BUFORD: 'Fabulous Fourth' at Mall of Georgia

The Mall of Georgia is hosting its eighth "Fabulous Fourth" event July 4-5.

Music and activities start at 2 p.m. July 4 with a free concert in the Village Amphitheatre.

Children will be entertained in the Kids' Zone area, which will have bouncy house inflatables, carnival games and other family activities (a nominal fee may apply for some attractions).

The Georgia Force will sponsor the event and deliver a live on-stage performance featuring the team's cheerleaders and mascot at 3 p.m.

The day will culminate with fireworks, followed by a post-fireworks movie, shown on the main screen at the Village Stage.

The carnival games, inflatables and family activities will be open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. July 5. Stone Echo will perform at 6:30 p.m. in the Village Amphitheatre.

The public is invited.

For information call 678-482-8788 or visit www.mallofgeorgia.com

Buford Day Expo takes place July 12

The first Buford Day Expo is set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 12 at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center. Buford Business Alliance members will spotlight their businesses or organizations. For more information, visit www.VisitBuford.com

DULUTH: Charlotte youth choir to perform

Testify, a nondenominational youth choir with 150 members from Charlotte, will perform at Sugarloaf United Methodist Church 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Next Stop members will be their guests of honor.

The public is invited.

The Next Stop is a social, recreational and learning program for high functioning special-needs adults located in Suwanee. For more information, please visit www.thenextstop.org.

Brown bag live entertainment

The city of Duluth is hosting "Brown Bag Lunches" on the downtown green every Thursday through the first week in August. The public can enjoy live entertainment and splash in an interactive fountain from noon to 1:30 p.m. Visitors can bring their lunch or visit the Park Cafe or Steverino's. For more information, visit www.duluthga.net or call 678-475-3512.

Register for Bunten camps

Bunten Road Park is registering for summer camps.

> Tavani Soccer Camp is today through Friday.

> "Learn to Play Lacrosse" is July 14-17.

> Michael Douglas Basketball Camp-Duluth Day Camp is Monday through Friday, through Aug. 8.

LAWRENCEVILLE: Alumni group meeting Saturday

Lawrenceville High School alumni and friends will meet 11:20 a.m. Saturday at Bethesda United Methodist Church. Bring a covered dish. For more information call Mary Long, 770-962-6345.

Roundtable meeting July 6

The Northeast Georgia Civil War Roundtable will meet 3 p.m. July 6 at the Gwinnett History Museum. The public is invited.

Speck finishes infantry training

Army National Guard Pvt. Colby C. Speck graduated from the Infantryman 1 Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Columbus.

The training consists of basic infantry training and advanced individual training. Speck received training in drill and ceremonies, weapons employment, map reading, tactics, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid skills, and Army history, core values and traditions. Additional training included development of basic combat skills and battlefield operations and tactics.

Speck is the son of Doreen Speck of Lawrenceville.

Web site, e-mail inform citizens

The Lawrenceville Neighborhood Alliance has created a new Web site and e-mail list to inform residents of current events, such as quality of life challenges, pending rezoning requests and City Council agendas.

The Web site is www.Lawrencevillena.org. Those interested can join the e-mail list at lawrencevillena@hotmail.com.

Program focuses on leadership

The Gwinnett Neighborhood Leadership Institute is accepting applications for the 2008-09 program year. This eight-month program includes orientation, weekend retreat, Saturday training sessions and a community project that participants plan and carry out.

Participants are immersed in a variety of topics including communications, government, media relations, growth issues, education and criminal justice issues. Sessions have included visiting the state Capitol, police ride-alongs and discussions with educational officialsand representatives of city and county government.

Visit the GNLI Web site at http://www.gnli.org to apply or call Nicole Love at 770-995-3339. The deadline to apply is June 30.

SNELLVILLE: City Council to convene June 30

The Snellville City Council will hold a called meeting, 7:30 p.m. June 30 in the council chambers. Citizens are encouraged to attend or contact City Hall with any questions or comments.

Soldier completes Army training

Army Spec. Nicholas I. Kenny graduated from Basic Combat training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

Kenny studied the Army mission and received instruction and training exercises in drill and ceremonies, Army history, core values and traditions. He also received education in military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, rifle marksmanship, weapons use, map reading and land navigation. Additional training was in foot marches, armed and unarmed combat, and field maneuvers and tactics.

He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2005 from Brigham Young University. Kenny is the son of Joseph Kenny of Papillion, Neb., and Teena Johnson of Snellville.

Orthopedic surgeon to speak

The h2u (health, happiness, you) organization at Emory Eastside Medical Center presents Craig Mines, orthopedic surgeon, speaking about joint replacement and injury prevention. The free lecture will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Snellville Senior Center, 2350 Oak Road.

Mines is in private practice in Snellville and is on the medical staff at Emory Eastside. He is certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. For information, call the h2u office, 770-982-2358, or visit www.emoryeastside.com.

SUGAR HILL: State gas agency recognizes city

The City of Sugar Hill was awarded the "Blue Flame" award from the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia. The award is for excellence in customer service.

Sugar Hill is the only Municipal Gas Authority member that has instituted all the payment plan options of Budget Billing, online payment and third party payment plans.

SUWANEE: Peachtree Ridge students honored

Two Peachtree Ridge High School students received $1,000 Environmental Scholarships from Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful.

The scholarships were presented to Christina Carroll and Rebecca Risser in May at the Gwinnett County PTA Council's awards dinner at Central Gwinnett High School.

Carroll plans to pursue environmental engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Risser hopes to find new ways to preserve land resources while promoting sustainable development in her own community, as well as within other nations.

The scholarships are designed to honor graduating Gwinnett County seniors focused on achieving environmental career goals through higher education.

Ride with PRIDE class is July 12

A Georgia Teens Ride with PRIDE (Parents Reducing the Incidents of Driver Error ) class is 2 p.m. July 12, at the Suwanee Crossroads Center, 323 Buford Highway. Offered in cooperation with the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute, the program is designed to help reduce the number of injuries and deaths related to teen driving.

The PRIDE program addresses attitudes and behaviors of teenage drivers. The course makes parents and guardians more aware of their own driving behaviors, assists parents in helping their teens to become safe drivers and offers strategies for required supervised practice driving time. The registration deadline is Friday.

For more information and to download an application, visit www.suwanee.com or contact Sgt. Elias Casanas at elias@suwanee.com or 770-945-4607, ext. 327.

Thursday meeting for City Council

The Suwanee City Council June meeting is 7 p.m. Thursday at the Suwanee Crossroads Center, 323 Buford Highway. The public hearing begins at 6:30 p.m.

COUNTYWIDE: Sorority walk marks centennial

The Upsilon Alpha Omega Graduate Chapter of Gwinnett County and the Phi Phi Omega Graduate Chapter of North Fulton sorority sisters are hosting "ESP 1908 Global Centennial Walk" Saturday. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., with the walk 11 a.m. to noon, and a health fair and picnic from noon to 3 p.m. Participants should bring a lunch. The walk will begin at Brundage Park behind Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church. Walkers will travel through Norcross to Thrasher Park.

The sorority members will walk 1.908 miles in celebration of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.'s 100th year of service and in tribute to the sorority's founding in 1908 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.

For more information, call Anita Nibbs, centennial president, Phi Phi Omega graduate chapter, 678-230-8881; or Bettina Benoit Durant, international centennial communications committee, Upsilon Alpha Omega graduate chapter, 770-876-3227.

Credit union scholar awards

Gwinnett Federal Credit Union has awarded scholarships to students, teachers and school staff members.

The credit union awarded $2,000 scholarships to students with outstanding public service and who will be majoring in education and planning to return to Georgia to teach. This year's winners are:

Kelsey Adams, Jackson County Comprehensive High School; Caitlin Moyer and Stephanie Griffiths, Central Gwinnett High School; Carly Kurdelmeier, North Gwinnett High School; Daryan Rahimzadeh and Catherine Williams, Grayson High School; Tyler Rogers, Brookwood High School; Courtney Williams, Loganville High School; and Rebekah Yoder, Hebron Christian Academy.

Three other awards are given to honor the lifetime achievements of Louise Radloff, Gwinnett County Board of Education member; Anderson Byers, retired Superintendent of Jackson County School System; and J. Alvin Wilbanks, CEO and superintendent of Gwinnett County Schools. Receiving $2,000 scholarships are are students chosen by the school systems:

Robin Lloyd of Meadowcreek High School —- Louise Radloff recipient; Alyssa Esco of Jackson Comprehensive High School —- Anderson Byers recipient; and Tyler Rogers of Brookwood High School —- J. Alvin Wilbanks recipient;

The $1,500 Career Advancement Scholarships were awarded to adult members for continuing education expenses to honor credit union founders. Those receiving scholarships this year are:

Robin Aubrey, Ann Hamner, Erica Dwinell, Robert Maffeo, Denise Nelson, Amanda Shirah, Ingrid Smyrna and Asa Valente, all of the Gwinnett County Public Schools; Jennifer Castleberry, Athens Regional Medical Center; Michele Kitchens, Jackson County School System; Carmen Matos, Gwinnett Technical College; and full-time student Clare McMillan.

Founded in 1961 as Gwinnett Teachers FCU, the Gwinnett Federal Credit Union is a nonprofit financial cooperative operated with the purpose of promoting thrift through convenient, competitive savings opportunities and providing low cost loans to members. For more information about Gwinnett Federal Credit Union, visit gwinnettfcu.org.

Grill-off contest with firefighters

BJ's Membership Club is hosting the "Gwinnett County Firefighter Grill-Off" Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

This grill-off competition is designed to celebrate the tradition of firehouse cooking and promote grilling safety in advance of the July 4 holiday. BJ's will donate $1,000 to a local fire-safety charity; a $500 prize to the firehouse with the best cooks; and a grill to all participating firehouses.