About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2024)
4A Sunday, January 14, 2024 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia I gainesvilletimes.com LOCAL/NATION Gainesville creates new position to promote sports citywide BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com A new position has been created for the city's Greater Gainesville Sports Alliance. Mckenna Kauffmann, who relocated from Acworth, was selected for the posi tion of GGSA manager last month. GGSA works closely with local sports clubs, venues and sporting event planners to market events, assist with funding, pro vide visitor information to participants/ spectators and discuss certain accommoda tions for players, coaches and officials. City officials did not immediately pro vide her salary. Tourism Director Robyn Lynch, who over sees Gainesville's Con vention and Visitors Bureau, said the financial benefit of tourism in the city is substantial. “Sports tourism accounts for over 85% of the total tourism economic impact in the city of Gainesville,'' Lynch said in a press release Friday. “Since the formation of GGSA in 2020, the program has been managed by several members of the Tourism team in addition to their responsibilities with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and Lake Lanier Olympic Park." With rising interest in Gainesville as a sports destination, Lynch said a deci sion was made to hire a full-time manager to “facilitate the needs of this growing industry." Lynch said Kauffmann's decade of experience as a sporting event coordina tor, public relations professional and her “passion for promoting economic develop ment” made her an ideal candidate for the position. Since stepping into the new role, Kauff mann said she's committed to bolstering the sports/tourism scene in Gainesville. “I am thrilled to embark on a new chap ter as the Greater Gainesville Sports Alli ance manager, fueled by my commitment to fostering a thriving sports landscape in our community,” Kauffmann said. “Our mission is clear - to serve as the catalyst for growth of all sports in Gainesville. With a focus on driving economic growth, I aim to champion our sporting venues, local teams and annual events that elevate and unite our community.” Kauffmann, a long-time athlete, also has experience in management, marketing, event coordinating and as a junior publicist for Tobinlnk - an Atlanta-based public and media relations practice. Kauffmann Iowa campaign events are falling fast as snow as the state readies for record-cold caucuses BY MEG KINNARD Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa — Campaign events are falling as swiftly as the Iowa snow as wintry weather hampers both Nikki Haley and Ron DeSan tis as they clamor for support in the days before Monday's leadoff presidential caucuses. Prolonged freezing tem peratures, combined with strong winds, foreshadow possibly life-threatening conditions on the night that Republican voters are set to gather to make their pick for their 2024 nominee. Iowans are accustomed to the cold, though the latest winter wave, combined with temperatures that threaten to dip deeper into negative ter ritory in the coming days, could mean unprecedented conditions for caucus night itself. Early into next week, forecasters said significant winds would make things feel as cold as 45 degrees below zero, a record-break ing forecast that could keep potential voters at home. “This is kind of what it means to live in Iowa, in the middle of winter, but two snowstorms back-to-back feels like a little much,” said Jillian McKee, of Des Moines, as she walked her Shiba Inu named Bear on Friday morning in the pour ing snow. “Usually, I'm just used to one a week.” McKee said she still plans Andrew Harnik Associated Press Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, departs after speaking at a Northside Conservatives Club Meeting at The District in Ankeny, Iowa, Friday, Jan. 12. to show up on Monday night and is leaning toward caucus ing for Haley. Haley pulled down a trio of events that had been slated for Friday in central and east ern areas of the state, shifting them instead to tele-town halls. Doorknockers from AFP Action, a group sup porting the former United Nations ambassador's cam paign, were out despite the storm. Senior adviser Tyler Ray- gor noted that “knocking doors in snow takes more time” but that it also made it more likely that people were at home. DeSantis postponed four events on Friday that had been planned for cities fur ther from Des Moines, citing unsafe weather conditions.” He did campaign earlier Fri day north of the capital city with Gov. Kim Reynolds, saying he was impressed with those who turned out. Less than an hour before DeSantis' event with Reyn olds, Iowa's state patrol posted a warning about the weather on social media. “Please, don’t put yourself or others in danger,” it said, add ing that road conditions were “extremely dangerous!” The National Weather Service's Des Moines office, meanwhile, posted white-out conditions of jack-knifed tractor-trailers littering interstates as much of the state was under a blizzard warning. GOP front-runner Don ald Trump — who has not stumped in Iowa in the clos ing week, instead choosing to make court appearances in Washington and New York — planned to hold a handful of rally events over the week end in central and western Iowa. FROM 1A Plane accident site and was roughly 100 feet from the ground. “According to a witness located near the accident site, he observed the airplane flying low over the water from west to east,” according to the report. “He observed the air plane enter a right bank towards a tree line along the shoreline.” The plane hit trees and then “abruptly descended and impacted a parking lot,” according to the report. “Simultaneously with the impact, the airplane exploded, and a large fire developed around the entire air plane,” according to the report. While one witness reported hear ing the plane hit the trees, neither witness “heard the sound of an airplane engine,” according to the report. The report does not make an assessment on what investigators believe caused the wreck, as a final report often comes months to years following a crash. FROM 1A Water Tower Dr. Greg Myer, director of the Emory Sports Perfor mance and Research Center, said in an email that Emory “is embedded in the community, and Flowery Branch has been an outstanding supporter of our partnership with the Atlanta Falcons. “We felt like the water tower would be a great way to showcase our close-knit relationship on a community land mark that will have longstanding impact and prevalence.” As for the tank itself, it replaces a smaller one on Gaines ville Street as part of overall water system upgrades. “We hope it will be operational within the next few months,” Parrish said. “There are still items outstanding on the new tank. There is a lot of electronic work to be done as well as final inspections.” ffl Apartments FOR RENT RPC Partners 2 Bedrin. Apartments Gainesville, Oakwood & Flowery Branch $ 300 Move in Special Plus Deposit 770-654-2807 Joe Biden stops by Pennsylvania stores to talk small business BYSEUNG MIN KIM AND JOSHBOAK Associated Press EMMAUS, Pennsylvania — President Joe Biden on Friday tried his hand at retail politics—stopping in a trio of Pennsylvania stores to stress the value of small businesses and talk up his economic record. It was a distinct change from the set speeches that the Democratic president usually gives to highlight his policies about an economy with strong employment but levels of inflation that worry voters. Biden gladhanded and joshed at a running shoe store, bicycle shop and coffee house in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. “My name is Joe Biden and I work for the governor and the senator,” the president said as he stepped into the Nowhere Coffee Co. along with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania. Biden ordered what appeared to be a mango smoothie. Obviously, the people in the coffee house knew who he was, with one of them joking, “This is a normal day.” Sauntering along Main Street, Biden seemed to be in full campaign mode several months ahead of the November election, which could rematch him against his 2020 oppo nent, former President Donald Trump. Biden won the surrounding Lehigh County with 53.2% of the vote in 2020, helping him to secure a victory in Penn sylvania and the White House. It's a state that he will likely need again this year to win reelection. Biden's pitch Friday was that he's been better for small businesses than Trump, a billionaire, real estate magnate and reality television host who won the presidency in 2016 on the premise that he knows how to grow the economy. At the Emmaus Run Inn, Biden stressed what he saw as a key difference. There have been 16 million applica tions to start new businesses during the first three years of his presidency, which he noted is the highest number on record. Shapiro, Pennsylvania's Democratic governor, said that Biden discussed with the shop owners the running habits of his wife, Jill, and the kinds of bikes that he enjoys riding. “It was cool for him to be able to see the small businesses that power our economy and the folks behind that,” Shapiro said. The president also faced national security questions from the scrum of reporters that trailed him. He said the United States and its allies were not in a proxy war with Iran after a missile attack on Houthis who have threatened ships in the Red Sea. As he left the coffee shop, the president noted that his birthplace was just 90 minutes away. NOW HIRING Off-Road Truck Drivers, Scraper Operators, and CDL Drivers/Heavy Equipment Operator Competitive pay, Great Benefits (401 k, Health Ins., Vacation) Apply in Person 1364 Candler Rd. 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