Sam Massell, Former Atlanta Mayor and President of the Buckhead Coalition, to Speak at Buckhead Business Association Weekly Breakfast

ATLANTA (February 14, 2013) – The Buckhead Business Association (BBA) is pleased to announce that former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell, will speak at the Buckhead Business Association Weekly Breakfast on February 21, 2013 at the City Club of Buckhead. Massell will give his annual State of Buckhead address.

“It is a true honor that Mayor Massell continues to choose the Buckhead Business Association Breakfast as the venue for his annual State of Buckhead address,” notes Brian Daughdrill, 2013 President of the BBA. “Massell’s ongoing support of the Buckhead community is unrivaled, and we look forward to hearing his perspective on the future of Buckhead in 2013 and beyond.”

Sam Massell is the founding president of the Buckhead Coalition, a nonprofit civic organization comprised of chief executive officers in the Buckhead area who are dedicated to ensuring sustainable growth and a high quality of life throughout the Buckhead area.

A life-long resident of Atlanta, Massell has had successful careers in real estate brokerage, elected office, the field of tourism, and association management. Massell spent 20 years as a realtor, rising to vice president of Allan-Grayson Realty Company, then one of the city’s largest commercial brokerage firms. During that time, he was elected a charter member of the Atlanta Real Estate Board Million Dollar Club and honored three times by the Georgia Association of Real Estate Boards for the “Outstanding Transaction of the Year.”

While in real estate, Massell became active in a range of civic work, which kick-started his career as an elected official. He served 22 years in elected office, including eight years as president of Atlanta’s Board of Aldermen (now City Council) and four years as mayor of Atlanta. While Massell was mayor, he was named president of the 15,000 member National League of Cities. He served a four-year term on the board of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and was a member of the board of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

Among other achievements, Massell’s administration is credited with establishing MARTA, developing the City’s first enclosed arena (the Omni Coliseum), and providing the Central City Woodruff Park at Five Points—all accomplished without calling on ad valorem taxes. He pioneered minority

opportunities in Atlanta city government as the first mayor to appoint a female to City Council and to appoint African Americans to lead city departments.

In addition to his current work with the Buckhead Coalition, Massell serves on numerous boards, including the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Atlanta Historical Society, and Atlanta Speech School. He is in the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau “Hospitality Hall of Fame”; Georgia Trend Magazine’s “Most Influential Georgian’s Hall of Fame”; International Civil Rights “Walk of Fame”; and Georgia State University Robinson College “Business Hall of Fame”.