Sunset at Lake Lanier

North Side Foods Corp. operates a food processing facility in Cumming, Georgia. The facility, constructed in 1990 is located approximately 40 miles north of Atlanta. As part of the Smithfield Foods family, the Cumming facility produces 38 million pounds of cooked sausage annually.

North Side Foods' Cumming operation is a member of the Lake Lanier Association. The Association was founded in 1966 as a volunteer group working to protect the health and beauty of Lake Lanier. The lake spans seven Georgia counties, including a portion of Forsyth County, which is the second fastest growing county in the nation. The region attracts over 7 million visitors per year.

Officially named Lake Sidney Lanier, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built (along with the Buford Dam) and dedicated in 1957. The lake is named for the 19th Century Georgia poet Sidney Clopton Lanier, who was inspired by the natural beauty of his native state. The lake is comprised of 38,000 surface acres of water along 540 miles of shoreline. The Chattahoochee and Chestatee Rivers feed the lake, whose water management systems affect the people of Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Much of the water supply for Atlanta and North Georgia comes from this lake. In addition, clean, non polluting hydroelectric power is produced at Buford Dam, which borders the lake.

North Side Foods Corp. became a member of the Lake Lanier Organization in 2002. The lake sponsors a yearly "Shore Sweep" event to help clean up the shoreline. Paul Kafer (Corporate Director of Engineering and Maintenance), and Ken Schneider (Director of Operations- Cumming Facility) organized an effort to participate. The facility volunteered to distribute materials at the local Habersham marina. Phil George (Maintenance Manager- Cumming) attended a pre-sweep meeting to pick up the supplies, and the group assembled at the marina from 8:00 am until 11:00 am on May 3rd. In addition to distributing supplies to other volunteers, the group also patrolled the shoreline and collected over two dozen bags of trash. North Side Foods' participants were all from the Cumming facility.

Smithfield salutes the following Shore Sweep volunteers:

• Jim Rodriguez- Production Manager
• Ariella Bowen- Scheduling and Logistics Coordinator
• Rita Weaver- Quality Management Coordinator
• Ray Delgado- Human Resources Coordinator along with his two daughters
  (Christine and Katie)
• Barbara Wheeler- Receptionist
• Paul Kafer - Corporate Director of Engineering and Maintenance
• Ken Schneider - Director of Operations
• Phil George - Maintenance Manager

© Photos U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers