Welcome to 2022. Here, we
look forward to a new
year, a bright future and
any challenges that may
come our way. After the last two years
of the pandemic, I’d say we’re ready for
anything. We’ve seen so much; we’ve
laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve sighed and
we’ve cheered. So here’s to a fresh start
and a Happy New Year!
I’m happy to introduce the Cobb
Life Magazine 2022 List Edition. Each
January, Cobb Life has showcased a
group of talented individuals who make
Cobb County succeed. Last year, we
recognized 20 business professionals in
their 40s.
For this year’s list, I wanted to
acknowledge a group of people who
have been tested through the trials of
the pandemic, who are essential to our
community and are often overlooked:
teachers. I’m sure, whether you’re a
former or current student, or a parent
with children in school, chances are
there’s a teacher who made a dierence
in your life.
For me, there’s more than one. Had
it not been for my teachers — Mrs.
Prescott, my third grade teacher who
submitted my story about a sad, lonely
Christmas tree to a local writing contest
and was the first teacher to recognize
my talent for writing; Mr. Herrin, who
encouraged my writing in newspaper
club in eighth grade and agreed to read
my “novel” at the time; and Mrs.
Sanford, who was my guide in creative
writing my junior and senior year, who
pushed my creative boundaries and
encouraged me to pursue a career in
writing — there’s no doubt in my mind, I
would not be a writer today. As a former
Cobb County School District student
myself, I knew there were plenty of
teachers who have done the same for
other kids.
The teachers in our list this year
were nominated online by you, the
reader. All nominated teachers were
notified of their nominations and asked
to fill out questions. All are winners, but
those with the most inspiring and
interesting answers were selected to
appear in the magazine. To my surprise,
one of my own former teachers was
nominated: Ms. Jennifer Dawson.
I can remember entering her
classroom — her world — of social
studies in the early mornings at Lost
Mountain Middle School as a timid sixth
grader. It was my first honors class, and
challenging at that. To this day, I can still
remember that first day of school when
Ms. Dawson explained to the class why
we were to address her as Ms. Dawson,
not Miss or Mrs. I found this so
enlightening, as no teacher had ever
taken the time to explain that
distinction to me before. Ms. Dawson
was my first experience with a creative
thinker as a teacher. As a creative
myself, it was refreshing to know there
was an adult who thought like I did, who
asked questions of the world and had
something I hadn’t seen before —
passion. It radiated into her work and
clearly I’m not the only person to think
so; the same year I entered Ms. Dawson’s
classroom, she was awarded the title of
Cobb County Teacher of the Year.
Special thanks are in order for all of
you who nominated teachers, and for all
teachers everywhere. You’ve adapted,
you’ve overcome and you’ve taken on
the dicult challenge of educating in
the midst of uncertainty. Thank you.
In addition to our teachers, I hope
you’ll take the time to check out our
other stories in this month’s edition.
When I first heard about Kensli
Ahoure, a 3-year-old chef, I thought,
“There has to be a typo here.” I was
making mud pies at that age. But Kensli
is getting to work in the kitchen, having
already mastered omletes and other
dishes in a short span of time. If you’re
feeling festive and want to test your own
mixing skills, check out our recipes on
champagne toasts with a new twist. You
can impress your guests with these new
recipes and by the time the clock strikes
twelve on New Year’s, they’ll be begging
to know your secret.
Since this is a January-February
issue, I wanted a nice, local love story to
carry you into Valentine’s Day. I hope
the tale of husband and wife duo
Anthony Berry and Tina Burger Berry,
their love for one another, their family
and their pop-up market will warm your
heart during these winter months.
For you book worms and Braves
fans alike, we have a new author Q&A
feature with Carole Townsend, the
author of the MDJ-produced “Major
League Deal: How the Braves Came to
Cobb.” It doesn’t hurt that the Atlanta
Braves are the new World Series
Champions. And of course, as with every
issue, we have the latest and greatest on
TV shows to binge, movies to watch and
books to read in January; pictures from
social events from around Cobb and the
hottest lifestyle news you need to know.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue
as much as we did putting it together.
Happy New Year!
— Madison Hogan
Cobb Life Editor
letter from the EDITOR
8 COBB LIFE | JANUARY 2022