by Mike Ososki, PMP, Public Relations Committee
Collective strength. As metro Atlanta’s “innovation conduit to support the growth and development of our local communities,” the arc of the ARC spans across plenty. Its breadth includes a multitude of ATL regional topics, issues, programs, geographies and jurisdictions, sometimes up to the Federal level. Monday’s Dunwoody Dinner was graced to host and learn more from Mr. Doug Hooker, P.E., the ARC’s Executive Director since 2011.
ARC was the first multijurisdictional public planning agency in the Nation, founded in 1947 as the Metropolitan Planning Commission. Now with nearly 200 employees and a $70M budget, its vision is to identify values, develop policies, and execute plans that matter to residents and communities, to ensure competitive advantage and preserve long-term sustainability. Think of it as our regional “planning and intergovernmental coordination agency.” As Mr. Hooker states, “Not all agencies do all things well, and not all counties are equal,” so it makes good sense to work together and benefit from each other’s strengths. With our $339B economy (34th largest in the world), we surely do benefit to coordinate, a major thrust of ARC’s efforts.
Moving forward, he's excited about PMI Atlanta's new initiative to help military veterans get into project management roles. He sees this as a win-win-win……..for the veterans, the project management profession and our PMI Atlanta organization. With this type of foresight, it's no accident that Glenn believes the sharing of ideas and knowledge of the PM process with new and seasoned "PMI'ers" is constitutive to help further the project management professional's individual growth, as well as continuing to help grow the Technology Forums and PMI Atlanta organization as a whole.