Atlanta Galleria Now

Q&A with David Connell, CEO of Cobb Chamber of Commerce

With more than 2,500 member firms, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce plays a leading role in the Cobb business community. Its activities range from offering programs to develop business leaders to advocating for legislation that helps area businesses.

Below is a Q&A with David Connell, president and CEO of the Chamber, about the Chamber’s considerable achievements in 2011 and its ambitious plans for 2012.

A quick look back: What were some of the chamber’s biggest achievements in 2011?

Connell: Last year, under the leadership of chairman Rob Garcia, our economic development team worked with our partners — cities, the county, the state, development authorities and utilities — to attract 26 business relocations and expansions. These projects, which include The Home Depot’s new customer support center in Kennesaw, will create 3,093 jobs and $248 million in new investments in the county. 

Working with numerous community partners, we also launched Cobb’s Competitive Edge, which will create and implement an economic development plan that will generate high-wage job growth; strengthen our quality of life as well as our educational assets and infrastructure; and aggressively market our county to the world. We contracted with Market Street Services, one of the leading economic development consultants, to oversee the process, and the plan should be ready for implementation by early February.

We also added more than 500 new members, which means that 2,500 firms now belong to the Cobb Chamber, making it one of the largest chambers in the Southeast. And, we launched a pilot program with Walgreen’s that offers employees of member firms significant savings on prescription drugs.

What are your priorities for 2012?

Connell: Our top priority will be to begin implementing the recommended strategies outlined in the upcoming Competitive EDGE Economic Development Strategic Plan. With that plan, we will strengthen both our business retention and our recruitment efforts.

We will also offer new leadership development opportunities to our members that will build on historically strong programs like Leadership Cobb, Cobb Youth Leadership and Honorary Commanders. For example, to start off the year, we are bringing radio host Dave Ramsey’s one-day course on entrepreneurship to our members, and we are in conversations with several other local and national leadership development experts to create programs for our members and their teams.

Furthermore, we will look to continue to grow our membership with another membership drive.

Another session of the Georgia General Assembly began this month. What’s on your legislative agenda this year?

Connell: Our end goal is to support legislation that creates high-quality jobs at all skill levels in Cobb, the metro Atlanta region and throughout the state of Georgia.

As for some of the specifics, we will advocate for legislation that would allow communities in Georgia to bring before voters a referendum for a fractional (meaning less than a penny) special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST). As Cobb matures, we feel our need for a full penny for both the Education and Transportation SPLOSTs is diminishing. We will also advocate for legislation that would allow a portion of SPLOST funds to be spent on maintenance and operations of existing capital.

The Chamber also supports the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. Each year, $935 million in cargo value moves from Cobb through the port. Its expansion is vital to the future growth of our county, our region and our state. We also support the creation of the Georgia Venture Capital Program, which would be a $180 million venture capital fund to attract high-growth companies to the state. 

Some of our other many legislative initiatives include advocating for the July passage by voters of a 1-cent sales tax to fund a wide variety of transportation projects proposed as part of the Transportation Investment Act and supporting the continued tax-exempt status of non-profit community hospitals.

If a business is interested in joining the Chamber or exploring the various events and programs that you offer, what should it do?

Connell: Our website details all the aspects our organization. If they are interested in exploring membership, they can fill out a membership inquiry. To schedule an appointment with the Membership Sales Department, they should call Jeremy Cronemeyer at (770) 859-2337.

Cobb Energy Centre Hosts Luncheon with Former CNBC Chief Economist

As the economy continues to get untracked in 2012, the metro Atlanta region finds itself at something of a crossroads, former CNBC chief economist Marci Rossell told those attending the Commercial Real Estate Women of Atlanta’s January luncheon, held Thursday at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

The region has been shielded from the impact of past recessions because of robust population growth, Rossell noted. However, the metro area’s population has increased by just 1 percent over the past three years, meaning the region has struggled to shake off the effects of the downturn that began four years ago.

Atlanta officials now face a sobering question, according to Rossell: “Do we become Charlotte or do we become Detroit?” The former, she explained, responded to the decline of its textile-manufacturing sector in the early 1990s by making itself an appealing location for the finance sector, while the latter has continued to pin its hopes on the automobile industry.

The recent streamlining of its building permit process, which officials hope will make the city a desired destination for business expansions and relocations, indicates Atlanta is willing to make the changes needed to grow its economy, she said. 

Rossell’s analysis of Atlanta was just one component of an hour-long talk that also touched on the broader U.S. economy and the commercial real estate sector. 2012 will be marked by continued improvement in unemployment numbers, Rossell predicted. “This time next year – you can hold me to this – we’ll be at 7.5 percent unemployment,” she said.

She also downplayed the risks posed by the economic troubles of Europe, saying the U.S financial sector has prepared for the potential breakup of the euro zone. What would create a real setback is an unexpected event, such as last year’s earthquake in Japan or the debt-ceiling crisis, she argued. “What bumps you away from the [recovery] cycle? The unexpected things,” Rossell said. “Is there anybody here that hasn’t heard that Greece is in trouble?”

The commercial real estate sector has experienced improved transaction volume and financing conditions during the past two years, but pricing has yet to climb; however, pricing is always “the last phase of a [recovery] cycle,” she said.

Meanwhile, residential home prices may not rebound to their pre-recession, 2006 levels until 2016, Rossell indicated. “It takes 10 years for [residential] real estate to reach its previous peak,” she said.

Founded in 1982, CREW Atlanta’s mission is to elevate women to positions of power and influence in commercial real estate by providing resources and business opportunities. CREW Atlanta is a member of a national CREW Network. Lucky for us, our neighbor Cobb Energy Centre hosts a number of CREW’s events, including its upcoming 30^th Anniversary Gala on April 26.

To learn more about CREW Atlanta, check out its website.

More information about events at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre can be found at www.cobbenergycentre.com.

Atlanta Galleria Security Officers Honored for Helping Save Woman's Life

Atlanta Galleria Office Park security enforcement officers Lesley Rathbun and Fred Smart recently demonstrated heroism and bravery when they came to the rescue of a woman needing immediate medical attention.

The incident occurred in the Galleria 300 building where the two officers worked together to keep the woman alive until EMS could arrive and transport her to the hospital. Due to their efforts, the woman survived and is doing well. On June 14, Childress Klein held a ceremony where Lesley and Fred each was presented with an award of excellence thanking them for their courage and efforts that saved a life.

(Pictured above (left to right) are Bill Dowd, director of security for Atlanta Galleria Office Park; Leslie Day-Harrell, property manager for Galleria 300; Lesley Rathbun, security enforcement officer; Barry Desin, security project manager; and Fred Smart, security enforcement officer.)

“Both officers responded to the medical emergency quickly using the first response training and correct equipment provided by Childress Klein Properties,” said Bill Dowd, director of security for Atlanta Galleria Office Park. “In applying the AED and the CPR, the two veteran officers disregarded onlookers, the location (front lobby) and personal discomfort to do what was necessary to save the life of a person in need.  We are very proud of their professionalism and of how they represented our Security Department.”

Thank you Lesley and Fred for all your hard work and bravery!