By Jay Ledbetter

Gwinnett County is a community of accolades. We’re the most ethnically diverse county in the state, home of the largest Hindu Mandir in the Southeast (the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, of course), and of course, home of Waffle House’s headquarters. To carry on this tradition of trophy-winning, I have decided to launch The Normies: awards for Gwinnett’s record-holding pillars of the county. Together, we will be honoring the very serious superlatives that Gwinnettians have earned, and giving them the coveted title of “Normies”. Without further ado, let’s get into our inaugural group of champions:

Most Consecutive Days Sitting On a Wall Without Having a Great Fall:

Mr. Eggward’s Sculpture of Suwanee takes this record easily. Despite constant comparison to the clumsier Humpty Dumpty, Eggwards has sat safely on a wall for nearly a decade in Town Center Park. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men sleep soundly at night, knowing they won’t have to put this egg back together anytime soon.

Best Way to Have a Great Fall:

The Duluth Fall Festival is an award-winning annual celebration of the harvest season, flooding the streets of Duluth with vendors, food and events including a concert at the Duluth Festival Center.

Biggest Blast from the Past:

In Gwinnett, history is all around us. From Fort Daniel, built during the War of 1812, to the Southeastern Railway Museum with nearly 100 different pieces of railway history, to the hyper-realistic reenactments of knightly battles at Medieval Times, this award was among the most fiercely contested. However, the winner took me back further than any other: the Dinosaurs in Gwinnett’s parks! These prehistoric statues roam around the county’s parks as a reminder of creatures that wandered the earth before humans (but not before worms).

Most Verbose Non-Human:

After extensive research and polling with the community, our final Normie has to go to the critter who works harder than any other: me. We tried sending out a request for local wildlife to write in and nominate themselves, but…well, none of them can write.

With that, our first batch of Normies has been declared! Congratulations to all of the winners; this county would not be the same without you (and me). I look forward to seeing this group growing over time as more and more noteworthy fixtures of Gwinnett are given their Normies!