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LOCAL
THURSDAY, JULY 12 - 18 • Page 11
Stonecrest business gets
local, national recognition
Flanked by Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary Sr., left, and District 2 Stonecrest Council member Rob Turner, Secora Lambert receives a
proclamation honoring her business at Stonecrest City Hall. Photo by Adrion Bell
BY KATHY MITCHELL
Freelance Reporter
Lambert Chiropractic and
Wellness Center P.C. recently
received both national and
local honors as the Stonecrest
business was selected by
SCORE as one of 102 small
businesses nationally for
free education, training,
engagement with mentors
and other benefits. The city
of Stonecrest also issued a
proclamation acknowledging
the business’s contributions to
the community.
Secora Lambert, owner
of Lambert Chiropractic
and Wellness Center P.C.,
explained that SCORE invites
small business owners to write
a brief narrative about their
business. The organization
then selects those it considers
most promising and helps
boost their success through
exposure to best business
practices designed to help it
achieve greater success and
sustainability.
“I thought I pretty much
knew everything I needed
to know about running a
business, but through SCORE
I was exposed to so many great
ideas that I wish I had known
about before. This is a great
program and I am thrilled to
have been chosen from among
what I understand was about
2,500 applicants,” Lambert said.
Hers was one of two Georgia
small businesses chosen this
year by SCORE.
On its website, SCORE
describes itself as “the nations
largest network of volunteer
expert business mentors, with
more than 10,000 volunteers
in 300 chapters.” The website
also states that “as a resource
partner of the U.S. Small
Business Administration,
SCORE has helped more than
10 million entrepreneurs
through mentoring, workshops
and educational resources
since 1964."
Lambert recalled that
she became interested in
chiropractic medicine as a
ninth grader in her native
Pomona, Calif., near Los
Angeles. “I was an All-
American athlete; I played
sports for as long as I could
remember. When I had
injuries, it was the chiropractor
who helped get me back on my
feet and back into the game. I
knew that was what I wanted
to do as an adult. I saw it as a
way to help others, just as I had
been helped.”
While she is interested in
keeping other athletes injury
and pain free, Lambert said
she also is interested in the
helping the larger community
become healthier. “I’ve seen
so many health issues in
the community—especially
within the African-American
population—that could
be addressed with proper
nutrition, stress management,
hydration and effective
chiropractic care. Instances of
such ailments as diabetes and
heart disease can be reduced
with lifestyle changes. I want to
help people in the community
make those changes,” said
Lambert, who offers free
community fitness classes
focusing on the latest trends in
health, nutrition and wellness.
Her goal, she said, is helping
the community “establish
healthier habits that result in a
happier, longer life.”
It was this community
work that led to June 18
being declared Lambert
Chiropractic and Wellness
Center P.C. Day in the city of
Stonecrest. Stonecrest City
Council member Rob Turner
and Mayor Jason Lary Sr.
presented Lambert with the
proclamation that officially
recognized her efforts.
A former teacher, Lambert
said she is especially interested
in working with young
people. At Edward L. Bouie
Sr. Traditional Theme School,
Lambert educated staff and
parents on lifestyle-related
health and implemented
weekly fitness classes. “I started
out part-time, but there was
so much interest in what I was
teaching that I became full
time. I hated to leave because
I really enjoyed working
with young people,” she said,
explaining that she gave up
her work at the school to focus
more on her business.
“I was inspired by
my mother who always
encouraged me and never gave
up on me. I became pregnant
when I was 15, but my mother
let me know that I could still
finish high school and go on
to college. I could still be a
success. I want to do that for
girls today, to inspire them to
go forward with their dreams
no mater what.”
Lambert became a
successful high school
and collegiate athlete in
basketball and track and field.
After moving to Georgia, she
began studying chiropractic
and holistic medicine at Life
University. She has operated
Lambert Chiropractic and
Wellness Center P.C. for 13
years.
Clarkston City Council adopts millage rate
BY CARLA PARKER
carla@dekalbchamp.com
Clarkston City Council
voted to set the city’s millage
rate at 15.890 mils for the 2018
fiscal year.
The council unanimously
voted at its July 5 meeting
to accept city staff’s
recommendation to adopt a
millage rate of 15.89 mils and
grant a 3 percent across-the-
board salary adjustment for
all eligible employees effective
Sept. 1, 2018. City officials said
the current 2018 projected
net tax digest for the city is
$166,912,767, which is a 2.2
percent increase from 2017’s
net tax digest ($163,285,508).
City Manager Keith Barker
said at a previous public
hearing on the proposed
millage rate that the calculated
rollback millage rate for
2018—the rate for the city to
receive the same tax amounts
as last year—is 15.475 mils. The
rollback millage rate for 2018
is lower than the 2017 adopted
millage rate of 15.89 mils due
to an increase in the net digest,
according to city officials.
“The mathematical millage
rate required to balance the
budget is 17.276 mils,” Barker
said. “If [city council] desires
to adopt a millage rate that
does not include an increase,
then we can system that by
making some budgetary
cuts that really won’t impact
services,” Barker said.
Barker said if the city
council wanted to adopt the
same millage rate as that for
2017 fiscal year, city staff would
need to reduce the 2018 budget
by an amount that equals to
1.456 mills.
“So, what we’ve done
as a staff is identify some
proposed adjustments to the
2018 budget,” he said. “We
could hold off on purchasing a
public works truck. There is a
vacant court position that we
are currently analyzing to see
whether we need to fill that
position, so we recommend
that position not be filled for
the rest of the fiscal year.”
Barker also said the city
has a vacant contracted code
enforcement position and
recommends not to fill that
position if city council wants to
keep the millage rate the same.
“If the city council wants
to trim the budget in order to
adopt the millage rate as is and
not an increase it, we could do
that with some prudent budget
adjustments,” Barker said. “The
city council could take those
budget savings, and in addition
to that, grant a 3 percent salary
adjustment, and you can still
adopt a balanced budget with a
15.89 millage rate.”