Bicentennial torch comes to Gwinnett Justice and Administration center

Students representing Gwinnett high schools carries the county’s bicentennial torch to help kick off a year of celebration. Courtesy Gwinnett County

Students representing Gwinnett high schools carries the county’s bicentennial torch to help kick off a year of celebration. Courtesy Gwinnett County

Gwinnett County’s bicentennial torch made an appearance at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center for a special presentation during a recent Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners’ business session.

The LED-powered torch was carried into GJAC by a group of 12 students representing various county high schools.

The bicentennial torch made its debut on Dec. 15 at the bicentennial celebration’s first official event, A Frontier Affair: Prelude to Gwinnett’s Bicentennial, held at the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse.

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The bicentennial torch relay will promote Gwinnett’s Bicentennial Year of Celebration, which will span from Dec. 15 to Dec. 15, 2018.

“Light, whether it be from a candle, a Christmas tree or a torch, illuminates,” Lawreneville Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson said. “As the torch is carried to historical sites, I hope the past is illuminated; when the torch stops at city halls, I hope the present is illuminated; and as the torch is carried by young runners, I hope the future is illuminated.”

Like the torch of the Olympic Games, the bicentennial torch represents goodwill and the connection between communities. The relay represents the journey that Gwinnett County has undergone from 1818 to today, from a largely agrarian community to one of the fastest growing, most diverse counties in the Southeast.

A traveling Gwinnett County history exhibit will accompany the torch to many of these locations, including the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. The exhibit will be on display at GJAC for self-guided tours through to Jan. 29.

The torch relay will culminate at the county’s 200th Birthday Celebration on Dec. 15, 2018, at the Infinite Energy Center.