Rhyant in 2009 earned an honorary doctorate from BCU, his alma mater, where he is VP of the board of trustees. He graduated from BCU in 1972 and earned a master's of business administration from Indiana University in 1986.
The Lee Rhyant Residential Life Center will house 270 students in a semi-coed setting with the sexes living in separate wings. The three-floor facility cost $7 million, part of which was donated by Rhyant.
"It's bringing Bethune-Cookman into the 21st century," Bethune-Cookman President Trudie Kibbe Reed said
Rhyant came to LM in 2000 as VP and previously served in a similar capacity at Rolls-Royce Aerospace. He and his wife, Evelyn, live in Marietta and have two sons who are both physicians. Rhyant plans to retire from Lockheed next year.
COBB SUPERIOR COURT Judge Tain Kell has withdrawn his name from consideration for the state Court of Appeals. There are two openings on that court: one due to the tragic cancer-related death of Judge Debra Bernes of Cobb and the other by the retirement of Judge Alan Blackburn, also of Cobb.
Kell wrote Mike Bowers, chairman of the Judicial Nominating Commission, "In seeking election in 2008, I made a commitment to those same people to fulfill the terms of office, and I appreciate the opportunity to do so. ... I knew and respected Judge Debra Bernes and both she and Judge Blackburn have served the court with distinction. For this reason, the opportunity to succeed either of them to this office is a great one. However, the trial court bench is an excellent fit for me at this juncture of my career."
NEW COBB COMMISSION Chairman Tim Lee has been burning the midnight oil since his swearing in a few weeks back, focusing mostly on preparing the proposed county budget for FY11 that starts Oct. 1. He's having to contend with an $8.7 million shortfall in the Fire fund (where personnel costs make up 85 percent of its budget), and $11.7 million in the general fund. But Lee is confident that by the time he unveils his proposal at today's commission meeting that the budget proposal will be balanced with no need for a tax increase.
A NEW CONSERVATIVE BLOG penned by Georgia conservatives rolled out on Monday at wearepolitics.com.
"We are a social media site dedicated to advancing the conservative agenda," said publisher Jeff Breedlove. "We will put forth policy ideas, defend our philosophy, support and oppose legislation and issues, support and oppose candidates, discuss and promote events, and recognize conservative leaders.
We are all about issues and policy. We will disagree without being disagreeable. We will oppose those things we feel called to oppose, but always strive to oppose the issue or philosophy and not the person.
"We believe that conservatives can win debates based on the strength of our philosophy and the soundness of our doctrine - we can be happy because we have logic, the facts, and truth on our side."
Writers will include Brian Donegan, chairman of Can Do Conservatives of America; Debbie Dooley of Georgia Tea Party Patriots; Karen England, executive director of the Capitol Resource Institute in California; Melvin Everson, recent statewide candidate and grassroots leader; former Georgia Right to Life head Sadie Fields; Sam Fleet, Georgia State Director of the Pickens Plan; Virginia Galloway, Georgia State Director of Americans for Prosperity; Micah Gravely, grassroots director of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association; Shawn Hanley, chairman of the Fulton County Republican Party; Rhubarb Jones, the longest running morning radio personality in the Atlanta radio market, and now teaching mass communications at Kennesaw State University; Bill Knowles of Bibb County; Michael Opitz, chairman of the Cobb-based Madison Forum; Mark Rountree, president and CEO of Landmark Communications Inc.; Maria Sheffield of Marietta, recent candidate for state insurance commissioner; Keith Stone of Berrien County; John Taylor, President of Homeland Security Strategy; Pat Tippett, state co-chair for Georgia Conservatives in Action; and Martha Zoller, host of the Martha Zoller radio program in Gainesville and panelist on "The Georgia Gang."
LOCAL HISTORY: The forthcoming coffee-table book on historic Marietta homes, "Marietta, the Gem City of Georgia: A Celebration of Its Homes - A Portrait of Its People," will be unveiled at a 5:30 p.m. reception Thursday at the Marietta Educational Garden Center, 505 Kennesaw Ave. Author Douglas Frey, the owner/restorer of the historic Trammell House in Marietta, will on hand to talk about the book. Also taking part in the presentation will be photographer Jim DiVitale and graphic artist Michael Leidel. The book is being published by The Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society and is due out this winter.
Pre-sale copies will be offered for sale at the free event. RSVP to Nancy Gadberry, CLHS Executive Director, at (678) 594-4994 or executive.director@cobblandmarks.com.
SMYRNA NATIVE Jim Nash will give a slide presentation titled "Three Days in July: Military Operations on the Smyrna Line, 3-5 July 1864," to the Smyrna Historical Society and visitors on Thursday, reports Harold Smith of the Society.
The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, Smyrna City Hall, 2800 King St. Also present will be members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Plenty of seating and parking is available and visitors are welcome.
Nash is an attorney who has lived in Texas for almost 40 years. He has been awarded the J.D. degree by the University of Georgia School of Law and the Ph.D. degree by the University of Houston, where he was also a teacher of English. He is a 1959 graduate of Campbell High School.
He is also long-term student of the history of the Smyrna area and the Civil War, and his presentation aims at clarifying the military events around Smyrna in July 1864, as well as tying these into overall military operations from Kennesaw Mountain to the Chattahoochee River.
A FUNDRAISER for the planned Corrigan Care center is slated from 7-9 p.m. Saturday at the home of Jim and Melanie Carroll at 453 Kelly Drive in Marietta, reports board member Steven Ellis.
Tickets are $75 per person or $125 per couple with music by Doc Lundquist and Shadowood.
THE MADISON FORUM will host former west Cobb Commissioner Louie Hunter as speaker at its breakfast Saturday at the Rib Ranch Restaurant on Canton Road. It will be Hunter's third talk on the Federal Reserve Banking System at the Madison Forum.
THE 700-STUDENT Galloway School in Atlanta has appointed east Cobb's Dr. Beth Farokhi as interim head of school for the 2010-11 school year. Farokhi was defeated by Joe Martin of Atlanta in the Democratic primary in the race for state school superintendent. She ran for Cobb school board in 2006 but was defeated by Republican Dr. John Crooks.
RIBBON-CUTTING for the Noonday Creek Trail, which will tie in with the trail network from Kennesaw Mountain to Marietta and points south, will be 2 p.m. Sept. 2.
WEST COBB Commissioner Helen Goreham will host a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at the West Cobb Senior Center. Kathy Nguyen, of the Cobb Water System, will present a regional water supply update. The senior center is located at 4915 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs. For info, call (770) 528-3313 or visit cobbcounty.org/goreham.
THE SOUTH COBB ARTS Alliance is hosting the free summer Candlelight Concert Series at Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre and Montana Skies will perform Aug. 28. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance begins at 8 p.m. People are encouraged to bring and picnic and come early. Food will also be available at concession. There is free admission to general seating, but tables in front of the stage that seat four are available for $45. The show will go on rain or shine. The remaining shows in the free concert series are scheduled for Sept. 11 and 25. For more information, visit mablehouse.org.
IF YOU'RE GOING to the Aug. 31 fundraiser for Republican state House candidates Jason Sheperd and Sam Teasley, wear your dancing shoes. The event at 3231 Hobsons Trail NW in Acworth will feature a variety of homemade salsas, as well as professional salsa instructors. RSVP to Mary Van Brink at (678) 313-6200.
FACEBOOK post from east Cobb's Marshall Ramsey, syndicated political cartoonist for the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger and MDJ alum: "Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens was indicted for making false statements to Congress about steroids. Remember, Congress can lie to you, but you can't lie to Congress."
Post a Comment
Follow us on Twitter!