Good afternoon, everyone:
I will begin my comments today by giving a shout out to my Godson Magill, who turned 9 on July 15. As of now he still says that I am his best friend. We’ll see how much longer that lasts. But, for now I admit that it is pretty cool.
On July 16 it was great to join fellow Leadership DeKalb Alumni for the Summer Soiree at 716 West in Decatur. It was a lovely event and it was great to fellowship with other graduates of this outstanding program. I would like to commend and thank my 2016 classmate and current Board Chair Marquetta Bryan for hosting a wonderful gathering.
On July 19 it was fun to join the Basketball Camp at Clarkston First Baptist Church, conducted by former NBA player Brian Rowson and sponsored by the Veterans & Community Outreach Foundation. Brian was certainly putting the kids through their paces, and I got tired just watching them. Once upon a time I might have been able to hang with the youngsters. But, buying lunch for everyone and observing was probably the right move for me that day.
On July 20 we held the long-anticipated Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for our new Community & Senior Center on Elam Road. I will say more about this at a future date. For now I will simply say that it was a wonderful ceremony to open a wonderful facility, it was an honor for me to deliver this amenity to the people of District 4 and all of DeKalb County.
That evening I had the pleasure of meeting with the board members of the Scottdale Early Leaning Center. This center performs a valuable service in our community and it has been my honor to support their efforts with $100,000 in discretionary ARP and CARES Act allocations over the years. I would like to thank Executive Director Virginia Baker, and Board Vice Chair Toyasha Albert for the invitation to attend.
On July 22, we held our third Quarterly in the Fourth Community Breakfast Meeting for 2023. The meeting was very well-attended. And as usual, we engaged with the community on several issues of interest and concern. The headliner for the meeting was our outstanding Fire Chief Darnell Fullum who did an excellent job in sharing important information for the community. Additionally, I would like to thank all the departments who participated. Since the inception of these meetings I have been very pleased by the support that I receive from our administration. Our next community breakfast meeting will be in October. More information will be available across our communications platforms as the date approaches.
On July 24 it was a great privilege for me to serve as the keynote speaker for the STRIDE Diversion Program graduation ceremony. STRIDE stands for Stopping Trends of Repeat Incarceration with Diversion Education. The program is managed by our District Attorney’s Office. The program serves the community by redirecting young adults from committing felony offences they are charged with and toward being responsible and accountable citizens in DeKalb County. The participants go through an intensive program over the course of a year, and the 15 graduates from yesterday will now hopefully go on to lead productive lives as opposed to having felony convictions on their records. Seeing these folks complete this program is very inspiring, and I was honored to offer them a few words of encouragement.
I would like to commend and thank our esteemed District Attorney Sherry Boston for delivering such a valuable program to our community. I would also like to thank Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Lisa Moultrie for her excellent administration of the program, and for the invitation to participate. I look forward to attending more such ceremonies in the future.
Finally, on this Saturday, July 29, we will be holding our annual Back-to-School Backpack Giveaway. More information is available on the flyer below, as well as across our communications platforms.
If you have any questions or concerns, you may call my office at 404-371-4749, or visit my website at commissionerbradshaw.com. Follow me on all the major social media platforms for updates between the meetings, too.
As always, I will conclude my remarks by thanking the citizens of District 4 and DeKalb County for affording me this opportunity to serve. It is indeed an honor.
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