The stadium boasts roughly 4,000 solar panels and will use 70 percent less energy. He notes pervasive cynicism about corporate leaders and perceptions that the drive for profit comes at the expense of public good. 1, Arthur Blank was born to Molly and Max Blank in Queens, New York. But staying in the city and trying to work with the community definitely beats the usual stadium construction scam and unwanted racial division that has become far too common in sports today. And being a good listener, it's an art form that we all can possess. And he recently gave $250,000 to committees supporting Joe Biden, Forbes reported. (Airlines resisting vaccination mandates for passengers are another prime example of failure of true leadership.) Theres a revelation of Blank stumbling dazedly into a parking lot after being abruptly forced out of Home Depot in 2001, and his devastation after the Falcons epic 2017 loss in the Super Bowl. Weve never won a Super Bowl, and this years loss in Super Bowl LI was especially hard to take. He and his brother, Michael, were raised in a one-bedroom apartment. And myself, if you will, I'm at the very bottom of the pyramid as a servant leader and somebody who is there to provide leadership, but also provide whatever that needs to be done for us to be successful. The rescue team said the man was buried up to his neck in soil. 2023 Cox Media Group. I was gagged. We've broken every season ticket record per game. /Type /XObject However, the Atlanta Falcons new home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, may foster a new era of stadium construction and community engagement. Shrinking from conflict over something as valid, real and life-protecting as a vaccine is not what Id call, manly, brave, courageous or patriotic. Proceeds from sales of Good Companygo to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. Think about How do I listen to the people that are actually trying to serve and how do we put results in place that would give them the very best chance for equality and for success and for fair treatment? And I think we have to strive more for that. The system has worked well for the multi-billionaire and co-founder of The Home Depot. Together we will rise above this on the strength of what has always made Atlanta great its people, its leaders of past and present and its unique culture that is welcoming to all. A little shaky now. But go ahead and do it, if that's what you want. So we did it. 8 . GALEO strives for a better Georgia where the Latino community is engagedcivically, and its contributions and concerns are recognized. He and an associate, Bernie Marcus, began experimenting with product discounts in one Handy Dan outlet and observed positive effects of decreasing costs as a percentage of sales and an increase in customer volume. "People are coming from different places, which is okay, but it's not okay when they're disrespectful; it's not okay when they're not kind. But what, I ask, would be the effect of a dozen or so top current and former stars, coaches and league executives stepping up to a camera and telling pro footballs millions (and millions) of fans to get vaccinated for the sake of other people like the season ticket holders sitting next to them if not themselves? Now 78, he is largely beloved in Georgia as an entrepreneur, owner of two professional sports teams and a prolific philanthropist. And then he came up to my suite afterward and it was like 10, 15 minutes later, his face was just full of tears and he said that he was so moved by it. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. American professional sports owners have contributed nearly $47 million in federal elections since 2015, according to research by ESPN in partnership with FiveThirtyEight, including $10 million. You know, he uses the phrase community of chaos, that we move away from chaos and towards community and community in a very broad sense, community with each other. Your support makes this possible. Support more understanding and be better listeners trying to see how the other people, you know, try to stand in the footsteps of others. MATTIE'S CALL: A 9-month-old baby girl was reported missing from the Ellenwood area with a man police say was diagnosed with a mental illness. . Find out more about how we use your personal data in our privacy policy and cookie policy. I think back when I lived in a neighborhood, you know, a small neighborhood, when my mother and dad were alive, we all took care of each other. And the Falcons new stadiumscheduled to open this summerwith an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, $200 million coming from Atlanta hotel-motel taxesis definitely big and shinny with tons of gadgets to enhance the fan experience. But this is where the similarities with most other stadiums end. These are the kinds of people we need in leadership today, not thinking about red, blue, purple. So everything is designed to accommodate the soccer fans so they feel like this is their place as a result of that. This isnt just a short-cut, this is a long-term play with significant input and investment into the community and its future, said Scott Jenkins, the general manager of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, to The Daily Beast. He had a gun on his lap, sitting on his right thigh. OMG, Democrats Are Criminally Bad At Marketing What They Accomplish. Soccer fans don't want to feel like they go into a stadium and they're a second-class citizen citizen. With Labels, Listen to Affected Populations, Not Activists, As With Alcohol, Mitigation, Not Prohibition, Is the Answer, It Seems Democrats Are Blundering Badly (Again) with Their All-Abortion, All-the-Time Campaign. And, you know, living in poverty, we had friends coming by all the time and what have you. The 74-year-old Blank, who Forbes estimates has an estimated net worth of $3.1 billion, is the director of Cox. One where guys like the Vikings Mark and Zygi Wilf and Arthur (Home Depot) Blank of the Atlanta Falcons come off as comparatively rational. They put my mother, my brother and I in the living room with one of them and the other was searching the house, looking for cash that wasn't there. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Arthur blank politics The largest donation made to a political party by an Atlanta Falcons employee was by Arthur Blank. Their siblings, their families, you know, may have gone to battle and wore a variety of uniforms for our country over many, many years. /ca 1.0 If you go to a Home Depot shareholders meeting, they start out every single meeting for 42 years now with this value wheel that we developed. All Rights Reserved. The 79-year-old co-founder of Atlanta-based The Home Depot . 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"I know Bernie's heart. I've had conversations with a number of senators who made it very clear that some of their best friends, both politically and otherwise, are on the other side of the aisle. (Confidentiality, you know.) !, And listen to me, be careful where you are getting your information to JOIN protests!! In 1978, they co-founded the home-improvement retailer The Home Depot, with the help of merchandising expert Pat Farrah and New York investment banker Ken Langone who assembled a group of investors. Kemp and the law's backers said it provides some common-sense reformsto ensure elections are secure. I'm not sure how they're going to receive you. Owner, Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC. my patience level probably is not the level it would have to be to sustain myself in this political atmosphere today. The Falcons' owner, Arthur Blank, the co-founder of Home Depot with a net worth of $3 billion, at first glance certainly fits the bill of your standard billionaire athletic team owner. Georgia businessman Arthur Blank joins with voting groups on Democracy Class Atlanta The Jolt: Arthur Blank teams with voting groups to forge 'Democracy Class Atlanta' Caption Credit:. 3 0 obj In 1978, they were both fired from Handy Dans by a corporate raider who took over the chains parent company. w !1AQaq"2B #3Rbr So, you know, soccer is on the ascent in the United States dramatically, which is a great thing. So, I think the great political leaders and the great spiritual leaders, in my view, have always, always opened up their arms and included everybody. 16 Blanks son, Kenny Blank, also sits on the foundations board and is the executive director of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Marcus has been an outspoken Donald Trump devotee throughout both the 2016 and 2020 elections, donating $7 million to Trump's campaign four years ago. Tikkun Olam [a Jewish concept of repairing the world through action]. This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. endobj The Falcons were the first pro football team in the South, founded during the civil rights era in 1965. I concede, as others who know him personally have, that Im stunned that a guy like Gruden who has been a high-profile media/cultural presence for over 20 years, regularly giving live interviews, chewing up air time as a TV analyst and obliging all the other requests for personal contact that go with being a football celebritry could conceal his essential meat-headedness so long and so well. A number of events over the last couple of weeks have reminded us again that the long, worthy quest for equal justice, civility and unity in America is far from over. But I would keep raising my hand. A protest has purpose. ATLANTA - Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United Owner Arthur Blank said Tuesday afternoon he believes voting should be made "easier, not harder for every eligible citizen" and his business and non-profit partners plan to support efforts to advance voting access. Download the FOX 5 Atlanta appfor breaking news and weather alerts. "So, you know, I love him. Home Depot cofounder, Arthur Blank, is a longtime Democratic supporter and donated $250,000 to committees supporting Joe Biden between July and September in 2020, Forbes reported. They're a PR's dream because they rarely say the wrong thing. Currently, over 200 Westside residents are working on the stadiums construction and the foundation has funded, among other things, Westside Works to help residents find employment and learn job training skills. Hey, Senate DFLers, Dont Forget The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact! This can create a steady stream of jobs and revenue for the community. To assist with the effective inclusion of community voices, the city of Atlanta participated in the Living Cities City Accelerator program, which streamlined and articulated (PDF) best practices for service providers and community leaders to build stable communities in Atlanta. /SMask /None>> I mean, I was stuttering when I was senior class president, [and in] student government. Yet the team continues to unite Atlantans during the ups and downs. The largest donor was Falcons owner Arthur Blank. The Number of White Teachers About to Get Fired is Exactly Zero. Blank, who is worth about $6.2 billion, per Forbes, is one of the higher donors among Biden's billionaire backers, who outnumber Trump's at 134 to 101, although more of Biden's backers have given the $2,800 personal maximum. . For more information about Life Itself, visit the . But COVID vaccination, as a consequence of being made political by belligerent partisans, many of whom love football more than life itself, is terrifying territory for the NFL. One reporter asked Fontenot whether he thought the Falcons were getting Watson. /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB He just opened the door. During the past year, GALEO staff and volunteers have participated in events at food banks, churches, and schools, where they provide information while assisting with free COVID-19 testing and food distribution. At the time, Atlanta liked to call itself The City Too Busy to Hate, but as more African Americans moved to the city the moniker shifted to The City Too Busy Moving to Hate, as more white Atlantans escaped the city to the northern suburbs. Please, please stop this violence!! The wealthy propose tax increases on the poor and middle class to pay for their new stadiums, and they claim that new businesses flocking to the area will magically cover the costs. Arthur Blank enjoys one of his favorite hobbies at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch, one of three guest ranches owned by Blank Family of Businesses. But he did. And we've had a very successful team for the first threeand-a-half years this year. And I think we got disconnected. My dad didn't look at who it was. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank is married to Angela Macuga, his third wife. We want to see the system that sets up for systemic racism burned to the ground. February 4, 2021 4:12 pm ET. "I know what he cares about and he cares about a lot of the same things that I care about.". And Blanks role in this project extends beyond the stadium. And we need to figure out, you know, how do we move past that and how do we learn from that and how do we get connected with our current reality? Political Donations: Blank has largely donated to Democratic causes, most notably: $32,400 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2013; $28,500 to the Obama Victory Fund in '08; and. In 2014 it emerged that Bruce Levenson, who owned the NBAs Atlanta Hawks, had written an email that amongst other things theorized that the black crowd [at Philips Arena] scared away the whites, adding for good measure: I have even bitched that the kiss cam is too black. Levenson later that year sold his stake in the franchise, and the Hawks have worked hard to win back their black audience. Now, the last game we had in the Georgia Dome before we moved to Mercedes Benz Stadium in August of 2017, wewere honoring all of our ring of honor members and he was one of them. ~B?/"J()NF =|Z|&t?jCJw)C 0H>~9 ( 81c2fO=a>}@#y}~9]jqCZ'}*x:qj@PTj+2>dm?aU2 8'z?mWm)yt7,?:99=, +oG6 <4!I lg, ]6vDT2zu9~1bA'px#?)X&,:irv.q'/U:~]{tf&[eR|ozKD-sCEAMnO e=#MguofhNFT1vMfH# Q,e_oZdb_47OatAYs2=LJr~R1# gwg],Xs7q72 f) _n:R-r9-:Q`Mg?_t*"v8? There's no place for looting and stealing and whatever else. But, we really could not have done it without great service, great pricing, and great product knowledge. Friday on Political Rewind: Mary Rodgers grew up among some of Broadway's biggest names, from Sondheim to Bernstein. 6 0 obj So I'm happy to see that, you know, he came back to Atlanta and spent time here. He also goes public about the pain of learning of Michael Vicks role in an illegal dogfighting ring, along with other ups and downs in a life of unimaginable financial success. Thats great. 7, Blank founded the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation in 1995 and has awarded over $560 million to causes such as education and early childhood development. Our history of voting rights is a constant struggle, a repetitive cycle of expansion followed by restriction. And he had to mop the floors for weeks and months on end. You can do whatever you choose to do. Michael Vicks published letter, Atlanta, nearly made a whole city cry on the eve of the Super Bowl. In Fall 2021, we launched our new Democracy program area with $10 million in grants designed to strengthen key democracy organizations to be resilient for the long haul of this work. And now their story is a page-turning novel. Martin Luther King Jr. once lived in this part of town, but decades of disinvestment and neglect have resulted in over 40 percent of the community living in poverty with an unemployment rate twice that of the rest of Atlanta. Blank allowed the previous front office to make shortsighted moves that still are costing the. "Obviously, it's a tragic time in the history of the. And it was early on a Sunday morning. Then I would not be bashful about asking questions. The Blank foundation also emphasizes environmental sustainability and aims to support programs that foster this message in the Westside. Playoffs, playoff championships, etc. Blank, who is Jewish, also addressed the administration's failure to recognize the losses suffered by the Jewish people during the Holocaust. I remember I called the commissioner then, who was Paul Tagliabue, and I say, Well, Paul, I have this idea. So we spent six months maybe talking to fans, or people that were not fans, but were, you know, living in the Atlanta area at that time, and we found out that there were four or five things we had to fix. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is located adjacent to the Falcons current home, the Georgia Dome, in Atlantas Westside. They all understand it's, you know, you have an opportunity to be here on Earth and how do you want to leave it? In our case, the fans, customers, guests or grantees, whatever the case may be, you're going to find out the ultimate truth of what you need to do to build a business response to issues, spot opportunities, deal with problems, whatever it may be. And they love the camaraderie. One of the beauties is that when you come to the stadium, it feels like it's the United Nations. I seriously doubt the leagues TV ratings or ad revenue would suffer an iota. That coming the day before the New York Times dropped the bomb(s) about Gruden calling the NFL commissioner a faggot, ripping the leagues concussion protocols, (in other words, Grudens pro-concussion) and trading nudie pictures of cheerleaders. He released a statement five days after Gov. Student Loan Forgiveness and The Ghost of John Kline, (Who?). So when we started, MLS was ranked like 22nd among all the leagues in the world. So, I would say it was very successful. But, you know, I think the word civility is terribly important today in the political world in which we just don't see it the way we need to see it. 03/03/2023. So it was a great story and is a great story. j"[p!d~oB?1].drwe GM]/v2q3^u[\ /. endobj In 1978, both he and future Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank were fired during a corporate power struggle at Handy Dan. How best to put it? CEIR works to build voter trust and confidence, increase voter participation and improve the efficiency of election administration. He had three children with his first wife Diana Blank, whom he divorced in 1993. "This notion of divisiveness has become, in my humble opinion, maybe, post-Civil War, probably one of the most stressful times I've ever seen in our country," he said. We believe that voting rights are critically important, and our home state of Georgia is at the center of the struggle. We must not accept or condone violence in any way. So there was no disrespect to the military. He said, All of that really gave me time not only for redemption, but more importantly, for reflection. And he said, I really realized that I had done a lot of good things in my life putting aside and playing ball. The problem for the big, powerful, macho NFL, as it is for every other giant public entity, is that racism and cancer are kind of the easy stuff. Left to right: Dennis Ross, Arthur Blank, Bernie Marcus, Pat Farrah, Ron Brill. But Blank regularly speaks on business school campuses, where future leaders and executives tell him they are anxious about the environment, the wealth gap, racial and gender inequities, and a litany of examples of corporate malfeasance. What Would Trump Steal That is So Ultra Top Secret and Why? /SA true He came out of the prison system as a changed person for the positive, not for the negative. After cofounding Home Depot in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1978, Blank and Marcus helped put the do-it-yourself phenomenon on the map by offering the tools for personal home renovations. /AIS false By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Blank, speaking with Falcons reporters via phone from the Super Bowl, expressed confidence in the direction of the team following a 7-10 finish under second-year coach Arthur Smith. This is chaos and were buying into it. And my mother was giving him a lecture saying, You realize this is not what your parents would want you to do. What Does Hamline Not Understand About Academic Freedom? Resistance to Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Futile. The documentary will premiere exclusively Nov. 23, 2020 at 8 p.m.on Georgia Public Broadcasting. It had to do with our set of values.". << Who knows how successful theyll be, and many residents worry that economic growth could facilitate gentrification. Stop feeding fear and anger every day. Its more like cowardly, and meatheaded. And I know he considers the blessings that we had coming from Home Depot [and what its done] for all of our philanthropy today and all of our businesses today to be something that we're very thankful for. ", It is your duty not to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy We have to be better than this moment. We don't have any fans in our building, and this is what we plan on doing: We're going to, you know, promote season tickets for 100 bucks or $10 a ticket. And I remember waiting for, you know, probably two minutes. These are not political issues, they are human issues that need serious, earnest attention from leaders and . That was in 1979. /Title ( A r t h u r b l a n k p o l i t i c s) In the 1940sGeorgia mountains, eight children were taken into the woods and left to die. There was a six-year period in there, when things went a little south. I listen to what he says and sometimes I'll cringe. So, long story short, I think, is that we should recognize the past, understand the progress we have made. So the answer would be yes. . And that's one of our core values as well: Include everybody. And if I stop talking now for two minutes, you realize just how long two minutes is. The system has worked well for the multi-billionaire and co-founder of The Home Depot. The book lays out a set of values that guided him to turn around the struggling Atlanta Falcons NFL team, launch the Atlanta United FC soccer club and build the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. His professional team Atlanta United FC brought professional soccer to Atlanta beginning in 2017. For the last two decades, sports have united this largely racially divided city, and partially due to the actions of the Hawks and the Braves, the Falcons could ill-afford to have a stadium plan that was not only racially inclusive, but also worked to incorporate the surrounding community. Scott Jensens Unanswered $15,000,000,000 Question. And the great political leaders in the past, they were civil and they were good listeners. The NFL owners club is a remarkable collection of avaricious gargoyles. Owner Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Flacons reacts before a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on November 10, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Falcons leadership knows how to play politics. 5 Other Blank family businesses include the nationwide PGA TOUR Superstore as well as a handful of ranches across the country. We dont have the answers, but we are committed to listening and responding to the people who have made this their lifes work and to the citizens they serve. I want you guys to come up with real solutions. Its appalling how heavily-to-tightly-managed entities, especially those controlled by a small cluster of well-heeled egos turn into shuddering eunuchs at the thought of riling just an ugly faction of its consumer base. And then he worked in the laundry. Link Copied! JFIF K K C This station is part of Cox Media Group Television.

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