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August 2008
A note from the editor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is Maria Saporta’s last column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Maria has decided to take a voluntary buy-out, ending a stellar 27-year journalism career at the AJC, 17 years as a business columnist.
The AJC is a much richer newspaper because of Maria’s ability to work her sources to get scoops about the Atlanta business community and tell stories about the leaders who shape this town.
We wish Maria the best as she moves on to new endeavors.
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We must aspire to make Atlanta as great as it can be
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If we were to time travel to 2020, would we find the Atlanta region in disarray?
Would we see a pollution-infested city with crowded highways, void of parks and natural forests? Would the region be a place of haphazard developments with multiple local governments making independent decisions that don’t relate to their neighbors?
Would there be a disconnect among citizens — either by race, wealth, ethnicity or comfort? Would we find a region within a hostile state, a metro area fractured by a division of urban, suburban and exurban communities?
An alternative vision exists.
We could travel to the future and find a vibrant region filled with people on sidewalks, hopping on street cars, enjoying parks, living in town centers connected by transit and greenways. We could find communities where all kinds of people are living, working and playing side by side — with little regard to age, income, race or ethnicity.
It’s all a matter of what we aspire to be.
One of the key builders of Atlanta — architect/developer John Portman — gave a vision shaped by philosophy and history.
“I want Atlanta to come together, not only physically but socially,” Portman said after a talk on Thursday. “I want Atlanta to realize that it’s a unique place on the planet and can be whatever it wants to be. But we have got to have the desire. We have to believe in Atlanta like we did in the 1960s. Then we had an incredible belief in the kind of city we wanted it to become.”
Back in the 1960s, then-Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. had a “Platform for Progress” — to steer the city toward the future. He called for a modern rail transit system, affordable housing, an enlightened view toward integration, the development of an international city, a home for professional sports and an area attractive to new companies and investments.
So what would be today’s Platform for Progress?
“I want Atlanta to be a 24-hour city,” said Portman, who designed much of the city’s skyline. “We have got to develop more people-friendly environments, which includes parks, streetcars and sidewalks.”
Arthur Blank, a philanthropist, co-founder of Home Depot and major owner of the Atlanta Falcons, said “We can’t give up” on projects like the Beltline, the Peachtree streetcar, ample clean water and green space.
“We’ve got to invest in Atlanta,” Blank said. “The quality-of-life issues are major, major problems. We have got to pay the price and get ahead of those problems. The choice we have is that we can become an average city or a great city.”
Blank said the state needs to help address issues in the Atlanta region, which accounts for about half of Georgia’s population and about 75 percent of its economy.
“We can’t have a state where the governor doesn’t focus on the needs of the region,” Blank said. “Atlanta is the heartbeat of this state. We need unique political leaders who have the vision and moral courage to take a long-term view on what would make Atlanta a great city.”
And that vision needs broad acceptance, according to Penny McPhee, president of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.
“People outside of Atlanta have to think we are a great city,” she said. “And the least of us in Atlanta also have to think we are a great city.”
Longtime minority builder Herman Russell would like Atlanta to build upon its reputation as a “versatile city with people of all walks of life; a city where people are welcome and see an opportunity to get ahead.”
Within that vision, Russell said, we need investment in the arts, including a new symphony hall and the proposed Center for Civil and Human Rights.
When we spoke, Russell was in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. He had just visited the Black American West Museum and rode back to his hotel on Denver’s light rail system.
“It was free,” Russell said. “I thought: ‘Gee, we need this in Atlanta.’ ”
We do need streetcars, along the Peachtree spine, the Beltline and on routes connecting our city’s top attractions. We also need viable alternatives to the automobile: Commuter rail, high-speed rail and implementation of the regional Transit Planning Board’s Concept 3 plan would give us that.
On our major streets in Atlanta and our regional town centers, we need wide sidewalks with well-marked crosswalks, buried power lines and an active street life of stores, restaurants and galleries close to homes and offices.
We need to get our major festivals — such as the Atlanta Dogwood Festival — back to Piedmont Park where they belong. We need to protect our trees and forests from overzealous clear-cutters and developers by giving our arborists the support they need.
We need to preserve our history, including special places and buildings that remind us from where we have come. And we need to conserve and maintain our green spaces to give people places where they can escape from life’s stress.
We need to support our educational institutions for the sake of our future generations, encouraging Atlanta’s emergence as a center for urban universities.
And we need state and local leaders — from political, philanthropic and business circles — who will work hard to lift our region from mediocrity to greatness.
“Atlanta has so many great people,” Russell said. “I don’t think we’ll sit back and let Atlanta go to hell.”
Let’s prove him right. Let’s transform Atlanta into an extraordinary city of the future.
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Metro Atlanta Chamber reaches membership goal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just a few days ago, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce was $300,000 short of its annual membership goal of $3 million.
And then the “Spirit of Atlanta” showed up, according to Kessel Stelling Jr., the 2008 chairman of the chamber and CEO of the Bank of North Georgia.
“It shows the confidence that the Atlanta business community has in this chamber of commerce - to see the chamber beat a goal that I thought was unreaslistic,” Stelling said.
Metro Atlanta Chamber President Sam Williams said the campaign actually came in $31,000 over the $3 million goal.
And Stelling said more money came in on Thursday.
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Dynamics have changed Atlanta Inc. over 17 years
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Inc. That’s how my first business column began. It was Jan. 8, 1991.
The news at that time was how then-Delta CEO Ron Allen election to Coca-Cola’s board represented an interlocking Atlanta business community.
The major banks were locally owned with executives who either had grown up in Atlanta or spent their careers with local institutions: Trust Company Bank of Georgia (now SunTrust), C&S (now Bank of America), First Atlanta (now the new Wachovia) and others.
Except for SunTrust, Georgia lost those banking headquarters by the early 1990s to North Carolina, a major blow to Atlanta’s power structure.
At that time, most major local companies had multiple Atlanta CEOs on their boards with interlocking relationships: Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, National Service Industries, Home Depot and all the banks.
The first family of Atlanta’s power structure was Coca-Cola, Trust Co., King & Spalding, Emory University and the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. Other players were in the mix Ñ such as Georgia Power, Rich’s, BellSouth and Delta Ñ but none was as powerful as the first family.
That point hit home when Ray Riddle, then-CEO of First Atlanta and chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, told me in 1991: “Nothing gets done in this town without first going by North Avenue.” That’s the address of Coca-Cola’s headquarters.
Now, 17 years later, the landscape has changed.
Arthur Blank, Home Depot co-founder who remembers when leaders from BellSouth, Coca-Cola and Spelman College were on his board, said governance has become more scrutinized.
“What we did at Home Depot would not happen today,” Blank said. “In fairness to Atlanta companies today, interlocking relationships and directorships are being looked at differently.”
Ron Allen is symbolic of how corporate leaders have changed, too. Allen was raised in Atlanta, attending Southwest DeKalb High School and Georgia Tech. He spent his entire career at Delta, serving in key civic roles, such as chairman of the Atlanta chamber in 1989.
No Delta CEO has served in that role since. All succeeding CEOs have been outsiders to both the airline and the city. And Delta’s only Atlanta board member is newcomer CEO Richard Anderson.
“As companies have expanded, particularly on an international perspective, you are looking at individuals who have broader experiences to help you,” Allen said. “The second factor is that many of the leaders of Atlanta-based companies today have come from other businesses, other cities and other geographic regions. They don’t have as many ties to Atlanta.”
Several companies around in 1991 have virtually disappeared, changed names or changed ownership: Rich’s, NSI, BellSouth and Georgia-Pacific, to name a few.
With few exceptions, the top CEOs are transplants. Exceptions, however, are significant: Southern Co./Georgia Power, Genuine Parts, Cox Enterprises (owner of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) and Rollins.
Although its top executives are not from Atlanta, Coca-Cola’s local roots still run deep. All its CEOs have grown up in the Coca-Cola system and have always known Atlanta as home base.
Yet the strings that once tied the first family of Atlanta together are looser. For the first time, Coca-Cola’s CEO does not serve on SunTrust’s board, and SunTrust is in the process of selling its treasure trove of Coke stock. The chairman of Emory University’s board of trustees is Ben Johnson of Alston & Bird, the top competitor to King & Spalding.
Pete McTier, president of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation from 1988 to 2006 and still a member of its board, said the focus of Atlanta’s top companies is no longer Georgia or the Southeast, or even the United States.
“We really have become a global community, and we have a better understanding of global business than we did then,” McTier said. “It can’t be as intimate as it used to be.”
Still, McTier said, Atlanta requires great involvement from its executives, who now convene on the boards of the metro Atlanta chamber, the Commerce Club and the Atlanta Committee for Progress.
One example is Tom Bell, CEO of Cousins Properties, who became chairman of the Metro Atlanta chamber only three years after he moved to town in 2002.
“As Tom Bell will tell you, you learn very quickly what the Atlanta spirit is all about,” McTier said. “There’s an expectation to serve the community.”
Longtime Atlantan, William Clement, who became CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group in May, said the untangling of old interlocking relationships has “allowed new blood and new thoughts” in the local business community.
The business community still comes together on key issues.
When US Airways tried to acquire Delta when it was in the middle of bankruptcy little more than a year ago, Allen said he saw the Atlanta community galvanize to keep the airline’s headquarters here. He credits current CEO Anderson for the pending “great” merger with Northwest, which would help solidify Delta’s base in Atlanta.
So Atlanta Inc. still manages to respond when needed. As Allen said: “You’ve got to give people like Richard Anderson some time to get involved.”
Published: Jan. 8, 1991
‘ATLANTA INC.’ SETTING SIGHTS ON THE WORLD
Maria Saporta / STAFF,
Atlanta Inc.
When Delta Air Lines’ Ronald W. Allen landed on Coca-Cola’s board, a corporate marriage with foreign intrigue was born.
While Atlanta’s good ol’ boy network has been around for years, this is the first time a Delta man has served on Coca-Cola’s board.
This link signals the beginning of a powerful Atlanta Inc. with tentacles stretching all over the world. The association would be like Japan Inc., the group of Japanese leaders who overtook the world through trade.
Coke boss Roberto C. Goizueta recently asked Mr. Allen to join the board because Coca-Cola and Delta share common business interests. (The two men also share a common interest in country music, though coming to that passion from vastly different places. Mr. Goizueta is an aristocrat from Cuba while Mr. Allen grew up in Atlanta.)
Their common business interests stretch far beyond their headquarters.
Coke is poured in 160 countries, and Delta flies to 27 international cities. Mr. Allen wants to fly to a number of others, including Berlin, Hong Kong and Moscow, where Coke is already sold. (No, you can’t get Pepsi on a Delta flight).
The 1996 Olympics will further solidify the link.
Coke - as the oldest Olympics sponsor - will be a major player. And Delta hopes to catapult its international image by becoming the official Olympic airline.
Atlanta Inc. does not stop there. A host of local companies are tied in. Consider the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., which coincidentally is placing hotels in many of the same cities where Delta flies or hopes to fly. Former Gov. George Busbee is a lawyer for Ritz and serves on Delta’s board.
Next stop? Orlando
As Atlanta Inc. matures, look for it to align itself with a premier international player next door - Disney World.
Delta is busy building one of its major hubs in Orlando, where it already is the dominant airline. And more importantly, Delta is the official airline of Mickey Mouse.
And Coca-Cola? It’s the official Disney soft drink and one of the leading corporate sponsors of EuroDisney, opening in 1992 near Paris.
The possibilities of closer associations among Delta, Coca-Cola and Disney are endless. All three have mom-and-apple-pie reputations - here and abroad.
Zaban came first
An old-line matchmaker of Atlanta Inc. is Erwin Zaban, head of National Service Industries. He has put together one of Atlanta’s most powerful boards to oversee his conglomerate - one of Atlanta’s best-kept Fortune 500 secrets.
That board, which held its annual meeting last week, includes Delta’s Mr. Allen, Coca-Cola President Donald R. Keough, First Wachovia Chairman John F. Medlin, BellSouth Chairman John L. Clendenin, Atlanta Life Insurance Co. President Jesse Hill Jr. and Atlanta builder/developer Robert M. Holder Jr.
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Sen. Johnny Isakson hoping for a “Gang of 51”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, (R-Ga.) in a talk before the Atlanta Kiwanis Club today, used his platform to sell a national energy policy.
Isakson has belonged to a “Gang of 10” — five Democrats and five Republicans — in the U.S. Senate that is pushing for a new energy bill to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.
Isakson was pleased that as of today, the “Gang of 10” has now become a “Gang of 16” with three more Republican senators and three more Democratic senators. And he hopes that group will increase its ranks to a “Gang of 51,” which would be a majority in the Senate.
The senator told members of Kiwanis that the United States faced similar energy issues in the late 1970s, but the nation didn’t put the policies in place to make the country more independent from other oil-producing countries.
“This is not our second chance,” Isakson said. “This is our last chance.”
If the United States does not enact a sound energy policy, Isakson said that “America will become a second-class country.”
Isakson did summarize the Gang of 16’s energy policies: be able to extract natural resources with the U.S. borders, ie: off-shore drilling for oil; develop nuclear energy by using France as a model; encourage the use of bio-fuels; provide incentives for wind and solar energy; and encourage innovation and new technology.
Until we reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we will continue subsidizing nation’s unfriendly to the United States, Isakson said, mentioning Venezuela, Iran and Russia.
“We are funding a lot of things that are going on the world because they are rolling in money,” Isakson said of those countries.
Isakson left a substantial amount of time for questions, but no one asked him about the current presidential election or the possibility that he will change his mind about running for governor.
A special moment of the luncheon was when the senator was introduced by his daughter: Julie Isakson Mitchell.
“He’s always been just that — ‘Dad,’” she said, adding that he always attended his children’s middle school dances and sporting events no matter whether he was running a company or running for public office. “He always was a family man and continues to be one today.”
When Isakson took the podium and thanked his daughter, he told the group that being a father was the “second best thing in life.” Then he quickly followed up with: “The best thing in life are grand-children.”
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GDOT’s Abraham impresses Atlanta Rotarians
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite not feeling well today, Gena Abraham was well-received during her talk to the Rotary Club of Atlanta.
Abraham, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, spoke about the reforms she’s undertaking within the agency and her excitement in the state’s new transportation plan that’s underway.
“What I have is about 15 different transportation plans with 9,000 projects on the books,” she said. Her department is going through the different projects to determine their priorities and how they would fit with an interconnected state transportation plan.
She also said she hopes to be able to keep some money that GDOT collects that currently is going to the state’s general fund. One example is the fourth penny that the state collects as part of the motor fuel tax. That would bring in $176 million a year.
Abraham also made a special note of her hope to implement commuter rail from Atlanta to Griffin as part of a pilot program. There are some hurdles, such as meeting the regulations of the American Disabilities Act and figuring out how to pay for longterm operating and maintenance costs of the service.
“I will know more in the next 60 to 90 days,” she said.
That was music to the ears of Dick Hodges, a Rotarian who has been a longtime advocate for more rail transportation in the region. He said he is encouraged that the DOT commissioner has commuter rail on her agenda.
Abraham also was asked about whether there should be one regional transit agency rather than many separate groups.
“The governor and his staff are currently working on who is going to do what. There’s no clear picture on who is going to be the transit authority,” she said, adding that the Atlanta region doesn’t have one regional transit authority like Illinois. “There’s a void in our governance structure. If I do nothing else before I leave the department, if we could get it organized as to who does what, we will have made tremendous progress.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Stephen Rogers, formerly head of the Arthur Anderson office in Atlanta, introduced a former Anderson colleague as a new Rotary member — Mark Oshnock.
Oshnock is the relatively new president and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Health System.
Oshnock told Rotarians that Visiting Nurses serves 6,000 clients every day, which is at least as many as all the hospitals in Atlanta combined.
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Praise flows freely for Clayton County’s water system
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
People from all over the country and the world have been coming to Clayton County —- to see how it’s leading the nation.
Yes, you read that right.
Contrary to all the troubling news that’s been coming out of Clayton these past many months, the county is receiving accolades for having one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly water systems in the country.
The Clayton County Water Treatment System has been on the cover of three trade magazines; National Public Radio has done a feature story on the system; and people from Australia, Asia and all over the country have come to Clayton to see firsthand what makes the county’s water treatment process so special.
“It is a model that people all over the world are wanting to emulate,” said Eldrin Bell, chairman of the Clayton County Commission, which appoints members of the Clayton County Water Authority. “It is one of the best-functioning water systems in the country.”
From an environmental point of view, Clayton has had a state-of-the-art water treatment process since 1980.
The water authority, with substantial help from the federal government, was able to acquire 4,000 acres of forest for a spray irrigation system. Treated wastewater is sprayed over the forest, and as the water is filtered through the soil, it undergoes a natural cleaning process.
“At the time, it was a brand new technology,” said Mike Thomas, general manager of the Clayton County Water Authority. “Some people had the foresight to do something different.”
That process, however, is extremely land-intensive. It takes between 150 to 250 acres to treat 1 million gallons of partially treated wastewater a day. As it was doing its 10-year plan about 10 years ago, the water authority knew the county would need additional capacity to accommodate growth.
So that’s when it decided to adopt another state-of-the-art water treatment system —- man-made wetlands.
“It’s a natural treatment system that does all the things that happen in nature,” Thomas said, explaining that the water is cleansed by the soil, plants and microbes that live in the wetlands. “We are taking wastewater and turning it into drinking water.”
A beauty of this system is that wetlands only take about 15 to 25 acres to treat a million gallons of water a day. By next year, the Clayton system will have about 400 acres of wetlands that will treat about 17 million gallons a day.
“We’ve identified future wetlands, and we are hoping to have 24 million gallons a day capacity,” Thomas said.
The most significant piece of this system is that Clayton is able to recycle its own water, which means it has not been vulnerable to the drought that the rest of the region experienced this past year. It’s also a lifesaver for Clayton, which has limited natural water supply from the Flint River.
“When everyone was suffering so much, our reservoir never fell below 77 percent of full,” Thomas said, compared to other reservoirs that dipped below 50 percent. “We always had at least 200 days of supply.”
Thomas took me on a drive to see the wetlands —- a haven for birds and wildlife —- and the full reservoir, a beautiful lake where residents can fish and have picnics.
The water authority also is saving money by having the wetlands do the work.
“At the peak, we had over 20,000 sprinklers and over 300 miles of piping to get that treated wastewater sprayed,” Thomas said. “We’ve gone from a staff of about 15 to seven. And our power bills have gone from about $30,000 a month to less than $10,000. It takes very little attention. And maintenance is so easy.”
No wonder Clayton’s system has become a model.
Could other parts of the Atlanta region replicate Clayton’s system?
“Yes,” Thomas said. “The core suburban counties could. But when you get within I-285, the land gets expensive.”
Metro Atlanta has a significant problem with having enough water for growth. Counties like Forsyth, Rockdale, Fayette and Henry could protect their future by taking the wetlands approach to wastewater treatment.
What’s even better is that the wetlands and the reservoirs become a green amenity for those communities.
Clayton also has another tremendous opportunity. In all, it has nearly 6,000 acres of forested land, most of which was used for the spray irrigation system. As the county shifts that water treatment to the wetlands, it will have a huge tract of land available to the public.
“What we’d like to see is green space with some kind of environmental park,” Thomas said. “The last thing we want to do is turn this into asphalt. It would be a great passive recreation area.”
Again, Clayton could become the envy of the region.
Those are strange words to say about a county that has been dealing with a dysfunctional public school system that’s facing a possible loss of accreditation; a county that has had a controversial sheriff who just got voted out of office come November. And just last week, the Bigfoot hoax was dreamed up by two men from Clayton County.
But the one constant throughout this period has been a cutting-edge water treatment system that is showing one path to a sustainable future, which Bell credited to a qualified water authority free of politics.
May the rest of our region follow Clayton’s lead as we try to solve our water issues.
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Despite difficult economic times, Atlanta’s United Way sets higher goal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While it may not be the best of times for our local economy, Atlanta’s United Way will not aim low for its 2008 campaign.
Ed Heys, a partner with Deloitte who is chairman of the 2008 United Way campaign, said Atlanta’s top business leaders urged him to increase the goal from the $81.2 million that was raised last year.
“The community has been very supportive,” Heys said. “The overwhelming thought was to increase the goal and grow the campaign in spite of the challenging business environment.”
So what is the 2008 goal?
Officially, it will be announced at a kickoff evening event Sept. 4 at the Fox Theatre’s Egyptian Ballroom. But Heys was willing to let me preview the number.
“We have set a goal of $82 million,” Heys said. “There’s more need now than ever as it relates to the kind of services United Way provides.”
He continued: “All of my CEO meetings have confirmed the great support that United Way has in metro Atlanta. Companies like SunTrust, Cousins Properties, Macy’s, Cox Enterprises, Delta, UPS and AGL Resources, as well as professional service firms including King & Spalding and Accenture, are enthusiastic about United Way and this year’s campaign.”
Cumberland gala a two-party party
A bipartisan flavor filled the room Monday at the Georgian Club for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Cumberland Community Improvement District.
Longtime political and business leaders from Cobb County — both Democrats and Republicans — gathered to reflect on the success of the state’s first community improvement district.
Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens (a Republican) spoke of three men sitting at the head table — developer John Williams (who’s been known to back candidates of both political parties); U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.); and former Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat.
“Without those three folks, we would still be a bedroom community,” Olens said.
Both Barnes and Isakson were serving in the state Legislature when they joined in a bipartisan effort to allow people to tax themselves to invest in their communities.
“Johnny Isakson and I have always been friends and part of the mutual admiration society,” Barnes said.
Isakson told the gathering how hard it is to be a politician who will work with elected leaders of another party.
“I got cussed out pretty well this morning for having the audacity to sit down with five Democrats trying to put together a coalition (on energy),” Isakson said. “Why don’t people understand the value of building coalitions?”
The best evidence for bipartisan cooperation was just outside the Georgian Club’s window. The Kennedy Interchange and countless other transportation improvements would not have happened had it not been for Republicans and Democrats working together.
The modern-day politicians who were present took note. State Sen. Doug Stoner, a Democrat, introduced Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, a Republican.
After the lunch, Cagle told me that “if you are going to get anything done, you’ve got to work together.”
To that, Barnes said: “People are fed up with partisanship.”
Ex-MARTA chief often hits road now
In the 14 years that he’s been retired as MARTA’s general manager, Ken Gregor has ridden 55,000 miles on his bicycle — more than twice the distance around the world.
Gregor has cycled all over the world, and he recently completed a 700-mile ride along the Lewis and Clark Trail from Oregon to Montana in 11 riding days.
But that’s not all.
Earlier this summer, Gregor won the over-65 Mens USHA National Four-Wall Doubles Handball Championship in Overland Park, Kan., with his partner, Pete Willis, who is retired from AirTran.
“Handball satisfies my competitive nature,” Gregor said, adding that he’s not a competitive cyclist. “I do cycling for recreational purposes. I enjoy seeing the world while riding.”
When asked about metro Atlanta’s transportation issues, Gregor had this to say: “I’m still of the opinion that until the state provides leadership, specifically the governor, things are going to continue being discussed, but nothing will happen,” he said. “Most of the activity has to come from leadership at the state or federal level.”
Gregor said MARTA was an example of voters agreeing to tax themselves to improve transit in their counties (Fulton and DeKalb). He said he was disappointed that the Legislature didn’t approve a plan to allow local governments to ask voters for a regional transportation sales tax.
“Give the people an opportunity to express their will,” Gregor said. “To discourage that is wrong.”
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Forum shows how international Atlanta is
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Heads of state, business and academic leaders as well as government dignataries are in Atlanta for the second annual Americas Competitiveness Forum today and tomorrow.
At the opening session, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez welcomed about 1,000 people who had come to Atlanta from “Canada to the Southern most tip of our hemisphere.”
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin told the group: “What is good for one of us is good for all of us.”
And then the conference took on an international flavor.
The panel of media professionals all spoke to the group in Spanish.
(The moderator, CNN Espanol anchor Alberto Padillo did open with a funny comment in English. “Sec. Gutierrez first tried to get Lou Dobbs, but he wasn’t available. For those of you who don’t know Lou Dobbs, I really don’t recommend him.” Dobbs often uses his pulpit on CNN to rail against illegal immigration).
After the media panel, Gutierrez introduced the three heads of state who were in Atlanta for the conference: Alvaro Colom Caballeros, president of Guatemala; Elias Antonio Saca Gonzalez, president of El Salvador; and Alvaro Uribe Velez, president of Colombia.
“We have presidents of three countries today, three democratically-elected leaders, discussing what they are doing and will be doing to increase the competitiveness in their region,” Gutierrez said.
From that point on, the three presidents spoke to the audience in Spanish. Attendees were given headsets to hear the simultaneous translation of their presentations.
Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, said that having the three presidents come to the city “heightens the caliber of the conference.” He said he was impressed with how candid the presidents were in “addressing issues at the core of challenges to competitiviness such as bringing down corruption.”
The forum will be held in Santiago, Chile in 2009, but it will be back in Atlanta in 2010. “This was a huge decision,” Williams said, adding that the forum is a “great networking opportunity” and demonstrates “how trade needs to be front and center in our minds.”
Again, forums like these show how we are emerging as an international city.
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Georgia should set aside funds to conserve and protect green spaces
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia is long overdue to create a dedicated funding source to protect its green spaces for the future.
Compared with a host of our neighboring states, which have embarked on aggressive land conservation programs, Georgia’s efforts have been tied to the whims of whoever is governor and the will of the Legislature.
We deserve better.
Our state has too much natural beauty with a great variety of vegetation and wildlife for us to cut down all the trees and build strip shopping centers or sprawling subdivisions all over Georgia.
Recently, I had a couple of minutes with Gov. Sonny Perdue at the end of his speech at the Commerce Club. I wondered whether he still supported the idea of dedicated funding for land conservation.
Back in 2003, shortly after he was elected governor, Perdue assured me of his desire for the state to have a dedicated funding source for green space. Because of economic pressures, he’d just had to cut the general budget line for conservation from $30 million to $15 million.
Since then, all conservation dollars have come from the general budget. In good years, that has topped $30 million. In bad years, it’s gone as low as $10 million.
Perdue now has 28 months remaining as our governor. If he’s going to make land conservation a legacy of his administration, Perdue has this next legislative session to propose a plan. That would give the state an opportunity to present a referendum to voters if necessary.
So I asked Perdue whether he would support dedicated funding for conservation.
“It’s been an aspiration of mine,” Perdue said. “We’ve tried to do that once. Now we’ve been funding it out of the general budget, and we’ve done a great job.”
And then he added: “Whether or not at this stage in the economy we can do that, I don’t know if we can. But I would love to see it for prosperity purposes so we can continue to conserve Georgia’s land.”
Perdue has a long track record of supporting conservation. Back in 1998, he was one of the original co-sponsors of the bill to create a Heritage Fund for conservation, recreation and preservation.
That bill proposed to increase the state’s real estate transfer tax (equal to about $30 million a year) to go toward buying green space and preserving wildlife and historic sites.
Unfortunately, that bill failed (54 percent to 46 percent) thanks to a shrill “tax increase” cry from the real estate industry.
The state has come a long way in the past 10 years. Public support for land conservation has been proven over and over again when counties have put the question to voters.
By not having a significant funding source for conservation, Georgia also has lost a host of opportunities in the past decade to preserve its disappearing natural landscape. The timber companies sold hundreds of thousands of acres of forest land that could have ended up in public hands rather than at the mercy of developers.
And then there are the wildlife management areas that are used by the public but owned privately. At any point, those areas could be sold and developed rather than being conserved.
As a result, Georgia is far behind its sister states in land preservation. Only 1.2 percent of Georgia’s total area is owned by the state, compared with 14.6 percent in Florida. The only Southeastern state that has a lower percentage of protected land than Georgia is Alabama with 0.8 percent.
Speaking of Florida, it dedicates about $300 million a year to conservation, 10 times what Georgia does in a good year.
So we need a dedicated funding source. The most logical move would be to dedicate the state’s property tax collections to a conservation program.
Earlier this year, when property tax reform was all the rage, Perdue proposed eliminating the state’s property tax Ñ which generates about $94 million a year and goes into the general fund Ñ and returning it to taxpayers. That would translate to only about $30 a year for the average Georgian.
That proposal did not advance, which means the state is still collecting .25 of a mill on local property tax bills to go to the general fund.
If the governor felt the state could do without the property tax, why not turn it into a dedicated conservation fund that would improve the quality of life for Georgians for generations to come?
Environmentalist Chuck Leavell, the keyboard player for the Rolling Stones who lives near Macon, believes Georgia should follow Florida’s example. Leavell was appointed by Perdue to serve on the Georgia Land Conservation Council, and he understands the need to dedicate funds for green space.
“I would support the concept of taking the state property tax and use it for conservation,” Leavell said. “That would compare favorably to what some of the leading states in the country are doing. There’s no better resource in our state than our natural lands.”
And since the state already is collecting the money, it would not require new taxes or fees.
“It doesn’t hurt you if it’s something you are already used to paying,” said Leavell, who also is director of environmental affairs for the emerging Mother Nature Network online information service.
If state leaders are not willing to take that bold step, there are other options.
Ross King, deputy director of the Association for County Commissioners of Georgia, said his group is working with local governments to develop conservation programs.
“I want counties to be active in the land conservation debate,” said King, pointing to successful programs in Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Paulding counties, among others across the state.
Two constitutional amendments on November’s ballot Ñ the Georgia Forestland Protection Act and the Infrastructure Development Districts Ñ would help the state and local governments protect land.
Imagine how much more impact the state could have if it had a significant pot of money to go toward land conservation. It could provide incentives to local governments to help in their conservation efforts.
Whatever approach we take, let’s find the dollars to save what nature has given us. It’s long past time to act.
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City Council vote Monday key to fate of civil rights center
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The proposed Center for Civil and Human Rights will face a critical vote at Monday’s Atlanta City Council meeting.
On that day, the council will decide whether to allocate up to $40 million in funding from the Westside Tax Allocation District toward the project.
A “yes” vote would demonstrate there is government support to build the $125 million attraction — an essential ingredient needed when trying to raise private funding.
Doug Shipman, executive director of the center, said Monday’s vote would provide momentum to help advance the project.
“A number of private foundations and corporations in Atlanta and nationally are interested in the project, but they want to see a significant public commitment,” Shipman said. “The council vote should allow us to get a series of additional commitments.”
The center also expects to receive about $10 million in federal funding in “New Market Tax Credits” through the Atlanta Development Authority and Central Atlanta Progress to stimulate downtown economic development.
Shipman added that the center has already raised more than $10 million in private funding.
With a positive vote from the council “we will be right at halfway home,” Shipman said. “And that doesn’t include the King papers and it doesn’t include the land.”
The Atlanta community secured a significant collection of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s papers just before they were to be auctioned off.
Local leaders still need to raise another $10 million to repay a $32 million loan plus an additional $3 million in interest.
The Coca-Cola Co. also has offered a 2.5-acre site on the same block as the new World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium for the center.
Other developments under way include the naming of a board that will include about 15 to 20 local and national leaders.
“That’s going to be augmented by an advisory group that’s much bigger and broader,” Shipman said.
Other developments include finalizing the site and working on the interior design of the center. In October, there will be a series of public forums to review the proposed exhibits and galleries.
At the same time, the center will select an architect to design the building.
“We’ve been quiet for the last eight months, and that’s because we’ve been putting all these things in place,” Shipman said. “We are about to enter the public phase.”
The hope is to start construction on the attraction next year (ideally before Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin leaves office) and have it open in 2011.
But construction will begin only if all the funding is in place because similar attractions have trouble succeeding when saddled with debt.
The center has hired Alisa Smallwood as its chief fund-raiser.
FUND-RAISERS TO HONOR BUNZL, YATES
You read it here first. The 2008 Philanthropist of the Year will be Francis Bunzl, and the 2008 Volunteer Fundraiser will be Charlie Yates Jr.
The Greater Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals will honor both Bunzl and Yates at the National Philanthropy Day luncheon on Oct. 28.
Bunzl, nominated by the High Museum of Art, is being honored for decades of support to the museum, Emory University, the Woodruff Arts Center, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum Foundation, the Atlanta International School and other institutions.
Yates was nominated by the Atlanta Opera for helping “turn around” its financial situation over the past couple of years as well as helping launch its $10.9 million capital campaign (of which he personally raised $2 million).
Yates also has been active with the Metropolitan Atlanta YMCA, Westminster Schools, the Sara Giles Moore Foundation, the Atlanta Rotary Club, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank, among others.
WORLD LEADERS TO ATTEND FORUM
For the second year, Atlanta is hosting the Americas Competitiveness Forum starting Sunday evening and ending Tuesday evening.
The event is drawing the presidents of Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala; and it is being held in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce. In fact, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez will open the two-day forum, moderate a panel with the presidents and participate in its closing session.
The forum will also have influential business, political, media and international leaders participating in panel discussions.
The goal of the forum is to improve the economic competitiveness of the Americas.
CONVENTION CHIEF RECOVERING FROM SURGERY
For those of us who love Spurge.
Spurgeon Richardson, president of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, is recovering from back surgery at Emory University Hospital.
Richardson had a seven-disc fusion last week, a procedure that caused him to lose a lot of blood and spend two nights in intensive care.
His daughter, Kathryn Gerrick, said her father is now stable. He is able to get up a couple of times a day to walk short distances. Gerrick also said she hopes he will be able to go home soon.
“He continues to show glimpses of his normal self,” she wrote me in an e-mail Tuesday. “I called to check on him earlier today, and he ended the conversation the same way he ends our conversation every morning: ‘Be the most positive and enthusiastic person you know today.’ ”
Good old Spurge.
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ACS urges Chinese employers to go smoke free
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta-based American Cancer Society has its own Olympics quest.
Dr. Otis Webb Brawley, the chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, was in China this past weekend to launch an effort with more than 70 multi-national and Chinese companies to develop smoke-free worksites.
The launch coincided with the Beijing’s hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The society and consortium of Chinese partners are unveiling a new “toolkit” to help companies implement 100-percent smoke-free workplaces. More than 70 companies already have committed to become smoke-free at their Beijing facilities, and many also plan to implement those policies nationwide.
This complements a new law that the city of Beijing enacted on May 1 to mandate that public places — from government offices to public institutions — go smoke-free.
“With this collaboration of government, business, and public health [non-government organizations] China is well situated to curb the tobacco epidemic, which threatens to claim one billion lives worldwide this century,” Dr. Brawley said in a statement. “Tobacco increases the risk of at least 15 types of cancer. There is no safe way to smoke, and there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.”
The Smoke-free Worksite Initiative is part of the American Cancer Society’s new Global Smokefree Partnership — a venture with a consortium of partners — to reduce tobacco use internationally, thereby helping prevent a number of cancers around the world.
The venture also exemplifies the international reach of the American Cancer Society, founded in 1913. It currently has offices in 3,400 communities with nearly three million volunteers across the United States and the world.
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Kiwanis honors one of its own
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Kiwanis Club showcased a local business leader who usually keeps a low profile.
But Sam Friedman’s low profile does not represent the role he has played in the Atlanta community.
In recognition of his contributions, Kiwanis on Tuesday awarded Friedman its highest honor — the Golden Rule Award.
Friedman, chairman of AFCO Realty Services, has contributed to the community in numerous ways.
He chaired the Atlanta Housing Authority early in its transformation. He has been active with the Atlanta Union Mission, the PATH Foundation, the Atlanta Kiwanis Club and the Buckhead Coalition.
(In fact, former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell, who is president of the Buckhead Coalition, came to the Tuesday lunch).
Currently, Friedman is developing a new hotel in Columbus near Fort Benning, and he has donated space in the hotel to the USO for its use.
Other people who have received the Kiwanis’ Golden Rule Award include: Chick-fil-A’s Truett Cathy, Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus; developer Tom Cousins; and another Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank.
The keynote speaker at Tuesday’s lunch was Susan Booth, artistic director of the Alliance Theatre.
She made a compelling case as to why business leaders need the arts to remain competitive.
Booth also shared a most interesting statistic from the National Endowment for the Arts. There are two million artists (actors, writers, musicians, etc.) in the United States, which means there are more artists than there are lawyers.
“Chew on that for a minute,” Booth said. And then she added that artists perform a special role in society. “We sell access to humanity.”
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Southern Co.’s Ratcliffe to host ‘Squawk Box’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s becoming a regular featurer — Atlanta’s business leaders guest hosting CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
On Wednesday morning, Southern Co. CEO David Ratcliffe will sit in the guest host chair from 7 a.m. to 9 am. Less than a month ago, Home Depot co-founder, Bernie Marcus, was in the same TV host spot.
Ratcliffe has invited two fellow trustees from the Federal Reserve Board of Atlanta to be his guests during the show.
Those two guests are: Lee Thomas, the former president of Georgia-Pacific and currently the CEO of Rayonier, a forest products and timber company in Florida; and Larkin Martin, managing partner of Atlanta-based Martin Farms, and she also is the current chair of Atlanta’s Federal Reserve Bank.
Ratcliffe expects the two-hour show to cover all sorts of issues from energy policy, the presidential election, climate change policy and the economy.
“I would love to talk about new nuclear power plants, but they’ll probably want to talk about the economy,” Ratcliffe said in a phone conversation today. “I think we’ll end up talking about energy and environmental issues.”
Atlanta’s executives began getting featured spots on the Squawk Box after the show did one of its traveling broadcasts from here on May 16th. The shows, broadcast from both the new World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium, featured interviews with both Ratcliffe and Marcus as well as several others, including Aflac’s Dan Amos and SunTrust CEO James Wells.
By the way, Racliffe also is planning to attend both political conventions later this summer.
“We have participated in the past in the Republican convention, and I thought it would make sense to attend the Democratic National Convention as well,” Ratcliffe said.
Ratcliffe is the current chair of the Edison Electric Institute, an industry association, for a one-year term. And he felt it was important for him to attend both conventions as part of his leadership role in that organization.
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Andrew Young says Obama would herald an ecomonic upswing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The election of Barack Obama would create an immediate economic boost for the United States, former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young told me this week.
Young, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and I chatted after he gave a speech to the Southern Regional Meeting of the National Council for International Visitors, an organization that promotes international citizen diplomacy. The group was meeting in Atlanta at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel.
During his speech, Young gave a historical perspective of how he became interested in global issues and how he took advantage of his personal relationships with people of different countries to gain insights on international relations.
The only time he talked about current politics was in answer to a question about whether he felt the two presumptive presidential candidates —- U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) —- would support citizen-exchange programs like the International Visitors program.
Young said that although the two candidates are quite different, he believes they would support programs of citizen diplomacy.
Then after noting that he had been a supporter of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential effort, Young talked about reading Obama’s book that traced his upbringing —- son of a man from Kenya and a woman from Kansas; a mother who moved with him to Indonesia before Obama moved to Hawaii to live with his white grandparents.
“When I read that, I thought this boy has the DNA to be president,” Young told the audience. “That makes him much more acceptable to the rest of the world of any president we’ve had so far.”
After the speech, Young wanted to make it clear to me that although he had said something nice about McCain, he was supporting Obama.
The issue is sensitive because Young, along with many other leaders in the civil rights movement, strongly backed Sen. Clinton’s campaign instead of the popular African-American candidate.
“I think what disturbs people is that he (Obama) never was a black leader, but I see that as a strength,” Young said. “I’m going to do everything I can to help him.”
But Young said he has not reached out to the Obama campaign to officially endorse him.
“I want to maintain my freedom,” Young said, adding that he wouldn’t want anything he says to become an issue for Obama, as was the case with Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Wright made so many divisive comments that the senator eventually cut ties with him.
Young also said he understands why the Obama campaign would not want to be too closely identified with civil rights leaders and the historic black power structure.
“Just like John F. Kennedy had to distance himself from the Catholic Church, Obama has to be president of America and be a leader of the world,” Young said. “He’s no longer just a senator from Illinois.”
Although Young is not getting involved in the presidential campaign, he sees great hope in a possible Obama presidency, especially economically.
The best example was Obama’s recent trip to the Middle East and Europe, especially his talk to 200,000 people in Berlin, he said.
“If that was the excitement in Germany, can you imagine what it would be in Latin America, Africa and Asia?” Young asked, implying that the United States has not been popular abroad in recent years.
“The reaction to Obama demonstrates the kind of hope the rest of the world has in America.”
More importantly, Young strongly believes that the economic future for the United States is inextricably connected to the rest of the world.
“It’s technically impossible to be self-sufficient,” Young said. “In order to maintain our leadership in a global economy we have to work with the rest of the world. With the transfer of technology, we either lead the world or we get trampled by it.”
And because Obama would be welcomed by global leaders, Young believes his presidency would have a dramatic beneficial impact in the United States.
“Nothing would have more impact on the economy and the price of oil than his election as president,” Young said. “There would be a boost of 1,000 points on the stock market the first week after he’s elected. This would be better than a chicken in every pot.”
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Former Mayor Young on China’s Olympics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young understands the impact of the Olympics on a city as well as any one in our city.
He went around the world using his multiple personal connections to help Atlanta win the 1996 Summer Games. He co-chaired the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. And he chaired the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce in 1996 as the city was hosting the largest sporting event in the world.
Young, speaking to the National Council for International Visitors Southern Regional Meeting Thursday in Atlanta, spoke of the first time the Olympics became ingrained in his psyche.
It was 1936 when track and field athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin. Adolf Hitler had ascended to power pushing the Nazi movement and promoting Aryan superiority among the races. Jews and ethnic Africans were viewed as inferior.
So, Jesse Owens, an African American, performance at the Berlin Olympics not only flew in the face of Hitler’s theories, it also provided an opportunity for blacks in the United States to take great pride in one of their own during a time of segregation.
“With Jesse Owens winning those four goals, ingrained the Olympics in my mind,” Young said.
Fast-forwarding to 2008, Young talked about China’s hosting of the Olympic Games that will hold the opening ceremonies today — 08-08-08.
“We are going to have a different view of China two weeks from now than we have today,” Young said, adding that all the televised images of China among all the Olympic sporting events will portray a modern country defying our sterotypes.
Young also offered a counter viewpoint on the criticism China is receiving about its policy towards Tibet and other human rights issues. Remember, Young was a leader in the Civil Rights movement along with Martin Luther King Jr. He also has been a longtime advocate of human rights along with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
“I think our attitude towards China is very hypocritical,” Young said. “They have human rights problems. But so do we.”
Then Young explained the Chinese governments desire to keep the world’s most populous country united.
“There are 104 different nations in China,” Young said. “It doesn’t make sense to fragment China. I think the best thing for them is the exposure with the rest of the world. They will be criticized and they will be judged.”
But Young added that that experience will help open up China in a similar way that the American South evolved into an integrated society from its days of segregation.
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Ameri: Citizen diplomacy key for global understanding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Georgia Council for International Visitors is hosting a three-day Southern Regional meeting to promote the global exchange of citizens.
The meetings — most being held at the Westin Peachtree Plaza — was launched today by two dignitaries: Sherry Mueller, president of the National Council for International Visitors, and Goli Ameri, assistant U.S. secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs.
“Our success in public diplomacy is building mutual understanding between people in the United States and people around the world,” Ameri said. “It couldn’t be more simple or more vital after 9/11.”
Ameri said that in the past year, more than 4,300 visitors from “virtually every country in the world” participated in the international visitor program. She also said that about a quarter of all international heads of states participated in the international visitor exchange program.
“Exchanges are the most important public diplomacy effort that we do,” Ameri said. “I can’t help but wish we could do more.”
Mueller said the federal dollars that help sponsor the international visitor program are always in danger of being cut.
“The money for these exchanges is paid for with discretionary funds,” Mueller said, adding that it’s important people advocate for continued funding for these programs with their congressional representatives. “Our members are very appreciative of the federal grants. We received $2.8 million this past year, and we raised $16.5 million in local funds.”
Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in the Jimmy Carter administration, is today’s luncheon speaker for the Southern Regional Meeting for International Visitors.
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Georgia State lands big name in marketing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It took 10 years, but Georgia State University’s business school landed a big name in the marketing world.
Dr. V. Kumar, considered one of the nation’s top five marketing scholars, is joining GSU’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. He will be the inaugural recipient of the Richard and Susan Lenny Distinguished Chair in Marketing.
Kumar also will serve as executive director of the new Center for Excellence in Brand and Customer Management. That center will continue Kumar’s consulting work with Fortune 500 companies.
“I help companies make more money,” Kumar said this week. He has just published a book called “Managing Customers for Profit: Strategies to Increase Profits and Build Loyalty.”
For the past seven years, Kumar has been at the University of Connecticut, holding the ING Chair for Financial Services. He is bringing seven of his team members, including four doctoral students, with him to GSU. Also, his longtime associate, Denish Shah, will serve as assistant director of the new center.
“We worked for a long time to get him,” said H. Fenwick Huss, GSU’s business dean. In fact, Kumar said he’s been recruited by the past three GSU deans. The $1 million endowed chair by Lenny, the former chairman and CEO of Hershey Co., helped seal the deal.
Kumar’s theories are based on a concept of “customer lifetime value” — figuring out how companies can market to customers according to their life cycle and building loyalty by trying to make customers more profitable rather than just trying to sell them more products.
These theories have been well received in the marketing world and among major companies. Kumar and his team will make six presentations at this weekend’s American Marketing Association convention in San Diego based on different case studies.
Kumar, originally from Chennai, India, has received two AMA lifetime achievement awards — and he’s only 50 years old.
“I’m very fortunate to have found this path,” Kumar said. “I’m very committed to this.”
Executive takes on a new frontier
It’s a reinvention for Guy Mannino, formerly the president and CEO of Pirelli Tire North America, based in Rome.
Mannino decided to get into the electric vehicle business. On Saturday in Augusta, Mannino will open the state’s first retail dealership for ZAP (Zero Air Pollution) electric cars. The dealership — GoGreenZEV — is owned and operated by John Cooper.
Mannino also plans to open two metro Atlanta dealerships — one in Decatur and the other in Midtown near Georgia Tech.
“ZAP is special when you look at the product range and the availability,” said Mannino, who is CEO of Verdek and Verdek-EV, the exclusive distributor of ZAP vehicles in Georgia. “All of our products are available now.”
ZAP builds primarily three-wheeled electric cars and pickup trucks. But it also sells electric scooters and mobility (think Segway) vehicles.
“There’s a need for alternatives,” Mannino said recently. “We are stuck with these spiraling price increases for oil. Something needs to be done.”
Mannino said the ZAP car costs about 2 cents a mile to drive. Its extended package can go as far as 45 miles per charge and costs $15,000.
Mannino, a native of Sicily, also has the rights to distribute ZAP vehicles in Europe.
“Right now, I think the business and the opportunity is here in the United States,” Mannino said. “Corporate America is in a squeeze trying to save money, and they need to take a look at all their fleets.”
Mannino decided in October to leave Pirelli, where he had worked since 1982. The company tripled North American sales between 2001 and 2006, the time Mannino was president.
He left because he wanted to do something that would help the environment and promote alternative energy. He found out about ZAP, based in San Diego, by doing research on the Internet.
“It was a midlife change,” said Mannino, 51. “It was the right time for me to take my chances.”
Three join board of Georgia Cancer Coalition
The Georgia Cancer Coalition has added three high-powered trustees to its board — Frank Barron of Rome, Philip Wilheit Sr. of Gainesville and Douglas Ivester of Atlanta.
Barron retired as vice president of Rome Coca-Cola Bottling Co. He serves on the boards of the Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, the Carter Center and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, among other organizations.
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Wilheit is president and managing partner of Wilheit Packaging. He is a past chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and serves on the boards of the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Commission for a New Georgia.
Ivester is president of Deer Run Investments. He is a retired CEO of Coca-Cola Co. and serves on the boards of SunTrust, SI Corp., Emory University, Brenau University and the Woodruff Arts Center. He also is chairman of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center.
The Georgia Cancer Coalition, led by William J. Todd, leads the state’s cancer initiative through public-private partnerships.
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A special birthday for Jimmy Sibley
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Three great friends were lunching together Tuesday at the Commerce Club for a very special reason — to celebrate the 89th birthday of our own legend — Jimmy Sibley.
Sibley, a somewhat retired partner with King & Spalding and a former director of the Coca-Cola Co., was having lunch with former Emory University President Jim Laney and former U.S. Sen. Wyche Fowler.
The stories that these three men can share — both Fowler and Laney are former U.S. ambassadors, to Saudi Arabia and South Korea respectively — could fill several books.
Sibley also continues to wield great influence in our town as one of the five trustees of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. An insider told me that Sibley always asks the tough questions and challenges the board to do what’s best for our region.
A toast to you Jimmy Sibley.
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A personal note to readers…..
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After 27 wonderful years reporting (and columnizing) on our community, I have decided to leave the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The AJC’s voluntary separation offer, equal to a year’s salary, was just too good to pass up. My last day will be Aug. 30.
When I joined the AJC in 1981, Atlanta was still trying to prove itself to the world.
Then thanks to the visionaries in our city — Andy Young, George Busbee, Roberto Goizueta, Don Keough, Bob Strickland, Bennett Brown, Marie Dodd, Ivan Allen, Maynard Jackson, Ron Allen, Ray Riddle, John Portman, Charlie Loudermilk, Jesse Hill, Herman Russell, Johnnetta Cole, Oz Nelson, Tom Cousins, Ted Turner Billy Payne, Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, Shirley Franklin and too many others to mention — Atlanta grew up.
We hosted the 1988 Democratic National Convention. We sought international business ties with all our new airline destinations. We had two Super Bowls. The Atlanta Braves won a championship. And, of course, we won the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.
Thanks to the AJC, I was able to have a front-row seat as this fantastic history of Atlanta played out. I will be forever indebted and grateful to the AJC for giving me the opportunity to witness and chronicle the evolution of our city and our region.
It is premature for me to tell you what my next step will be, although I remain fully committed to Atlanta.
The AJC, too, remains dedicated to strong business news coverage — both in print and on ajc.com. I, for one, will be a loyal daily reader. I strongly believe that a daily metro news organization is crucial to our civic health.
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Leonard Meyer recalls brother’s role in origins of Lake Lanier Islands
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After reading my column about Virgil Williams’ longterm investment in Lake Lanier Islands, Leonard Meyer sent me an email, which he said I could share with you.
By the way, Leonard Meyer also has an interesting history. He just retired as an executive vice president of Empire Distributors Inc., ending a 62-year-career in the wholesale liquor and wine business in Georgia. He started out with State Wholesalers Inc. founded by his father, David N. Meyer, in 1938. Leonard Meyer merged that company with Empire in 1988.
But back to Lake Lanier Islands…..
Here is Leonard Meyer’s email….
I was very interested in your column in this morning’s AJC about he Williams family getting a 50-year-lease on the Lake Lanier Islands on which they will spend a fortune to make another fortune.
It would have been nice if you had mentioned that the island in your story is named SYLVAN Island for my late brother, Sylvan Meyer, who was responsible for all of the islands.
He was editor of the Gainesville Daily Times for 35 years and was instrumental in the concept and construction of Lake Lanier and who saw that seven parcels of land would remain after the lake reached full pool.
He went to see Gov. Lester Maddox, who despised him for his liberal and anti-segregation policies, and convinced him to secure $500,000 from the Georgia Legislature to buy these parcels for the state, which they did and they became the Lake Lanier Islands.
Sylvan was he first chairman of the Lake Lanier Islands Development committee. You could talk to Philip Wilheit in Gainesville who was chairman when the first and largest island was dedicated to Sylvan.
By the way, Gov.Maddox out of spite told Sylvan he could have his islands but the state would not appropriate any funds to build a bridge so the islands could be accessed from the mainland.
Sylvan flew to Washington and went to the home of Sen. Richard Russell to ask him for government money to build a bridge and was told by the senator’s houseman that the senator was too ill too see anyone.
The senator heard Sylvan’s voice and demanded that he have him come into his bedroom. Sylvan spent five minutes with the senator who told him that he was too ill to go to the Congress and doubted he could help.
Three days later, Sylvan’s secretary told him that Senator Russell was on the phone, and when Sylvan answered, Russell said simply: “Sylvan, you’ve got your bridge.”
I sincerely hope that the Williams family will not completely desecrate that beautiful island. At the entrance there is a Marble Pylon with a bronze plaque erected by ten of Sylvan’s friends commemorating his legacy.
He was cremated when he died in 2001 and we scattered his ashes in his beloved lake.
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Conversation with Virgil Williams, Lake Lanier Islands investor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Driving out to Lake Lanier Islands, road signs leading to the entrance of the Islands say it all: “Changes Underway.”
Bulldozers and construction crews line the roads, creating “round-abouts,” bicycle trails, golf paths and new landscaping. There are new villas, a luxury spa building and a refurbished hotel that has been transformed into a four-star lodge from a two-star hotel.
It has been three years since Gwinnett businessman Virgil Williams and his family acquired the long-term (more than 50 years) leasehold interests of Lake Lanier Islands. Since then, they have invested about $43 million in upgrading the Islands and making the site an attractive destination for metro Atlanta.
But, more importantly, the venture has brought the Williams family closer together.
“This gives me an opportunity to teach my children what I have learned, give them the benefit of my experiences and enjoy seeing them grow up and succeed on their own,” Williams said.
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Williams and his wife, Sara, have four children —- Virgil Jr., Mike Williams, Brad Williams and Mendy Williams Bowling. The other family members who are involved include Mendy’s husband, David Bowling, who is in the construction business with Brad; and Mike’s wife, DeAnna, who is handling the retail for the project.
“I’m at a point in my career where I don’t need any more money. That’s why Sara and I only own 12.5 percent of this enterprise. The children own 87.5 percent,” Williams said. “I don’t draw a salary. I donate my energy into this to help them succeed.”
These past three years have given Williams, who turned 69 on Thursday, an opportunity to reflect back on his life and his priorities.
In October 2005 (only two months after buying his interest in Lake Lanier Islands), Williams was diagnosed with lung cancer. He had surgery and most of one of his lungs was removed. He had to undergo nearly a year of treatment.
Then, in February 2007, Sara was diagnosed with breast cancer. She also had surgery and underwent treatment for the better part of last year.
“We are both doing great now,” Williams said. “We lost a little time, but now we are really blowing and growing.”
Virgil Williams and two of the children —- Mike and Mendy —- took me on a tour to see some of the progress occurring at the Islands. Mike is the only one of the four children working on the project full time. Mendy has been working on interior design and decorating.
One of the spots where her work is highly visible is the new Legacy Lodge and Conference Center, formerly the Emerald Pointe Hotel. The decor reflects the style of great lodges and resorts of America. The BullFrogs Bar & Grille has been totally renovated, complete with large artistic metallic frogs that Mendy commissioned for the restaurant.
Virgil Williams made sure we saw the stonework around one of the tunnels built to separate automobile traffic from golf carts and bicycles. He pointed to several of the pedestrian paths that are under construction.
“There were zero sidewalks and trails on this island,” Williams said. “We’ll have 26 miles of 10-foot-wide trails.”
The Williams family also has expanded its investment. The original leasehold interest was for 1,100 acres. Now, the family has acquired an additional 450 acres from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In the past year, Lake Lanier has experienced severe drought, which has caused some confusion in the region. None of the public activities on the islands has been impacted by the drought, including the water park.
“If it had to happen, it happened at a good time,” Williams said. “This drought coincidentally occurred when we were going to have a lot of the Islands out of service any way. The good Lord is looking after us.”
Williams also has been in talks with all the federal and state agencies involved with Lake Lanier to see if the water level of the lake could improve. Currently, the lake is down by about 15 feet. “I’m optimistic with my dealings that a solution is in the offing,” Williams said.
Much of the work being done should be completed by spring. Williams plans to build an “iconic” bridge between the first two islands. The gate also will be moved, offering the public free access to the first island.
Ultimately, the Williams family is planning to build a new water park. But, in the meantime, the family is making improvements on the existing water park so the development can meet a certain standard.
“We are spending money on things that we know won’t give us a good return, but we know are necessary for the kind of environment we’re trying to create,” Williams said. “The beauty of this legacy is the idea that we are not here for a quick buck.”
Williams doesn’t expect the investment in the Islands to start showing a return for another three to five years. Eventually, Williams believes the development will be quite lucrative for the family.
And that’s what this project is all about —- family.
That point really hit home when both Sara and Virgil Williams struggled with cancer. “It was a wake-up call for everybody about how delicate life is,” Mike said.
The opportunity to invest in Lake Lanier Islands came shortly after Virgil Williams decided to sell and retire from his varied business interests —- banking, engineering, real estate, media and sports teams.
Throughout his career, Williams didn’t make the mistake that some executives make —- working too hard at his family’s expense. “I have no regrets, and there’s no guilt,” he said.
“We all get along,” Mendy said. “My father has been able to keep harmony in the family. He puts his family first.”
Having cancer just “validated” what Virgil Williams was already doing —- working with his children and passing on his legacy.
“We don’t have any fear of death whatsoever,” Williams said of himself and Sara. “We are very optimistic that we can achieve our goal of working as a family, spending time as a family and enjoying seeing them succeed. We are going to do that as long as we are able. This probably is going to make us live longer.”
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Gov. Perdue shares good, bad news for state
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Speaking at the Commerce Club’s Leadership Lunch program, Gov. Sonny Perdue told business leaders that the state has much to celebrate even during these tough economic times.
“Georgia is going to survive,” Perdue said. “I think we’ll come out stronger and better.”
As a example, Perdue announced new figures from the Georgia Department of Economic Development. For the past fiscal year (ending June 30), 321 economic development projects located or expanding in the state bringing 19,668 jobs and $3.26 billion in new investment.
Those numbers reflected a 17 percent increase in investment over the 2007 fiscal year, a 13.1 percent increase in jobs and a 14.2 percent increase in the number of announcements.
Still, Perdue said the state’s revenues have suffered as a result of the down economy. But he has no intention to use the $900 million in reserves from this year’s budget to help bridge the gap. He also said he had not decided whether he would call a special session to deal with budget issues.
The governor also said he is getting ready to go to China this weekend and that he intends to go to Spain, Portugal and Italy this fall.
One of the funnier lines he delivered was when he talked about VW’s decision to build an auto plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., near Georgia’s border.
“Georgia will be the beneficiary of those jobs from suppliers,” Perdue said. “That deal is kind of like having a friend who has a boat. That’ll be a good ride.”
David Ratcliffe, CEO of the Southern Co., introduced the governor before his luncheon speech. And Perdue couldn’t help but make a commercial for Southern Co. and Georgia Power.
“That company and its subsidiaries have had as much to do with Georgia’s growth as anything,” Perdue said.
Then Perdue lashed out against a ruling from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore that will make it more difficult to build new coal-fired power plants.
The case concerned a proposal by LS Power Group of New Jersey and Dynegy of Houston to build a new coal plant in Early County.
Although he didn’t mention the judge by name, Perdue made his views known.
“It’s very frightening to me when one Superior Court judge can challenge the planning done over a number of years,” Perdue said. “We are in dangerous territory when one Superior Court judge can stop that kind of plan.”
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Atlanta Sports Council has new chairman
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Genthner, senior vice president and general manager of Atlanta-based FSN South and SportSouth, has been named chairman of the Atlanta Sports Council.
He replaces William Pate, a retired BellSouth executive and former chairman of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, who was chairman of the council from 2005 to 2006.
Genthner has played a vital role in building FSN South into the largest regional sports network with connections to more than 12 million cable and satellite homes. SportSouth, formerly Turner South, is the sixth largest regional sports network, reaching nine million homes in a six-state region.
The Atlanta Sports Council promotes the economic development opportunities associated with sports, including special events like the Super Bowl and the Final Four. It is affiliated with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
“Jeff brings a tremendous level of business acumen and savvy experience to this role, something that will provide a great benefit our organization,” said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Sports Council president. in a statement. “And perhaps his strongest attribute is his ability to foster and cultivate working relationships, which will only enhance the work that we do.”
Since beginning his broadcasting career in 1980, Genthner has held various roles including producer of the New York Yankees and New York Islanders telecasts; managing director of the U.S.. Olympic Committee’s Entertainment Properties division serving as a liaison between NBC and the International Olympic Committee for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney; and general manager of FSN Florida.
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