On Sept. 28, National Good Neighbor Day, Neighbors Bank announced Dunwoody’s Judi Carlson the winner of the inaugural Neighbor of the Year contest, a nationwide search to find and celebrate the everyday people who make their communities better.
Carlson, longtime director of Malachi’s Storehouse, who stepped down earlier this year, was selected by public vote from among 10 finalists across the nation and will receive a $20,000 grand prize, according to a release from the organization.
“I hope that bringing recognition to this wonderful outreach ministry of a small church in metro Atlanta will remind people that we are all walking through life together – and that when we come together, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of our neighbors,” Carlson said.
About Carlson
As the longtime director of Malachi’s Storehouse, Carlson led a team of more than 100
volunteers to provide food, clothing, and dignity to those facing hardship in the metro Atlanta area.
In 2025 alone, Malachi’s distributed 713,000 pounds of food, serving 325 families every week and reaching an estimated 70,000 people over the course of the year.
Neighbors can shop market-style for groceries, enjoy a hot lunch, and find gently used clothing, even fresh produce from Brook Run Park’s organic garden.
“Families are treated as guests, not recipients. What makes Malachi unusual is that roughly a quarter of its volunteers were once clients themselves. They get a t-shirt, join the morning circle, and work alongside everyone else,” the release said. “You would never know who came to give and who once came to receive.”
The nomination
Carlson was nominated by Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch, who came to her after she
recognized that local kids who relied on free and reduced-lunch programs would be hit hardest by a gap in support.
Despite not knowing Deutsch personally, Carlson was immediately open to coordinating help with Malachi’s Storehouse, the release said. This responsiveness to her community, Deutsch said, speaks to why she nominated her in the first place.
“Judi has the biggest heart and the most compassion of any human being I’ve ever met,” Deutsch said. “She has a gift for working with people of all types, in all kinds of places, and frankly, just getting the job done.”
