundation.
Menne often encourages others to
get involved in civic organizations.
Charlene Fang embodies the
notion of community spirit and dedi-
cation.
She has won numerous awards,
including Doraville Citizen Award in
2007, Whos Who in Asian American
Communities in 2007, Leadership
DeKalb Outstanding Service and
Contribution Award in September
2009.
Fang has served or is serving on
more than 30 boards and organiza-
tions, including Chinese Community
Association, Taiwanese Chamber
of Commerce, Chamblee Doraville
Prosperity Manager Association,
Starlight/Starbright Childrens Foun-
dation and the DeKalb Chamber of
Commerce. She is also the founder
of the Chinese American Women As-
sociation of Atlanta.
Dr. William C. Brown of Lithonia was
the rst African American to serve on the
DeKalb County Library Board of Trustees,
serving 1976-90. Serving as chairman of
the board 1978-90, longer than anyone in
its history, Brown was instrumental in the
passing of a $29 million library bond ref-
erendum, which ushered the construction
of 12 libraries, seven of them in predomi-
nantly Black communities
When Brown, a former educator, was
rst appointed to the library board by
DeKalb CEO Manuel Maloof, there was
only one library in south DeKalb. Now a
library in the Wesley Chapel community is
named in his honor.
Brown was also elected to the DeKalb
County Board of Commissioners and from
1991-93 served as the rst president of
100 Black Men of DeKalb County, which
he founded.
Prior to living in DeKalb County, Brown,
a World War II Army veteran, was president
of Barber-Scotia College in Concord, N.C.
Lyn Menne
Charlene Fang Bill Brown
20 Years of Community Champions
48 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 49

Save the Date!
September 24, 2011
presents the 5th Annual Walk of
Heroes 5K to support people
receiving mental health, developmental
disabilities and addiction services from
DeKalb Community Service Board
404.508.7875
www.walkofheroes5k.com
Congratulations to you for twenty years of
excellent accomplishments, achievements and service
to the community. We wish you continued blessings
for many years to come.
Danny & Rose Outlaw
Dr. Earl & Mrs. Carolyn Glenn
and The Champion Family,
Danny Outlaw Accounting/CPA
1500 Klondike Road
Suite A102
Conyers, GA 30094
(770) 483-3360
doutlaw@bellsouth.net
See Champions on Page 50
Liane Levetan has developed a
reputation as a magnicent bridge
builder. Its something shes been do-
ing for decades. In 1972, she became
the rst female member of the DeKalb
County Commission and 20 years
later won election as the countys rst
female chief executive ofce.
During her tenure, DeKalb was
selected in 1998 for an All-America
City Award, the only county in Georgia
to receive that distinction. Levetan also
served in the Georgia Senate from
2002 to 2004. Since leaving pub-
lic ofce, she has remained actively
involved in community issues and
projects, especially those that address
the needs of the elderly and youth.
William Buck Godfrey, the rst
Black football coach at Southwest
DeKalb High School, has built a legacy
of achievement on and off the football
eld.
In addition to winning 258 games in
28 seasons at the school, including a
state championship in 1995, Godfrey
was an inuential English teacher and
the author of several books.
Also, he has helped more than 260
former football players earn college
scholarships. More than 200 of those
scholarship winners are now college
graduates.
Godfrey was rewarded for his
achievements in 2010 when he was
inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of
Fame.
Liane Levetan
Buck Godfrey
A popular vacation spot for wealthy families in
the early 1900s, East Lake, the home golf course
of legend Bobby Jones, fell into disrepair in the
1960s. In 1970, a public housing project was
constructed on what had been one of East Lakes
golf courses. The area deteriorated into a war zone
of crime and drugs until Tom Cousins founded the
East Lake Foundation in 1995. Cousins partnered
with the Atlanta Housing Authority to revitalize
the area by building The Villages for East Lake, a
mixed-income apartment development in the com-
munity.
East Lake also has a charter school, a YMCA
and a public golf course that is the home of The
First Tee

of East Lake, a year-round golf instruc-

tion and life skills program for area youth. East
Lake community programs are beneted by net
proceeds from East Lakes golf courses and the
annual PGA Tour championship held at East Lake.
Cousins transformation of East Lake has been
recognized as a national model for community
redevelopment.
Working in real estate, Cousins also developed
several buildings, including CNN Center, Omni
Coliseum and the rst phase of the Georgia World
Congress Center.
Tom Cousins
20 Years of Community Champions
48 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
John King
Gregory B. Levett Sr.
John Kings service to his community and DeKalb County goes beyond his duty as
police chief of Doraville.
During the past two decades, King, who is a graduate of Leadership DeKalb, has
made the county a better place in which to live by bridging gaps among Doravilles
diverse communities and implementing youth and crime prevention programs.
A native of Mexico, King has worked with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to
establish an education program for prospective small business entrepreneurs. He is a
colonel in the U.S. Army and has earned many awards for military and public service.
Recently, King served as the military advisor to the deputy minister of interior for
security for Afghanistan, an agency of more than 96,000 police ofcers. He has been
recognized for his military service and has won the Bronze Star and the Combat Infan-
try Badge. King also received NATO awards for his service in Bosnia and Afghanistan.
Gregory B. Levett Sr., the founder, owner and CEO of Gregory B. Levett & Sons Fu-
neral Homes and Crematory, has been a visionary and philanthropist for more than 30 years.
Levett is a former president of the DeKalb Chapter of the 100 Black Men of America,
former member of the City of Decatur Public School Board Council, lifetime member of the
NAACP and former president of the Salem Gate Merchants Association. He also serves as
a member on the board of directors for the DeKalb Medical Center, and chairman of the
DeKalb Hospital Authority.
Levett and his wife Betty also made the largest donation to the DeKalb Medical Center
(Hillandale) by a minority since 1961 and because of their generosity, the hospital created
the Gregory B. Levett Sr. and Betty H. Levett Emergency Department reception area in their
honor. Levett and his family have donated in excess of $1 million to various charities and
organizations throughout their 30 years of service.
When he ended his second and nal term as DeKalb County chief executive ofcer in
1992, Manuel Maloofwho was both the countys last commission chairman and its rst
CEOhad overseen an era of tremendous growth and change in the county.
Perhaps equally well known as a politician and a tavern owner, Maloof inuenced the
county ofcially through positions to which he was elected and unofcially through his contin-
ual meetingsoften at Manuels Tavern in Atlantawith many of the regions policy makers.
Among other accomplishments, he helped usher in the expansion of MARTA rail lines
into the eastern and northern ends of the county. In his obituary, hes credited with pushing
through the construction of the interstate cloverleaf known as Spaghetti Junction at I-85 and
I-285 and for expanding the number of minorities and women in top government positions.
The DeKalb County afliate of Habitat for Humanity was incorporated in 1988 at his urging
and with his support.
Maloofs years in county government were challenging as well, as he struggled to nd the
revenue needed for capital improvements in the rapidly growing county. [Illegal drugs and
the spread of AIDS] drove us absolutely nuts as far as the cost of government and deterred
us from being able to spend the kind of time we needed to spend on things of a more posi-
tive nature, he commented several years after leaving ofce.
Manuel Maloof
See Champions on Page 51
20 Years of Community Champions
50 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 51

Thomas E. Brown
citizen trust
(lou)
90 years ago, Citizens Trust Bank made
a commitment to offer our customers
the best banking products with rst-class
customer service. Living up to that promise,
we continue to succeed, ourish and grow
and it is our goal to ensure that our
customers will too.
CELEBRATING 90
YEARS
www.ctbconnect.com | 678.406.4000
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
Each Depositor Insured to $100,000
See Champions on Page 52
Protecting and serving the public has been a part of Thomas
Browns life work since the beginning of his career. He started as a
reghter in Atlanta but in short order became DeKalb Countys re
chief in 1985. In January 1990, he was appointed the countys pub-
lic safety director. He pioneered the concept of community-oriented
policing and achieved the departments national law enforcement ac-
creditation.
Following the murder of sheriff-elect Derwin Brown (no relation)
in December 2000, Thomas Brown was appointed interim sheriff and
in March 2001 won the special election, becoming the countys 48th
sheriff. As sheriff, he is responsible for operating the county jail, secur-
ing the county courthouse, serving all criminal and civil warrants and
overseeing the fugitive squad unit.
However Browns commitment to the community goes beyond
his job. He is also actively involved in serving on such boards as the
Georgia Center for Children, Nicholas House, Project Destiny and the
advisory board of the DeKalb Rape Crisis Center. His involvement in
an annual golf fundraiser supports various philanthropic projects.
20 Years of Community Champions
50 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
Sara Gonzalez
Upon her death in 2008, Sara Gonzalez left a legacy of more than 30 years as an advo-
cate for the Hispanic community, giving those in her community the tools to build economic
strength in the United States as she had.
After eeing Cuba following the takeover of Fidel Castro, Gonzalez had such diverse
careers as a Christian Dior fashion model and owner of one of the rst Cuban restaurants in
the Atlanta areaan eatery USA Today called one of the best in America.
Her job at the Latin American Association on Buford Highway, where she started as a
receptionist and later became a fundraiser, inspired her to become a community volunteer,
helping newly arrived Latinos acclimate to the United States and to metro Atlanta. She be-
came an advocate for immigrant rights and Hispanic economic growth.
As founder of the Hispanic American Center for Economic Development and in her role as
president and CEO of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Gonzalez helped thou-
sands of people start and build businesses.
Elizabeth Wilson
For decades Elizabeth Wilsons name has been synonymous with public
service. She served on the Decatur City Commission in 1984, was voted as De-
caturs mayor pro-tem in 1992 and was elected as the citys rst African-American
mayor in 1993, remaining in that capacity through 1998. However long before that
she played a key role in the desegregation of Decatur public schools and librar-
ies in the 1960s. She established a reputation for her uncompromising nonviolent
protests against injustice and inequality.
Through the years, Wilson has championed issues in health care, housing,
education, childrens and senior citizen services. Shes effected change locally,
statewide and nationally when she was a member of the National League of Cit-
ies, the Black Mayors Conference and the Georgia Municipal Association. Annu-
ally a scholarship in her name is awarded at Decatur High School.
Yvonne Williams
Yvonne Williams has an exceptional record of successes in building public/
private partnerships.
During the past 25 years, she has been involved in revitalization, industrial
development and comprehensive economic development for a number of Georgia
chambers of commerce. Most recently, Williams has been the catalyst in the form-
ing business/government partnerships to leverage $500 million in the next ve
years in major transportation and infrastructure improvements in the DeKalbs Pe-
rimeter area. Williams was selected president of the DeKalb Perimeter Community
Improvement District in 1999. She was appointed president of the joint DeKalb/
Fulton PCID, which she helped organize.
Among her other appointments, Williams has served on Gov. Sonny Perdues
Congestion Mitigation Task Force and the Regional Atlanta Civic League.
See Champions on Page 53
20 Years of Community Champions
52 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 53

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Gregory and Juanita Baranco
In addition to being business owners who
founded the highly successful Baranco Auto-
motive Group, husband and wife Gregory and
Juanita Baranco have long been active in a
wide range of community institutions. An attor-
ney, she, for example, has served as a member
of the Governors Human Relations Committee,
on Clark Atlanta Universitys National Business
Advisory Board and as a board member of the
Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia.
Still CEO of Baranco Automotive Group, he
has been prominent in such organizations as
100 Black Men of DeKalb County, the United
Way and the DeKalb County Task Force on Ef-
ciency in Government.
For both of them education has been a spe-
cial interest. He has served as business mentor
to students from Howard University, Spelman
College and Southern University and has been
recognized for his contributions to the United
Negro College Fund and the DeKalb County
Education Program.
She has served as chairman of the DeKalb
County Education Task Force and for six years
as a member of the Georgia Board of Educa-
tion. She was named by former Georgia Gov.
Zell Miller to serve on the Board of Regents
and became its rst African-American female
chair in 1995. During her tenure, the board re-
ceived national recognition for its sweeping re-
forms and innovative higher education policies.
Juanita Baranco also served as chairman of
the education committee for the 1996 Olympics
and established a scholarship program for high
school seniors seeking careers as automobile
technicians.
See Champions on Page 54
20 Years of Community Champions
Gregory
Juanita
Dolores Stockard
Judge Clarence Seeliger
Dolores Stockard, who passed away recently, was a lifelong advocate of devel-
oping an arts center for south DeKalb.
Stockard worked tirelessly with Jim Cone, former director of DeKalb County De-
partment of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs, and Ariel Williams, and others to
improve the cultural arts for Callanwolde and all of DeKalb.
She was a member of Columbia Drive Presbyterian Church and was the churchs
designee to work toward revitalizing Candler Road and other major corridors in
DeKalb. She also served many years on the DeKalb Community Development Advi-
sory Council, the DeKalb Community Relations Commission and several other county
boards and councils.
Judge Clarence Seeliger has served on the bench for almost 28 years, four years
as State Court judge, and 24 as a judge of the Superior Court of DeKalb County.
Seeliger initiated several changes pursuant to his interest in civil rights, especially
while serving on the State Court. He has been recognized by the DeKalb County
Community Relations Commission, receiving the Chief Executive Ofcers Great
American Award.
He also served as chairman of the DeKalb County Task Force Against Domestic Vio-
lence and is currently a member of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, where
he served as chairman for six years. His work has been recognized by the Georgia
Commission on Family Violence, the Womens Resource Center, DeKalb County Task
Force Against Domestic Violence and the Atlanta & Georgia Womens Political Caucus.
John Evans
John Evans has established a solid reputation of ghting for what he and others believe
is right. Thats just what hes done over the decades in DeKalb in the areas of education, civic
affairs and civil rights.
Evans is currently the founder and president of Operation LEAD, an organization dedicated
to the belief that all people, regardless of color or creed, deserve adequate protection of their
legal, civil and human rights.
Evans is a former member of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, former member
of the MARTA Board of Directors and a former president of the DeKalb branch of the NAACP.
He has received many awards for his community involvement including: DeKalb County
Community Development Service Award, David C. Albert Award, Lifetime Achievement Award
from the DeKalb Branch NAACP, Liberty Bell Award from Decatur-DeKalb Bar Association,
Civil Rights Living Legend Award from the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and the Masked
Award from the United Negro College Fund.
See Champions on Page 55
20 Years of Community Champions
54 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
www.championnewspaper.com Memories & Milestones 55

/50 Commerce Drive
Suite 201
Decatur, GA 30030
TEL +0+-2/0-2500
FAX+0+-2/0-2556
www.dekalbhousing.org

\ou are a so||d part of our commun|t, and a source we a||
trust. |or the past twent, ,ears, Ihe ous|n Author|t, of
0eKa|h 0ount, has pro.|ded a w|de .ar|et, of prorams that
pro.|de hous|n so|ut|ons to 0eKa|h 0ount, res|dents and
promote commun|t, and econom|c de.e|opment.
Ihanks for a|| ,ou ha.e done to share our stor|es.
ere's to 20 more.0onratu|at|ons!!!
-Iheoas|ae Aathor|t) of 0eka|h 0oaat)
app) 20
th
Aaa|rersar) to
Ihe 0hamp|oa Newspaper!
app) 20
th
Aaa|rersar) to
Ihe 0hamp|oa Newspaper!
Congratulations to
The Champion newspaper
for 20 years!

Leadership DeKalb is a proud partner of The Champion.

Together we
Educate the public on DeKalb Countys programs and issues,
Empower our community leaders to become ambassadors
of change, and
Recognize our champions for their contributions to the
quality of life of our community.
Together We Put Unity in Community.

To learn more about Leadership DeKalb,
please visit www.leadershipdekalb.org.
315 West Ponce de Leon Avenue
Suite 1069
Decatur, Georgia 30030
(404) 373-2491
E-mail: info@leadershipdekalb.org
www.leadershipdekalb.org
LD Champion Ad 3.indd 1 5/17/11 3:44 PM
Robert L. Brown
Robert L. Brown, a native of Dublin, Ga., and a longtime resident of
DeKalb County, has worked tirelessly to better the community.
A registered professional architect since 1982, he was elevated to the
American Institute of Architects prestigious College of Fellows in 1999,
the highest honor bestowed upon members of the profession.
Brown was the rst African-American chairman of the Georgia Cham-
ber of Commerce, the rst African-American chairman of the Fulton-
DeKalb Hospital Authority, as well as past chairman of the Georgia
Partnership for Excellence in Education and the Georgia State Board of
Corrections.
He has also chaired the rst Status of Health in DeKalb commit-
tee for the DeKalb County Board of Health, is a past chairman of the
DeKalb Library Foundation and a current trustee of the DeKalb History
Center.
Brown contributes much of his time to serve organizations that
promote education and lifelong learning. He is a member of 100 Black
Men of DeKalb, the Livable Communities Coalition, the Early Education
Commission, the Agnes Scott College Board of Trustees, the DeKalb
Public Schools and Tech High Foundations.
Among his many honors and awards, he has been recognized as a
Hometown Hero by the Decatur Business Association and Business
Person of the Year by DeKalb Chamber of Commerce.
See Champions on Page 56
20 Years of Community Champions
54 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
Shapiro & Swertfeger, LLP
2872 Woodcock Blvd., Suite 100 | Atlanta, GA 30341
The Law Firm of
Shapiro & Swertfeger, LLP
C O N G R A T U L A T E S
The Champion Newspaper
on 20-years of publishing
DeKalb County news
and
over a decade of
GREAT service to the
legal community!
The Law Firm of
Shapiro & Swertfeger, LLP
C O N G R A T U L A T E S
The Champion Newspaper
on 20-years of publishing
DeKalb County news
and
over a decade of
GREAT service to the
legal community!
Gussie Brown
Gussie Brown has been active for more than 30 years in trying
to improve DeKalbs Scottdale community. Known affectionately as
Aunt Gussie by Scottdale residents, Brown played an integral part
in advocating for the county and the school system to use buildings
that were closed when DeKalb schools were integrated in 1969.
Brown was honored as The Grandmother of Robert Shaw
Traditional Theme School for her role in the reopening of the
elementary school in 1998 after it had been closed for nearly 30
years.
When her children were in school, Brown served as the PTA
president at Hamilton High School and Robert Shaw. She has
served at Travelers Rest Baptist Church as chairwoman of the
Mothers Board, a trustee, an usher and a member of the Senior
Choir. She has also served as the president of the Scottdale
Planning Committee, been a charter member of the Robert Shaw
Theme School PTA and was on the board of directors for the
Scottdale Child Development Center.
20 Years of Community Champions
56 Memories & Milestones www.championnewspaper.com
Projects Scheduled for Completion
in 2011/2012
9South Police Precinct
9North DeKalb Community Center
9Central DeKalb Senior Center
9South DeKalb Community Center
9Fire Station #10
9Fire Station #3
9Lou Walker Multi-Purpose Parking
Expansion
DeKalb County, Georgia
Community Development Department
Candler Forrest Tuscany Village Apartments
150 East Ponce de Leon Avenue Suite# 330 Decatur, GA 30030 ( 404) -286-3308
Lou Walker Multi-Purpose Center
DeKalb County is pleased to work
with the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) to help develop housing
and community facilities for our
DeKalb neighborhoods.
2008
2007
Antioch Manor Estates
2005
2008
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