Georgia Magazine - November 2020 - 9

Georgia glimpses
over flow from Georgia glimpes
* 100 percent solar school. In September,

MONIQUA LEWIS

Noa Lewis' story caught the attention of
officials at the National Aviation Hall of
Fame. She was featured in the museum's
documentary that was released in August.

the Mableton-based SAE School was designated the first 100 percent solar-powered school in Georgia. With the addition
of a 126 kW on-site solar photovoltaic
(PV) system, the school's solar array will
generate enough power for the school's
operations and will serve as an educational tool for students. The project was
made possible through a Solar Energy
Procurement Agreement (SEPA) with
partners that include Southface Institute,
Solar Inventions and Creative Solar USA.
The project will serve as a model for
other schools and nonprofits with similar
renewable-energy goals.

When she was in second grade, Noa Lewis
filmed a video report on her hero,
trailblazing aviator Bessie Coleman.

museum for more information about
the pilot.
After seeing the second grader's
presentation, National Aviation Hall of
Fame President and CEO Amy Spowart
invited Lewis and her family to the hall in
July 2019, where Lewis got to meet
Coleman's great-niece, Gigi Coleman.
"It was very exciting because I didn't
know Bessie Coleman had a great-niece,"
Lewis said. "[Gigi Coleman] had a medal
on and gave it to me."
Lewis also caught the attention of
"Good Morning America," which shared
a post about the youngster in July 2019.
While at the hall of fame, Lewis portrayed
Coleman during a skit. Footage from that
event appeared in the documentary.
Lewis says she was inspired by
Coleman because she loves women who
fight for and accomplish what they set
out to do.
"[Noa's] always looking to show that
girls are smart," her mom said.
The sky's the limit for Lewis. She says
her main goal right now is to go skydiving, but other goals include receiving a
passport for Christmas, attending the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and working for NASA.
Learn more about the National
Aviation Hall of Fame at national
aviation.org.
-Karon Warren

CREATIVE SOLAR USA / SOUTHFACE INSTITUTE /
THE SAE SCHOOL

ot every student turns a school
report into national news or a
documentary, but that's what
Noa Lewis of Acworth did while studying
a trailblazing female pilot named Bessie
Coleman. The fourth grader recently
portrayed Coleman in a documentary,
which was released in August on the
National Aviation Hall of Fame's YouTube
channel at bit.ly/noavideo.
When Lewis was in second grade,
her teacher assigned her a school report
on famed aviator Amelia Earhart. However, Lewis had a different pilot in mind:
Coleman. In 1921, Coleman became
the first black woman to earn a pilot's license, and, the next year, she became the
first African American woman to make
a public flight in America. Lewis learned
about Coleman after seeing the pilot
featured on "Doc McStuffins," one of her
favorite TV shows.
Lewis and her mother, Moniqua,
reached out to the Dayton, Ohio-based

MONIQUA LEWIS

Acworth
student
takes flight
with school
project

* Top for business! Georgia was named
the Top State for Doing Business for the
seventh year in a row by Area Development magazine in September. The
state also earned a No. 1 ranking in the
category of cooperative and responsive
state government. For more info, visit
georgia.org.

* Best places to live. Money magazine
named two Georgia towns-Evans (No.
1) and Woodstock (No. 17)-to its
annual list of 50 Best Places to Live in
the U.S. Towns of more than 25,000 were
considered, and factors such as cost of
living, available housing, diversity, public
education, health and safety were used
in calculating rankings. For the complete
list of winning towns, visit bit.ly/bestpl20.

* Preservation award nominations. The
Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
is seeking suggestions of preservation
projects in Georgia as well as stewards of
historic preservation for its 2021 awards.
Nominations are due by Nov. 20. For
criteria, visit georgiatrust.org.
www.georgiamagazine.org

http://www.bit.ly/noavideo http://www.georgia.org http://www.bit.ly/bestpl20 http://www.nationalaviation.org http://www.nationalaviation.org http://www.georgiatrust.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Georgia Magazine - November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - November 2020