The Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia in Sautee has been awarded an American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture.

One of only two Honor Awards bestowed this year, the Honor Award is the highest design award given by AIA-Georgia and recognizes recently completed “architecture of distinction.”

Opened in September 2006, the museum is the result of the vision and generosity of benefactors Dean and Kay Swanson of Cornelia, former owners of the Standard Telephone Co., who committed to erect the museum as their way of giving back to the people of the area. The Swansons assembled a team of designers, contractors and consultants who worked to realize the design of the architect, Robert M. Cain of Atlanta.

The museum is devoted to Northeast Georgia folk pottery, and it explores the historical importance and changing role of folk pottery in Southern life.

Suwanee claimed a first and second place at the recent City-County Communications and Marketing Association Savvy Awards presentation.

The city’s 2007 resident guide, “Play hard. Live well. Smile more!,” received the first place Savvy award in a printed publications category that included communities with populations up to 97,000. Suwanee’s population is about 16,000. In addition, the city’s “America’s Best Places to Live” marketing strategies received  second place award in the Marketing and Tools, Economic Development category that included communities with populations up to 58,000.

Sydney Roach, Haley Woodard, Liz French and Kasey Segrest served as delegates to the annual Youth Summit, a conference that targets emerging leaders in the 10th and 11th grades to become active locally in the betterment of their community. The conference is a collaboration between 4-H and the Georgia Rural Development Council, and delegates are encouraged to return home and act locally to improve their community.