Sam Massell announces new Buckhead Coalition program to develop young leaders at BCN meeting

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As the Buckhead Coalition celebrates its 25^th anniversarythis month, the organization’s President Sam Massell announced to the BuckheadCouncil of Neighborhoods Thursday night a Buckhead Ambassadors program designed totrain young people, preferably all 25 years old, to become Buckhead’s newleaders.

Sam Massell at the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods

“We’re going to do a lot of things in celebrating our 25^thanniversary,” said Massell, who has been the organization’s only president. Heindicated creating this Buckhead Ambassadors program for people between the ages of 20 and 30 is only one of those, but important.
Massell cited the many opportunities for young Buckhead residents tobecome the community’s leaders, such as the many neighborhood organizations—mostof which are represented at the BCN—civic groups, business organizations,churches, etc.
Massell said the Coalition has already arranged with the J. MackRobinson School of Business at Georgia State University, which has a campus inBuckhead, to provide a four-day training program in business as part of theambassador program.
The former Atlanta mayor reminded the 25 or so representatives ofBuckhead neighborhoods at the meeting at Peachtree Road Presbyterian Churchthat he has lived all of his life in Atlanta, but only the past 60 years inBuckhead.
Massell is often referred to as Buckhead’s chief public relations andmarketing professional and that was again part of his speech to the BCNThursday night as he talked about Buckhead and the economy. He told the grouphe has consistently said that Buckhead would be the first to come out of theeconomic downturn. “We are definitely coming out of it,” he stated.

Massel makes strong points about Buckhead growth

He said there are 2682 apartment units either presently underconstruction or announced by established reputable firms in Buckhead, which representsan increase of 21 percent in one year. “That says people are moving intoBuckhead,” he said.
He said the best indicator of that is the Census. From 2000 to 2010, thecity of Atlanta grew by 8 percent, Buckhead grew by 17.8 percent, he pointedout. Which he said indicates that almost all of the growth in Atlanta, was inBuckhead.
He stated the reason for that growth “is leadership on a grassrootslevel”.…leadership such as in organizations like the Buckhead Council ofNeighborhoods. “If I wasn’t president of the Buckhead Coalition, I would sayyours may be the strongest group in Buckhead.
“I feel comfortable here,” Massell told the group. “I commend you forwhat you are doing. I recognize there is power in numbers and you represent alarge amount of the 78,000 residents of Buckhead.”
He said that when Charlie Loudermilk founded the Coalition in Septemberof 1988, its purpose was to be “a supplement to government and work in theshadows to help as we could.” He said the board never answered his question ofwhat they wanted Buckhead to be. “I decided it should be something foreveryone.”

Massell chats with Buckhead's Dist. 8 City Councilwoman Yolanda Adrean
prior to the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods meeting Thursday night
as the Buckhead Coalition's Garth Peters (at left) listens. 

He said, unlike a government, the Coalition could not issue bonds orprovide tax incentives to developers and such. “We have to build an image ofcomfort level without incentives,” he added. He recalled something formerAtlanta Mayor William Hartsfield said: “Don’t give away the store.”
Massell recalled for the BCN members two instances in the past where heand the Coalition were not particularly neighborhood friendly.
The first was when he and the Coalition lobbied hard for the extensionof GA 400 through Buckhead, which disrupted neighborhoods and eliminated lotsof trees. “It took years to recreate the relationship with the neighborhoods,”he said, but “I feel we now have a good relationship.”
The second situation was when he proposed extending Pharr Road pastPiedmont Road and through the Peachtree Park neighborhood to connect to LenoxRoad and Buford Highway to help with traffic flow. In that case, he said theneighborhoods would hear nothing of that plan and it never went anywhere.
Delivering himself what might be considered an epitaph of his life,Massell said, “It is hard to believe you can be in politics 22 years and remainhonest.” But that is what he considers himself to be and is what he hopes thenew crop of leaders that come through the Buckhead Ambassador program will be.