Local Product Stays In Town

In a previous post I mentioned Kenny Irons going to the Bengals, but his brother David landed in the Falcon's Nest as well. A late round pick, David will likely be called upon for nickel coverage, special teams and some practice team duties.

Tour de Georgia, Hoschton Art Trax and Braselton Bash all merge this Saturday

As temperatures warm and spring blossoms, children and adults are flocking outdoors, looking to get out of the house and have a little fun in the sun.
The coming weekend should provide ample opportunity for outside escapades — three separate outdoor events, the Tour de Georgia, Art Trax and Braselton Bash, are merging in the West Jackson area to bring out a bevy of crowds and maybe a little traffic, too. The following is a weekend guide to the events:Art Trax, downtown Hoschton, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Artists from across Georgia have been “juried,” or screened, before being allowed to show and vend their wares at this new downtown event, one that organizers hope will stick around for years to come.

“How many [attendees] would I like to see? I’d like to see 1,000,” said John Schulte, city council member and Art Trax organizer. Check out the various booths and exhibitions crowded into the downtown square and depot from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attractions will include an on-site potter’s wheel, music, food, children’s entertainment and even a wine tasting at Vinny’s Restaurant in the nearby Towne Center.

Directions: Downtown Hoschton, on Highway 53, just south of Braselton. Parking will be available in nearby streets. Admission: Free Tour de Georgia, 12:30 to 1 p.m., northern Gwinnett County, northern Barrow County: Take a break from Art Trax and arrive early to catch a glimpse of the field for one of the nation’s premier cycling tours, a warm-up of sorts for the prestigious Tour de France, later in the summer.

Pick one of three roadways in the stage six route: Cyclists will enter Highway 124 from Spout Springs Road, ride east past Mill Creek high school, merge into Old Hog Mountain Road, and turn into Highway 211 to continue south into Bethlehem.Also, be sure to look for Braselton resident Nathan O’Neill as he vies for a top spot in the Tour. This is the fifth Tour de Georgia for the Australian-native. He rides for the Health Net team.Directions: Parking should be available in nearby shopping centers and on road shoulders. Arrive early, before the roads are shut down in anticipation of the field. Check www.tourdegeorgia.com for more information on the Tour and the stage six route. Admission: Free Braselton Bash, Year One parking lot, Braselton, 3 to 9 p.m.: After the excitement of the Tour de Georgia and a brief return to Art Trax, get ready for an evening of muscle cars, hot rods and cool classics at the monthly Braselton Bash in the YearOne parking lot. The restoration auto parts manufacturer invites car owners and enthusiasts to cruise the company parking lot, talk shop and enjoy the atmosphere from 3 to 9 p.m. Participants can also vote for the top 25 cars in the show.Admission for car exhibitors is $10, all of which goes to this month’s charity recipient, the YearOne Children’s Charity.All other attendees enter for free.Directions: YearOne parking lot, Cherry Drive off Highway 53, just south of Interstate 85. Admission: Free

Source: Jackson Herald

AJC Reports Hoschton On Tour Of Homes - Paid Advertisement

In keeping with the tradition of non-news reporting, some builders have paid to be on the "Tour of Homes" - Here's the snippet.

... including three by Millard Bowen Communities. In Jefferson is Jameston
Place, with 87 cottage ranches and two-story homes from the $150,000s to
$170,000s, and Northminster Estates, an active-adult community from the
$170,000s to $230,000s. The 106-home Cambridge Farms in Hoschton has
single-family homes from the $220,000s to $320,000s. Information: 706-824-1957
(Jameston Place), 706-824-1933 (Cambridge Farms), 706-654-2010 (Northminster
Estates), www.bowenhomes.com; 706-367-0611, www.jacksoncountybuilders.com/paradeofhomes.htm (Parade of Homes).

There's enough great property in Gwinnett for us to host something that doesn't need to be tied to BOWEN or other tract builders in my humble opinion.

Dacula's Own Kenny Irons a Bengal!

Kenny Irons’ life came full circle on Saturday evening. On the same Dacula field where he and his brother, David, starred in high school, the All-SEC running back found out exactly where he would be playing professional football for the next few years. Irons, who rushed for more than 2,100 yards in his Auburn career, was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round (49th pick overall) of the NFL draft on Saturday.As his friends and family watched in the end zone of the Dacula football stadium, Irons watched in a trailer adjacent to the field. And that’s where, at exactly 8:02 p.m., Irons saw his name appear on the bottom of the ESPN screen.“I’m still woozy,” the former Daily Post Super Six selection said. “All these years you wouldn’t expect this to happen. I’m like a little kid right now. I’m like, ‘Wow.’”A “little kid” that just happens to now be a player in the National Football League. Irons was the third running back taken in the draft, behind Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson (seventh to the Vikings) and California’s Marshawn Lynch (12th to the Bills).He becomes the second Gwinnett product drafted by Cincy in the last three years, joining former Shiloh star Davey Pollack who was a first-round pick in 2005.“I’m so happy,” Irons said. “All my friends and family are here. I’m trying to smile a lot to hold back the tears. But it’s been great and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.“It’s been awesome.”And what made the day even more special for Irons and his brother was the celebration that took place in their honor at Dacula High School.Typically an NFL prospect will have a draft party at their house, with maybe 10 to 20 people invited to watch the draft with them.But that’s not how the Irons brothers roll.Hundreds of friends, family members and Auburn football fans showed up for the Irons brothers draft party extravaganza on Saturday.The end zone was painted with the word “Irons” on it. Midfield had “Kenny” and “David” painted with an NFL logo above it.There was a marching band, a live band, an inflatable slide, a passing-accuracy game and tents set up all around the Dacula field with food and drinks.And there were fans. Lots of orange-clad fans.Even one, Rich Stinson, who came all the way from Fort Hood, Texas, to be at the event.“It’s been great,” said Stinson, who came to the draft party with a couple of friends who live in the area. “There are a bunch of Auburn people here. … and it’s great for an Auburn fan to come out and support a couple of guys like Kenny and David, who have done so much to represent the university.“It made perfect sense to come out and support the Auburn family.”There was plenty of support from the Auburn family on Saturday.Atlanta Auburn Club President Kathleen Saal estimated “200 to 300” members of the organization showed up on Saturday to support the Irons brothers.“We were just talking about it,” Saal said, “how odd it was that we were basically having an Auburn tailgate party in Dacula. It’s kind of fun.“And this was a really nice opportunity to come out and support Kenny and David.”She was also very thankful to David Irons Sr. for organizing the event and allowing such a large number of Auburn fans to come out and enjoy the celebration.“We just love Mr. Irons,” Saal said. “It’s so touching that he would think of us.”Irons Sr. was touched by the support as well. And he had no reservations about staging such an extravagant draft party for his two boys.“I didn’t want to just sit at home and be the big shots on the block,” Irons Sr. said. “It’s been a great day. It really broke up the monotony.“It’s just been really cool.”It got a whole lot cooler at about 8 p.m.The crowd surrounding the TV in the end zone numbered around 100 when the Cincinnati Bengals were put on the clock. The friends and family were milling around, talking and eating snacks when right there at the bottom of the screen the name appeared: Kenny Irons, RB, Auburn.The crowd immediately erupted in applause and cheers.There was lots of shouting and high-fives, and even a few tears.And it was fitting that the celebration was taking place in the Dacula end zone considering how much time Kenny spent there during his playing days with the Falcons.Five minutes later, Irons came from the trailer to celebrate with his friends and family as the cameras from Fox Sports followed his every step.He gave countless hugs, posed for pictures, signed autographs and seemed to get a phone call every 10 seconds. And through it all, he could not stop smiling.“It’s just been so much fun,” Irons said. “Nothing like this has ever happened at Dacula. So it’s been a blessing to share this with them.”Irons became the first-ever player out of Dacula to be drafted in the NFL.He should be joined today by his brother, David, who started at cornerback the last two years for Auburn and is considered one of the top remaining DBs available.Although he wasn’t selected on Saturday, David enjoyed the day’s festivities as well.“It was amazing,” he said. “The community really came out and showed support — there were 600 or so people, and there were a lot of Auburn fans.“It was pretty neat.”And it was a day that none of the Irons’ family members will ever forget.

SOURCE: GDP