Twenty-five years ago Larry Ceminsky came to Cobb County to live out his American Dream. As a long-time corporate ladder climber, Ceminsky had made his mark.
"In 1979 I was living in Merchant's Walk in East Cobb," Ceminsky said. "We were living an affluent lifestyle with the big house and all the trappings of the upper income lifestyle."
As a regional manager for Musicland, Ceminsky balked at leaving when the time came. "After coming to Cobb County I refused to move and they released me," Ceminsky said. "I began to buy and sell retail businesses in the area. I've owned a grocery store, convenience store, liquor store, and a check cashing business and a truck and car rental business. I stayed with services that people need. Through this I became involved with people in the community."
Since that time, Ceminsky has changed the entire focus of his life. "People now look at me and say 'you've fallen from grace.' My income now is less than I made in 1979, and I'm living in a 1,000 instead of a 3,500 square foot home. But, in that time I became involved with the community."
Ceminsky serves on the board of Cobb Family Services, is on the board of Cobb Housing, Inc., works with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Latin American Association. Another interest is a neighborhood committee, called IMPACT, which stands for Involved Marietteans Planning Actively for the City of Tomorrow.
"This group is very concerned about the quality of life and trying to educate the community to make our community a better place to live," Ceminsky said. Growing up in the north prepared Ceminsky for his life of community service. "Minnesota is a socially conscious state. My dad was a Teamster from the country and my mom was from the city, so I had both perspectives growing up."
In 1999 the Marietta City Council, attempting to resolve resident concerns about the day laborers stopping traffic and causing dangerous situations around intersections, passed an ordinance making it illegal to solicit work from the street. Many of the day laborers were jailed under the ordinance, until the American Civil Liberties Union stepped in to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance.
"As a Republican, I believe strongly in responsibility and individual rights," Ceminsky said. "My feeling at the time was that the ordinance passed by the City Council was important for community standards, but trampled on the individual's rights. The resolution to this problem was to go after the contractors who were creating the unsafe traffic conditions. "
Ceminsky decided to support the City's objectives, but also support the individuals involved who were just trying to make a living. "My son and I erected a tent on my business property," Ceminsky said. "This was for laborers to wait for someone to pick them up. We got a lot of support from the community." Also provided by Ceminsky in the tent were ESL teachers who helped the day laborers practice their English skills as they waited for work.
Gradually, as the ACLU challenged the city's method, the need for the tent went away.
"There were a number of people that came together to have a central facility which would be safe," Ceminsky said. "But in Marietta you run into the political realities. Theoretically we were spending tax money on illegal people who were breaking the law."
"I believe that when you have a problem like this you need to break it down into parts and work on what you can work on and let others work on their parts," Ceminsky said. "In our effort there was moral support from the city. People are the government and when we alienate people, it becomes alienation to the government. As community leaders we need to see what I need to change to eliminate the situation from becoming a problem."
As a community member, rather than a member of the city government, Ceminsky has a different view of the changes coming over the next 15 years as Marietta attempts to implement "The Marietta We Will Be." "I believe it's a superb idea as long as the political will is there to accomplish it," Ceminsky said. "The difficulty is in knowing how you welcome Walgreens with open arms and bring them into the community's vision."
Another concern for Ceminsky is the redevelopment of the Roswell Street corridor. "We need to find a way to use the old properties there that are primarily automotive related to make them more useful and enhance Marietta's image," Ceminsky said. According to Ceminsky, the redevelopment of Marietta is only one of the issues facing the city leaders. "Businesses have become our own worst enemy. Because of the wage reductions, we're hiring multiple employees on a part-time basis, instead of one person, which force people to have two or three jobs at odd hours to make it. This takes away from their potential time with their children. Children in Marietta aren't getting some of the nurture and moral training they need. There's a disconnect. The kids are learning street smarts. The parents can't get to school, because they've got to work, so there's less involvement in their children's lives."
Mentioning the impact of the churches in Marietta, Ceminsky said, "The churches have shown great compassion for people. There is a willingness to not look at the legal side of the problem, but to look at the human side while waiting for the legal side to get fixed. They've also done a good job of educating the community about what the needs are. Churches are very much behind the scenes and quiet in what they do in Marietta."
Cheryl K. Miller