INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE

Wayne Hill. The County Commission chairman is the first to win three four-year terms since the commission expanded to five members in 1968. Hill is perhaps Gwinnett's biggest booster and helped spearhead construction of the county's wastewater treatment plant. Hill plans to run for a fourth term this year.

Danny Porter. Gwinnett County's district attorney has been the driving force behind several high-profile cases. Recent benchmarks include prosecuting gang activity and investigating whether the Gwinnett County school system intentionally withheld reporting incidents of violence.

Preston Williams. General manager of the Arena at Gwinnett Center, he helped supervise and oversee its design and construction. The North Carolina native has been in arena management since the late 1970s and ran the Miami Arena and the Office Depot Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before coming to Gwinnett. Williams is the central figure in negotiating for concerts and other entertainment acts that visit the Arena.

Charlotte Nash. The Gwinnett County administrator oversees a staff of 4,000 employees and a $1.4 billion budget. A 25-year county employee, Nash has helped lead the county during its period of explosive growth in her eight years as county manager.

The Rev. James Merritt. Former pastor of First Baptist Church of Snellville and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Merritt is starting up Cross Pointe Church at Gwinnett Center, a megachurch off Satellite Boulevard.

ATTRACTIONS

Shopping. With three malls and more than 26 million square feet of retail space, the county is emerging as a regional magnet for shoppers. The Mall of Georgia, Discover Mills and Gwinnett Place are the anchors. The county also has pockets of specialties, such I-85 south of Jimmy Carter Boulevard with its collection of furniture stores, and U.S. 78 and its assortment of automobile dealerships.

Parks. About 7,300 acres of parks offer a wide variety of activities. Yellow River Park south of Lilburn has trails for horses and mountain-biking; Five Forks Park near Snellville will include a dog park when it opens this winter; Rhodes Jordan Park in Lawrenceville features aquatics; and Tribble Mill near Grayson provides boating and fishing. In all, the county has about 31 parks in various stages of completion.

Sports. Athletics are big in Gwinnett County. The Georgia Force arena football team relocated from Atlanta to the Arena at Gwinnett Center last year. The Arena is also home to the minor league hockey Gwinnett Gladiators, which debut this fall. For nonprofessional entertainment, Gwinnett County boasts some of the state's best high school teams.

Historic downtowns. Several cities are refurbishing their downtowns. Cities with vibrant cores include Duluth, Buford and Norcross, each featuring restaurants, galleries and parks.

Schools. Georgia's largest school system, Gwinnett County Public Schools counts more than 128,000 students and ranks among the top in standardized testing, academic matches and extracurricular competitions. The school system has one of the largest and most active PTAs in the nation.