Leadership Forsyth - Class of 2022

Submitted by Jeff Fisher

Over the course of 2021 and 2022, I have had the opportunity to represent the Library as a participant in Leadership Forsyth. Leadership Forsyth is a local program that seeks to bring members of the local public and private sectors together to learn about the Forsyth County community, and also to complete a large service project. Leadership Forsyth has roots in the community that go back decades. 

Several current Library staff members have participated in the program over the years. The class of 2022 was made of up local small business owners, employees and managers within Forsyth County government, educators and administrators from local public and private schools, an elected official, members of the public safety community, healthcare workers, and staff from area higher education institutions. Many of the class members live in Forsyth County, while others work here while making their home in Cherokee, Dawson, and Hall counties.   

The Library's own Sarah Reynolds, who completed the program in 2021, served as one of this year's class facilitators. The facilitators are members of the previous class who are invited back to coordinate activities for the next class group. Denise Leeson, Cumming Library branch manager, serves on the Board of Leadership Forsyth as well.  

Over the course of an approximate academic year, my fellow classmates and I had the opportunity to visit and learn about many unique places in our community. Each month saw a 'class day' organized around a theme, such as public safety or education, and we visited multiple locations related to the particular theme.  These included the 911/Emergency Operations center, Northside Hospital, Bottoms Christmas Tree Farm, Alliance Academy, and the Place of Forsyth. Our group was also given an extended tour of the local jail. 

Our group was able to visit Sharon Forks Library during one of the class days.  Our group ate lunch in the meeting room while Leslie Marinelli gave an excellent overview of the Library. A few members of the class signed up for library cards. Watching the AMH in action was also a big hit. 

The class project our group chose to work on was the restoration and reopening of the Tolbert Street Cemetery. This is a small and historic cemetery located on Tolbert Street behind the Cumming Fairgrounds and adjacent to the county recycling center.  The cemetery was an African American cemetery affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. The cemetery was largely abandoned after the events of 1912. Over the last few decades, the public had access to the cemetery but the area was overgrown with brush and small trees. Our group was able to remove many small trees from inside the cemetery, clean up the overgrown brush, and create a small landscaped path into the cemetery. A portion of chain link fence was removed to open up the cemetery and replaced with a wooden fence and gate. Parking spaces were poured for future visitors to use. Members of the class also worked on historical research related to the cemetery, including searching for descendants of some of the identified persons who are buried there. Many local business supported the project financially or donated materials and labor to help with the project. 

Some of the many, many things I learned about our community over the course of the program:

• There are many, many people working in front of and behind the scenes in our community to make it a better place for everyone. 
• The theater program at Forsyth Central High School puts on performances for the general public.  They also create some of their own puppets for use in the shows.  
• Tolbert Street is pronounced (TAHL-bert) not (TOLL-bert).
  
• Georgia Highlands refers to a local healthcare organization, not just a two year academic college in Bartow and Paulding counties.  
• Emergency Operations/911 workers are a very underappreciated component of Public Safety and are truly the very first responders.
• The Sheriff's Office has a K9 dog who is trained to respond to commands in Dutch.

 Photo of the Tolbert Street Cemetery on the dedication day: (Courtesy of Forsyth County Government)