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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Sunday, April 14, 2024 FORSYTHNEWS.COM
Fundraiser being hosted for synagogue project
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
A major fundraising push
is underway to help make his
tory in Forsyth County.
Starting at 9 a.m. Sunday,
April 14, members of
Congregation Beth Israel will
kick off a fundraiser to raise
the final $2.5 million for a
$6.7 million project to build
Forsyth County’s first syna
gogue on Brannon Road.
“Of course, this is historic
and very meaningful for the
county,” said Rabbi Levi
Mentz. “There has never been
a place for the Jewish com
munity to come together, so
this has very broad, historic
implications.”
Mentz said there are a few
ways the congregation will
work to raise funds.
For 36 hours starting on
Sunday, members will make
calls to potential donors in an
event that will include prizes,
games, raffles, food and
more.
“We’re inviting all life-lov
ing people to donate gener
ously, and of course on
Sunday, our site here on
Brannon Road is being
turned into a call center,”
Mentz said. “We’re encourag
ing everyone and anyone to
come over and to give time
and to help make calls.”
There is also an ongoing
drive for members of the
community to purchase
bricks bearing their names,
which will be displayed at the
synagogue.
Mentz said recent world
events, including the Hamas
See Synagogue 16A
Plans are in
place for
Forsyth
County’s first
synagogue on
Brannon
Road, and the
congregation
is hosting an
upcoming fun
draiser for the
final bit of
funding.
Image courtesy
Congregation Beth
Israel
A first place for second acts
Photos courtesy of Scott Merritt
Scott Merritt hosts the “Second Act Stories” podcast and is nominated for a Webby Award.
Podcaster rallying support hoping to win Webby Award
By Daniel Dotson
danieldotson@forsythnews.com
A Forsyth County pod
caster is rallying commu
nity support to win a pres
tigious podcasting award
against competitors like
comedian Sarah
Silverman and former first
lady Michelle Obama.
New York-born Forsyth
County resident Scott
Merritt cohosts the
Second Act Stories pod
cast with his colleague
Andy Levine. The inter
view-based podcast fea
tures the unique stories of
people who have made
drastic career and lifestyle
changes to pursue a more
fulfilling life in a “second
act.”
“We’re looking for peo
ple who have really
unusual stories, who can
inspire other people who
may be thinking about
making a change,” said
Merritt. “We’re here to
show them that not only
have other people done it,
but other people have
done it in really unusual
ways and ... really rent
able ways.”
Notable guests on the
podcast include comedian
Adam Carolla, musician
and YouTube personality
Rick Beato, and Pro
Football Hall of Famer
Michael Strahan.
Though Levine first
launched the podcast in
2018, with Merritt joining
the team in 2021, Second
Act Stories may have hit
its highest point just last
Tuesday.
According to Merritt, he
woke up on April 2 to an
email informing him that
Second Act Stories has
been nominated for a
Webby Award.
“People call them the
Oscars of podcasting,”
said Merritt. “But really,
they’re for anything that
happens on the web. For
podcasting, I don’t now
that there is a bigger,
more prestigious award
that you could win.”
Second Act Stories was
nominated in the “Advice
and How-to” category
alongside podcasting
titans like Sarah
Silverman, Slate Media,
TED Audio Collective and
Michelle Obama.
Within each category,
there are two awards: a
juried vote from Webby
Award judges and the
People’s Voice Award.
Merritt hopes that Second
Act Stories can win the
latter with the support of
the community.
“It’s hard to compete in
a popularity contest when
you’re a nobody up
against the former first
lady,” said Merritt. “We
can hopefully rally the
community behind the
underdog to give us a vic
tory in this crazy David
and Goliath story.”
Voting for the People’s
Voice Award is open until
Thursday, April 18, and
anyone is eligible to cast a
vote. To vote for Second
Act Stories, go to www.
votesecondact.com.
Win or lose, Merritt
says he wants to send a
message that creators
don’t need corporate
backing or endless
resources to make an
impact.
“I would say that every
body who wants to pro
duce something should,”
said Merritt. “Because
you just never know
what’s possible.”
District 5
commissioner
seeks new term
By Daniel Dotson
danieldotson@forsythnews.com
Current District 5 Commissioner Laura
Semanson is seeking to retain her seat on the
Forsyth County Board of Commissioners in
the 2024 election cycle.
Semanson, who was first elected to office in
2016, says a primary concern
throughout her two terms as a
commissioner has been man
agement of growth in the
county.
“It’s been my focus to make
sure that the growth that’s
coming into the county is pos
itive,” said Semanson.
“There’s no way we can actu
ally shut down growth, but we
can do it in a responsible manner that’s deliv
ering value for the residents that are already
here.”
Semanson proposes updates to the County’s
rules regarding impact fees, arguing that
development is not “paying its own way.”
She advocates for an impact fee system that
would involve regulations modeled after pub
lic facilities ordinances often seen in other
states.
According to Semanson, updated impact fee
regulations could incentivize developers to
fund road projects by stipulating that new
development cannot begin until certain rele
vant infrastructure improvements are complet
ed.
Semanson also stresses the importance of
balancing residential and commercial develop
ment to stabilize the tax digest and counteract
rising property taxes in Forsyth County.
“Residential growth doesn’t tend to pay for
See Semanson 16A
Semanson
Northside offers
new treatment
for melanoma
By Quill Sanders
For the Forsyth County News
Northside Hospital has become the first hospi
tal in Georgia authorized to give treatment to
patients with advanced melanoma who have not
found success with traditional therapies.
Amtagvi by lovance Biotherapeutic is the only
T-cell therapy approved by the FDA for solid
tumor cancer. On Feb. 16, Amtagvi received
approval by the FDA for metastatic melanoma
previously treated by targeted therapy.
The one-time cell therapy treatment works by
removing part of a patient’s tumor, growing
working tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)
in a lab, then giving it back to the patient so their
body can find and attack the cancer.
“TIL therapy is a very promising treatment for
patients with melanoma who failed immunother
apy or targeted therapy,” said Dr. Melhem Solh,
the medical director of Northside’s cellular ther
apy program. “The pivotal trials that led to the
approval showed this therapy can lead to durable
responses among patients who failed currently
available immunotherapies. This is very exciting
news for melanoma patients and adds a very
effective treatment to fight their cancer.”
In the past, about 50% of melanoma patients
See Treatment 16A
Weather
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Access local news online at
ForsythNews.com
