Cheorkee Tibune
By Kristal Dixon
03/18/2009
Great schools, shopping, parks and greenspace and hard-working, good-hearted residents are reasons local leaders think Cherokee County is part of the country’s happiest Congressional district.
Represented by Tom Price, the 6th Congressional District, which includes all of Cherokee, ranked among the happiest and healthiest in the nation.
The survey, done by Gallup in partnership with Healthways and America’s Health Insurance Plans, surveyed 355,334 Americans, including 9,222 Georgians. The participants were asked 42 questions about their mental and physical health, eating and exercise habits, environment and access to basic needs.
Price’s district, which also includes east Cobb and parts of Fulton and DeKalb counties, ranked as the happiest in the nation, with 93.5 percent of respondents reporting contentment, as compared to the national average of 87.8 percent.
The district also came in as the second healthiest among the country’s 435 Congressional districts.
Price said he wasn’t surprised at the rankings. People in his district, he said, have a “firm belief in their community and faith … and have a great amount of gratitude and service.”
“There’s a thankfulness that we live in the greatest nation in the world,” he said of his constituents.
Specifically, Price said he notices a “spirit of volunteerism” that re-energizes him every time he visits his district.
“That can-do spirit is remarkable and uplifting,” he said.
Cherokee Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Pam Carnes of Hickory Flat said the recognition is a “feather in the cap” for those who live here.
She said Cherokee’s proximity to Atlanta, school district and local governments efforts to work together lure outsiders to the foothills of the north Georgia mountains.
“If someone is relocating to metro Atlanta, and if they do their research, Cherokee County and the Sixth District has a lot to offer,” she said.
Cherokee school board member Janet Read of Towne Lake said the county still has a “small-town feeling” despite experiencing growth.
Along with the county’s school, Mrs. Read pointed to recreation venues such as Hobgood, Boling and Biello Parks as playing a key role in providing a superior quality of life for residents.
Mrs. Read said she also sees the recently opened Canton Marketplace shopping center as a future driving force to urge people to “go north” when they want to shop.
“You don’t really need to leave the county,” she said. “Everything you need is in the county.”
Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques said Cherokee residents are unique in that they always are “striving up the ladder” when it comes to making their lives better.
Henriques said he believes the temperate climate also keeps locals happy.
“The weather here is by far better than other places,” he said, noting he’s lived in Chicago, New Orleans, Texas and traveled the world while in the Air Force.
Henriques added the county has “taken the bull by the horns” with its $90 million park referendum that passed in November to bring more greenspace to the county.
County Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens said it’s “comforting” to hear the happy and healthy results.
Ahrens pointed to Cherokee’s “mountains, clear, blue skies, greenspace, lakes and rivers, horses roaming in pastures, room to breathe” as part of what residents like about living here.
Road and intersection improvements, better shopping resources and popular school athletic programs are other reasons Cherokee residents are more than content with life outside the perimeter.
Cherokee County 2009 First Citizen Marguerite Cline said the good-natured spirit of residents makes the county’s quality of life among the best in the country.
Mrs. Cline said while residents may differ in opinions over issues like growth and development, they work together when called upon.
“A lot of people here have very good hearts,” she said.