Sam Olens, elected chairman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners in 2002, brings a new brand of leadership to one of the county's most powerful posts. His penchant for avoiding controversy -- he persuaded animal control officers to vote down a ban on the number of pets county residents can have -- is in stark contrast to his predecessor. Olens is seen as a regional leader who gets results through compromise.

Mary Helen Bernknopf is one of Cobb's most influential activists. She is co-founder of the citizens advocacy group IMPACT and the Marietta Tree Keepers. She initiated a tree count a few years ago at the new Marietta High School to stop the school from getting a variance on the city's tree ordinance. As a volunteer, she initiated public discussions on affordable housing, transportation, environmental and school issues in Marietta. She also has organized candidate forums during election years.

It didn't take long for Alisha Thomas, Cobb County's first African-American state legislator, to make a name for herself. A month after taking office, the 24-year-old got into a well-publicized debate over the state flag at a Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting in her south Cobb district. Sons of Confederate Veterans members said they were offended by Thomas' support of the state flag in place at the time, which did not prominently display the Confederate battle emblem. After the meeting, Thomas said she was offended by Sons of Confederate Veterans members who criticized the NAACP.

The Rev. Ernest Easley, pastor of the 9,000-member Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, has big shoes to fill. After a 15-month search, the church this year settled on Easley, a die-hard Texan, to lead one of metro Atlanta's largest and most influential congregations. In February, Easley took over for the Rev. Nelson Price, who had served for 35 years and whose advice and wisdom were sought by politicians, local leaders and even former President Jimmy Carter.

Helen Goreham, the new county commissioner representing west Cobb, is making good on her campaign promise to better manage growth and development. Goreham, 50, is the only woman on the five-member commission.

FIVE INTRIGUING PLACES

Concord Covered Bridge. The 133-foot Concord Bridge between Smyrna and Mableton is one of only 14 covered bridges remaining in Georgia. The bridge was rebuilt in 1972 after being partially burned during the Civil War.

JonBenet Ramsey's Grave. Slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey is buried in St. James' Episcopal Cemetery at the corner of Winn and Polk streets in Marietta across the street from Marietta Middle School. A garden with a trellis, bench and flowers takes up a portion of the area with 12 burial sites the Ramseys own in the cemetery. JonBenet's half-sister, Elizabeth, who died in 1992, is buried next to her, and a grandmother is buried nearby.

Nesbitt/Union Chapel. The ruins of a 116-year-old chapel stand in an acre of woods next to a CVS pharmacy and U-Haul rental store in a busy commercial corridor on Powder Springs Road. The Nesbitt/Union Chapel was built as an ecumenical place of worship for people who didn't want to make the three-mile buggy drive to churches in downtown Marietta. Only a couple of hand-laid stone walls and the Gothic arch of the front doorway remain, but the grounds still are used for occasional worship services.

Smyrna Welcome Center. The Welcome Center on Atlanta Road across from Smyrna's new downtown center was formerly Aunt Fanny's Cabin on Campbell Road. The 115-year-old cabin was once a popular restaurant featuring Southern cooking. Visitors can see memorabilia from the restaurant and a six-minute documentary narrated by WSB-TV anchorwoman Monica Kaufman. Cookbooks featuring recipes from Aunt Fanny's are also sold.

Firehouse museum. This attractive, 3,000-square-foot museum opened in 1997 as part of a major renovation of Marietta's fire and emergency headquarters. About 90 percent of the exhibit items hail from this city's fire department, which was founded in 1854.