COVER STORY
2008 Most Respected Business Leader: The Many Worlds Of Tom Bell
By Jerry Grillo
Cousins Properties’ CEO brought a fresh pair of eyes to Grady Hospital’s financial plight and is a leader in efforts to save the facility. He also has guided one of the nation’s premier REITs and blended in seamlessly with Atlanta’s business culture.
ABOUT THE COVER: Daemon Baizan photographed Tom Bell at Cousins Properties’ headquarters for Georgia Trend. Steve Penley painted the cover portrait from one of the photographs.
FEATURES
Food, Glorious Food
By Krista Reese
The state’s organic food movement is broad enough to include south Georgia cattlemen, small farmers and a mainstream crowd of savvy chefs, concerned parents and shoppers in search of better-tasting tomatoes. Demand for locally-grown food is high, but supply can be scarce and distribution is often faulty.
2008 Family Business Awards
Stories by Patty Rasmussen and Patti Ghezzi
Winners of this year’s awards, selected by the Cox Family Enterprise Center at Kennesaw State University, are burton + Burton, Bogart; Pull-A-Part, Atlanta; Parker’s Heating & Air Conditioning, Americus; and Harris ACE Hardware and Building Supply, Jesup.
Hallowed Grounds
By Ed Lightsey
Georgia’s cemeteries are benefitting from renewed interest in historic tourism and genealogy, appreciation for art and architecture and a reverence for generations past.
A New Age On Ag Hill
By Jerry Grillo
A reinvented College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, an established vet college and the world’s first stand-alone ecology school show a university redefining itself for the 21st century. UGA is the frontrunner for a new $450-million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.
Chuck Eaton: Power Source
By Susan Percy
Georgia’s PSC chairman says providing the energy needed to power a rapidly-growing state will require some tough decisions, as the major supplier of electricity looks at natural gas, coal and nuclear options.
OUR STATE
Fannin County: A Brand New Economy
Focus on tourists, entrepreneurs
Plus,
Fannin County At-A-Glance
By Randy Southerland
Albany/Dougherty County: Potent Forces At Work
Training centers bring jobs; housing stabilizes
Plus,
Albany/Dougherty County At-A-Glance
By Ed Lightsey
Banks County: Making Preparations
Preserving rural areas, planning for growth
Plus,
Banks County At-A-Glance
By Matt Hennie
DEPARTMENTS
Organizations: Atlanta Boy Choir
By Shannon Wilder
The GreenRoom
By Ben Young
Political RoundUp
By Tom Crawford
Neely Young: The Do-Nothing Legislature
The crisis of leadership in the General Assembly is a result of no one’s wanting to deal with House Speaker Glenn Richardson and his abrasive management style. When things don’t go his way, his temper flares.
Business Casual: Working Moms
By Susan Percy
Most working mothers, at some point, wish they had the luxury of not working and most stay-at-home-moms, at some point, would like the opportunity to claim or reclaim a career. But everybody is grateful for a little help.
Trend Radar
By Ed Lightsey
Profile: Covering His Bases
By Patty Rasmussen
Attorney Abe Schear has been writing his baseball newsletter since 1999
Legends: Standing Tall
By Gene Asher
Jolene Ammons was at the top of women’s basketball in the 1960s
Art Of The Meal: Atmosphere: Traditional, French
By Krista Reese
An Atlanta restaurant that does one thingvery well: serve good, traditional French food in an attractive and intimate environment.
Politics: A True Original
By Tom Crawford
The late Rep. Kil Townsend, an early Georgia Republican, was a tilter at windmills, forever brimming over with ideas on how Georgia could improve the way it governed itself.
