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May 2008
Former Gov. Barnes praises Sen. Isakson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rumor had it that if U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) had decided to run for governor, former Gov. Roy Barnes might have run for his seat in the Senate.
But, of course, Isakson let it be known earlier this month that he does not intend to join the gubernatorial race.
So when I ran into Barnes at the Commerce Club today, I asked him about political plans.
He laughed saying that his best revenge was making a healthy living as a lawyer.
“I spent 26 years in politics, and I loved it,” Barnes said, then implying that he is enjoying his role as a critical outsider. “I’m very dissatisfied with the way state leadership is today.”
Barnes also admitted that he and Isakson are close friends.
“If all Republicans were like Johnny, I would be a Republican,” he said. “But unfortunately, he’s the exception rather than the rule.”
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Woodruff Arts Center nears corporate campaign goal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Only $88,355 to go. And three more days to raise it.
The Woodruff Arts Center annual corporate campaign has raised $8.61 million of its $8.7 million goal.
The feat is particularly impressive because that money was raised in only 10 months compared to the usual 12 -month effort. The shortened season was due to the arts center changing its fiscal year to end on May 31.
Not only did the center have less time to raise the money. But it also set a record campaign goal. And all that during a tough economy.
“Those factors have been balanced out by terrific leadership,” said Beauchamp Carr, executive vice president of the Woodruff Arts Center, who couldn’t say enough good things about Tommy Holder, CEO of Holder Construction Co., the chair of the campaign. “Tommy was really wonderful. The whole campaign cabinet was great.”
Carr was especially pleased with the $1.1 million raised through its challenge fund, chaired by search consultant Veronica Biggins. The challenge fund, which had 10 donors, matches new dollars raised during the campaign.
Those 10 entities were: AT&T, Bank of America, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Deloitte, Georgia Power Foundation, Holder Construction, the Marcus Foundation, the Sara Giles Moore Foundation, SunTrust and UPS.
Carr was optimistic the goal would be met within the next few days.
“We are absolutely counting on rasing the entire campaign amount,” Carr said. “We have got to. Failure is not an option.”
Holder agreed, saying it would probably be the end of next week before they would be sure the goal had been met.
“We are very close, and we are confident we’ll get there,” Holder said. “The reporting process just takes a little longer.”
The top overall donors to the campaign are:
The one donor giving at least $450,000: the Coca-Cola Co.;
Donors giving $400,000 or more: the Georgia Power Foundation and Turner Broadcasting System;
Donors giving at least $300,000: the Cox interests, which includes a gift from Anne Cox Chambers and the combined donations from Cox Enterprises’ entities (including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WSB-TV, Cox Radio Group Atlanta and the Cox Foundation), Deloitte partners and employees and UPS.
Those giving at least $200,000: AT&T (which increased from $200,000 to $230,000), SunTrust foundations and employees, Florence C. and Harry L. English Memorial Fund, Harriett McDaniel Marshall Trust and the Walter H. and Marjory M. Rich Memorial Fund.
Among the other key members of the campaign cabinet: Georgia Power’s Mike Garrett who will chair the campaign next year; Deloitte’s Bradford Branch; H.J. Russell’s Michael Russell, Scott Selig of Selig Enterprises; Frank McGaughey of Powell Goldstein, Gary Peacock of SunTrust and Susan Bell of Ernst & Young.
Atlanta’s YWCA Salute Raises Funds
The YWCA of Greater Atlanta has been tallying up the dollars it raised from its recent Salute to Women of Achievement luncheon two weeks ago.
“The Salute was the best ever,” said Justine Boyd, CEO of Atlanta’s YWCA. “We raised almost $480,000 through the support of corporate, individuals and theAirTran Airways auction.”
This was the 25th anniversary of the Salute to Women of Achievement recognition, and so the YWCA decided to “salute the salute” and celebrate the achievements of the 250 women in its academy.
Since it was a special year, the Salute did not identify one woman as the overall woman of achievement. But it did induct 10 new women into the academy.
They were: Pinney Allen, formerly of Alston & Bird and currently the head of the Atlanta Girls’ School; Lisa Borders, president of the Atlanta City Council; Susana Maria Chavez, vice president and Southeast regional manager of Parking Company of America; LaJean Waller Gould, president and founder of the Women in Golf Foundation; Lisa Hamilton, president of the UPS Foundation; Ceceilia Houston-Torrence, community involvement banking officer at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta; Candace Kaspers, president of Gender Plus; Penelope McPhee, president of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation; Rhonda Mims, president of ING Foundation; and Louise Sams, executive vice president and general counsel of Turner Broadcasting System.
Boyd took a moment to recognize the strides women have made in the past 25 years.
“We live in a city where the mayor’s name is Shirley [Franklin]. We live in a state where the chief justice’s name is Leah [Ward Sears], and we live in a place where Coke is known as Ingrid [Saunders Jones],” Boyd said. “We live in a place where women know no limits.”
Donna Buchanan to retire from Junior Achievement
Speaking of amazing women…. Donna Buchanan, president of Junior Achievement of Georgia, on Wednesday announced her plans to retire by the end of June.
Her successor will be Jack Harris, Junior Achievement’s chief operating officer.
Buchanan, a graduate of Georgia State University graduate, began her career with Junior Achievement in 1979 as an education manager in the New Orleans office. She left the organization for a couple of years in the 1990s, but returned in 1993 to become president of Junior Achievement of Georgia. Buchanan also is a past president of the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta.
Harris, a graduate of Princeton, has been with Junior Achievement for six years in various roles. Before that, he worked with Smith Barney and taught for two years at the Wesleyan School in Norcross.
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The Southern Co.-Home Depot connection
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At Home Depot’s annual meeting last week, a shareholder asked CEO Frank Blake how he finds time to serve on the board of the Southern Co.
“It’s a pleasure and an honor to be able to do that,” Blake responded. “It’s a significant local company. And I learn a lot serving on that board.”
So when I ran into Blake at today’s Southern Co. annual meeting, the first thing he told me was: “It’s a learning experience. This is my first time at Callaway Gardens.”
In fact, this is the first Southern Co. annual meeting that Blake has been able to attend. He has had scheduling conflicts in previous years.
And coincidentally, Home Depot’s name came up during the question-and-answer period with shareholders.
A shareholder urged Southern Co.’s CEO David Ratcliffe to get in the business of selling and installing solar panels so he could be a customer rather than buy from other energy companies like BP.
Ratcliffe made no promises, but said the utility would be open to link customers with firms in the solar panel business. Ratcliffe even mentioned Home Depot as a possibility.
After the meeting, Blake said: “We actually do sell solar panels, and we have solar installation business, but it’s done through BP.”
Blake has been on Southern Co.’s board since 2004, nearly two years before he was named CEO of the home improvement company. It was a natural fit because Blake served as U.S. deputy secretary of energy from May 2001 to April 2002.
Meanwhile, a recurring topic among shareholders at the Southern’s annual meeting was the desire for the company to invest more in alternative energy sources.
Philanthropist and environmentalist Ted Turner has been urging Ratcliffe to do the same. In fact, just this past weekend, Turner and Ratcliffe got together to continue their “conversation” on the future of the nation’s energy.
Ratcliffe, who seemed to be joking, said he and Turner may go into the wind power business in Texas. Turner already has invested in the solar energy business.
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More focus needed on transportation needs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After months of growing tension between the business community and state leaders over transportation issues, Gov. Sonny Perdue on Tuesday called a select group of top business leaders to a breakfast meeting at the Governor’s Mansion.
Mike Garrett, president of Georgia Power and the chair-elect of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, was at the meeting and said the governor gave assurances that he would work on a statewide transportation plan to present in the fall.
Among others at the meeting were Tom Bell of Cousins Properties; developer David Allman; Joe Leonard, retired AirTran CEO; Charles Tarbutton, chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce; and Dick Anderson, new executive director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.
Garrett, interviewed Wednesday at Georgia Power’s annual shareholders meeting, said Perdue told the business leaders he knows the state needs a new funding source for transportation. But the governor added that he also believes the state needs to get its own house in order in how it implements projects, Garrett said.
“By fall, he wants to sit down with us and talk about his plan,” Garrett said. “It would be a menu of different things, and it would be a statewide solution.”
Business leaders believe metro Atlanta has the most critical transportation needs, Garrett said, and the group was quick to point that out to the governor.
“I told him that the Get Georgia Moving Coalition was born out of frustration in the business community,” Garrett said. “We have to make something happen, and we want to make sure it’s the right thing.”
The coalition tried to get the Legislature to allow voters to decide on the ability of regions to pass a 1-cent sales tax to pay for their transportation needs. That measure did not pass.
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Hamilton Jordan inspired us all
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Much has been written about the courageous life of Hamilton Jordan, chief of staff for President Jimmy Carter.
But what can not be repeated often enough is how Jordan transformed his personal struggles with cancer to a national cause with a deeply personal touch.
On an individual basis, Jordan provided hope to others stricken with the disease. He urged people to take charge of their own medical condition through self-education and search for the best possible care.
And on a global level, his book: “No Such Thing As A Bad Day” gave people a road map on how to cope with a life-threatening illness. It has been a book I’ve given friends on several occasions as a way to help them continue their own fights.
The last time I saw Jordan was when he spoke to the Atlanta Press Club in March. It was if we all knew, Jordan included, that this would be his last public address.
He spoke of Corey Grier, one of the children stricken with cancer who attended Camp Sunshine. Grier willed himself to nearly a year longer than expected so he could say good-bye to his friends at Camp Sunshine. Jordan told those at the press club lunch that Grier had showed him “the power of the human spirit to extend life.”
Jordan took that lesson to heart and became a teacher in his own right. “I’ve had six different cancers that I’ve battled over the last 20 years,” Jordan told the group. Later he added that when he started to get down, he would think of Corey Grier and “not let this disease dominate or define who I was.”
The last two years were especially tough with eight surgeries and 150 nights in the hospital. I asked him how we was able to keep the faith he wrote about in his book, “No Such Thing As A Bad Day.”
“There is such as thing as bad years,” Jordan answered. “I have not done as well as you think I have.”
At another moment, Jordan said: “I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve been to the edge of life. I’ve had to face my own mortality. I’ve been depressed. I’ve been scared at times. But I’m here to tell you, I’m not through yet.”
It was clear that Jordan wasn’t through when he spoke about cancer research and about presidential politics.
“For the first time in 35 years, funding for cancer research is going down,” Jordan said. “We have spent more money in six months than we have spent on cancer for 35 years.”
And when he spoke of Barack Obama, the fire in the belly burned bright. Jordan already had endorsed Obama and urged the Illinois senator to pick former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Georgia) as his running mate. Nunn, who was in the room that day, remained coy about whether he would join an Obama ticket.
I had believed that Jordan would have willed himself to live to November to see the outcome of the election, or at least through the Democratic convention.
Perhaps he had been fighting too long. And perhaps, all he really wanted was to live to see the Kentucky and Oregon primaries, that occurred the same day he died. It was on that day that Obama essentially became unstoppable in his quest to be the Democratic nominee for president.
May Hamilton Jordan’s spirit continue to inspire us all.
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Have a great holiday weekend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t know if I’ll get a chance to post a new item today because I’ll be attending the high school graduation ceremony for my son.
It’s possible that the family will spend the whole day with graduation events and celebrations.
So if you don’t hear from me today, please have a great Memorial Day weekend. And be sure to tune in next week.
By the way, I have loved the dialogue and the exchanges y’all have shared on many of the items.
It is my hope that we can continue to have constructive debates on issues facing metro Atlanta and our business community.
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Home Depot co-founder moves on
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The ever-present Ken Langone retired from Home Depot’s board today without a look back to the company he co-founded with Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank.
“It’s time to move on,” said Langone, Home Depot’s lead director who had served on the board since 1978. “Now I’m onto other things.”
Langone, 72, didn’t seem to want to dwell on sentimentality, adding that both he and Marcus believed there should be a retirement age of 72 for directors.
“Bernie created a great company, and Bernie and Arthur did a hell of a job,” Langone said. “But I think the company today is probably in the best shape it’s been in for a long time.”
Langone spoke highly of the current CEO Frank Blake and his team. “I feel very good about the company,” he said. ” Frank’s leadership is going to take this company to incredible heights.”
Then I asked Langone about the former CEO, Bob Nardelli (who is now with Chrsyler). It was Lagone who was largely responsible for bringing Nardelli to Home Depot, an era that was fraught with controversy and bad morale.
And even today, Langone continues to defend Nardelli.
“I think Bob made a lot of necessary changes,” he said. “I think Bob was great for the company at the time he was there.”
Langone did acknowledge that “I would have done some things differently than he did.”
Of course Langone still has big stake in the company. The proxy lists him as holding more than 16.5 million shares of Home Depot stock.
“It’s quite a change,” Blake said of the transition on his board. “It’s going to be hard to imagine a board meeting without a Ken Langone. I have a feeling I’ll continue to hear from Ken just as we do from Bernie and Arthur.”
The annual meeting did bring back Ron Brill, another one of Home Depot’s founding leaders who served as chief financial officer and later chief administrative officer before retiring in 2001. Brill half-jokingly said that had he stayed, he probably would have been fired by Nardelli.
Brill applauded the current management team and board. “I think it’s exciting that there’s a lot of new blood,” he said. “It was time to change management. And now there’s a lot of new thinking.”
Marcus attended the annual meeting, and afterwards was approached by an angry shareholder. “Go after him,” Marcus said pointing to Blake. “Not after me. I’m out of work here.”
As for the board changes, Marcus said: “This is the last of the old guard.”
Told that Langone was still defending Nardelli, Marcus said: “I don’t know what I can tell you.”
Then he referred to one of the shareholder complaints about Home Depot’s sales force lack of expertise in helping customers with their home improvement projects.
“A lot of the quality people who left, they left during Nardelli’s tenure,” Marcus said, adding that reporters keep asking him about Nardelli. “We are done. We are finished with Nardelli. He’s out of my life.”
To read preview column of annual meeting…
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With retirements, no Home Depot founders on board
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Home Depot holds its annual meeting today, there will be a bunch of new faces in the room.
For the first time, none of the co-founders will be on the board as two of the founding directors retire - Ken Langone and Milledge Hart.
And seven of the nine outside directors will have joined the board since Frank Blake became CEO in January, 2007. (Blake became a director in 2006).
To read more about Home Depot, see my full column below.
I also would love to hear your thoughts on the changes at Home Depot.
TURNOVER ON HOME DEPOT BOARD BRINGS IN NEW ERA
When Home Depot holds its annual meeting today, it will be entering a new era. It will be the first time that one of the company’s founders won’t be on its board.
And all but two of its directors have come on board since Frank Blake became CEO.
In short, this is Blake’s board.
As of today, the longest serving director is Bonnie Hill, former CEO of the Times Mirror Foundation who runs her own consulting firm. She joined Home Depot’s board in 1999 when co-founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank were still at the home improvement company (at the time, Blank was CEO and Marcus was chairman).
Hill now becomes the company’s lead director, succeeding Ken Langone, one of Home Depot’s co-founders who is retiring from the board.
Langone won’t be the only longtime director leaving the board. Milledge Hart, a director since Home Depot’s inception in 1978, also is retiring.
The two other directors who are retiring are: retired BellSouth CEO John Clendenin (on the board since 1996) and Claudio Gonzalez, chairman of Kimberly Clark de Mexico and on the Home Depot board since 2001.
Interestingly enough, Home Depot doesn’t have one outside director that came on board during the tenure of controversial CEO Bob Nardelli.
Other than Hill, the only director who predates Nardelli is Gregory Brenneman, CEO of Quiznos who was president and chief operating officer of Continental Airlines in 2000 when he joined Home Depot’s board. At that time, Blank was CEO.
“Greg was one of the candidates I seriously promoted to become CEO of the company,” Blank said in a telephone interview this week. “He has a very good sales background.” Instead, the board, largely at Langone’s urging, hired Nardelli.
The new board does have one outside director from Atlanta: Duane Ackerman, retired CEO of BellSouth, who joined Home Depot’s board last year.
But he’s the only one - another significant difference from the Marcus-Blank era when there was a distinct Atlanta flavor on the board. Among the directors then were Clendenin, then Coca-Cola executive Don Keough and then Spelman College President Johnnetta Cole.
“We were very sensitive to that. We raised our company here, and Atlanta was our home,” Blank said. “It is a different company, but the times are different.”
At Wednesday evening’s board dinner in Buckhead, the retiring directors were honored by the company.
Blank couldn’t attend the dinner or today’s annual meeting because he’s been busy with meetings of National Football League.
But Marcus planned to be at both to thank the retiring directors and welcome the new ones.
“The world goes on. It didn’t stop when Arthur and I left,” Marcus said, calling the transition “a natural progression.”
Marcus specifically mentioned Langone. “Since I left the board, Ken has worked very, very hard.”
So who’s on the new board?
In addition to Blake, Hill, Ackerman and Brenneman: David Batchelder, (joined in 2007) principal of Relational Investors; Ari Bousbib (2007), president of Otis Elevator Co.; Albert Carey (2008), president and CEO of Frito-Lay North America and former president of PepsiCo Sales; Armando Codina (2007), CEO of Flagler Development Group; Brian Cornell (2008), CEO of Michaels Stores; and Karen Katen (2007), chairman of the Pfizer Foundation.
Blake, in an analyst call earlier this week, said he was looking for a board that was strong with marketing and customer service.
“Frank is doing the things he should be doing,” Blank said. “He’s looking at today’s challenges and opportunities and using his own good judgment,” Blank said. “I feel good about the company, and when the economy turns, we are in a good position.”
Atlanta Spirit co-owner backs Friendship Games
Bridging the world through basketball. That was the dream of Atlanta Spirit/Atlanta Hawks co-owner Ed Peskowitz and his wife, Penelope.
And so they created the Friendship Games two years ago - a competition in Tel Aviv, Israel that brings together college students from many nations.
“The purpose is to use a sport that they care about, basketball, to help people overcome religious differences, political differences, to overcome stereotypes and to foster a sense of understanding,” Peskowitz said.
The third annual Friendship Games begins May 30. It will have 36 teams (10 will be women teams) from 22 countries. Among the countries participating: Jordan, Israel, Russia, Germany, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Ireland, China, Estonia, Italy, Canada, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Serbia.
So far, Peskowitz and his wife have financed the Friendship Games. But as the competition has grown, Peskowitz has sought other donors. He was in town this week to present the idea at a reception hosted by the GreenbergTraurig law firm at the Jewish Federation.
“Our hope is that we are planting seeds,” Peskowitz said. “These are really small steps. But it can only do good.”
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Fiorina: Women still face challenges
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s not easy being a woman in today’s business or political world.
So says Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, who was in Atlanta today as the keynote speaker at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Georgia 100 breakfast at the Cobb Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
Fiorina, who is backing presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign, cited the challenges that Sen. Hillary Clinton has faced during her run for presidency.
“Women in positions of power are either too soft or too hard. You see that happen with Hillary,” Fiorina said. “I was frequently called either a ‘bimbo’ or that other ‘b’ word.”
Fiorina also told AJC Editor Julia Wallace, in an “unplugged” interview after her speech, that she is “appalled” by the way Hillary Clinton has been treated during this campaign.
Despite her strong arguments for greater diversity in business and politics, she defended her support of McCain by saying the country is at a “fork,” and that both she and McCain believe that the role of government should be to unlock the potential of its people.
Fiorina, however, welcomed the diversity in this year’s campaign with the Democratic candidates still in the race: Sen. Barack Obama, an African-American; and Sen. Clinton.
By the way, Fiorina is serving as an economic advisor for McCain, an area where he is perceived as being weak.
Wallace asked whether Fiorina would be willing to accept being on the ticket with McCain as his vice presidential nominee. Fiorina did not answer directly, so Wallace followed up by asking: “Is that a no or a yes?”
Fiorina answered: “It is neither.”
My colleague, Matt Kempner, helped me with this item.
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Neighbors oppose razing Midtown buildings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Proposals to demolish four historic buildings in Midtown didn’t fare will at the neighborhood association’s Land Use Committee meeting Tuesday evening.
The proposal that drew the most vocal opposition from the 75 attendees was one by the Georgia Tech Foundation to demolish the Crum and Forster building at Spring and Fourth streets.
I wrote about plans for the buildings and the opposition in a previous post.
The only people who spoke in favor of that demolition were three representatives for the foundation.
Neighbors, Georgia Tech students, architects, local businessmen and historic preservationists describing the foundation’s plan as “unfathomable,” “astonishing,” “arrogant” and “insensitive.”
One community activist even yelled out that the demolition would only go forward “over my dead body.” Someone else in the audience chimed in: “Mine too.”
Tony Rizzuto, chairman of the Land Use Committee, said a website had been created earlier that day to save the Crum and Forster building, and it already had 225 names.
“That to me is another one of these public relations nightmares for the foundation,” Rizzuto said.
But the foundation officials showed no signs of backing away from plans to demolish the building, even though they have no immediate plans for the property.
In the end, the committee voted resoundingly to oppose the demolition. Now it will go before the Midtown Neighbors Association board next week and the Neighborhood Planning Unit next month.
A proposal to demolish three historic homes on Juniper Street to make way for a surface parking lot was presented by the Saint Mark United Methodist Church, located at Peachtree and Fifth streets.
The Land Use Committee asked the church officials if they would be open to exploring possible alternatives. Rizzuto and other committee members made it clear that if a vote were to have been taken Tuesday evening, the proposal would have been denied.
Instead, Rev. Jim Moor agreed to a 30-day deferral of the demolition application to give church officials an opportunity to meet with preservationists and real estate developers to explore creative solutions for the property.
How different the tone was between both proposals.
On the one hand, the Georgia Tech Foundation showed no willingness to consider saving the Crum and Forster building, which made many residents visibly and audibly angry.
And on the other hand, the attitude of Saint Mark church to work with the neighborhood generated feelings of goodwill among the attendees.
There’s a lesson here.
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Colony Square developer discusses Midtown’s future
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When he developed Colony Square back in the early 1970s, Jim Cushman was viewed as a maverick who was way ahead of his time.
He developed a high-rise, mixed-use center that included offices, retail, residences and a hotel. Unfortunately a real estate recession followed, and Cushman’s Colony Square struggled in its early years.
This morning, Cushman returned to Colony Square to see the renovated W Atlanta-Midtown Hotel and to attend the Midtown Alliance’s “Let’s Talk Midtown” program on the future plans for Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
After the meeting, Cushman, 77, was visibly proud and energized when he spoke to me about today’s Colony Square and Midtown.
“It far exceeds my dreams,” Cushman said. “The whole concept of Colony Square was to build a small town within the city, and to build community.”
Cushman left the Midtown Alliance with several associates to discuss future development possibilities in the area.
“We are looking to the east,” Cushman said while standing in the lobby of the W hotel. “There are some gaps between Colony Square and Piedmont Park.”
And Cushman envisions Piedmont Avenue “becoming the Park Avenue of Atlanta.” In short, Cushman, who in the early 1970s saw the Atlanta of the future, is still looking forward.
“Change is always necessary,” Cushman said. “You must not stay the same in real estate development. It’s an exciting time. It’s a neat time.”
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AT&T gives $50,000 toward theater’s renovation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If one questions the value of leadership programs, just ask the Friends of the Strand in Marietta Square.
The group has until June 1 to raise a total of $500,000 to match a $500,000 challenge grant to name the theater after longtime Cobb leader Earl Smith.
AT&T is making a $50,000 donation towards that challenge grant, which means that the Friends of the Strand still need to raise $125,000 by the end of the month.
So how did the AT&T gift come about? Debbie Abernathy, Earl Smith’s grand-daughter, is in this year’s Leadership Cobb’s class with Don Barbour, regional manager of External Affairs of AT&T Georgia.
The Strand, a theater that dates back to 1935, started as a movie house and stayed open until 1976. Cobb leaders have been working to renovate the Strand for the past several years so it can hold live performances as well as show classic and independent films.
Christy Rosell, spokeswoman for the Friends of the Strand, said that the total renovation will total $4.5 million. If it is able to raise the $125,000 by June 1 for the naming rights, it still will need another $1.2 million to complete the renovation.
The Strand is supposed to open by the end of the year as long as the remaining money is raised.
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Historical Midtown buildings slated for demolition
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If the Georgia Tech Foundation and Saint Marks United Methodist Church have their way, four historic buildings in Midtown will be history.
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The Georgia Tech Foundation bought an elegant 1926 building designed by an architect who helped start Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture.
The university has no current plans for that site, which is at 771 Spring St. N.W. It is slated to be just an empty lot for the foreseeable future.
Just a few blocks away, Saint Marks has bought three historic homes, built around 1905, on Juniper Street at Fifth Street.
The church plans to tear down those historic homes and replace them with a surface parking lot.
Both these projects run counter to the vision that both the Midtown Neighbors Association and the Midtown Alliance have set for the community. Blueprint Midtown actually has been working hard to rid the area of surface parking lots and vacant blocks.
The proposals are generating opposition. On Tuesday evening, the Midtown Neighbors’ Land Use Committee is meeting to review the projects. Several preservation groups are actively trying to save the four buildings.
The hope is that the owners - both Georgia Tech and Saint Marks - will work with the community to find a way to preserve the buildings.
What solutions would you propose?
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Sponsor for sought new dolphin exhibit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus spent $240 million of his own money to build the Georgia Aquarium, he pledged it would be built debt-free.
And when the aquarium ended up costing a total of $290 million (not including the land donated by the Coca-Cola Co.), Marcus and his team were able to secure sponsors for the remaining $50 million.
Last week, Marcus and the Georgia Aquarium announced plans to build a $110 million expansion for a crowd-pleasing dolphin exhibit.
But who will pay for that expansion?
That’s the beauty of the Georgia Aquarium. “We realized this was going to be very expensive to operate,” Marcus said. “And we recognized it had to be self-sustaining. That’s why we added all these rental facilities, like the banquet hall, to help pay the bills.”
Marcus spoke to me right after being interviewed by CNBC’s Squawk Box, which was filming this morning from the Georgia Aquarium as well as in front of the new World of Coca-Cola.
Many major aquariums open with a mountain of debt, and then the attraction’s operating revenues can’t pay for the regular expenses, much less the debt payments.
But the Georgia Aquarium has been generating enough cash flow to pay for its operations, and then some.
“With the cash flow we have, we should be able to pay for it (the $110 million expansion),” Marcus said. “The critical factor will be to have a sponsor for it. And we will want participation from the public to help support the facility.”
Marcus would not say how much a sponsor would need to pay for the dolphin exhibit, or which companies or individuals he might be talking to.
“We have some people we are talking to, that we are actively talking to,” Marcus said. “That’s being negotiated.”
Marcus did add that the Georgia Aquarium can build and open the exhibit without a sponsor. But to make the exhibit as special as possible, it does need a sponsor.
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Wisdom from GSU Hall of Fame inductees
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As four business and civic leaders were inducted Thursday evening into GSU’s Business Hall of Fame, they shared the secrets of their success.
The first person inducted was Mackey McDonald, chairman of the VF Corp., a $7 billion company specializing in branded apparel that is based in Greensboro, N.C. McDonald attended Georgia State’s business school when he was completing his tour of duty at Fort McPherson.
“The only time you learn anything is when you listen,” is one of McDonald’s favorite quotes.
Upon accepting the honor, McDonald said: “It all starts with family and high expectations.” Then, referring to a video full of accolades about him, McDonald addressed his 94-year-old mother in the audience. “Yes mom, that was me that they were talking about.”
The next leader to be inducted was Xernona Clayton, founder of the Trumpet Awards Foundation, a former Turner Broadcasting executive and a leader dring the Civil Rights movement.
“My father always said that: ‘Nobody is better than you,” she said in the introductory video, “and you are not better than anybody else.”
During her talk, Clayton shared another guiding principle she has followed: “We may not want to take time to do it right, but we must take time if it’s done wrong.” In short, it’s easier to do it right the first time.
The next honoree was developer John Williams, founder of Post Properties and a longtime leader in Cobb County and the metro area.
Williams’ friend and business associate Kessel Stelling told dinner guests that “John operates by three rules. One, have fun. Two, believe in making money. And three, be more than fair.”
Although he attended Georgia Tech, Williams does have a special tie with GSU’s business school. Multi-faceted businessman J. Mack Robinson, for whom the GSU business school is named, invested in Williams’ development company in 1976. Williams remains grateful to this day, describing Robinson as a cordial Southern gentleman.
The last person to be inducted was Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
Sam Williams, who also went to Georgia Tech, talked about his tough transition from his home state of Tennessee to Atlanta, where he knew no one. He quickly learned: “If you are going to survive in this town, you have got to get up early and work late.”
Learning from the city’s greatest leaders, Williams said the roots of Atlanta’s heritage is that it’s business leaders give back. “I was really lucky to land here,” Williams said of Atlanta. “I’ve been a student of city building throughout my career.”
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All kinds of hub-bub at the Metro Atlanta Chamber
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As the board of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce was meeting this morning, NBC News was busy setting up to broadcast live from the building tonight.
Anchor Brian Williams actually is camping out in one of the Atlanta chamber’s offices preparing for his newscast, which will air from the J.B. Fuqua roof-top pavilion.
Williams is in town to emcee the Congressional Medal of Honor awards dinner tonight at the Georgia Aquarium. The two honorees will be former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and journalist Kimberly Dozier.
Ironically, his colleagues at CNBC are busy preparing for Squawk Box broadcasting from Atlanta Friday morning. The business news show will be broadcasting from the Georgia Aquarium and the new World of Coca-Cola.
The chamber board meeting also had some sizzle. Delta CEO Richard Anderson briefed the board about the combination of Delta and Northwest Airlines. He told the board that this was not a merger; this was an acquisition.
“He talked about Delta’s commitment to Atlanta,” said Metro Atlanta Chamber Chairman Kessel Stelling, who is president of tBank of North Georgia. He added that Anderson has lived up to all the promises he made to the Atlanta business community.
The chamber board also heard from two key state legislators: Vance Smith, chairman of the House Transportation Committee; and Jeff Mullis, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.
Both tried to reassure business leaders that they will work on legislation for new transportation funding next year.
“We will get to the promised land,” Mullis told chamber leaders.
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City seeks extension on loan to buy King papers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s been nearly two years since Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin led a local community effort to buy a major collection of papers that belonged to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Those papers were scheduled to be sold on Sotheby’s auction block until Atlanta leaders were able to collaborate on an 11th hour effort to buy the papers before they were auctioned off.
Franklin was able to raise more that $32 million in cash donations and in loan guarantees from some of the top corporate citizens and individuals in Atlanta and the nation. Those gifts and loan guarantees enabled the community to receive a two-year loan from Atlanta-based SunTrust.
So far, the campaign has raised $26 million in cash pledges (with about $20 million on hand). But Franklin said this week that she needs more time to raise up to $10 million (to repay the loan and interest).
There were about $18.5 million in loan guarantees from numerous companies and individuals. Now Franklin is asking some of them if they would be willing to convert some of their guarantees to donations.
She says that she is now “dialing for dollars” to close out the loan.
Even though it’s taking longer to raise the money than originally anticipated, local leaders say that the collection is already paying dividends for Atlanta, King’s birthplace and the cradle of civil rights. Read more
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Invesco is home at last
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Invesco can now openly call Atlanta home.
As of last summer, Invesco became a U.S. company rather than one owned by investors from the United Kingdom. Once more than 50 percent of its ownership came from the United States, Invesco was able to bring its primary listing here.
But in reality, Invesco has been here all along.
The company’s roots date back to 1978 when the money management firm split off from Citizens & Southern National Bank. The one constant was Charles Brady, who ran the operation for the bank and then was CEO of the new company.
At today’s annual meeting at the Walter Hill Auditorium, Brady was sitting on one of the back rows listening to Martin Flanagan, Invesco’s current CEO, message to shareholders.
“We’ve finally goten to where we should have been all along,” Brady said after the meeting. “This was not the first time that we tried to move the headquarters.”
Back in the mid 1980s, Brady and his partners sold off the company to U.K. investors. But Brady remained as head of the U.S. business, and he continued to make Atlanta his base.
“We’ve always been here,” said Brady, who is Invesco’s chairman emeritus. “The Brits just didn’t know it.”
Now, Invesco will be moving its headquarters a few blocks north to John Dewberry’s development at Peachtree Pointe. Of its 5,600 global employees, nearly 320 are based in Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Brady, who is spending most of his time in Atlanta rather than traveling, is pleased with how Flanagan is running the company. Despite the tough market conditions, Invesco is outperforming its competitors.
“He’s doing great,” Brady said of Flanagan. “I spent a long time looking for somebody.”
The current non-executive chairman of Invesco is Rex Adams, dean of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
As he was walking up the aisle after the meeting, Adams said to Brady: “We finally made it home.”
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DOT commissioner outlines reform goals
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia needs more transportation funding, and it needs to look beyond roads and bridges to improve mobility in the Atlanta region.
That’s what Gena Abraham, who recently became commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, told people attending today’s luncheon sponsored by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
Abraham reviewed what her tasks have been in the last several months, from getting a handle on all of GDOT’s projects to figuring out which ones are top priority to working with other transportation agencies in an effort to attack the the traffic problems in our region and state.
She told luncheon folks that it was “unrealistic” for people to believe “we can build ourselves out of this with roads and bridges.”
For example, Abraham said she was especially excited about pushing commuter rail beginning with a line between Lovejoy and Atlanta. The big question is figuring out how to pay for the commuter rail’s longterm operating and maintenance costs.
Then she added that in a visit to several cities around the country looking at other commuter rail systems, Abraham observed that “rail is typically subsidized in some form or fashion” by as much as 70 percent.
After the meeting, Abraham said that she is making an effort to include MARTA at every discussion on regional transportation with the other agencies - the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the State Road and Tollway Authority.
“MARTA will be the backbone of our transit system,” Abraham said, adding that she is most impressed with MARTA’s new general manager. “Dr. Beverly Scott is awesome.”
Abraham also said a challenge will be to find innovative and alternative ways to finance transportation projects. The department has been studying public-private partnerships on new toll roads and the possibility of converting High Occupancy Vehicle lanes to managed lanes, also known as HOT lanes. That’s where people pay extra to be able to drive on freer flowing lanes.
By the way, the sponsor for the lunch was Transurban, an Australian company that invests and/or builds toll roads.
Transurban has just opened an office in Atlanta to cover the Southeast. The Atlanta office is headed by Bill Berry, who said his firm has eight toll road projects across the country.
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Sam Olens speaks bluntly about Atlanta region
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Speaking to the Council for Quality Growth, Cobb Chairman Sam Olens did not mince words about the Atlanta region’s strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities.
Olens, who is also chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission, has become more vocal about his frustrations with the state’s lack of attention to metro Atlanta’s issues.
The Republican leader has become increasingly critical of some of his fellow Republicans at the state capitol, especially on addressing the state’s infrastructure issues of transportation, water, health care and economic development.
Olens first outlined the region’s strengths. A highly educated workforce with excellent colleges and universities. A growing city of Atlanta with more tourist attractions. Strong closer-in suburbs (such as Cobb and Gwinnett) with more entertainment facilities. Good relationships between regional government, business and philanthropic leaders, showing maturity on dealing with issues. Suburbs that “aren’t lily white anymore,” which contributes to the region’s cultural offerings.
Then the weaknesses.
“We are too reliant on the car,” said Olens, adding that there’s not enough transit.
Then Olens outlined other weaknesses. He said he was “sick” over the 19 years of litigation between Georgia, Alabama and Florida over water. The state’s lack of effective economic development incentives to attract corporate headquarters and high-paying jobs. A state that “insufficiently supports infrastructure,” especially in the region.
The threats? “We’re losing high-paying jobs,” Olens said. “I believe we’ve had too much growth too fast,” he said. And the state seems “disinterested” in helping the region.
“The fact of the matter that the anti-Atlanta attitude did not change from Democrats to Republicans hurts,” Olens said. He then reminded luncheon guests that the region contributes to the state’s 4 percent sales tax and 6 percent income tax, but the state “still hasn’t gotten into high gear” to help the Atlanta region deal with its traffic problems.
“The missing party is the state, not the region or local governments. We are doing more than our fair share,” he said. “The state is resting on past accomplishments.” Then he went on to say that the complacency at the state level is “mind boggling.”
As to opportunities, Olens spoke of the region’s growing commitment to be environmentally sustainable. The region’s desire to invest in green space and parks. A new direction at the Georgia Department of Transportation. More tourist attractions. The opportunity for to let voters support regional initiatives. The possibility of reasonable tax reform. Then he questioned why we don’t provide incentives for school systems and counties to consolidate.
In the question-answer period, Olens was asked if would be interested in running for governor.
Olens’ response: “Next question?”
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Atlanta leaders try to link into Denver’s success
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The recent trip to Denver by metro Atlanta leaders exposed several weaknesses that we face as a region.
On the 12th annual LINK (Leadership, Innovation, Networking, Knowledge) trip, about 110 Atlantans took an in depth look at how Denver has been able to progress in the past decade while metro Atlanta has lagged behind.
A number of the people on the trip reflected on our weaknesses upon their return. Incidentally, the metro Atlanta’s first LINK trip was to Denver in 1997, so this trip gave regional leaders an opportunity to contrast the two cities at two points in time.
What they found in Denver was a region undergoing an aggressive effort to build out a transit system in all directions; a region that has found ways to work together to support the arts, culture, sports facilities and transportation; a metro area with strong and dynamic leaders; and a place that had been confronting some of its toughest problems, such as indigent health care and water shortages, head on.
In every one of those cases, metro Atlanta leaders saw ways that we could improve our environment to become more like Denver.
In fact, the group was so motivated by the end of the trip that they had a lively closing session seeking ways to spark change in Georgia - particularly when it comes to transportation funding.
Sam Olens, chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission (which organizes the LINK trips), was most impressed with Denver’s ability to place local initiatives on the ballot without having to get permission from the state of Colorado.
By comparison, metro Atlanta leaders, working with a host of statewide organizations, tried to get the state legislative approval so regions could go to voters to consider a one-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.
The legislation did not pass. To put it in blunt terms, the state of Georgia wouldn’t even give the Atlanta region the right to ask its voters to pass a sales tax increase to pay for its own improvements.
Like Georgia, the governor of Colorado opposed the passage of a transit sales tax for the Denver region. But unlike Georgia, the Colorado governor could not veto a grassroots initiative with broad-based popular support.
“We have gone from fourth to second in having the worst traffic congestion in the country,” Olens said. “Clearly other communities such as Denver have come together with regional initiatives for self-funding.”
The Denver region also has the ability to go before voters with proposals for a fraction of a sales tax. For example, there’s a one-penny tax on every $10 to support the arts and cultural organizations. And there’s another four cents on every $10 to support building out a transit system that is dominated by light rail lines.
In Georgia, voters are asked to support a 1 percent sales tax, whether it be for transportation, education or water/sewer improvements. There does not seem to be a mechanism to split that one percent among several quality of life initiatives. Any change would require approval from the state legislature.
“What we don’t have is the legal ability to move initiatives forward with the consensus of our region,” Olens said. “This whole idea of letting their citizens vote is really the idea of home rule. The public would have to have a buy-in at the ballot box.”
The issue is sensitive because there’s a strong sentiment that the state of Georgia is not doing its share to help the region. County and city governments are having to come up with new funding to pay for improvements that the state should be supporting.
“We are inadequately funding our infrastructure such as transportation, water and education,” said Olens, who is also chairman of the Cobb Commission. “I support property tax reform, but I also support the state handling essential government services.”
Chick Krautler, the ARC’s executive director, put it this way when comparing Colorado to Georgia. “While their state leaders are not engaged (in the Denver region), they also are not a stumbling block,” he said. “They don’t have to get approval from the state to put a referendum before voters.”
The Denver and Atlanta regions also differ in terms of the level of regional cooperation. LINK participants came away from Denver with the feeling that their region has mastered close relationships between the urban governments.
Several gave credit to the mayor of Denver, John Hickenlooper. When he took office, he worked hard to build relationships with mayors from other cities in the metro area, including Aurora. Historically, the mayors of Denver and Aurora would hardly speak to each other.
Today there is a strong Mayors Caucus in Denver that can galvanize the region to affect change. When the LINK delegation members went to Chicago in 2002, the first year that Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin was in office, they saw a similar mayors caucus that was guided by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. When regional leaders returned home, they created the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association.
Because the Atlanta region is dominated more by county governments than cities (only 35 percent of the region’s population lives in cities, according to Krautler), MAMA hasn’t been as influential as its counterparts in Denver and Chicago.
Krautler also said that Mayor Hickenlooper not only believes that a healthy metro area needs a strong city center, but that a healthy city requires healthy suburbs.
“He’s looking for ways to co-sponsor activities with the suburbs,” Krautler said.
Tony Landers, the ARC director who organizes the LINK trips, put it another way.
“They think about how they can affect positive change in a different way than we do,” Landers said. “They are thinking about consultations and collaborations in a broader way than we do.”
LINK delegations have gone to Denver (1997), Seattle (1998), Dallas (1999), Cleveland (2000), San Diego (2001), Chicago (2002), San Francisco (2003), Boston (2004), Portland (2005), Miami (2006), Vancouver (2007) and back to Denver in 2008.
According to Olens, these trips have helped metro leaders operate better as a region.
“I think we probably have a clearer vision of where we want to go as a region,” said Olens, who said there’s more work to do statewide. “I’m still seeing way too much of this anti-Atlanta attitude across the state.”
And until that attitude changes, the Atlanta region will continue to lag behind.
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Comments from the Denver trip
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Comments from attendees Denver LINK trip - 2008
From John O’Callaghan, President and CEO of Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership
This was my second Link trip (last year also). I was struck by the strong consensus among the Atlanta group around the urgent need for regional transportation funding structures. There was unanimous support for moving forward with a regional funding transportation funding structure which included highways and transit. Denver’s housing programs are designed to sync with their transportation plans. There is an understanding that when homes are near work centers and transit opportunities, the need for additional road capacity is reduced.
Denver and Atlanta continue to borrow best practices from one another. Their airport eerily resembles Hartsfield-Jackson. Coors Field and Turner Field are stadium cousins. I (and most others on the trip) am convinced that Shirley Franklin and John Hickenlooper (in that order!) are America’s top two big-city Mayors.
Mayor Hickenlooper developed the first 10-year plan to end homelessness and outlined multiple successes in their housing first plan which recognized that dollars for jails, emergency health care and the criminal justice system can be saved if housing and critical supportive services are made available to the homeless.
While the City of Atlanta’s recently developed affordable and workforce housing programs (TAD Affordable Housing Requirements, Beltline’s 15% set aside for affordable and workforce housing, Housing Opportunity Fund) match Denver’s, its clear that our suburbs trail Denver’s in developing incentives to ensure that working families across income spectrums can live near local job centers and services.
Atlanta can learn from Denver’s clear best practices in regionalism. Transportation and Arts funding along with Economic Development Activities are coordinated at the regional level. Denver can learn from Atlanta’s rich diversity, and how that diversity is represented in our civic and business leadership.
From Craig Lesser, managing director of McKenna Long & Aldridge
This was an outstanding trip. Great program and of course great participants. While not perfect by any means, the coordinated effort of the local jurisdictions was particularly noticeable, especially as related to transportation and BRAC
From Tim Lowe CEO of Lowe Engineers
What Denver demonstrated was that an engaged business community could provide the leadership needed to make good things happen. Denver is a fairly young city, reminiscent of Atlanta 25 years ago. They do not have major Fortune 500 headquarters, but have many regional headquarters. It is obvious that these ‘regional CEO’s” have a civic pride and have their hometown as the focus.
From Randy Hayes President of Hayes Development Corp.
The Denver trip was one of the better ones. It was better in the sense that the speakers were very good. Especially the doctor who is in charge of Denver’s Public Hospital. She was exceptional. She seemed honest and open about the status of her hospital, and I believe she said it operated in the black.
From H. Jerome Russell President of H.J. Russell & Co.’s New Urban Development
It was the most relevant LINK trip I have attended. Denver had many issues that were similar to the Atlanta region and it left one with a much clearer perspective on how to solve the problem.
From Al Nash Chairman of the Regional Business Coaliton; executive with the Columns Group
This was one of the best Link’s trips ever. I felt like the Atlanta participants really came together, especially at the end. One thing that became evident to me during the trip is that we in Atlanta need to work on trust, as so many times we do not trust the people and the project, which leads to failure. If we are going to succeed as a great city and region, we must work on trust.
From Raymond King SunTrust’s senior vice president of community and government affairs
They have good regional cooperation with strong support from state and Federal government in many of their infrastructure and quality of life initiatives. Its been a stark reminder of the unfortunate results of our recent General Assembly session. We are falling behind rapidly in transportation efforts.
Once again, we came away from the LINK trip with some great examples of the power of working together regionally. As we have so many times before, we saw how a competing region is taking advantage of regional cooperation to solve difficult problems such as the transportation challenge we face here in metro Atlanta. I would hope that all the participants take that to heart and collectively garner the political will to lead regional cooperation here. Our future success depends upon it.
From Demming Bass Vice President if Marketing and Public Policy of Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
1 - We are very fortunate to have such strong leadership throughout the metro Atlanta region and within ARC. Our goal needs to be to focus that leadership and bring them towards a shared vision. To achieve that, three things have to happen…
First, as the Denver Chamber President pointed out, every community needs to be able to answer this question, “Will my community be willing to give up something/a portion of revenue for the greater good of the region?” The catch is, this must be a two-way street - what would the suburban counties be willing to give up for the greater good of the city of Atlanta and Fulton County? What would the City of Atlanta and Fulton County be willing to give up for the greater good of the suburban counties surrounding it? We must find ways to promote regionalism to every participant and ensure complete buy-in and understanding. With the exception of the regional transportation funding plan and our efforts within Get Georgia Moving as well as the recently formed Innovation Crescent Regional Partnership, I don’t think we are there yet, but we are moving in the right direction and under Chairman Sam Olens’ leadership, it appears the region is working more closely than ever before. There were a couple of examples of this in recent months…during Gwinnett’s efforts to support Get Georgia Moving and the transportation funding bill that failed in the Senate by three votes, Gwinnett’s leadership was even prepared to take the risk of having the T-Splost ballot vote on the same ballot as our local SPLOST this November. Many believed this would jeopardize our local funds, but we knew traffic congestion was such a crisis, not just for us, but for the entire Atlanta region, we were willing to take that chance for the greater good of our peer counties. Get Georgia Moving is an example of our working together by bringing together so many organizations with different agendas but we all agreed to work together with each other and making sure that everyone got something while no one got everything. We need more of that attitude and leadership.
Second, we need to remember the old saying from President Truman, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” This is hard to do for leaders and elected officials, simply because, often times, it’s not in their nature. But I have seen it personally from my days with the Greater Raleigh Chamber in the Research Triangle of North Carolina, where my former boss stressed this thinking daily and sets the standard in promoting regional cooperation. It seems this was also the attitude in Denver.
Third, we need true leadership from the top down. As we heard from the mayor and the superintendent and the community leaders that helped turn visions into reality, many participants commented about what an impact a strong leader makes. Imagine leadership at the highest levels of state government that actually took our transportation crisis seriously…leadership that laid out a clear plan for cutting our commute times, passing meaningful legislation for all Georgians, actually funding that plan and selling that plan to their constituents. But as we saw, bad politics trumped good policy this past session. Thank goodness we have leaders like Rep Vance Smith, Sen. Jeff Mullis, Rep. Donna Sheldon and others that take this issue seriously, which should give us hope.
From Andrew Feiler President of Metro Developers
To me there were two especially significant findings. First, they have a multicounty regional transit board made up of 15 members elected from districts of equal population. This could transform the transportation debate in our region. It gets beyond the county structure, and, since folks would have to campaign for these positions, it would be a massive effort in citizen education and engagement on the issues.
Second, all employees of the City and the health system are on Denver Health’s health plan. This creates a virtuous circle of putting more people into the system who would be demanding of quality care which should in turn drive care quality. Also, Denver Health has been very proactive in creating new service streams which are positive cash flow.
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Atlantans come home with ideas from Denver
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Upon their return from three days understanding how Denver works, metro Atlanta leaders were motivated to change how we do business here.
For starters, the group of about 110 leaders on the annual LINK trip want to make sure the region is permitted to go to voters to ask for a one-cent sales tax increase. At the very least, they want to be sure that the 2009 General Assembly will not stand in the region’s way as they did this past session.
The Denver trip showed the contrast. Although the state of Colorado is not that supportive of the Denver metro area, it does not stand in the way of the region passing local initiatives to pay for improving the city’s quality of life - be it the development of transit or support for the arts and cultural institutions.
In each case, the metro counties in Denver have joined together to pass a sales tax (for transportation, it’s 4 cents on $10 and for the arts, it’s 1 cent on $10). Georgia has never permitted local governments to pass fractions of a sales tax.
Denver also showed metro Atlanta leaders how well regional cooperation can work - especially when the city and the suburbs realize how important they are to each other.
Do you have any thoughts on what the Atlanta region can do to get the state of Georgia to let the metro area have greater control of its own destiny?
More on the LINK trip:
• Read comments from some of those who were on the trip.
• See who went on the trip [PDF]
• The Atlanta Regional Commission also covered the trip.
• Read my whole column reflecting on the LINK trip.
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After 26 years, John Clendenin retires from Equifax’s board; fellow director Jackie Ward reflects on life, career
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
John Clendenin, BellSouth’s retired CEO, has served on Equifax’s board longer than he has on any other board. But, as of today’s annual meeting, Clendenin is stepping down after 26 years on the board of the information services company.
Clendenin, 73, already had agreed to stay on beyond the normal retirement age of 70, and his term was scheduled to retire two years from now.
But Clendenin felt it was time to leave.
“I’m way over the retirement age,” he said after the meeting before running to catch a plane.
When thanking him for his service to Equifax, CEO Rick Smith said Clendenin had mentored his fellow board members and “tolerated five different CEOs and chairmen.”
In three weeks, Clendenin said he will step down from Kroger’s board, where he’s been since 1986. According to the Equifax proxy, he continues to serve on the boards of Home Depot, Acuity Brands and Powerwave Technologies.
Before leaving, Clendenin said he was leaving the company in good hands.
“I think Rick is doing a terrific job,” Clendenin said. “And the company has a top-notched talent pool.”
The company currently is reviewing possible candidates to fill Clendenin’s spot on the board. Incidentally, the company has not had a black director since Louis Sullivan, former president of the Morehouse School of Medicine, stepped down several years ago.
Meanwhile, legendary woman executive Jackie Ward, who has been on Equifax’s board since 1999, told friends that she now has a great-granddaughter as of four weeks ago.
“She’s a real doll, but she’s mean as a snake,” Ward laughed. Asked how it felt to be a great-grandmother, Ward said: “There aren’t any differences except you have a new little life out there.”
Ward, retired CEO of Computer Generation, still spends most of her time traveling on business. She serves on the boards of Bank of America, Flowers Foods Inc., Sanmina-SCI Corp., SYSCO Corp. and WellPoint Inc.
When people ask her if she’s ever going to retire, Ward, 69, will answer: “I don’t know how.”
There’s some other news in her life. Her husband, Lee Davis, 41, became a professional race car driver six months ago. He is part of the KONI circuit and is with the Kinetic team.
Asked if she attends his races, Ward said: “I’ve been to one.”
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Equifax weathering economic storm….so far
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Equifax CEO Rick Smith first painted a bleak economic picture for his shareholders at today’s annual meeting.
And then he delivered a rather rosy outlook for Equifax in 2008, estimating revenue growth to be between 9 percent and 12 percent.
“These are unprecedented times,” Smith said before commending Equifax employees for “a great performance” during a difficult year.
Despite Equifax’s relatively strong financial results, two non-binding shareholder propsals opposed by the company passed with solid majorities.
The first, presented by the American Federation of State, County and Muncipal Empoyees Pension Plan, called for all of Equifax’s directors to be elected on an annual basis. Currently Equifax’s directors serve on staggered three-year terms.
That proposal passed by 66.5 percent of shares cast.
The second shareholder proposal, presented by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Pension Fund, called for directors to be elected by a majority of votes cast. Currently, Equifax’s directors can be elected by a plurality of votes.
That proposal passed by 61.7 percent of shares cast.
Smith told shareholders that the “board of directors will, in due course, consider whether those two proposals are in the best interest” of the company and its shareholders.
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What would you do?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mike McQuary, 47, who used to be president and COO of MindSpring and Earthlink, left the internet services provider in 2002.
Although it was a decision that was made for him, it gave McQuary an opportunity to explore many new ventures - from electric cars to a starting his own record label.
“I made enough money to do anything, but not enough money to do nothing,” McQuary said. “It’s allowed me the luxury to work on things that didn’t have an immediate payout…”
If you had enough money to do anything, but not enough money to do nothing, what would you do?
To read my full business column, see below.
f you ask Mike McQuary how many ventures he’s been involved in since he left Earthlink in 2002, be sure you have enough time on your hands.
McQuary’s ventures have ranged from an Internet-friendly record label, a merchant bank/private equity firm that invests in emerging companies, an Internet billboard company, real estate, a restaurant, a California television station, and most recently, an electric car company.
It’s been an eventful career for someone who spent about 10 years working for Mobil Chemical before becoming president and COO of MindSpring to help his friend Charles Brewer manage the then-fledgling Internet services company.
Actually, McQuary helped Brewer write MindSpring’s original business plan. But he kept his corporate job until Brewer said he needed help. As Brewer told McQuary: “You report to me, and everybody else in the company reports to you.”
The executive team of Brewer-McQuary, the idealist and the pragmatist respectively, “built a company from zero to being a billion-dollar company.”
Then Earthlink acquired MindSpring in 2000, and Brewer left the company soon after. McQuary stayed on, feeling obligated to help the company through the merger.
But by 2002, it became clear there was not enough room at the top for McQuary as president/COO and Garry Betty, Earthlink’s CEO, who has since passed away. (By the way, the now struggling Earthlink is holding its annual meeting this afternoon).
“I wasn’t ready to leave when I left. I was pushed out,” McQuary candidly said. “In retrospect, it’s been wonderful. It’s one of the best decisions that got made for me.”
At first the change was a shock. “It was an odd experience to go from having 1,000 e-mails to return to having two, or having 40 voicemails to two,” McQuary said. But the timing worked.
On a personal level, McQuary and his wife had just had triplets in addition to their three-year-old daughter. “The fertility drugs they tell you about? They work,” McQuary said.
And on a professional level, the separation with Earthlink left him free to explore new business ventures.
“I made enough money to do anything, but not enough money to do nothing,” said McQuary, 47. “It’s allowed me the luxury to work on things that didn’t have an immediate payout, but that I believe have a long-term payout.”
It also gave him an opportunity to invest in ventures that he believes in.
His partners in most of these ventures are Bert Ellis, a long-time media and technology entrepreneur who started iXL, and Bahns Stanley, formerly of the Weather Channel.
In talking about the new electric car company, RTEV, McQuary began talking about “three macro-societal issues.”
The price of oil is skyrocketing, which is changing the way people think about transportation. Climate change and global warming are giving rise to new environmental concerns. And there’s “a huge awareness that our foreign policy has largely been dictated by our dependence on foreign oil,” McQuary said.
McQuary then begins talking about the lack of a U.S. energy policy as well as his lack of fear in taking on the major automobile manufacturers.
“In the days of MindSpring, our competitors were IBM, AT&T and all the baby Bells” he said.
His record label, Brash Music, has a similar theme. Discover the societal trends, and figure out how best to respond.
“The Internet was severely undermining the music industry’s business model,” he said. “I became convinced that we could create a record label that would embrace technology, keep its overhead low and make deals with artists that would have them participate in career decisions and share financially in the reward of their success.”
The label has worked with all different kinds of music, from alternative rock with the now defunct band, Jump Little Children, to Christian rock.
All his new ventures have made it easy for McQuary, who refers to himself as McQ because there are so many Mikes in the world, to distance himself from MindSpring/Earthlink.
“I don’t recognize it as mine anymore,” McQuary said. “It’s not the company that Charles and I built.”
Squawk Box coming to town
The Squawk Box will be squawking in Atlanta on the morning of May 16. CNBC will broadcast live from the Georgia Aquarium and the new World of Coca-Cola from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. that Friday morning, interviewing some of Georgia’s top executives.
Those that have already signed on include: Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson; Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart; Aflac CEO Dan Amos; Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus; SunTrust CEO James Wells; developer John Dewberry; Chick-fil-A President Dan T. Cathy; Southern Co. CEO David Ratcliffe and Invesco CEO Martin Flanagan.
The show’s co-anchors - Joe Kernen, Becky Quick and Carl Quintanilla - will all be on site to interview local executives. It is part of CNBC’s “Squawk Across America,” which is being sponsored by American Century Investments. The show visited Miami in February, Washington, D.C. in March and will end with Boston in June.
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Lt. Gov. Cagle finds hope for ethanol during trip to Brazil
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle called me up this afternoon from Brazil where he has been since Saturday leading a trade delegation from Georgia.
His key focus has been on Brazil’s ethanol industry and seeing if Georgia could benefit from the experience in the South American country.
“What you see here in Brazil is a market price at the retail level for ethanol that is significantly lower than what you see for gasoline,” Cagle said from Sao Paulo. “It’s almost half the price.”
Cagle said that several companies in Georgia, such as Range Fuels in Soperton, as well as state universities could collaborate with entities in Brazil to help develop the ethanol and bio-fuels industry here.
“We have met many industry leaders in the production and distribution of ethanol that have a very strong desire to export ethanol into Georgia,” said Cagle, who is flying back tonight. “There’s currently not a sustainable supply or market for the use of ethanol in the way that Brazil has. I can clearly envision a market that can be created for Georgia.”
Another plus, Cagle said, is that ethanol is a cleaner burning fuel. And given the escalating price of petroleum, ethanol and bio-fuels could be a real saving for consumers.
The Georgia delegation to Brazil is part of its growing ties with Georgia. In February, Brazil announced that it was opening a consulate in Atlanta to serve the Southeastern states. For more info on the trip go to Cagle’s blog.
Cagle, who said he was on his first visit to Brazil, called the trip “fascinating.”
“Sao Paulo has 20 million people,” Cagle said. “If we think we have density or traffic problems in Georgia, it doesn’t compare to Sao Paulo. They are very challenged.”
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Mirant energized by growing demand for energy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mirant CEO Edward Muller told shareholders at this annual meeting this morning that the tightening supply of energy bodes well for Mirant.
Looking ahead, Muller explained how long and difficult it was going to be to build more energy supply.
Mirant does not believe that renewable energies will be able to be the backbone of the system, certainly in the short-term. Coal is out of favor and new plants take six years to permit and build. New nuclear plants can take at least eight years to build. And natural gas will produce “very expensive” electricity.
So Muller said companies with existing generators of energy “will continue to benefit from tightening supply…”
A shareholder questioned Muller about whether Mirant was choosing to neglect its obligation to the country by not investing in new energy supply at this time.
Mulller said the company needed to focus on shareholder value. And while the company would like to be adding capacity, he said that in the current marketplace, it’s a “problem.” He then said: “This is not a good situation.”
After the meeting, Muller spent a little time talking to me about Mirant, which emerged from bankruptcy in January, 2006.
“Because the supply is not keeping up with demand, the price of our product in the market place is going to rise,” he said.
When I asked him about the company’s societal and environmental responsibility in light of climate change, he added: “We are looking at different technologies, always exploring ways we can contribute. There’s a lot of talk, but we are nowhere near, anywhere in the globe, at a point of being able to address these problems.”
With the exception of retired Georgia-Pacific CEO Pete Correll, all of Mirant’s outside directors have come on board since the company emerged from bankruptcy. (Correll joined Mirant’s board in 2000, and he currently serves as its lead director. Muller joined the board in 2005).
Asked how the board was steering the company beyond bankruptcy, Muller said the directors are thoughtful and pose him the hard questions on where the industry is going.
Still, the nine-member board is an all-white-male board. And its executive team is also all white males, a stark difference from its pre-bankruptcy days when several of the top executives were women, including CEO Marce Fuller.
“I think the board is the right size,” Muller said, who mentioned spots could open up as directors retire. “I think it’s an important thing for all boards and companies to have as diverse a board as possible.”
Traditionally, the energy industry has been dominated by men. But Muller said that’s changing, saying: “There are some women who are extremely knowledgeable.”
So do you have any ideas of people who would be good prospects for Mirant’s board?
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Developer Tom Cousins misses his company’s annual meeting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s a first.
Tom Cousins, founder of Cousins Properties, missed his first-ever annual meeting of the company - which is celebrating its 50th year in business.
Cousins has been in Florida helping his wife, Ann, recuperate from an emergency appendectomy. His wife told him he should come to Atlanta, but he wanted to stay.
“Tom felt like it was better for him to stay in Florida,” Cousins CEO Tom Bell told shareholders
After the meeting, Bell admitted that it just didn’t feel right without his predecessor in the room, particularly for the 50th year anniversary.
Cousins Properties’ annual report took full advantage of the 50th. It was printed in the visual style of Life magazine, full of photos with the history of the company. All the printed materials at the annual meeting carried the same theme — showing a decades-old photo of Tom Cousins with a model of the Citgo building in Buckhead. That building is now called Two Live Oak Center.
By the way, Cousins Properties does have a woman on its board - Lillian Giornelli, who is Tom Cousins’ daughter. But it doesn’t have an African-American.
And Bell didn’t seem to be in a hurry to add to the board.
“I think we’ve got a great board, and they do a great job for shareholders,” Bell said, adding if any directors retire, new directors could come on board. But for now, he said: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This one works.”
Among the directors on the Cousins board: Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina; James Edwards, a former managing partner of Arthur Andersen until 2002; Taylor Glover, president and CEO of Turner Enterprises; James Hance, former vice chairman of the Bank of America Corp.; William Harrison, chairman of JPMorgan Chase; Boone Knox, managing partner of Knox Ltd.; and Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National who has been with Gleacher Partners since 2000. Payne also headed up Atlanta’s Olympic efforts.
Are there any African-Americans you feel would be good directors for the Cousins’ board?
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Charlie Loudermilk wants to diversify his board…again
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After Aaron Rents annual meeting this morning, I asked founder Charlie Loudermilk why he didn’t have any women on his board.
Back in 1995, Loudermilk had put Coca-Cola’s Ingrid Saunders Jones on his board, but she stepped down several years later.
Since then, it’s been an all-male board. But it’s not an all white board. Ray Robinson, a former president of AT&T Georgia, is an African-American.
“We should have a woman on our board,” Loudermilk acknowledged. “The lady must know a lot about accounting and banking. There are a lot of capable women now. Ten years ago, there weren’t as many.”
Loudermilk does take pride in his board, which includes architect/developer John Portman; retired Delta Air Lines CEO Ron Allen; Atlanta Braves President John Schuerholz; business consultant Leo Benatar; retired Mohawk Industries executive David Kolb as well as four inside directors.
Other than Loudermilk, the longest serving director is Earl Dolive, a retired vice chairman of Genuine Parts, who has been on Aaron’s board since 1977. According to the company’s proxy, Dolive is 89.
Asked whether the board has retirement age, Loudermilk laughed: “No. Otherwise I’d be off the board.” Loudermilk, 80, founded Aaron Rents in 1962.
Do you have any suggestions on who would be a good woman director for Aaron Rents?
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Mayor Shirley Franklin makes her case to Atlanta Rotary
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Before she started her luncheon talk today, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin received a standing ovation from most members of the Rotary Club of Atlanta.
But more importantly, the mayor also received a standing ovation at the end of her talk And several of the people who didn’t stand up the first time, rose to their feet.
Franklin went to great lengths explaining the city’s current budget crisis and her plans to have a balanced budget in 2009. The original estimate was that the city would have a $140 million deficit due to a host of factors including a change in the city’s accounting process, a change in its fiscal year, a decrease in building permits, rising health costs, flat sales taxes and increased operating expenses.
When looking to a possible budget cuts or the raising of taxes or fees, Franklin said she took public safety off the table. Public safety accounts for 55 percent of the city’s general fund budget.
Currently the city has 1,800 police officers with 45 vacancies. When she came into office in 2002, there were 1,442 officers. Still, she acknowledged the city is short of the 2,000 officers that she would like the city to have.
After other budget cuts and increased fees, Franklin said there still was a $40 million shortfall. She is proposing to cover that shortfall with increased property taxes.
Many of the Rotarians live in Buckhead, one of the wealthiest areas of the city that would have to shoulder much of that property tax increase.
When the mayor was pointedly asked about property taxes in Buckhead, she reminded Rotarians that the city’s share of their property tax bill is 23 cents. The balance goes to the Atlanta Public Schools and Fulton County. She also told them that when she came into office, the city’s share was 27 cents on the dollar.
Mayor Franklin then took a strong stand on how the state should share its revenues with cities and towns across Georgia, a common practice in most other states.
In fact, with the exception of West Virginia (which ranks 50th), Franklin said Georgia (49th) provides the least amount of revenue sharing with its cities than any other state. By comparison, about 25 percent of Boston’s budget comes from the state of Massachusetts.
“We don ‘t have that option,” she said, adding she hopes that will change. “This state in the next 10 years is going to have to look at revenue sharing. Sooner or later, we are going to have to look at the formula.”
Franklin also spoke of the investments her administration has made in the city, including water and sewer improvements as well as the development of the fifth runway.
“Atlanta can’t be great unless we invest,” she said. “We are determined to leave this city on firm financial footing. Otherwise the city will begin to unravel.”
As she was leaving Rotary, someone asked the mayor about her plans after her second term is up.
With a twinkle in her eye, she said she would like to run for Atlanta’s City Council, but not as president of the council. “If I run, I want a vote,” she said. “I’m just kidding.”
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What do we need to do to protect ourselves from high gas prices?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
High fuel prices have sent shock wave through our economy.
Despite warnings for decades that we were too dependent on foreign oil and on our cars to get around, Georgia leaders have done little to prepare us for this current situation.
And it’s not just state leaders. The federal government has not encouraged the development of rail transit and intercity passenger rail as a way to give people choices on how the move around.
In the past couple of weeks, it’s been politically popular to support a suspension in the federal gas tax. And after Hurricane Katrina, Georgia did the same temporarily.
But suspending the gas tax does nothing to solve the deep underlying problem facing our state and our country. It is time we invest in our transportation infrastructure so that we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil, so we can slow down the growth of congestion and so we can have energy-efficient choices on how we get around.
A recent survey among residents in our 11-county region shows that we are ready to invest in our future.
To read more, please see “Gas tax holiday not a way to protect our future.”
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LINK delegation members in Denver pass resolution for new transportation funding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Taking a more activist role than usual, the metro Atlanta LINK delegation in Denver unanimously passed an informal resolution at its closing session Friday afternoon to try to get the region moving on new transportation funding.
Sam Olens, chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Cobb County Commission, sent me an email shortly after the attendees voted to pass the resolution “to undertake a bold effort to support passage of the transportation funding legislation that failed by three votes in the last session.”
Olens said the LINK delegation, which included about 110 metro Atlanta leaders, will ask the Get Georgia Moving coalition of about 50 organizations to launch an online petition of support.
It also will ask the coalition to prepare a questionnaire for qualified candidates for the General Assembly so people can know how they stand on future transportation funding.
The LINK delegation also appointed a small task force to study additional measures to build support statewide for the transportation initiative.
Olens said the members of that task force have yet to be selected, but that there is “no shortage of volunteers.”
This is the 12th year that leaders from metro Atlanta have been visiting other cities through LINK (Leadership, Involvement, Networking, Knowledge). The first city the LINK group visited was Denver, and that was in 1997.
In talking to people attending this year’s LINK trip, the group was impressed with the amount of progress Denver has made in the past 12 years to build its transit system. By comparison, people said metro Atlanta has done little to stay competitive.
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Denver’s regional transit plan leaves Atlanta years behind
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MARTA General Manager Beverly Scott is green with envy.
The Denver region is building 120 miles of light rail and commuter rail that should be complete by 2015. Already, Denver operates about 1,000 buses at peak times, compared to MARTA’s meager 550 buses (although our region is nearly double Denver’s metro population).
And Denver also is planning to increase its bus service by 25 percent.
“We are being dwarfed by comparison,” Scott said when she called me from Denver this afternoon. Robert Brown, an architect who serves on the board of the Georgia Department of Transportation, said much the same thing. Both were part of the LINK delegation of about 110 Atlanta leaders who have been in Denver for the past three days.
“They’ve been making progress,” said Brown, who actually has been on every LINK trip including the first one in 1997 that also visited Denver. “Atlanta has continued to plan and study. It’s pretty obvious they have moved ahead of us in providing choices for transportation. That’s obvious when you ride their system.”
Two factors have led to Denver’s progress. Strong regional consensus and a dedicated source of funding.
“They have certainly embraced regional collaboration,” Brown said. “It’s still a work-in-progress for us.”
Denver has learned the hard way. Back in 1997, a proposal to fund a plan was presented to voters, and the measure failed in a 58 percent to 42 percent vote.
But in 2004, after an extensive campaign to reach voters, voters approved a sales tax increase of 4 cents on every $10 to fund an ambitious transportation plan with most of the money going towards rail transit. The measure passed: 58 percent to 42 percent.
One reason it was passed by voters throughout the region is that transit is planned in every direction.
“They were able to develop a plan that had something for everyone,” Brown said. “And even the areas not in the plan understood that it would benefit the region and their community in the long run.”
Scott said that key was developing a plan that offered service that was appropriate to the contributions from each of the counties.
“People from Atlanta are realizing that in the last 12 years, Denver has come from behind and passed us,” said Bill Bolling, executive director of the Atlanta Community Food Bank who also has been on all 12 LINK trips. “Denver is a totally different place than it was 12 years ago. They have really worked out the mechanics to be a regional entity.”
Scott, who was on her first LINK trip, put it another way. “We candidly have about 10 to 15 years ahead of us to catch up with Denver,” she said. “It’s clear that they think and act regionally. They have pulled together and understand that they sink or swim together.”
One speaker, Tom Norton, who is a former director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, shared some advice with the Atlanta delegation, Scott said.
“No plan is perfect,” he told the group. “If you sit around waiting for perfection, the world will pass you by.”
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Improving public education a challenge in Denver and metro Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Been there, done that.
Kay Pippin, president of the Henry County Chamber of Commerce and longtime advocate for public education, listened intently to Michael Bennett, superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, as he spoke to about 110 metro Atlanta leaders on the annual LINK trip.
“It was surprising that every idea that everybody in the group got excited about has already been tried in Georgia,” Pippin said in a phone call today.
Bennett, however, made a real impression on Pippin. “The superintendent was fabulous,” she said. “The difference I see here is the clear articulation from leaders on every front. It all comes back to leadership.”
For example, Pippin said that Bennett will meet will all of the school system’s 4,000 employees at least once a year.
“He starts every morning visiting a school, and he carries with him his chief academic officer,” Pippin said, adding that she agreed when Bennett said, “One of the things I’ve discovered in education is that nobody makes a plan and leaves it in place long enough for it to work.”
The LINK trip has hit home how important public education is to a metro area, Pippin said.
“It’s taken us a long time for us to see that public education is as important a part of our infrastructure as roads, water and sewer,” she said. “We haven’t reached a point where everybody in the power structure understands that if we don’t make our public education system succeed, the state of Georgia will have the same problem as Clayton County is having right now.”
Another point that has hit home for Pippin is how metro Denver has worked closely with its congressional delegation to provide a united front on its regional plans.
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Atlantans discover how metro Denver supports the arts and culture
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since 1988, the metro counties in Denver have joined together to support the arts and culture throughout the region, including the major facilities in the heart of the city.
The level of regional cooperation in Denver for the arts and other issues intrigued Joe Bankoff, president of the Woodruff Arts Center. Bankoff called me this morning to share his thoughts on what he has been hearing on this year’s LINK trip to Denver.
About 110 metro Atlanta leaders are in Denver for three days to study how it approaches many of the same issues that we face in our own region.
Bankoff said that voter throughout Denver have overwhelmingly approved a 10th of a penny sales tax to support all levels of cultural facilities, including the Denver zoo, the major museums as well as host of smaller arts groups in the suburban parts of the region. Currently, that fraction of a tax generates about $40 million a year in funding for all these organizations.
“The region supports an ecosystem for the arts,” Bankoff said, adding that suburban voters support the tax even if they don’t visit to major facilities located in the city of Denver because they recognize the value those attractions bring to the region.
The Atlanta delegation has been taking note.
“The refreshing thing to me that I”m hearing from my colleagues on this trip is: “Couldn’t we do something like this in the Atlanta region,’” Bankoff said.
Denver actually has several regional initiatives where the counties have come together to support funding for the arts, transit and sports facilities, among other efforts.
“There’s a perception of regionalism here that is clearly a reason why some of these initiatives have been able to get done,” Bankoff said. “The difference between Denver and Atlanta is that we talk about regionalism. We need to get the leadership to work together in Atlanta in the same way that it has come together here.”
In hearing presentations from Denver’s leaders on health care, water, education and the arts, Bankoff said he’s been amazed at the quality level of leadership in the urban center of Colorado.
“We have really good leadership in pockets around our region,” Bankoff said of metro Atlanta. “We just need to work together more closely.”
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Atlantans and Grady Hospital can learn from Denver’s experience
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ten years ago, Denver’s city-owned hospital was $39 million in debt. The city had not increased its support to the public hospital in years. A drastic change was needed.
So Patricia Gabow, who was running the hospital for the city, convinced the then-mayor of Denver that it needed to be turned over to a not-for-profit authority.
Gabow recalled those days when she talked to Atlanta’s LINK delegation that hopes to gain insight from Denver’s experiences as it tries to cope with many of the same issues.
“The Denver Health Center is the equivalent of our Grady Hospital,” said Chick Krautler, director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, who called to give me a report of the day’s sessions. “It’s the trauma care hospital for most of the state. And it is the hospital for the uninsured.”
But there, the similarity stops. Today, the Denver Health Center operates in the black by offering a host of services that generate money for the hospital.
“They have just become extraordinarily entrepreneurial,” Krautler said. “The amount of money they get from the city has not changed, but the revenue has quadrupled in the last 10 years.”
Krautler said the state also doesn’t provide direct operational funds for the hospital, a point of which Mark Burkhalter, Georgia’s speaker pro tem took special note.
The Denver hospital runs the 911 system; it owns the ambulance and EMS systems; it has created a trauma care center in Vail, where people with means can pay their medical costs; it has four clinics in schools, among other money-making ventures.
As a result, Gabow said Denver’s Health Center has the lowest mortality rate among the nation’s 120 teaching hospitals.
But it did implement one restriction. An uninsured patient who lives outside the city or county of Denver will not be treated unless it’s an emergency.
The metro Atlanta delegation also heard from Peter Binney, director of the Aurora Water Department, to get ideas on how to deal with the drought and water shortages.
According to Krautler, Binney’s bottom line was: “You can’t wait for politicians to make decisions because they won’t get made. The individual stakeholders need to get together to figure out a solution that works for every one.”
Binney also said: “You can’t conserve your way out of a drought.”
Denver faced a severe drought 20 years ago that emptied reservoirs and left the population feeling unprepared. Since then, Denver has been trying to be better prepared by securing enough water so it could withstand a future drought.
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Elizabeth Edwards Speaks of her own Mortality
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, stayed far away from politics today when she spoke to the Women, Power and Peace conference at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Instead, Edwards, who was re-diagnosed with cancer a year ago, talked about how women need to take pleasure in the ordinary moments of every day.
“The only thing we are promised is the moment,” Edwards said, adding that women should always look for “do-overs” in life.
But then she poignantly added: “I may have run out of time for my own do-overs.”
Edwards also urged women attending the 11th annual Possible Woman Leadership Conference to not focus on material success. Instead, the real pleasure in life is reaching out to others.
“I believe we are always stronger and better if we lend our strength to others, but more importantly, if we accept the strength from others,” Edwards said. “But one thing that doesn’t make us stronger is to die with the most toys.”
Before taking questions, Edwards immediately cut off the most obvious one, by saying: “I’m not endorsing a candidate (for president) so you can stop that one.”
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Commerce Club board meets; Decides to study move to the 191 building; Passes resolution honoring Ron Brown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Commerce Club board decided today to take the next step on a possible merger with the 191 Club and a possible move five blocks north.
David Ratcliffe, CEO of the Southern Co. who chairs the Commerce Club board, said there was consensus that the option should be studied in depth.
“Everybody is excited about moving forward with a thorough analysis,” Ratcliffe said. A decision could come in the fall.
The Commerce Club board also passed a resolution in honor of fellow director Ron Brown, CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group, who passed away on Monday.
“With profound sadness, we record the inestimable loss of our dear friend and fellow director, Ronald D. Brown….,” the resolution read that as recognized Brown as “a businessman with unparalleled leadership qualities.”
Brown, 54, became a member of the Commerce Club in 2004 and was elected to the prominent board in August, 2007.
As they were leaving the meeting, auto dealer Juanita Baranco and Bank of America’s Milton Jones said Brown’s sudden death was a reminder to appreciate every day.
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Denver’s Mayor Welcomes Atlanta’s LINK
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At a dinner Wednesday evening, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper told about 110 metro Atlanta leaders that he has worked hard to build regional cooperation.
Sam Olens, who chairs the Atlanta Regional Commssion and the Cobb Commission, call me to recap the evening.
“The mayor is very unassuming, very relaxed and informal,” Ollens said. “He talked about how he wanted to change the mindset among the various cities competing with each other.”
One way was how Mayor Hickenlooper featured communities from throughout Denver’s region at the city of Denver’s airport.
Hickenlooper also spoke glowingly of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who he described as one of the best mayor’s in America, according to Olens.
But Mayor Franklin wasn’t in Denver to hear his compliments. Olens told the Denver mayor that Franklin had a schedule conflict. In fact, Franklin has been in Atlanta working on the city’s budget crisis. This is the first LINK trip Franklin has missed since she’s been mayor.
The Denver mayor was asked what keeps him up at night, and he talked about the city’s hosting of the Democratic National Convention this summer. Not only does Denver want to be a good host, it wants to be sure there are no major security issues or disrupting protests.
Saying it was still early to know what lessons the group was learning, Olens has been most intrigued with how the Denver metro counties have financed arts, culture and transportation initiatives.
Instead of passing a full one penny sales tax for each initiative, the Denver counties will vote a 10th of a penny tax for arts and culture or four-tenths of a penny tax for transit. By splitting up the penny tax, regional counties are more willing to participate; and voters are more willing to vote yes.
Olens said that he believes it would require new state legislation in Georgia to be able to pass a fraction of a penny tax.
The LINK group will hear how Denver was able to survive a major crisis of its public hospital 10 years ago. All those lessons will help Atlantans figure out how to get its own Grady Hospital through its current crisis.
The LINK folks also will hear about how Colorado has dealt with decades of drought, also appropriate lessons for the Atlanta region and Georgia.
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