(Forsyth County, GA) Cumming Mayor Troy Brumbalow and the Cumming City Council recently celebrated two local residents for giving back to the community.
During the April Regular Meeting on Tuesday, April 18, Mayor Troy Brumbalow and members of the City Council presented a Key to the City to Ricky Noles. This honor is reserved for those, like Noles, who have served the Cumming community for decades, becoming “pillars of the community.”
Noles first moved to Cumming back in 1972 to work as a State Farm Insurance agent, a job he held for more than 44 years. He began attending Coal Mountain Baptist where he served as the chairman of the Board of Deacons from 1996 to 2008.
Through the years, Noles has served on the Forsyth County Planning and Zoning Board, the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce, the Forsyth County Hospital Authority, and as President of the Forsyth Lion’s Club. He currently serves on the City of Cumming Planning Board.
Noles was an original organizer for two banks, the People’s Bank and Jefferson State Bank. He served on the Board of Directors for both and continued advising them after they were both sold to large banks. Through a partnership with T.R. Reece, Noles also worked in real estate development and home building for almost two decades.
Noles and his high school sweetheart, Linda, were married for 55 years until she passed four years ago. Together they raised two daughters. Both of Noles’ daughters, along with their husbands and two grandsons, still live in Forsyth County.
The second individual honored during the April 18th meeting was City Hall employee Crystal Ledford. Mayor Brumbalow and the City Council recognized her for her exceptional volunteer efforts through Mentor Me North Georgia.
"Crystal is an outstanding representative of the City of Cumming," said Brumbalow. "We are honored to have someone as an employee that exemplifies service, not only to the City of Cumming, but also to the community, as well as Crystal."
Mentor Me is an organization that works to connect youth ages 6-17 to trusted adults and role models that help provide them with opportunities for them to reach their full potential.
Mentor Me named Ledford their "Volunteer of the Year" Award during the organization's annual appreciation and celebration breakfast.
Ledford is a part of Mentor Me’s Mentoring After School (MAS) program. She has served as a MAS mentor at Sawnee Elementary School for four years. For three of those years, Ledford was paired with the same student.
Every week, MAS mentors spend one hour helping elementary students with homework, building relationships of trust, and boosting student self-confidence to help them reach their full potential.
Last year, the Mentor Me MAS program had 174 volunteers serving to empower 181 students. Thanks to other programming such as One-to-One Mentoring and Connect Clubs and the help of 300 volunteers, Mentor Me North Georgia reached 2,436 children.
Do you know someone in Forsyth County who deserves to be recognized for their volunteer work or other service to the community? Comment below or email kbondwriter@gmail.com to let us know.
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