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. Blank spent 19 years as the company's president before succeeding Marcus as CEO. Soccer fans don't want to feel like they go into a stadium and they're a second-class citizen citizen. There was a six-year period in there, when things went a little south. Playoffs, playoff championships, etc. 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. But tell me what I can do to help? And they said, Well, you know, the reality is about 40% of our stadium is empty. Her father was one half of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It had to do with our set of values.". Bernardo Little . "I know what he cares about and he cares about a lot of the same things that I care about.". 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. endobj His faith is very strong. The Home Depot co-founder, Arthur Blank, candidly shares details of an impromptu meeting in an airport hangar when he was asked to step down, the company's short-term mistake of replacing him. But there was nothing I could say better than what Mayor @KeishaBottoms said last night! Where did your parents come from with your grandparents? We all came from someplace else, other than the other Native Americans. 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. But the level where this Gruden idiocy touches the countrys perilous moment is where the NFL arguably one of the most popular and therefore influential organizations/corporations in the country could and should use Grudens buffoonish racism and sexism to make unambiguous statements to its fans, which is to say just about everyone in the country. << So thats Gruden. He just opened the door. And I think we got disconnected. 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. a guy regularly reviled by sportswriters, players and fans as a (very wealthy) toxic idiot. In order to put this grinding pandemic behind us once and for all? These are not political issues, they are human issues that need serious, earnest attention from leaders and citizens alike who understand that diversity is our strength and fair treatment is everyones right. But the two subsequent CEOs the gentleman there today, Craig Minear, the CEO and president Ted Decker both live the culture. 13 Diana is a left-of-center philanthropist based in Atlanta and anonymously contributed several high-profile donations in the area including a $4 million gift to the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra as well as a nearly $20 million gift to Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta. ATLANTA - Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank released a statement on Saturday following President Donald Trump's comments on Friday about the NFL. And they've worked collectively for the United States, for everybody in this country, 330 million people. I said, Paul? I went to a small business school outside of Boston called Babson College I would always sit in the front because I always wanted to pay attention and learn. "So, you know, I love him. And there are two [robbers] and they want to know, "Where's the money, where's the cash?" ", CNN -- Ted [Turner] did a great thing. 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. His daughter Dena is the executive director of the Kendeda Fund, a left-of-center private foundation founded by her mother, Diana Blank. So that's really what it was about. Big Game by New York Times Magazine writer Mark Leibovich, BLM Has Achieved Much More Than Its Critics. NOW WATCH: We combined Trump and Biden's separate town halls so you can watch an actual debate between the presidential candidates, Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. Politicians, business owners and celebrities are speaking out to share their thoughts on Floyds death, the issues his killing have brought to the forefront and the protests that turned to chaos, specifically in Atlanta. Please stop the violence!, Im not in Atlanta, but if I were I would have been standing with our Mayor! 6 Blank was the 2003 Chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Which country do you come from? 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. I remember I called the commissioner then, who was Paul Tagliabue, and I say, Well, Paul, I have this idea. (And Im not forgetting Colin Kaepernicks protests against police violence, and how the league effectively blackballed him before paying him off to avoid a certain-to-be-nightmarish public trial.). Please, please stop this violence!! Atlanta Falcons employees are most likely to be members of the Republican Party. Link Copied! She was a woman of great principle, great personal authority. However, peaceful protests really go back and look at the history of our country back to the Boston Tea Party. A Member of the Blank Family of Businesses. "This grant will help The Center add to its existing . But that was typical of my mother. When he came out, he was on house arrest and I took a meal to him and his family from his favorite restaurant here in Atlanta. 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. Brian and Arthur welcomed their daughter Blake into the world via Arthur's sister Aoife, who acted as a surrogate for the couple, back in September -- with Brian previously teasing the documentary before Blake's arrival. Sadly, sometimes these young men and women get involved in that cycle and they never get out of it. It's hard to believe. So that was a low price a lower price than before Michael Vick the star quarterback was born 22 years before that. I do know it is hard. Arthur Blank is worried that capitalism is getting a bad rap. It's not trying influence, but trying to share philosophies of life and stories and thoughts about a certain set of values, which really transcend business, nonprofit, as well as the political arena. I mean, it doesn't make a difference how old you are. So, then we opened up The Home Depot. They're a PR's dream because they rarely say the wrong thing. So, I would say it was very successful. 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. Continued: https://t.co/yePGJUaGVV, Ive got a lot of love and respect for police officers., We dont want to see Targets burning. GALEO engages in advocacy, creates opportunities for engagement and networking, and develops leadership skills for Latino community members. And how do I put my shoulder to the wheel and lead by example and take the blessings of all the resources that our family. And if you go to the Museum of Equal Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, [Equal Justice Initiative Director] Bryan Stevenson says the same thing: We need to recognize [that] these 5000 lynchings took place in the United States[a 2019 Report from the EJI documents more than 4440 racial terror lynchings in the U.S. between 1877 and 1950]. Because It Delivers Comfort, Status and Cash. [Thats] something that I talk about in the book, which most people are not aware of. What I Learned Over One Cup of Coffee Yesterday Morning, You Want to Laugh at Liz Truss and The Brits. Paul, are you OK? I was going to call his secretary, thinking Paul got a heart attack or something. Friday on Political Rewind: Mary Rodgers grew up among some of Broadway's biggest names, from Sondheim to Bernstein. How could Trump possibly have lost re-election? He fielded multiple quarterback-related questions and spoke glowingly of Ridder, who. 2023 Cox Media Group. Home Depot co-founders pictured in 1979, a year after the first store opened. Nationality: United States Executive summary: Co-Founder of Home Depot. And so think about the implications of the choices you're making for yourself and for your loved ones, etc. %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons owner and co-founder of Home Depot) 2020Joe Biden 2016Hillary Clinton 2012Barack Obama Maxine Clark (founder and former CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop) 2016Hillary Clinton Michael Eisner (former CEO of Disney) 2016Marco Rubio, then later Hillary Clinton 2016Kamala Harris Jack M. Greenberg (former CEO of McDonald's) We need to recognize those truths. 4, Blank purchased the NFLs Atlanta Falcons for more than $540 million shortly after stepping down as CEO of Home Depot. And that's one of our core values as well: Include everybody. More must be done to address the underlying issues that have led to these incidents across the country. RELATED:Georgia Secretary of State calls many election changes 'solid'. Founded in 2010 as the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center (AALAC), the organization became part of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation in 2014. I mean, you know, all those things. Soon after, Blank met his third wife Angela Macuga whom he married in 2016 and later announced their plans to divorce in 2019. We believe that voting rights are critically important, and our home state of Georgia is at the center of the struggle. Download the FOX 5 Atlanta appfor breaking news and weather alerts. I suspect he had help. "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. Philanthropist Arthur Blank has thrown his support behind a new voter education initiative aimed at young people. 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. 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. 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 78, he is largely beloved in Georgia as an entrepreneur, owner of two professional sports teams and a prolific philanthropist. So, you know, we understood that our culture had nothing to do with which party you are affiliated with. However, the Atlanta Falcons new home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, may foster a new era of stadium construction and community engagement. We sold out the entire stadium in two-and-a-half hours. So, you know, soccer is on the ascent in the United States dramatically, which is a great thing. 17. It's a beautiful 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. His professional team Atlanta United FC brought professional soccer to Atlanta beginning in 2017. Their siblings, their families, you know, may have gone to battle and wore a variety of uniforms for our country over many, many years. /Producer ( Q t 4 . 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. But We Aint Seen Nuthin Yet. The Athletic reported that Blank gave $2,800 to Biden, the Democratic nominee for president, on July 1. GALEO strives for a better Georgia where the Latino community is engagedcivically, and its contributions and concerns are recognized. Blank and Marcus put their discounting experiment to the test in their own brand of warehouse stores called Home Depot and opened the first two Atlanta-area stores in 1979. And part of that is reducing our environmental impact.. 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. Blank also contributed $28,500 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2008. 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. Tikkun Olam [a Jewish concept of repairing the world through action]. << I said, Look, I'm going to be a new owner, tell me what I can do to help. In 1978, both he and future Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank were fired during a corporate power struggle at Handy Dan. The stadium boasts roughly 4,000 solar panels and will use 70 percent less energy. And that's an example of the happiness that we're talking about. Lawlessness, vandalism and intentionally upending the peace with any form of violence has never been productive and is not the answer. February 4, 2021 4:12 pm ET. One where guys like the Vikings' Mark and Zygi Wilf and Arthur (Home Depot) Blank of the Atlanta Falcons come off as comparatively rational. And the great political leaders in the past, they were civil and they were good listeners. It is time to hold mayoral offices accountable, chiefs and deputy chiefs. I felt and others felt that we could be successful here. 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. 9. Good Company is billed as a visionary road-map for creating successful businesses. He had a gun on his lap, sitting on his right thigh. Scott Jensens Unanswered $15,000,000,000 Question. So in this case, we were coming back from a game after the team had played in St. Louis against the old St. Louis Rams theyre now in L.A. and instead of riding in the front of the plane with the coaches and managers, I sat in the back with the players. And he should know. Georgia Politics FOX 5 Atlanta ATLANTA - Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United Owner Arthur Blank said Tuesday afternoon he believes voting should be made "easier, not harder for every eligible. I'll flip words around, you know, subconsciously and, and make sentences complete. Ticket pricing was higher than it could have been or should have been at that time, and so I brought Dick Sullivan over from Home Depot, the gentleman who now runs our PGA Superstores and we came up with a strategy that we've got to sell season's tickets for $100. stream 9, Blank is a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. 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 its the NFL itself that should be held to greater account and responsibility than it ever is. His is another example of how well powerful systems, in this case, the almighty NFL, can throw a PR cocoon around people and project to the public only the parts of its culture that serve its business interests until they dont. When I left [Home Depot] in 2001, [it] was the second largest retailer in the world, second only to Wal-Mart. But you want your core values to be the same, ideally. Blank also owns Atlantas Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a sports and entertainment facility valued at $1.5 billion that hosted the 2019 Super Bowl. And they love that. Its also part memoir of how his ethics evolved from watching his father run a neighborhood pharmacy in Queens, New York, to launching multi-billion dollar ventures. Porn Star Pay Offs, Inciting Insurrection, Sexual Assaults, Bank Fraud, Election Conspiracy and FoxNews v. Dominion. Stay up to date with what you want to know. On Thursday, Falcons owner Arthur Blank's foundation donated a five-year, $17 million grant to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. We believe the right to vote is sacred and should be protected, so that we can have an active and engaged citizenry that participates in our democracy year-round, not just during presidential election cycles. You can change your choices at any time by clicking on the 'Privacy dashboard' links on our sites and apps. By all accounts, those associated with the new stadium and the Westside view their presence as at least a 10-20 year commitment toward revitalizing a downtrodden community and bringing the city together. If executed improperly, this stadium could continue a long line of broken promises for this blighted community. So I would just cut him some slack. /CreationDate (D:20210314125741+02'00') 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. Fernandez says that they intend to use the stadium as an anchoring institution, and that the number one thing people in the community said they wanted are jobs. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. /Subtype /Image United States, Copyright 2023, Georgia Public Broadcasting. 1, Arthur Blank was born to Molly and Max Blank in Queens, New York. He received his MBA from Harvard. 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. There are nearly one million Latinos in Georgia, with one of the fastest growth rates of the Latino population in the nation. They were trying to indicate that what the military had fought for these rights, the civil rights, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, etc. . I was gagged. C q" 2010-2023 Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The Blank foundation also emphasizes environmental sustainability and aims to support programs that foster this message in the Westside. << Enter your email address to be notified about new posts. The perceived linebetween politics and sports further blurred when Major League Baseball's union chief said players are ready to discuss moving the 2021 MLB All-Star Game out of Truist Park. 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. Kimball previously served as the vice president of network support at Teach for All. So, we had great confidence in our own abilities. In 2022, they plan to connect with over 1 million voters/ potential voters through phone banking, text banking, in-person canvassing events, and going door to door. Its more like cowardly, and meatheaded. Georgia Public Radio GPTV, a 2019 Report from the EJI documents more than 4440 racial terror lynchings in the U.S. between 1877 and 1950], National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Political Rewind: Theater critic Jesse Green remembers Mary Rodgers in 'Shy', Longtime nature writer Janisse Ray delivers gripping debut novel, At new season kickoff, Atlanta United looks for fresh start on the field. The portfolio includes nearly $10 million in grants to 12 nonprofits that represent a diverse set of organizations with a strong presence in Georgia and the Southeast. A study by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight in October 2020 showed Blank is a bipartisan contributor to political campaignsbut contributed more to Democratic candidates from 2012 to 2020. Arthur Blank enjoys one of his favorite hobbies at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch, one of three guest ranches owned by Blank Family of Businesses. /Height 155 The organization works directly with election officials to maintain accurate and complete voter lists and to secure their election technology infrastructure. And at the top of that is who is being served comes first. Though the 78-year-old who's now the owner of the Atlanta Falcons NFL team was aware of their political differences, he said it never had any bearing on their shared values. Prior to the construction of the Georgia Dome they played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium with the Atlanta Braves, and you could see the spot where Hank Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth in home runs. It starts with respect. Falcons owner Arthur Blank spoke with reporters during a 10-minute teleconference from the Super Bowl. ATLANTA - Falcons team owner Arthur Blank has tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the team's final game of the regular season. Now 78, he is largely beloved in Georgia as an entrepreneur, owner of two professional sports teams and a prolific philanthropist. During the 2020 elections, Blank contributed $300,000 to Biden Victory Fund, $35,000 to the Democratic National Convention, and tens of thousands of dollars to state Democratic Party committees. But, we really could not have done it without great service, great pricing, and great product knowledge. The Falcons were the first pro football team in the South, founded during the civil rights era in 1965. They all live life with purpose. The documentary will premiere exclusively Nov. 23, 2020 at 8 p.m.on Georgia Public Broadcasting. Owner, Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC. And we've had a very successful team for the first threeand-a-half years this year. . 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. He shares how he and Bernie Marcus were brusquely fired from executive positions at Handy Dan Home Improvement Stores the humiliating inflection point that led the pair to create The Home Depot. The Atlanta Falcons new stadium is going to be beautiful. But he was there and he finally said, Listen, you own the franchise, you have the option. And, you know, living in poverty, we had friends coming by all the time and what have you. Find out more about how we use your personal data in our privacy policy and cookie policy. Not about dogfighting. These are the kinds of people we need in leadership today, not thinking about red, blue, purple. But Id like to say to CNN right now: Karmas a mother. 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. Another Home. So, long story short, I think, is that we should recognize the past, understand the progress we have made. Arthur Blank is an American entrepreneur and a co-owner of the home improvement retail giant The Home Depot. It's the fans. So we designed our stadium to accommodate not just for the Atlanta Falcons and National Football League football American football but soccer as well. j"[p!d~oB?1].drwe GM]/v2q3^u[\ /. For more information about Life Itself, visit the . One of the beauties is that when you come to the stadium, it feels like it's the United Nations. Mercedes-Benz Stadium will also be home to Atlantas MLS team, Atlanta United FC. So there was no disrespect to the military. 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. 1 0 obj 5 Other Blank family businesses include the nationwide PGA TOUR Superstore as well as a handful of ranches across the country.
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