Change may be afoot at downtown's Commerce Club.

When the Commerce Club board meets Thursday, Chairman David Ratcliffe will recommend that the historic business club study a possible merger with the 191 Club.

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"Let me say very clearly and correctly: We have not made any decision," said Ratcliffe, who is also CEO of Southern Co. "But what we will do is undertake a more thorough evaluation of an option to move the Commerce Club to the 191 building and merge the Commerce Club membership with the 191 membership."

The Commerce Club has been a fixture at Five Points since 1960, serving as the key gathering spot for Atlanta's power structure. Even today, its board is composed of the top business leaders in the region.

The 191 Club is in the 191 Peachtree building about five blocks north of Five Points, where it has been since 1991. But the club was an outgrowth of the Atlanta City Club, which had been in the nearby Equitable building and dated to 1972.

Because much of the traditional business base — banks, law firms and accounting firms — has migrated north of Five Points, the future of the Commerce Club has been in question for more than a decade.

There have been a variety of proposals to move the club to several spots in Midtown or to merge it with other business clubs. But the Commerce Club stayed put because it was not economically feasible to move.

The 191 merger, however, is the most serious offer the Commerce Club has considered.

"Obviously, I think this has more meat on the bones than anything we have seen so far," Ratcliffe said. "What we will look at are different alternatives in the 191 building. It could be an expansion of the existing 191 Club, or it could be a totally new location on the top two floors of the building. Either place would have to undergo extensive renovation."

The Commerce Club, which sits atop an older garage at the corner of Broad and Marietta streets, has experienced declining membership, Ratcliffe said, because "luncheon clubs are challenged."

"One of the major issues with the current facility has been ease of access and parking," said Ratcliffe, who added those could also be issues at 191. "If we can't improve our reality, we shouldn't move. We don't have to move."

Georgia State University owns the Commerce Club building, and it has offered the club an attractive long-term lease.

"The club is operating well," Ratcliffe said. "We are not losing money."

The analysis will examine all sides of a possible merger and whether it would make sense financially to move to the 191 building, which is owned by Cousins Properties.

In fact, Cousins CEO Tom Bell is vice chairman of the Commerce Club board, and Cousins executive Larry Gellerstedt is president of the Commerce Club board. (In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Commerce Club.)

"It is awkward, and they are sensitive to that," Ratcliffe said. "They do not want to be perceived as having undue influence on this. By the same token, both of them are well-respected business leaders who have a vested interest in the Commerce Club, the 191 building and the community."

The analysis will be done over the summer, and Ratcliffe hopes the board will be prepared to make a decision in the fall.

Ratcliffe said he understands that "there's a wealth of tradition" at the Commerce Club.

"The effort here will be to try to preserve the best of the Commerce Club legacy," he said, adding that the entire board and members will have opportunities to share their thoughts. "We are committed to preserving the best of both clubs."

Literary Action gathers donations

Literacy Action is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a special challenge grant from the Scott Hudgens Family Foundation.

The foundation has agreed to give the organization $100,000 as long as the gift is matched by others. As a way to encourage donors to give larger amounts, the foundation will offer a 2-for-1 match for gifts of $2,500 or more.

The donation is indicative of the growing financial support that Literacy Action is receiving in the community. It also received a $200,000 grant from the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation.

"Functional illiteracy and poverty go hand-in-hand," said Emily Ellison, who has been president and executive director of the organization since September 2006. "It's not just reading and writing, it's financial literacy as well. It's an issue with a huge economic impact."

Ellison said a recent study estimated that the Atlanta region has more than 800,000 adults who are functionally illiterate. Currently, Literacy Action serves between 425 to 450 students a year. But these gifts will permit the organization to serve more people.

Meanwhile, the organization is planning its 40th anniversary celebration at a Sept. 18 luncheon.

Kline feels CCE in good hands

As Lowry Kline retired as chairman of Coca-Cola Enterprises last week, he looked back at his legacy at Coke's largest bottler. (Kline also served as the company's CEO a couple of times, and he had been in the industry for more than 25 years).

"We've got the best quality and capability on our board of directors and management that we have had in the history of the company," he said. "If I leave with a little bit of a legacy, it's leadership."

But Kline didn't seem to be upset to be retiring at this time. "The business is challenged right now because of economic circumstances in North America," he said.

He will leave those challenges to John Brock, who became chairman at CCE's annual meeting last week, in addition to being CEO.

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