Adie Shimandle has lived on the south side of Snellville for 33 years. She has seen the dirt roads become four-lane highways and the wide fields fill with houses, and her five children grow from a loving brood to nearly half a dozen still-loving adults. Originally from Norfolk, Va., Shimandle worked in the telecommunications industry for many years. She was with Northern Telecom (Nortel) for over 20 years, where she worked as marketing and project manager. Their technology helped to create a lot of platforms that we have today for wireless, according to Shimandle. The company was 104 years …

Wally Kelleman has been an overachiever since she was very young. She graduated high school at the age of 16 and was a member of three national honor societies: National French, National Honor and the National Quill and Scroll Society. She was a high school newspaper editor in Kingston, N.Y. At the age of 20, while the "flower children" were making history in a nearby place called Woodstock, she was already a wife, mother and registered nurse. She also worked part-time at a preschool. After over a decade in nursing, including seven years in cardiovascular care, she decided to take her career …

Barbara McClure has owned her own business since 1987. As a registered nurse, she is the founder and chief executive officer of Snellville-based A Defined Image Med Spa, along Scenic Highway. Before opening her own business, she worked as an operating room director in a hospital. Much of her 28 years of experience in nursing was in aesthetics, including 15 years of work in plastic surgery. It was that experience that gave her a love for helping people look and feel better. After years of working for other people, she began to wonder if there was a niche she could fill on her own. When she …

If you've been to any of Snellville's events on the town green lately, you've probably met Amy Roper. As a local store marketer for Texas Roadhouse, she's seen almost everywhere. “Texas Roadhouse only builds in small towns,” she said. “They go for smaller towns because they know the towns will embrace our culture and what we're able to do as a community. If the town's too big, we can't help everybody.” Her willingness to help the community helps keep the restaurant going strong. Even when things started to slump in 2008, the business didn't feel the pinch as badly as everyone else because of …

Originally from Jamaica, Lisa McDonald moved to Snellville nine years ago because of her husband's job. Before Snellville, they lived in Toronto.   “From Jamaica to Toronto was a huge adjustment in terms of the climate,” she said. “As much as I loved Toronto, I like the quiet here. It's very family oriented, and there are lots of business opportunities.” As the owner of MyTrueBiz.com, a graphic design company, McDonald has the opportunity to work on everything she loves.  It's a combination of marketing, technology and business organization. From website development to tech support, she …

What do you do after a graduate degree in international business and a career history in finance and sales? Become a dancer, of course. At least, that's what Trinette Ogunnusi is doing. Originally from Wisconsin, she moved to the Atlanta area in August of 1990 to pursue a degree in international business. (She wanted to work for the Foreign Service and enroll in the international relations program. Someone discouraged her by saying she was "too honest.") She transferred later to London's Schiller International University to finish her undergraduate degree, then finished her graduate degree at…

Keena Hester does a little bit of everything. Following in her mother's footsteps, she attended cosmetology school right after high school but found that it was not as a good a fit for her as it was for her mother. Hester, who is originally from Illinois, moved around a few times before meeting her husband in Iowa. They decided to change track and move to Key Largo, Fla., to start their new lives together. They lived there for almost eight years and reached a few milestones together. Their first child, Caleb, was born there, and their spiritual lives got in order at Key Largo Baptist Church. …

Lynda Young, a public speaker and author, never imagined she would be living the life she has today. So much of what she does now happened organically, without a carefully laid-down plan.   Over the past few years, she has authored three books that serve as a guidebook for hurting families. Her first, "Hope for Families of Children with Cancer,” grew out of a personal experience. Two others, ”Hope for Families of Children with Congenital Heart Defects” and “Hope for Families of Children on the Autistic Spectrum," fell into place after that.   Lynda moved to Snellville from Sacramento, Calif…

Lakeisha Johnson has been exposed to compassion since she was a young child.   Her mother, a role model and inspiration to Johnson, raised a host of foster kids as she grew up. “We would have about seven kids at a time,” she said. This unique upbringing gave her insight not only into the importance of family, but also the need for "compassionate people to give a helping hand" to those less fortunate. Johnson, who has a bachelor's degree in public relations and a master's degree in project management, works in finance at a corporate trust firm. As a lifelong volunteer, she found herself on the…

Like so many other people across the nation, Carol Counter found herself without a job a few years back. Rather than rely on unemployment or blame her troubles on the economy, she decided that it would be the perfect time to start her own business.  “I thought, 'what can I do? What do I like to do? And what would people be willing to pay for?'” she said.  Counter grew up in Minnesota, then moved in the 1980s to California, where she played oboe with the Sacramento Community Orchestra. She has a wildly artistic streak, and she sang with the Gwinnett Choral Guild for sixteen years. Music is a …

Now that the current Gwinnett County probate judge is retiring after a 20-year career, a number of people are campaigning for the position. Marlene Duwell, the current chief clerk, is one of the top contenders.  An Atlanta native, Duwell has been involved in law since 1993. She is currently the second-in-command at probate court and is responsible for the administrative side of things.  Probate court, according to Duwell, is the court closest to the people.  “Not only do I love working with the people,” Duwell said, “but I really want people to feel that when they come in the door they will …

As one of the founding members of the South Gwinnett Cluster Foundation and Snellville Tourism and Trade, Kelly McAloon is involved in much of what people love about Snellville. An Appleton, Wis., native, McAloon moved to Snellville about 35 years ago. She started off working for Marci Imports, located back then on the corner of Highways 78 and 124, from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. She quickly worked her way into a position as a purchasing agent. As an international buyer, she traveled to seven different countries purchasing gifts, wicker and rattan for 34 stores.  A Mother's Love…

Kris Cavanaugh, a Snellville resident of five years, is an author, motivational speaker and life coach. She has mentored and trained individuals for more than 20 years.   “One of the things that I've always noticed with people in general,” Cavanaugh said, “is that they tend to be more reactive than proactive in everything.”  She strongly believes that the more proactive you are, the more that things tend to happen.  “It's not by luck,” she said, but things that you are doing in the background that sets off a ripple effect that ultimately results in your goals and dreams being reached.  Many …

As a native of Antigua, Gloria Roberts is glad to call Snellville home. After decades in New York, the warm climate and people easily won her heart. She always imagined living in Florida, but when her children gradually made their way to the Atlanta area for one reason or another, she followed suit. “You can't come from the islands and not want to go where the weather is warm,” she said. At the age of 15, Roberts flew alone on a plane from the islands to New York, where her grandparents awaited her. She came for her education, and she graduated with a nursing degree in 1960. “It was difficult…

As the mother of five and the foster parent of more than 125 children over the course of three decades, Mary O'Connell is a compassionate, driven woman. In particular, she wants to improve the lives of children with autism.  Her passion for this specific group began when she and her husband adopted Ellie, a special needs child.  “She is 10 years younger than our youngest child,” she said. “We had been doing foster care for many years. Every once in a while, a child just melts your heart.”  Ellie had many physical difficulties as a young child, and as she got older, O'Connell realized that she…

It started off with Lindy Barrett-Grove bringing home stray animals when she was a kid. Her parents made sure not to squelch any interest she had, and by the time she was in her 20s, she'd taken in a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix that she decided to call Fergie. The dog was abused, starved and wandering along a mountainside. About 14 years later, in 2004, Fergie died, and it was her death that led Barrett-Grove to do what she does today. As the owner of Hightower Farm & Animal Sanctuary, the 49-year-old mother of two is basically a one-woman show these days. She's been running the nonprofit shelter…

A transplant from South Carolina, Alisa Boykin brings her dream of encouraging young people in the performing arts to downtown Snellville. As the owner of Educational Arts Programs (EAP) of America, she and her husband hope to instill a love for the arts in the hearts of Snellville's students.  An Inspired BeginningAt the age of 13, Boykin began her career as a model. She learned the tools of the trade and participated in conventions and runway shows through Models of the South, a modeling school based in Hilton Head, S.C. The year she graduated high school, she landed a modeling contract …

When Beth Rhodes spent two months as an intern in Moscow back in 2004, she had no idea how much it would impact her life. Although she is a born and raised Snellvillian, her life became very international once she graduated from Toccoa Falls College in 2005.  Rhodes has always had a passion for and interest in different cultures and languages. It made sense that she pursued a degree in international studies. For her thesis, she was required to do a study on a particular group of people. She chose Russians. The summer before she graduated, she had the privilege to teach English in Moscow for …

It's a busy Tuesday at Cannon United Methodist Church, and Katy Bockhop is behind the receptionist's desk doing what she does best -- engaging others. With a smile that never leaves, Bockhop greets little ballerinas on their way to practice, directs visitors throughout the building and stops occasionally to chat with friends who want to say hi. "It's a lot of fun," she says in between visitors. " I enjoy helping out." After she leaves the church, she'll morph into mom and wife for the evening before waking up to think of more ways that she can leave a little goodwill with others. High on her …

Angelyne Collins considers herself just a normal girl from the South. She grew up in Savannah, went off to college like she was supposed to, married young like she was supposed to, and of course, she knows how to throw down on some macaroni and cheese -- like she's supposed to. The secret to her recipe is, well, a secret, but the dish is a combination of her mother's and mother-in-law's. But, when she really thinks about the path she chose -- or the one God chose for her, you start to see that's kind of where normal ends. Not everyone is voted "most ambitious" in high school, you know, …