The Inc Blog

A new name has been announced for the governing organization and board of directors that oversees both Roswell’s tourism program, Visit Roswell, and Roswell’s economic development program, Roswell Inc. The new name—Roswell Economic Development and Tourism, Inc.—was announced at the organization’s board meeting on July 18, 2018, and replaces the previous name, Historic Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors, effective immediately.

The organization will continue to operate the public presence of both the tourism and economic development programs under their respective brand names, Visit Roswell and Roswell Inc.

“Changing our name allows our organization to better and more fully reflect our scope of work while also making our mission clearer to those with whom we do business,” said Ken Davis, board of directors president for Roswell Economic Development and Tourism, Inc.

During the same meeting, the board of directors voted to update the organization’s by-laws, which will allow the creation of two new advisory committees—one for tourism and one for economic development. These committees will allow board members with interest in either or both areas to specifically support tourism or economic development initiatives.

The board also voted on new members and renewed several current members. All board members serve three-year terms. The list of 2018-2019 board members is included below; new board members are indicated with an asterisk (*):

• Don Howard, Former Chairman and Regional CEO of Synovus—Chairman
• Ken Davis, Renasant Bank—President
• Lonnie Mimms, Mimms Enterprises —Vice President
• Jeff Petrea, Georgia Power—Vice President
• Bill Hardman, Southeast Tourism Society—Vice President
• Nancy Tolbert-Yilmaz, Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance—Treasurer
• Zach Henderson, A.I.A., Inc.—Honorary Chairman Emeritus
• Anita Farley, Georgia Ensemble Theatre*
• Alex Kaufman, Kaufman & Forman, P.C.
• Alex Paulson, Randall-Paulson Architects
• Branch Sinkule, Kimberly-Clark*
• Brendan Walsh, Lehigh Homes & Development
• Chris Nelson, Chattahoochee Nature Center
• Christina DeVictor, Roswell Collective
• Dave Schmit, Schmit + Associates
• Kevin Bryant, Canton Place Development*
• Kevin Head, Roswell First Baptist Church*
• John Davidson, GM Innovation Center*
• Jon-Paul Croom, WellStar North Fulton Hospital*
• Juliette Johnson, Roswell Historical Society
• Mark Goodman, Gas South
• Michael Curling, New Kent Capital
• Mike Hampton, Choate Construction
• Pat Rains, Gate City Brewing*
• Ron Buckley, Brixmor Property Group*
• Ryan Pernice, RO Hospitality
• Sunny Bailey, Naylor Hall*

“We have enjoyed a strong partnership with the City of Roswell since 1991 and are excited about the ways in which these changes will allow us to continue to grow and expand our work in the coming years,” said Davis.  

Roswell Inc’s director of public relations and communications, Carisa Turner, has received her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) through the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)—the nation’s largest professional association for public relations and communications professionals.

Of PRSA’s 30,000 members across the country, only 15% have achieved their APR.

Created in 1964, the APR is an internationally ranked accreditation program for established PR professionals, which allows them to certify professional expertise and reflect a high standard of public relations principles and ethics.

“The APR process strengthened my understanding of the essential and foundational role public relations plays in public life and made me a stronger advocate for the strategic, research-based, outcome-driven, and ethical practice of the profession,” said Carisa Turner. “I am incredibly grateful for all the support I received during this process.”

To become accredited, candidates are evaluated on their mastery of the following public relations concepts and areas of practice: 1) Research, Planning, Implementing and Evaluating Programs; 2) Applying Ethics and Law; 3) Managing Issues and Crisis Communications; 4) Understanding Communication Models, Theories, and History of the Profession; 5) Leading the Public Relations Function; and 6) Managing Relationships.

This is accomplished through both a formal panel presentation showcasing expertise and previous work experience as well as a computer-based exam. Candidates that pass both components are awarded the APR designation, which must be maintained through continued professional development.

“Carisa is a valuable part of our team, and we’re proud that she has achieved such a prestigious distinction in her industry,” said Steve Stroud, executive director of Roswell Inc. “Her accreditation not only establishes her as a leader within the PR world, but adds significant value, credibility and strength to our organization—both now and as we grow in the future.”

The APR designation is formally awarded by the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB), which is a partnership between nine of the major public relations organizations. PRSA is one of the members and serves as the administrator of the program.

For more information about the APR, visit praccreditation.org.

Roswell Inc’s business development and outreach coordinator, Debra Ewing, graduated last month from the Georgia Academy for Economic Development, a four-month program through the State of Georgia’s Department of Community Affairs.

Created in 1993, the Academy provides training in the basics of economic and community development, plus specialized segments on business recruitment and retention, tourism product development, downtown development, planning, and other essentials for community success. In addition, the curriculum features specific leadership skills such as consensus building, ethics in public service, collaborative leadership and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development

“Going through this program helped me outline and better understand the important aspects of economic development,” Ewing said. “Cities and counties don’t experience isolated problems when it comes to economic development. One of the great things this program instilled in all of us was the value of collaboration – that when we work together, we become stronger as a region and more competitive on a national and international scale.”

Since its inception, the Academy has provided training for thousands of professional and non-professional economic developers around the state, and since 1998 the Academy has been offered annually in all twelve regions of the state.

“One of the goals for the multi-day regional Academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation,” says Corinne Thornton, Director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development.  “Many times, the participants discover the issues facing their community are the same as those facing other communities in their region, and can then combine limited resources to address the issue.”

This year’s class participants represented a number of professional and non-professional economic development fields, including elected officials, public servants, business leaders, educators, and social service providers from ten counties in Region 3 Georgia. The Academy provided each of the graduates an opportunity to gain a unique understanding of the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional, and state levels.

Ewing joins 10 other Academy graduates from Fulton County this year: Chandra Farley, Emily Giordano, Robert Ross, Dawn Price, Robert Hughes, Sara Saxner, Lauren Price, Trudy Smith, Hattie Portis-Jones, and Bianca Howard.

Get to know the faces of Roswell’s economic development organization.

To learn more, check out the one-on-one interviews below.

We greatly enjoyed having Caroline Lindsay intern at Roswell Inc this summer. She was a wonderful addition to our team and did amazing work on a number of projects, including the Roswell Inc staff profiles we launched last week. We are going to miss Caroline around here and wish her the best of luck in her last year at UGA!

Most of you have heard me say, “It’s always a great day to do business in Roswell” – and that statement rings even more true today.

We are thrilled to share that – at last night’s city council meeting – Mayor and Council approved (4-3) our organization’s full funding request. We are grateful for this vote and for the opportunity to continue building upon our work in the coming year.

However, what’s really on my mind more than anything this morning is the overwhelming gratitude I feel for each and every one of you. All of us at Roswell Inc were completely blown away by the amount of support we’ve received over the past couple weeks.

Thank you for writing letters. Thank you for speaking on our behalf. Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for rallying in support of a stronger business community.

Your kind words and stories of how we’ve impacted your business have been wonderful and powerful to hear. They have reminded us why we do what we do – and they’ve left us feeling reinvigorated with a stronger and even deeper sense of purpose and passion.

But more than that, your words have left us humbled.

We feel honored that we get to wake up every day and work toward our vision of making Roswell the best place in the region for innovative and community-minded businesses and entrepreneurs.

That’s what drives all of us at Roswell Inc – helping business owners like you succeed.

So, from all of us at Roswell Inc, thank you. We are excited for what’s ahead in the coming year!