Metro Atlanta Chamber Celebrates Region's Achievements; Sets Priorities

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Gov. Deal speaks at the Metro Atlanta Chamber meeting.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber highlighted some of the region's accomplishments this year and celebrated outgoing Gov. Nathan Deal at its annual meeting Thursday.

The Chamber applauded Atlanta's City Council approval of a deal to develop the Gulch. Other highlights included Pandora and Starbucks announcing plans to bring hundreds of jobs to the metro area.

But for the 29 counties in the region overseen by the Chamber to benefit from the new jobs and developments happening in Atlanta, the Chamber’s Katie Kirkpatrick said they’ll have to focus on transportation.

"We have to have transit in order to provide access to those opportunities,” Kirkpatrick, the chief policy officer said. “I think that's what we're seeing is that our counties around the city of Atlanta are recognizing that the workforce and their community need to be able to connect."

Earlier this year, Governor Deal signed legislation giving metro-Atlanta counties the opportunity to vote on whether they want to join MARTA.

Now, Governor-elect Brian Kemp starts his transition to the governor’s seat under the gold dome. After a controversial election, some fear Kemp may introduce a religious liberty bill that could harm the state’s business climate.

Kirkpatrick said they will oppose any bill seen as discriminatory, but plan to have a good relationship with the new head of the state.

“We look forward to working with him on the issues we worked with Governor Deal on,” she said. Those issue range from education to tax policy and transportation infrastructure.  

During Deal’s time in office, Atlanta was often seen as a favorite to land the Amazon’s second headquarters, HQ2. Amazon instead chose to split HQ2 between Washington D.C. and Virginia.

Though, as the recruitment process continued, eyes continued to shift to Atlanta. Deisha Barnett, who is also with the Chamber, said recruiting such a large company could help the city down the road.

“Atlanta is a top tech hub,” Barnett said about what the city may have shown going after HQ2. “We have a welcoming community and we have an amazing culture. Those are things that are critically important when you think about any company large and small that’s trying to bring jobs to Atlanta.”

During its meeting, the chamber also announced the launch of ATL Brand Box. A website companies can use to highlight the city’s perks when recruiting talent.