As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Dec. 1, 2017
A new initiative by civic-minded business leaders is being launched Dec. 1 as a way to make corporate generosity more visible and encourage other companies to give back to communities.
The goBeyondProfit initiative was founded by Jackson Healthcare, and a dozen or more business ambassadors have joined the effort to encourage business owners and company leaders to sigh the goBeyondProfit pledge.
The High Museum of Art has selected Georgia native Amy Sherald as the 2018 recipient of the prestigious David C. Driskell Prize in recognition of her contributions to the field of African-American art, the museum announced on Thursday.
Among her notable achievements, Sherald received the commission to paint former first lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, which will be unveiled on Feb. 12.
The Westside Future Fund unveiled its first property acquisition on Friday – a 35-unit vacant apartment building at 395 James P. Brawley Dr. NW.
The acquisition marked the beginning of a tangible effort to provide affordable housing to the legacy residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods.
Atlanta-based Mori Luggage & Gifts, a family based retail chain, was bought by Bergman Luggage on Thursday.
“We had 46 wonderful years,” said Jean Mori, who started the company in 1971 with his wife, Betty, when they opened their first store at Northlake Mall. “But the last couple of years have been a little tough.”
Cristo Rey Atlanta on Tuesday officially dedicated its signature building on the city’s skyline.
Top dignitaries – Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms among others – attended the “miracle” of Cristo Rey Atlanta – a Jesuit high school that will graduate its first class in May.
By early next month, Georgia lawmakers will publish a plan to deepen cooperation among and increase spending on metro Atlanta’s public transit agencies. They’ve got a big job, looking for a way to unify a region and minimize difficulties in an always-expensive, now fragmented, and sometimes contentious area of public policy.
Update: The Urban Design Commission, at its Jan. 24 meeting, deferred action on this designation until its meeting on Feb. 14 at the request of the owner. The protections will remain in place during this period.
An Atlanta landmark built to serve the dead will soon get a new lease on life.
The City of Atlanta is seeking to give the H.M. Patterson Funeral Home on Spring Street near 10th Street landmark status – a move that will protect the unique building from being demolished for new development.
The eve before the opening of the new Chick-fil-A restaurant on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was a night unlike any other in Atlanta’s history.
The “haves” and the “have nots” huddled indoors and ate dinner in the warmth of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant on the Westside of downtown on Wednesday night braving below-freezing temperatures and ice-covered streets.
Agnes Scott College President Elizabeth Kiss has been selected to become the new warden and CEO of the Rhodes Trust, the first woman to ever head the organization.
In a telephone conversation on Wednesday, Kiss described what an impact the Rhodes Trust has had on her life and how this is a perfect next step for her career.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has forged a working relationship with Meria Carstarphen, superintendent of the Atlanta Public Schools.
During a speech before the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta on Tuesday, Bottoms said the Atlanta City Council at its meeting later in the day would be considering her proposal to transfer the deeds of 50 properties from the City to APS without restriction or condition.
Although he didn’t attend the Salute to Greatness dinner on Jan. 13, President Donald Trump was certainly on the menu.
The Salute is the major fundraising event for the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (better known as the King Center), and it is held every year at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.
At Friday morning’s Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable (SART), State Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) strongly criticized the financial plan to pay for the two new nuclear power plants at Plant Vogtle.
Hufstetler, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, openily criticized Senate Bill 31 that passed in 2009 that approved the financial plan for Plant Vogtle. It was called the Georgia Nuclear Energy Financing Act, which permitted the utility to begin recovering the costs of financing the construction of the new nuclear plants from consumers before they came on line.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Thursday announced a 38-member transition team that includes the CEOs of Delta Air Lines and UPS as well as Killer Mike and rapper T.I.
“The 38-strong transition team represents a tremendous amount of diversity and depth,” said Bottoms, who was flanked by her two transition co-chairs – Vicki Palmer, a retired executive from CCE; and Larry Gellerstedt III, CEO of Cousins Properties.
Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, on Tuesday evening kicked off the series of events honoring her late father – Martin Luther King Jr. – during his birthday week.
It is a most important week taking place during a most important year – the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination, which will be on April 4.
Agnes Scott College has selected its next president – Leocadia “Lee” I. Zak – who recently served as director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency under President Barack Obama.
Zak will be the ninth president of Agnes Scott, succeeding current President Elizabeth Kiss, who is stepping down at the end of June. Zak will begin her duties on July 1.
Zak’s appointment comes after an eight-month search with the board of trustees looking for a bold and inspiring leader with a commitment to institutional excellence.
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Dec. 1, 2017
Thanks to a new $50 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Grady Health System is within $10 million of reaching its $165 million goal to fund two capital projects that will enable the hospital to become more financially sustainable.
The $50 million is in addition to the $200 million the Woodruff Foundation gave 10 years ago when the public safety net hospital was in dire financial straits. That $200 million was the catalyst in a $325 million private fundraising effort that saved the hospital from going under.
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Nov. 24, 2017
The Ben Franklin Academy, an independent, small college-prep high school near Emory University, has raised nearly $2 million to complete an expansion of its campus.
“We finished everything without any debt,” said Dr. Martha Burdette, Ben Franklin Academy’s head of school. “Our goal was $1.75 million, and we raised almost $2 million.
By Maria Saporta Family and friends bid farewell Friday to Atlanta’s most iconic architect and developer – John C. Portman Jr. The venue was the atrium of AmericasMart 3, one of Portman’s many creations. The setting displayed Portman’s unique design style – the glass elevators, the hollowed out interior of the building, the magical play […]
Updated with memorial service information.
Legendary Atlanta architect and developer John Portman passed away late Friday evening – capping a remarkable life that left its imprint all over the world – including Asia, Europe and the United States.
Despite his global reach, Portman was rooted in Atlanta. His headquarters were located in the 14-block Peachtree Center area of downtown Atlanta that he designed and developed over the span of his illustrious career.
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Nov. 24, 2017
A move by the Boy Scouts of America to start admitting girls has triggered a national backlash by the Girl Scouts of America.
And the national battle between the two national organizations may possibly strain what has been a strong collaborative relationship between the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta Council.
