On Board Atlanta: An In Town Inter City Visit

Atlanta – The Regional Business Coalition (RBC), with support from the Atlanta Regional Commission, is hosting On Board Atlanta, an In Town, Inter-City Visit, on Oct. 10, 2016 at the Cobb Galleria Centre. This all-day summit is designed to create a regional conversation about metro Atlanta’s future by learning from leading experts from across the country on a variety of issues from civic engagement to transportation to economic development.
John Schuerholz, Vice Chairman of the Atlanta Braves, will be the Keynote Speaker to begin the day and will be followed by several panel discussions featuring speakers from across the nation on Building Winning Communities. The panel on civic engagement will be moderated by Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens and will feature nationally recognized Chiefs of Police. The panel on workforce development will be moderated by State Senator Lindsey Tippins, chair of Senate Education Committee and Irene Munn, Director of Policy for Georgia’s Lt. Governor. The role of media panel will be moderated by long-time Atlanta journalist Maria Saporta. Craig Lesser, former Georgia Commissioner of Economic Development, will moderate the panel on economic development. Tad Leithead, Chairman of Cumberland Community Improvement District and Past ARC Chair will moderate the panel on building infrastructure. Michael Paris, President and CEO of the Council for Quality Growth will moderate the panel on transportation that features Keith Parker, General Manager of MARTA, and transportation experts from Cleveland and Orlando. Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle will close the summit by speaking on Georgia’s number one priority – education.
“Since 1997, ARC has led annual trips that enable metro Atlanta leaders to learn how regions across North America tackle similar issues as we face back at home," said Doug Hooker, Executive Director of ARC. “On Board Atlanta is an exciting event that brings experts from some of the regions we have visited, such as Dallas, Cleveland and Washington, D.C. to metro Atlanta, where information and best practices can be shared before a larger community audience.”
 
Metro Atlanta area chamber leaders have traditionally participated in LINK trips and have also coordinated city-to-city visits within their communities to learn best practices from cities that have had success in redeveloping their downtowns, attracting quality development, improving education, establishing transportation systems and improving quality of life.
“The Regional Business Coalition (RBC) is made up of 15 Chamber of Commerce organizations that have joined together to advocate for a better metro Atlanta region,” said Don Barbour, RBC Board Chairman. “On Board Atlanta is a way to expand our focus beyond the business community and to share what has been learned on city-to-city trips over the last several years. We are very excited to bring this event to Atlanta.”
Cost of the On Board Atlanta event is $149 per person. Individuals associated with the RBC, or its chamber members, ARC, Council for Quality Growth and other sponsors will pay $99. Interested participants can register at www.onboardatlanta.com. Organizers are anticipating a sell-out crowd, including members of the General Assembly, local city and county elected officials and staffs, community leaders and business leaders.
For more information, contact John Sell, On Board Atlanta director of communications, at 678-799-1742 or johnsell125@gmail.com.
The Regional Business Coalition of Metropolitan Atlanta (RBC) is an organization of 15 local Chambers of Commerce throughout the metro Atlanta region.  RBC member chambers represent over 10,000 businesses that collectively employ over 1 million metro Atlanta residents. The RBC’s primary goal is to represent the interests of RBC Chamber members on public policy issues impacting our transportation, water and air quality and to advocate for solutions that improve metro Atlanta’s quality of life and economic vitality.
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the official planning agency for the 10-county Atlanta Region, including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties as well as the City of Atlanta and 70 other cities.  The Atlanta Regional Commission serves as a catalyst for regional progress by focusing leadership, attention and planning resources on key regional issues.