Eat, drink, and be merry
Nov. 19Â â Itâs Cathy from Rough Draft with my weekly newsletter on Dunwoody. One would think with the looming holidays, news would be slowing down â Au contraire, Pierre. Letâs get to some headlines to start.
First, our dining team has done a great job with its MARTA dining guide, detailing transit-adjacent venues around Atlanta. They are now reaching the âburbs with their Sandy Springs/Dunwoody report. Hereâs a round-up about where to eat and how to get there.
Second, itâs the season of giving, and nobody needs it more than Marie Thomas, a Dunwoody Police service representative whose home was destroyed in a fire. Thereâs a GoFundMe page set up for her to help recoup her losses.
 Third, the Atlanta Chili Cook Off is this Sunday, Nov. 23 at Brook Run Park from noon to 4 p.m. The timing is great â you can have a blast eating fallâs greatest food, and still make it home in time to watch the Falcons lose. Yes, I know itâs New Orleans, but this Atlanta team always finds a way to lose in creative ways. Itâs a sport within a sport.
Finally, just in case Light Up Dunwoody didnât ignite your holiday spirit, you have another chance to exorcise your inner Grinch at  Discovery Dunwoodyâs celebration and lantern parade in the Shops of Dunwoody on Nov. 23.
And now onto this weekâs stories. Itâs heavy on Dunwoody High School news. Its beloved Finance Academy founder Steve Fortenberry is retiring at the end of the semester, and a group is working on raising money to expand its stadium so that it can hold its first varsity home game in its 50+-year history. We also report on Light Up Dunwoodyâs new location and fresh life coming to the former Walmart Superstore in Perimeter Village.Â
 Iâm not bitter,
Cathy
 Dunwoody families: Now is the time to tour Greater Atlanta Christian School and see why your neighbors choose GAC for top-tier academics, Christian faith, and a caring Infantâ12th grade community. AM & PM bus routes offer convenience for Dunwoody families. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Glowing reviews for new Light Up location
The Dunwoody Homeowners Association âlit upâ Dunwoody on Nov. 14 to officially open the holiday season.
The annual Light Up Dunwoody event moved to a new venue â the lawn of the Donaldson-Bannister House at the corner of Chamblee Dunwoody and Vermack Road. Organizers and attendees applauded the move from the Shops of Dunwoody to the newer, more spacious location.Â
âI am elated with everything about this day,â said DHA president Tim Brown. âAny concerns we had evaporated. Itâs a great venue, the weather was perfect, and I couldnât be happier.â
Hereâs more information about the day.
More Than a Classroom, Greater Learning
SPONSORED BY GREATER ATLANTA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Greater Atlanta Christian School, serving Infantâ12th grade, continues to lead in innovative Christian education in Atlanta. The new Tidwell Commons provides Middle and High School students with hands-on learning spaces, including media studios, a modern library, and the Center for Christian Life and Missions.
Plus, GACâs new Business Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program lets students explore business with real-world learning. From mastering the basics of entrepreneurship to stepping into C-suite roles at the on-campus coffee shop, students gain unparalleled experience â all without leaving campus.
 Watch the reveal video and schedule your GAC campus visit to tour our innovative learning spaces!
 âFresh for Everyoneâ bringing it to Perimeter Village
 Kroger has recently signed a lease to take over most of the former Walmart at Perimeter Village in Dunwoody, according to news reports. Tomorrowâs News Today was the first to report that the Cincinnati-based grocer is expected to open one of its large-format Marketplace stores in place of the former Walmart, which closed last July after years of trouble with a capital T.
Walmart said it shuttered the location because of less-than-impressive sales, but many regular shoppers believed that the real reason behind the storeâs closing was a lack of customer service and frequent incidents of shoplifting and other low-level crimes.Â
Letâs hope history doesnât repeat itself. Hereâs my story.
 Dunwoody families: Now is the time to tour Greater Atlanta Christian School and see why your neighbors choose GAC for top-tier academics, Christian faith, and a caring Infantâ12th grade community. AM & PM bus routes offer convenience for Dunwoody families. SPONSOR MESSAGE
DHS Finance Academyâs Fortenberry is retiringÂ
âSteve Fortenberry, who left the business world in 1999 to begin a finance academy at Dunwoody High School that has changed thousands of lives, is retiring in December.
âIâm turning 60, and it just seemed like it was time,â Fortenberry told Rough Draft. âIt seems like Iâve lived my whole life at Dunwoody â I graduated from here, I taught here, and my kids went here.â
Dunwoodyâs Finance Academy began in 1999 with just 15 students, with the goal of evolving into a mini-MBA program that taught real-life lessons in entrepreneurship, marketing, international business, finance, and AP macroeconomics.
Fortenberry estimates that 2,000 students have gone through the two-year program, with many graduates moving on to impressive careers in the financial industry. Even as we speak, Fortenberry and his academy students are exploring New York City and meeting with top executives at Goldman Sachs, Google, and the National Football League.Â
 
Bring it Home for Dunwoody
+
 The Dunwoody High School Football team has never had a home game on its own field. The Wildcat community has decided itâs time for that to end. Bring it Home, composed of a group of parents, DHS faculty, and community members, is in the midst of raising $1.5 million to expand its home field seating to 3,000 to enable varsity sports to be played onsite. So far, fundraising has topped $266,000.
An anonymous DHS graduate is also throwing in a cool million. I have my ideas about his (or her) identity. Anyone whoâs been in Dunwoody for a hot minute may also have an educated guess (see the emoji hint above).
âBringing Friday night lights back to Dunwoody has been a long time coming. I am so impressed with the energy and enthusiasm of not only the Bring it Home committee, but also the entire community,â said DHS Principal Tom Bass. âParents, teachers, neighbors, and future Wildcat families are all coming together to support this mission.â
 Read more about the effort here.Â
Share your love of Rough Draft with a friend
Use the personal referral link below and get cool stuff.
Get 10 referrals and weâll send you some stickers.
Get 20 and youâll get a t-shirt!
The post đđŒ, Hello, Kroger appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.
Leave a Reply