Buckhead’s business and civil leaders met on Jan. 14 for the 36th annual Buckhead Coalition Luncheon to welcome the new CEO and members to the organization.
The event at the St. Regis highlighted the collective work of the Buckhead community in developing the neighborhood through public safety, city services, planning and zoning, transportation and infrastructure, health, and housing.
“Our Coalition’s vision is clear: to make Buckhead the most vibrant, welcoming place,” Jonathan Rodbell, the chairman of the Buckhead Coalition, said. “…A place where residents, businesses, and visitors thrive. This work is possible thanks to collaborative efforts with every person in this room, our members, our elected officials, and our citizens.”
In attendance at the meeting were over 200 leaders, including City Council President Marci Collier Overstreet and City Council members Liliana Bakhtiari, Alex Wan, Thomas Worthy, Wayne Martin, Matt Westmoreland, Andrea Boone, Mary Norwood, Byron Amos, Dustin Hillis, and Jason Winston; Chief of Police Darin Schierbaum; Atlanta Fire Rescue Chief Roderick Smith; Sheriff Pat Labat; Georgia legislators; Fulton County Board of Commissioners; and Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID) board members.
The Buckhead Coalition and Buckhead CID welcomed their new CEO, Katharine Kelley. Kelley follows Jim Durrett, whose retirement was celebrated at the event.
“These next couple of months inevitably will involve a lot of listening and conversations across our many partnerships and, of course, some very important strategic planning work,” Kelley said.
The organizations announced plans to commission a custom metal art piece in Durrett’s honor. The piece will be crafted by his son, Ryan Durrett, an artist and welder whose studio was destroyed in the South River Art Studios fire last year. The location of the piece in Buckhead will be announced soon.
The Coalition also announced this year’s new members, which include prominent community leaders:
- Peter Aman, Former Chief Stategy Officer, City of Atlanta
- Emily Balentine Barbour, Partner, Balentine, LLC
- Michael Hertz, President, United Distributors, Inc.
- Clyde Higgs, President and CEO, Atlanta Beltline, Inc.
- Doug McMahon, Managing Director, Tavistock Group/Nexus
- Joel Murphy, CEO, Murphy Capital and Advisory Group
- Mindy Selig, Co-CEO, Selig Enterprises
The event also included a fireside chat about driving economic growth in Atlanta and the upcoming FIFA World Cup between Ricky Smith, General Manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Jamie McCurry, Chief Administrative Officer of the Georgia Ports Authority. The conversation was moderated by Coalition member Trey Kilpatrick, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at Georgia Power.
Mayor Andre Dickens shared a video message with the audience about the importance of Buckhead’s development to Atlanta.
To learn more about the Buckhead Coalition, visit thebuckheadcoalition.com.
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