Howard to head Norton’s North Atlanta, Lakes Division

Norton Residential Group has appointed Thomas A. “Tommy” Howard as president and COO of its North Atlanta and Lakes Division.

Howard joined the firm in 1996 and has served in a number of positions, including logistics manager, sales manager, branch manager and executive vice president. He is a graduate of East Carolina University, a broker in the state of Georgia and an equity partner of both the commercial and residential divisions.

Howard will have direct managing brokerage responsibilities for three Norton Service Centers in a nine-county region. He is also responsible for the facilities and operations for Norton’s entire brokerage business network.

Norton operates 17 offices in three states and has a current listing portfolio in excess of $1 billion in 48 counties.

Fockele Garden Co. honored for work on Anne’s Garden

The Urban Ag Council has awarded The Fockele Garden Co. of Gainesville a Judges Choice Award and a Grand Award for its design and installation of Anne’s Garden at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

Fockele Garden received the honors at the UAC’s 2011 Professional Landscape Awards Banquet in Atlanta.

The Judges Choice Award is given to recipients of Grand Awards when judges are impressed by a project’s design and beauty. Judges praised the garden in their comments calling it, “very nice, well designed, pathways draw you in, creative use of textures, sustainable, beautiful.”

Fockele Garden partnered with The Medical Center Foundation on the project, aided by longtime NGMC supporters and Foundation donors Anne and George Thomas of Gainesville.

Large numbers of hospital staff, visitors, and patients are drawn to the garden’s soothing atmosphere, the sounds of water, sculpture and colorful plantings.

Fockele Garden earlier earned a Grand Award from the Professional Landcare Network for Anne’s Garden. For more, visit www.fockelegardencompany.com.

NGCSU business professor picked for Fulbright project in Romania

Dr. Elisabeth Teal, associate professor of business administration in the Mike Cottrell School of Business at North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega, has been selected for a Fulbright Specialists project.

Teal will attend Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi, Romania, this summer, according to the U.S. State Department and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Teal will work with entrepreneurship colleagues and undergraduate students to develop business plans for new ventures in Romania. She also will provide master’s and doctoral-level seminars. The grant enables continued scholarly cooperation between Cuza and North Georgia.

Teal is one of more than 400 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad this year through the Fulbright Specialists Program.

From staff reports