Falcons tough to beat as brand for physical therapy centers

The value of the Atlanta Falcons brand is such that there’s no end to its possible business associations.

“We could go into the Atlanta Falcons dry cleaning business,” muses club owner Arthur Blank.

That’s not happening, but Blank says his AMB Group’s Atlanta Falcons Physical Therapy Centers are ahead of plan, suggesting the wisdom of the year-old initiative. There are now four centers, with two added through a recent acquisition, and more likely to come.

The project is business opportunity-driven —- the $325 million physical therapy market in Georgia lacks marquee name brands. And, it leverages the company’s strengths, including a focus on wellness, retail and customer relationships.

The centers provide “another way to be connected in a real positive kind of way,” says Blank. “It’s a very natural extension of what the Atlanta Falcons care about.”

It’s personal, too. “My passion for fitness is important,” Blank says, adding that he understands firsthand the importance of proper rehabilitation after surgery.

> One thing people unfamiliar with the American Jewish Committee ask when they see the list of National Human Relations Award honorees is, “Don’t they have to be Jewish?” Well, no, says Atlanta Chapter Director Judy Marx, adding that the work the group tries to do, and the work it honors, is about “making the whole community better.”

Next Tuesday, Cousins Properties Inc. Chairman and CEO Tom Bell will be honored for his outside-the-office efforts, which included helping right Grady Memorial Hospital and aiding the revitalization of downtown.

Bell joins past honorees including President Jimmy Carter. Marx says Bell has done much, despite his short Atlanta tenure. “For a relative newbie,” she says, “he’s done an amazing job.”

> When Delta Air Lines flew its inaugural flight from Atlanta to Mumbai on Saturday, economic development advocates from the state and metro area were aboard for a 10-day business mission to India and the United Arab Emirates.

“Strategic calls on companies from one of the world’s fastest-growing economies are critical to Georgia’s continued economic growth in this flattened world,” wrote Ken Stewart, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, in an e-mail from India.

“We have a very strong and supportive Indian business community in Georgia,” Stewart noted, adding that the Indian government has just announced it will open a consulate general here, “which will strengthen our ties even more.”

> Ted Turner is never far from sight, or sound. This Sunday, he’s on “60 Minutes” to hype his book, “Call Me Ted.” Turner swipes at government bailouts of private companies, noting that when CNN was imperiled, he pulled through without any help from Washington.

dmarkiewicz@ajc.com