Staffers from The Civic League and Atlanta Regional Commission headed to Tyrone in Fayette County last week for the first of five forums on Plan 2040, the comprehensive plan for accommodating regional economic and population growth over the next 30 years. More than 60 people attended; most were from Fayette County but a few South Fulton and Coweta residents were there as well.

“Lively” does not begin to describe the evening’s discussion, with many attendees having strong feelings about transportation and regional planning. As in any community, though, not everyone agreed on everything, and we left with a range of thoughtful ideas on how limited resources for transportation should be maximized across the region and what local projects should be included in the project list for the 2012 regional transportation sales tax referendum.

Feedback from all five forums will be included in a summary report to be released in late April. Make sure to get your two cents in by joining us at one of the four remaining Plan 2040 Neighborhood Forums:

March 22 - J.P. Carr Services Center, Conyers

March 31 - Manuel Maloof Auditorium, Decatur

April 14 - Suwanee City Hall

April 19 -- Mansour Center, Marietta

All Neighborhood Forums run from 6:45 to 9:00 p.m. and are free and open to the public, though reservations are requested to ensure that we have enough materials for all participants. Directions to each location can be found on our web site. Questions? Please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (404) 413-0331.

On Saturday, March 26, the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board will hold a Citizen Leadership Seminar at Atlanta City Hall (55 Trinity Street) from 9 AM to 1:30 PM.  This training session for citizen engagement will help create a service culture where citizen leadership can thrive and increase citizen's knowledge base of city services and governance. 

It is free, but you'll need to RSVP to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We’re counting down the days until our annual What’s Right with the Region! dinner on Thursday, February 24, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Cobb Galleria Centre.  This year we are pleased to welcome keynote speaker Dr. G. P. “Bud” Peterson, president of Georgia Tech, who will talk about the importance of developing tomorrow’s leaders to design a better future, locally and globally, and working together today to address challenges in the Atlanta region.

Following  Dr. Peterson’s speech we will present the Civic League Founders' Award to Tad Leithead, Atlanta Regional Commission’s first “citizen chair” and three Regional Excellence Awards to former Fayette County Commission Chair Jack Smith, StoryCorps Atlanta and Sustainable Norcross, Inc.

If you’ve not yet made your reservation, please do so right away. Tables of 10 begin at $1500, and single tickets are $150. Online registration will be available through this Thursday, February 17. After that time, please call (404) 413-0331 to inquire about availability.



Special thanks to our Platinum Sponsor, AT&T, and Gold Sponsors, Bank of North Georgia, Cox Communications and Georgia Power. We are grateful for their generous support of this year’s What’s Right with the Region!