Don't miss the State of Buckhead annual address by Buckhead Coalition President and former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell. Meet the 2010 BBA officers and Board of Directors as they are sworn in for their 2010 term by Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, Jr.
Sam Massell, Mayor of Atlanta from 1970–1974 and affectionately known as “the Mayor of Buckhead”, will be the keynote speaker at the next weekly breakfast meeting of the Buckhead Business Association (BBA) on Thursday, February 18, 2010. He will present his annual “State of Buckhead” address, which will be followed by the official swearing-in of this year’s BBA Board.
Massell, life-long resident of Atlanta, has had successful careers in real estate brokerage (twenty years as a Realtor, becoming Vice President of Allan-Grayson Realty Company), elected office, the field of tourism, and association management.
He served twenty-two years in elected offices, including eight as President of Atlanta's Board of Aldermen (now known as the City Council) and four as its Mayor. While holding that office, he was also chosen as President of the 15,000 member National League of Cities. In addition, he has served a four-year term on the Board of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, and was a Board Member of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.
After leaving full-time public service, he entered the tourism business in Buckhead where he operated for thirteen years under the name of Your Travel Agent Sam Massell. Mayor Massell now manages a nonprofit civic organization as founding President of the Buckhead Coalition. He is listed by Georgia Trend Magazine in the "Most Influential Georgians Hall of Fame."
Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, Jr. will swear in the 2010 BBA Board of Directors at the meeting.
Judge Bedford was elected to the Superior Court of Fulton County in 1996 and reelected in 2000 and 2004. Prior to serving on the bench, Judge Bedford was a practicing trial lawyer handling a variety of cases including criminal, domestic, personal injury and general civil work. He first served in the criminal/civil division and later served for two years on the Family Court before returning to the criminal/civil division, and was instrumental in setting up the Family Court Pilot Project/Family Division.
Having graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in International Affairs in 1966, he went on to receive his JD from Emory University School of Law in 1973. Judge Bedford served on active duty in the US Navy from 1966-1970 and is a veteran of Viet Nam where he served as a Naval Flight Officer on the Carrier USS Intrepid from which he flew over 100 combat support missions. He is an active member of the Atlanta Viet Nam Veterans Business Association, and past president of the Atlanta Bar Association. He has served or currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Bar Metro Bar Caucus, Brandon’s Foundation, Inc., the Atlanta Humane Society, and the Atlanta History Center World War II Commemorative Committee and is the current President of the Emory Law Alumni Association.
The weekly BBA breakfast meeting, is held at the City Club of Buckhead every Thursday from 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. The City Club of Buckhead is located at 3343 Peachtree Road, Suite 1850. Tickets are $10 for BBA members, and $20 for visitors and guests. For more information, please check the BBA website at
www.buckheadbusiness.org.
