Lured to Atlanta by Olympics, they ended up staying

About this time 12 years ago, Atlanta was experiencing a post-Olympic exodus. Following the athletes and fans on their way out of town, hundreds of people — perhaps thousands — who had come to work at the Olympics also were leaving.

Some remained, though. Of the roughly 2,200 staff members of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, about one-third came from out of town in the years leading to the Games to help stage the event, according to Harvey Louie, an ACOG employee who maintains an online database of Atlanta Olympic staffers. Louie estimates perhaps 60 are still in Atlanta. Here are some of their stories.

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Courtesy of Heda Burdzovic

Heda Burdzovic, seen here with the Bosnia-Herzegovina team during the 1996 Games, came to Atlanta as a refugee.

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KEN SUGIURA / ksugiura@ajc.com

David and Dana Lee, seen here with children (from left) Nico, 1; D.J., 6; and Eva, 3, came to Atlanta from Buffalo to work for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and got engaged shortly after the 1996 Olympics.

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Darren Comer, who moved to Atlanta from Dublin in 1995 and never moved back.

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David and Dana Lee

• Came from: Buffalo in 1994 and 1995, respectively

• Jobs: Field hockey venue manager, accreditation liaison

David Lee and Dana Trammell came to Atlanta in a dating relationship, then got engaged shortly after the Olympics. The two had opportunities to follow the Olympics, but decided to stay, David said, “to raise a family and have roots.” Dana worked at the Carter Center for seven years and served on the boards of the Atlanta Children’s Shelter and Hands on Atlanta. She was named an Outstanding Young Atlantan in 1998. She now publishes an online journal for health students while David worked for the Braves and now is an Atlanta Spirit vice president. They live in East Atlanta with three children.

• Quote: “It just fits. We love it. Good church life, good social life, good community to raise kids.” — David Lee

Heda Burdzovic

• Came from: Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, as a refugee in 1995

• Job: Envoy to the Bosnia-Herzevogina team

Burdzovic arrived in Atlanta as a refugee. She did not know how long she would stay, planning only to finish her engineering degree. During the Olympics, she helped Bosnian athletes with transportation, translation and other needs. After the Olympics, Burdzovic finished her engineering degree at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta. She got a job, developed a support network including classmates, friends and her host family, and decided to stay. The only reason she would leave, she said, would be if she went back to Sarajevo.

• Quote: “After I graduated, I still wasn’t sure if I was going back or staying here. Then I got my job, and before you know it, it’s 13 years later.”

Courtney and Don Hendrix

• Came from: Orlando in 1992, Cleveland in 1994, respectively

• Jobs: Ticket sales, selling corporate suites

Working in the same department after getting hired in 1994, they met (they were single). They dated and wanted to stay after the Games, drawn by friends, weather and cost of living. But with the job market flooded with ex-ACOG employees after the Games, they moved to Washington and got married in 1998. They moved back the same year. Living on the DeKalb County side of Atlanta, they have two children and a third on the way. Don, 39, is in pharmaceutical sales. Courtney, 41, stays at home.

• Quote: “It seems like 150 years ago.” — Courtney Hendrix

Darren Comer

• Came from: Dublin, Ireland, in 1995

• Job: Rowing and kayak venue transportation manager, Lake Lanier

Comer came with two college buddies to “have an adventure in America.” Comer got a job with Wachovia, then began work with an Atlanta-based event consulting company, which took him to more Olympics, the World Cup, Super Bowl and tennis U.S. Open. His two friends eventually returned to Ireland, but Comer never found a reason to leave. He got married and two siblings have followed him here. Comer, 35 and a real estate developer, will open a bar, the Grange Public House, with his siblings in September in Decatur.

• Quote: Atlanta “has been great to me. It’s afforded me all these opportunities I wouldn’t have had in Dublin.”

Glenn Kurtz

• Came from: New York in 1995

• Job: Managing transportation for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies

Kurtz figured he would be an “event junkie,” someone who works big event after big event. But prior to the Games, Kurtz met a Southern girl and, he said, “that was pretty much the end.” They married in 1997 and Kurtz, 41, now is a vice president of Lanier Parking. Kurtz admits he thought for a couple years after the Games how he could get back to New York. But with a wife, young daughter and home in Grant Park, he’s settled. Event junkie friends sometimes encourage him to join them for the next big event, but, Kurtz said, “I’m just not part of that crew.”

• Quote: “Atlanta wasn’t on my radar, but … I’m pretty glad to be here.”

Kent Schneider

• Came from: Boston in 1994

• Job: Transportation scheduling for media

First off, Schneider said the infamous transportation snafus at the Olympics “had nothing to do with us.” Schneider came with friends from Boston College, drawn by the Olympics and the city’s reputation as a “cool, new town.” For about two years, Schneider expected to return to Boston, but plans changed. “There’s so much to do in Atlanta and I think it just keeps getting better,” he said. After the Games, he took a part-time job with a rug company. He ended up staying there for 12 years. Last November, Schneider, 35, and Paul Baird, a Boston College friend who also worked at ACOG and the rug company with him, opened Verde Home, an eco-friendly home furnishing store.

• Quote: “I’ve been here for a long time. Now it’s just home.”