And I remember him looking at me saying, If I told your mother what you just said, she would wash your mouth out with soap. But that was the last thing I said. We must not accept or condone violence in any way. Steve Bullock, and the Democratic National Committee, to name a few, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. Your support makes this possible. Where did your parents come from with your grandparents? We all came from someplace else, other than the other Native Americans. All the issues that Colin [Kaepernick] raised at that time [2016-2107] about the social injustice and lack of equality and equity in the criminal system and all those issues, I think they were real then and they're certainly real now. GPB intern Eva Rothenberg contributed to this article. Low Expectations and Dark Hopes for the New Year, Minnesotas Wealthiest Social Security Beneficiaries Shouldnt Be First in Line for Help, Time to Limit HOAs Solar Panel Policing Powers, Pop Quiz: How Many People Actually Know Whats Going On?. That should never be tolerated. 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. Open, honest dialogue is needed on a much greater scale. Looting is NOT THE ANSWER!!! Our Family Foundation and the rest of our businesses here in Atlanta and elsewhere remain committed to being part of the solution., Together for Atlanta. 17. 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. 5 Other Blank family businesses include the nationwide PGA TOUR Superstore as well as a handful of ranches across the country. Atlanta, GA 30318 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. << 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. If you don't make good choices, you can end up being in really bad places. It is time to hold mayoral offices accountable, chiefs and deputy chiefs. I have many friends who are no longer fervent Braves supporters. Since then, they have re-organized their focus areas more specifically into four groups: policy advocacy, organizing and civic engagement, impact litigation, and legal services. He just opened the door. How do I do my part in it? Both John Lewis John, just a month before he passed away and Andy Young have said to me that we do have to recognize that things are better than they used to be. 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. This must happen more than every four years, because theres no offseason for democracy. !, Do not fall for this foolishness!!! 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, Another Home Depot cofounder, Bernie Marcus, is an. Now 78, he is largely beloved in Georgia as an entrepreneur, owner of two professional sports teams and a prolific philanthropist. There's no place for looting and stealing and whatever else. Max died when Arthur was 15, leaving his mother to grow what became a multi-million-dollar business. 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. 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. Expand. 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. You're going to get a lot of your fellow owners really pissed. A documentary surrounding Brian Dowling and Arthur Gourounlian's surrogacy journey is set to air on RT on March 13. Today, Blank is the Chairman of AMB Group LLC, parent company of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. But he was there and he finally said, Listen, you own the franchise, you have the option. that those rights were not being fully reflected in our society today. They all have a great set of eyes and they're all different. 9, Blank is a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. I remember I called the commissioner then, who was Paul Tagliabue, and I say, Well, Paul, I have this idea. So the answer would be yes. After stepping down as CEO of Home Depot in the early 2000s, Blank's interests centered on a variety of Atlanta-based sports franchises and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, a private foundation that has awarded over $560 million. And I remember he told me, he said, You know, when [I went into] the prison system, they gave me three pair of underwear, three shirts, three pair slacks, three socks and one pair of shoes, and that was it. He said, That was all I was going to have, as opposed to the lifestyle he was leading before. And thats despite our recent record, which hasn't been, you know, one I'm particularly proud of, but we'll get better. The statement came about five days after Gov. endobj The 79-year-old philanthropist has supported educational projects to promote civil rights and racial justice. Blank is a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. stream So I would just cut him some slack. You know, better than in the 40s and 50s, but not where we should be. 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. But that was typical of my mother. The Arthur M. Blank Foundation announced on Wednesday a new series of grants focusing on mental health and well-being in response to America's growing mental health crisis. Those come first. Who knows how successful theyll be, and many residents worry that economic growth could facilitate gentrification. And then he worked in the laundry. 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. The Georgia Dome was also built for the Olympics, and construction for Philips Arenathe Hawks home, which sits next door to the Dome and where the previous basketball arena, the Omni Colosseum, once satbegan in 1997. I still remember this as if it was yesterday. 3 0 obj So, long story short, I think, is that we should recognize the past, understand the progress we have made. And now their story is a page-turning novel. Give them hope. One was in pricing. ', We have to be better than this moment. Atlanta rapper, advocate Killer Mike has message for protestors https://t.co/zb3oMHK7sx, "You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country. ATLANTA Protests over the death of George Floyd have been gaining national attention. Its a story about making bad choices and the impact of young people. They have no serious public, political advocates. 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. 6 Blank was the 2003 Chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. It's an inverted pyramid that speaks to our whole orientation and all of our businesses today. So we had 35, 40 players kneeling before that, after that speech, we had close to 300 players kneeling because they took it personally and their families took it personally and their parents and their siblings and their grandparents and their heritage was being challenged. A reckless high-profile meathead, now out the $60 million remaining on his contract. Arthur Blanks brother, Michael, and his father, Max, are photographed outside the OES Pharmacy family business, in 1940. Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta is the first nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities in Georgia and the Southeast. So when we started, MLS was ranked like 22nd among all the leagues in the world. 10, Following proposed changes to Georgia voting laws in early 2021, Blank released a statement saying, We should be working to make voting easier, not harder for every eligible citizen, and that his businesses and family foundation will support efforts that advance voting access for the citizens of Georgia and across the nation. 11 Blank also participated in an online call with over 100 corporate executives to discuss taking action following changes to state voting laws including the possibility of delaying investments in states that pass allegedly restrictive voting laws. Atlanta Falcons vNew Orleans Saints 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. JFIF K K C Founded in 2010 as the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center (AALAC), the organization became part of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation in 2014. 1 0 obj I know you see my partner, Bernie, on Fox News very often. But I know that his essence, at his heart and his soul, is a really good person that cares deeply about humanity. Do it in November. ", It is your duty not to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy We have to be better than this moment. CEIR works to build voter trust and confidence, increase voter participation and improve the efficiency of election administration. Blank told Business Insider that despite their differences, running a company is "not a red issue or a blue issue" and is instead about sharing the same values. ,> U#kw1%dHT6qZq]9Ki o They all understand it's, you know, you have an opportunity to be here on Earth and how do you want to leave it? Also watchRISING UP: A Westside Story,a documentary film by David Lewis Productions that gives viewers a detailed look into the ideation, construction, and impact of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on the city of Atlanta. And my mother was giving him a lecture saying, You realize this is not what your parents would want you to do. Since then, they have re-organized their focus areas more specifically into four groups: policy advocacy, organizing and civic engagement, impact litigation, and legal services. Mercedes-Benz Stadium aims to be the first stadium to receive LEED Platinum certification. What Does Hamline Not Understand About Academic Freedom? If you do not want us and our partners to use cookies and personal data for these additional purposes, click 'Reject all'. But Its All Too Familiar. Blank told Business Insider that despite their political differences, their different leanings never got in the way of their ability to work together as partners or as friends. When I left [Home Depot] in 2001, [it] was the second largest retailer in the world, second only to Wal-Mart. He released a statement five days after Gov. Blank also owns Atlantas Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a sports and entertainment facility valued at $1.5 billion that hosted the 2019 Super Bowl. /Type /ExtGState The NFL owners club is a remarkable collection of avaricious gargoyles. my patience level probably is not the level it would have to be to sustain myself in this political atmosphere today. GPBs Virginia Prescott asked Blank about some of those stories in a conversationpresented in collaboration with Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlantas Book Festival in Your Living Room, the National JCC Literary Consortium and the Atlanta History Center. But he was. Arthur Blank is getting more involved in the political process. For years, Americans have fallen prey to the con of wealthy businessmen who want to build shiny new sports arenas yet dont want to pay for them. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. So I would fight for that and surround myself with people who believe the same thing, because you have to have that brain power in every institution or corporation or nonprofit. "This grant will help The Center add to its existing . And they love that. They all have a great set of values. But the two subsequent CEOs the gentleman there today, Craig Minear, the CEO and president Ted Decker both live the culture. /CreationDate (D:20210314125741+02'00') And he should know. 6 0 obj We are better than this We are better than this as a country. Among Blanks diverse interests are the nationwide PGA Tour Superstore chain, three guest ranches in Montana, and a family foundation that counts millions in economic development investments on Atlantas beleaguered Westside among its $660-million outlay to date. After stepping down as CEO of Home Depot in the early 2000s, Blanks interests centered on a variety of Atlanta-based sports franchises and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, a private foundation that has awarded over $560 million. 2010-2023 Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. And, you know, you see the blending of every type of person and personality you can imagine. I look at my six children, Batch 1, Batch 2, and, you know, they go from age 19 to age 52, if I have it right. Owner, Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC. I mean, you write a book like this, it's really getting into kind of the political arena. I listen to what he says and sometimes I'll cringe. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Good Company is billed as a visionary road-map for creating successful businesses. I said, Look, I'm going to be a new owner, tell me what I can do to help. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images). But, you know, I needed to change my view on what I could give back and how it could be connected to other people.. And so he carries a weight of authority that somebody who's just called a suit and comes in and talks to them and doesn't quite feel the same, same way. Of the other 60% who do come, half are rooting for the other team. So I understood what they were saying: They just wanted support noise. Now it's ranked like seventh. /SA true "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. Friday on Political Rewind: Mary Rodgers grew up among some of Broadway's biggest names, from Sondheim to Bernstein. Yet the team continues to unite Atlantans during the ups and downs. How best to put it? It's a beautiful thing. Hes a combination of father and brother to me. 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. We Present You Trumps Deposition, More or Less Verbatim. Arthur Blank on NFL kneelers: 'Players have no interest in being disrespectful to flag' Political Insider By Jim Galloway, Political Insider Trump is apparently referencing a highly sourced. 8 In 2012, Blank signed the Giving Pledge and committed to giving more than half of his wealth away to philanthropic efforts in his lifetime. During the 2020 elections, Blank contributed $300,000 to the Biden Victory Fund, $35,000 to the Democratic National Convention, and tens of thousands of dollars to state Democratic Party committees. We Have Every Reason To Expect a Lot More from the NFL, no promises that it will reveal everything it has found out. (Confidentiality, you know.) j"[p!d~oB?1].drwe GM]/v2q3^u[\ /. /Producer ( Q t 4 . The foundation is . And part of that is reducing our environmental impact.. But, we really could not have done it without great service, great pricing, and great product knowledge. And it's all connected not only to associates, but to the communities in which we live and operate. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank is married to Angela Macuga, his third wife. Well, I shouldn't say I'm not. So there wasn't a word on the other end of the phone. The pair always strove to create a work environment that put people before politics, said Blank. At the end of the day, you can have differences of opinion, which is a great thing to have, and different approaches, which is a great thing to have. If you sit in your homes instead of burning your home to the ground, you will have time to properly plot, plan, strategize and organize and mobilize in effective ways., Two of the most effective ways is first taking your butt to the computer and making sure you fill out your census so that people know who you are and where you are.

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