The North Georgia Barbershop Singers recently visited the Forsyth County Senior Center in Cumming to present the organization with a donation for the Holiday Gift Certificate Program.

This donation will provide meals for more than a month for the senior center.

On Saturday, the North Georgia Barbershop singers planned to entertained guests of five assisted living facilities in the Cumming area. This is an annual program of singing Christmas carols in the unique American a capella style

Fans and subjects of local author Gloria Stargel's latest book, "My Anchor Holds — The Difference Jesus Makes" recently gathered for autographs in the Jacobs Communications building at Brenau University.

Representative of 27 of the book's 57 stories met with readers, and a prize was given to the fan who gathered the most autographs.

Violinist Alice Oglesby of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra joined Brenau student Xiaolei Zhou on keyboards.

Special Agent G. Scott Bailey presented an award to L.C. Tre' Reinhardt, who is the pharmacy vault coordinator at the Charles George VA hospital in Asheville, N.C. The plaque honors Reinhardt's service in support of the VA hospital and the Columbia Resident Agency. He is the son of Larry and Gloria Reinhardt of Jackson County.

The Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia in Sautee has been awarded a South Atlantic Region American Institute of Architects Merit Award for Excellence in Architecture.

This is the second national design award given this unique museum. It also took one of only two Honor Awards given in 2008 by AIA-Georgia. The Honor Award is the highest design recognition given by the American Institute of Architects and acknowledges recently completed "architecture of distinction." In its fifth cycle of recognition of outstanding architectural design, worldwide, the museum has been cited by the World Architecture Community, a consortium comprising internationally recognized architects, leaders and educators from around the world.

Opened in September 2006, the museum is the result of the vision and generosity of Dean and Kay Swanson of Cornelia, former owners of the Standard Telephone Company.