By Joe Earle
Joeearle@reporternewspapers.net
and Amy Wenk
amywenk@reporternewspapers.net
So what do you call someone who lives in Sandy Springs?
Everyone knows to call a resident of Atlanta an Atlantan. New York is full of New Yorkers. Boston is home to Bostonians.
But Sandy Springs?
The votes are in. The answer appears to be that someone who lives in Sandy Springs is a “Sandy Springer.”
Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos thinks so. So does Sandy Springs City Councilwoman Dianne Fries. And city spokeswoman Tisa Moore e-mailed simply: “Definitely Sandy Springer.”
We polled a few Sandy Springs residents by e-mail, asking what they thought a resident of Sandy Springs should be called. All pretty much agreed. Even if sounds like a perky talk show host or a spaniel that has run amok on the beach, there’s no escaping the nickname “Sandy Springer.”
Some folks tried to be a bit more creative. Sandy Springs police Officer Larry Jacobs suggested a resident might be called a “Sandspringian,” whatever that is. And Fulton County School Board member Julia Bernath suggested “ ‘Sandy Springonian,’ as in Washingtonian, or ‘Sandy Springite.’ ”
“But they really don’t have the same feel as Springer.” Bernath wrote. “I was really trying to come up with the equivalent of Gwinnett County residents, but I don’t think ‘Gwinnettians’ translates to our city.”
So, she and the others say, we go back to Sandy Springer.
And what does a Sandy Springer have to say about being a Sandy Springer? No, not a resident of the city, but a real Sandy Springer – Sandra “Sandy” Springer of Vidalia, Ga.
“It’s fine,” she said.
Did she know her name was used to describe residents of a north Georgia city? “I had no idea,” she said. “I’m not from here. I’m from Michigan.”
She moved to Vidalia two years ago, she said. Would she consider moving to Sandy Springs? “No,” she said laughing. “I’m fine where I’m at.”
So, then, what about the Sandra Springer who lives in Woodstock, Ga.?
She didn’t return our call.