Atlanta is emerging as the national hub for volunteerism.

And the selection of Atlanta as this year's site for the National Conference on Volunteering and Service reinforces that trend.

About 4,500 leaders from around the country will come to Atlanta to participate, including several former presidents. The presidential candidates have been invited to attend the conference, which will be June 1-3.

The conference also will be a showplace for the new organization formed by a merger of Hands On Network and the Points of Light Foundation, which is based in Atlanta. In fact, the merger was announced at last year's convention.

On the opening night, the new organization will reveal its unified brand —- including a name that won't be as unwieldy as Points of Light & Hands On Network.

So the conference will provide a forum to showcase Atlanta and the new entity, which is being run by Michelle Nunn, co-founder of both Hands On Atlanta and Hands On Network.

"It does feel like Atlanta has an important, prominent and increasing leadership role in this volunteer and service movement," Nunn said.

The combined organization has about 100 employees in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and around the country. More people are moving to the Atlanta headquarters, and Nunn said the plan is to expand its facilities.

The conference "gives Atlanta a chance to demonstrate its hospitality and present itself as the cradle of volunteerism," said Ann Cramer, director of corporate citizenship and affairs for IBM North America.

Cramer is co-chairing the host committee along with Eric Tanenblatt, senior managing director for McKenna Long & Aldridge, the law firm that serves as pro bono counsel for the merged organization.

The host committee is a who's who of prominent Atlantans, and several major Atlanta companies, such as UPS, Delta Air Lines and Home Depot, have signed up as sponsors.

The theme of the conference, which is being co-sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service, borrows one of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous lines: "The urgency of now!" Not surprisingly, Atlanta's civil rights history will be featured during the three days. There also will be service projects in the community during the convention.

For the past year, the merged organization has been busy combining the offerings of both Points of Light & Hands On Network, which together have 370 affiliates nationwide.

"It's a completed merger with the exception of the brand," said Delores Druilhet Morton, vice president of learning and leadership development for Points of Light & Hands On Network. "We've been working really hard this year to build a cohesive organization under one umbrella."

Tanenblatt said there's another benefit that will come from highlighting volunteerism in Georgia. Currently, Georgia ranks in the bottom 10 of per capita volunteer participation.

"We want to move that needle up," Tanenblatt said. "We want to start people at a young age."

Long road leads back to Atlanta

After a couple of months in his new role, Brad Branch couldn't be happier serving as Deloitte's managing partner for the Atlanta/Birmingham practice.

Branch actually has been with the same accounting firm for 30 years, even though it has changed names numerous times through mergers. For his first 20 years, he was based in Atlanta, specializing in telecommunications. But in 1998, he and his family moved to Germany, and later to London, before returning to Atlanta in 2004.

He liked the change he saw in Atlanta —- particularly the growth in intown living.

"Atlanta really has an opportunity to bring residents back to the city center," Branch said. Deloitte also has plans to consolidate its employee base in the 191 building on Peachtree. Currently, the firm —- which includes both auditing and consulting services —- has 2,000 employees (about 820 on the consulting side).

"This is the perfect job," Branch said. "It's a great marketplace and the right time for us. We've got a critical mass in the marketplace."

For now, Branch still holds another job as regional managing partner for Deloitte Consulting in the Southeast.

Deloitte does have the distinction of having 100 members of United Way's Alexis de Toqueville Society, each of whom give at least $10,000 a year to the organization. And Deloitte partner Ed Heys is chairing the 2008 United Way campaign.

Branch's predecessor, Guy Budinscak, has been promoted to vice chairman and senior advisory partner of Deloitte, working directly with the CEO on large-client relationships.

Norfolk Southern exec to retire

One of Norfolk Southern's top leaders in Atlanta is retiring April 1. Van Baker, director of real estate and contract services, has been in the railroad business for 40 years, starting with Southern Railway Co.

"Probably you are wondering if the railroad will come to a halt on April 1," Baker wrote in an e-mail to his friends and contacts. "To that end, I am proud to say it will continue to give the service that it always has, and my replacement ... Patti Carroll, will surely run circles around me."

Longtime activist to be honored

Dixon Taylor, a longtime leader in Atlanta's gay and lesbian community, is receiving the lifetime achievement award from the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce a week from today at the Georgia Aquarium.

Taylor has been involved with virtually every gay/lesbian organization in town, including serving as an investor in Southern Voice from 1997 to 2001. She also has served as vice president of the Atlanta Executive Network and was on the board of the Atlanta Gay Games in 1993 and on the advisory board in 2006.

msaporta@ajc.com