March 17, 2007

EU Ambassador Meets with Atlanta Middle and High School Teachers

Chinese Consul General Wished Farewell by Atlantans

Atlanta Freight Forwarding Company Restructures Leadership

Woodstock Student Wins Award for Essay on St. Patrick

John Bruton, European Union ambassador to the United States, speaks with Daphyne Douglas, 7th grade social studies teacher at Columbia Middle School. photo by Leigh Miller

EU Ambassador Meets with Atlanta Middle and High School Teachers

John Bruton, European Union ambassador to the United States, met with about 30 Atlanta-area middle and high school teachers March 16 at the Southern Center for International Studies in Buckhead.

A former prime minister of the Republic of Ireland, Mr. Bruton has served as the E.U.’s ambassador to the U.S. since 2004. He was here to meet with local business and political officials but made time to speak with area school teachers about Europe, its relationship with the U.S., its influence throughout the world and its direction for the future.

During a question and answer period, Mr. Bruton received accolades from the audience when he said that he thought funding public schools with property-based taxes was a bad idea. He said that he thought monies from the federal government would provide a more reliable and evenly distributed source of funding for the nation’s public schools much like they do in Europe.

All middle and high school social study teachers in metro Atlanta’s 27-county region were invited to attend the ambassador’s speech. The some 30 teachers who attended also participated in a day-long informational workshop on Europe that was organized by the Southern Center and funded by the Halle Foundation and European Commission.

For more information on the event, contact Diane Sloan, director of educational services at the Southern Center at (404) 261-5763.

Chinese Consul General Wished Farewell by Atlantans

Chinese Consul General in Houston Jinzhou Hua is leaving his post. The Chinese Business Association of Atlanta and the National Association of Chinese Americans Atlanta Chapter had a farewell banquet for him at the Canton House Restaurant on Buford Highway on March 16.

Based in Houston, Mr. Hua has served as Chinese consul general for the Southeast United States since mid-2005.

Prior to beginning that post, Mr. Hua served as consul general in Songkhla, Thailand; counselor at the Chinese Embassy in London; first secretary at the Chinese consulate in Toronto, Canada, and second secretary at the Chinese consulate in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Hua will return to Beijing at the end of April where he will devote more time to conducting music and photography, his favorite pastimes. At 60, he is required by the Chinese government to retire.

Mr. Hua was born in 1946 in the Jiangsu province of China and graduated from its Institute of Foreign Languages.

Contact NACA for more information at www.nacaatlanta.org.

Atlanta Freight Forwarding Company Restructures Leadership

Daniel D. Smith, CEO of General Freight Services Inc., an Atlanta-based logistics provider, will take on an additional role as chairman of the board.

The move allows Mr. Smith to focus on strategic acquisitions, international expansion and strategic partnerships.

In the move, Mr. Smith will step down from his role as president of the company. Gregory D. Sebolt will take his place. Mr. Sebolt will immediately take on responsibility for all day-to-day management of the company, including operations, sales and marketing, current customer retention programs, profitability, vendor relationship management and human resources.
Since it opened eight years ago, General Freight Services has grown to more than $60 million in annual sales and has nearly 60 full-time employees.

For more information, contact Lynaia Lutes at (817) 226-4332 ext. 242.

Woodstock Student Wins Award for Essay on St. Patrick

Emily Halstead, a student at Etowah High School in Woodstock, received the W.B. Yeats Foundation award for her essay describing the life of St. Patrick as a marathon struggle to overcome adversity and as an inspiration for people of all ethnic backgrounds and countries of origin.

The W. B. Yeats Foundation, headed by James W. Flannery and hosted at Emory University’s Irish Studies Program, exists in order to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of Irish culture.  

For 15 years, the foundation has sponsored a wide range of lectures, concerts, symposia and exhibitions for the Atlanta community and scholarships for students.

Visit www.irishstudies.emory.edu for more information.