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Lemonade?

“Home of the Bears” is a charming nickname for Mountain View High School but it became more than a little ironic,

Loralee Beard, Magic Moment Photography

when MVHS Homecoming Queen Janine Kfouri, (considering premed studies next year at Emory or University of Georgia) and King Matthew Catapano, (future business major at Georgia College and State University), were trying to luxuriate in being named Homecoming King and Queen only to suspect there was A BEAR AT THE DANCE.

My choice of profession, photographer, means I see interesting people on an infrequent but predictable basis – like books that I leave open and catch up on from time to time.  Certainly, BJ Roy is in this category.  I first met him as an assistant basketball Coach at Dacula High School and was happy when he took over as Head Coach.  He then moved over to Central Gwinnett High School to work under longtime Boys Varsity Coach David Allen.  With a wife and 4 children, his decisions have to consider lots of mitigating people.

I was not expecting to see him at the Mountain View High School this fall,  where he was sitting tall in a golf cart and riding herd on his Cross Country team. As head Boys Cross Country Coach, Coach Roy asked that he be allowed to pose with his Freshman boys — his first 4 year group at MVHS.

When Dr. Mike Moody, founding Principal of Grayson High School, retired from the position in 2002, he left a trail of admirers, who knew him from long years of service in the area.  Quality leadership from Keith Chaney and now David Hopson has followed but you still can bank on a round of compliments when his name comes up.  Happily Dr. Moody surfaced at the Grayson Rams 2013 Homecoming game, where he posed alongside current principal David Hopson.  Dr. Moody – not really retired at all– is currently a Professor at Piedmont College.

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I am convinced that the secret to Brookwood High School’s longstanding reign as an outstanding school is that once a Bronco always a Bronco.  Community School Director Dan Chelko, retiring after 40 years in Gwinnett Education, gathered the four staff : besides Mr. Chelko there was Joan Anglin, Jolinda Collins and, Linda Breedlove who have been at Brookwood High School since the school opened in 1981, for a picture.  While they are seated in the middle of the front row, they are surrounded by the 20 +  alumni who as Mr. Chelko says  “returned home as part of the Faculty and Staff.”

Isaac Carasquilla distinguished himself at his Senior sitting by his flexibility in doing some slightly different Senior poses.  Therefore, when he was honored as a member of the Grayson High School Homecoming Court, we were not surprised when he veered from protocol and did a noble pose.  Who knew he had a Fan Club?

When we refer to the “beautiful people” in our community, we mean people who are beautiful inside and out like Jill Rudolph and daughter Alexis.  Jill and husband Philip met at Northside Hospital visiting a friend and have spent almost all of their marriage in Grayson.  Jill is instructional and technical staff at Grayson Elementary School while Alexis is interning as a teacher at Taylor Elementary School. Sister Taylor has the distinction of being both Miss Freshman and Miss Sophomore at GHS.  And while we don’t see them enough, they have worked with Magic Moment Photography at pivotal times for the past several years.

Grayson Elementary School has always been a source of pride for our community but under the leadership of Principal Chris Brown, a bold new era is in play.  Trying to reward his students for their latest achievement, he fulfilled his promise to let a BMX Racer jump over his head.  If you want to understand Mr. Brown’s mass appeal, please note his “this would be perfect if I had a glass of lemonade” expression.

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