Tucker City Councilmember Anne Lerner has been a fixture around the Tucker community for more than 25 years. She has volunteered and been involved with many of the local organizations, such as the Northlake Community Alliance, Tucker Civic Association, DeKalb County Planning Commission, Leadership DeKalb and more — well before Tucker’s official incorporation into a city six years ago. Anne has always had the community’s best interest at heart, which, naturally led her to seek one of the first City Council seats upon Tucker’s cityhood.

Anne understands that taking care of a community and preparing it for future growth and success is more than attracting what’s shiny and new, but that it’s also about the more banal tasks like repairing sidewalks, expanding curb radii, updating corridor lighting and other ongoing maintenance responsibilities. She appreciates that the CID works in partnership with Tucker to take on these prosaic, but important projects that provide for a more welcoming location to attract businesses and more investment.

Anne believes taking Tucker to the next level in economic growth requires a strategic focus with an emphasis on marketing. She is adamant the City and CID have a great story to share as to why businesses should invest here, citing the success stories recently shared during Manufacturing Day on May 11, 2022.

Anne is a strong advocate for the community working in partnership with the CID and the City as the best way to get things done and accomplish goals.

Fun fact: Long before Tucker and the CID were formed, Anne and her husband would walk the corridors picking up illegal signs and trash. Needless to say that Anne’s dedication to Tucker and her community is unparalleled. In fact, Anne is set to embark on a new adventure, transitioning from her nine-year senior communications strategist position at Jackson Spalding to public affairs director at the Georgia Transmission Corporation. We are confident that she will excel in her new position as she continues to excel in her work on the Tucker City Council.

More than 20 students from Tucker High School joined business owners from the City of Tucker for its annual Tucker Manufacturing Day at Stone Ridge Event Center.

This year the event centered around two panels that focused on Careers in Manufacturing and Tucker Businesses of the Future. Mayor Frank Auman moderated the Careers panel, which included Hormel Foods Corporation Plant Manager Scott Clark, Georgia Piedmont Technical College Dean of School of Industrial Technology & Legal Studies Dr. Arthur Evans III, PepsiCo Human Resources Director Shantel McClendon and International Paper Site Manager Chance Nesbit.

The Tucker businesses panel consisted of Tucker-Northlake CID Executive Director Matthew Lee, Decide DeKalb Equitable Economic Development Program Manager Geoffrey Loften, PepsiCo Plant Director Mackenzie Minyard and Georgia Power Business Recruitment Director Charles Stallworth and was moderated by Tucker Downtown Development Authority Chair Brian Chambers.

To view more photos of the event, please visit our event gallery on our website.

Pattillo Construction has played a large role in our district’s history. We owe much of our development and growth to H.A. Pattillo’s hard work and foresight. Bree Pattillo is the fourth-generation owner and CEO of Pattillo Construction, leading the company as one of Atlanta’s and the State of Georgia’s top general contractors.

Bree recalls that spending time with her grandfather, H.G. (Pat) Pattillo, meant stopping and visiting many job sites. As a child, she found building and construction fascinating, but she didn’t fully appreciate the enormity of what her family was creating until much later in life. Bree never felt the pressure to take over the family business, but her grandfather did advise that learning about business would always be beneficial when her studies in marine biology didn’t pan out.

As an adult, Bree brought her business, construction management and MBA education, along with the construction experience she gained at another South Carolina family business, when she returned back home to follow in the footsteps of her great grandfather, grandfather and mother. When she stepped into the Pattillo leadership role, she was excited to learn and grow from the wonderful team established before her. To Bree, it was more than just constructing one or two buildings, it was about growing the community and attracting businesses that would help flourish the community.

For this reason, she appreciates how the CID nurtures relationships and works with business owners to create an attractive, accessible and safe community. She truly enjoys working with people, bringing them together to collaboratively solve problems. Bree is excited that Pattillo Construction has the opportunity to continue to build up the community with upcoming construction of approximately 15 projects, some of which are along Mountain Industrial Boulevard and Lewis Road — helping to bring jobs to the area.

Pattillo Construction is celebrating its 72nd anniversary this year and Bree is proud to be part of such a distinguished family and tradition. She looks forward to being a part of creating a bright future of growth and prosperity in the district and beyond.

The TSCID 2021 Annual Report is also available on our website. While the past two years have been challenging, our district has managed to thrive, moving onward with development projects, adding growth and prosperity.

We will continue our work to repair and make improvements to infrastructure, lighting and security so that we are attracting the right businesses for our community and setting them up for success.

Download the annual report here.

The Joint Chiropractic joins Piedmont UrgentCare, Buffalo Wild Wings Go and Publix as the newest business to open in the district’s hottest development, Hugh Howell Marketplace. The 89,510 square foot shopping center located on Hugh Howell Road at Mountain Industrial Boulevard broke ground in the fall of 2020 and was completed late 2021 with businesses opening throughout the first two quarters of 2022.

An Atlanta-based investment management firm, Stockbridge, recently purchased the development from Branch Properties for $39.8 million this past April. Branch will continue handling the leasing and property management for the center. For tenant inquiries, please visit the Branch website.

Tucker Brewing is a great host for our events. We were so pleased to see such a wonderful turnout to our Member Happy Hour! It was a beautiful day to be outside to network and mingle. We have the most incredible business and property owners in our district. One of the many benefits of being a member of our CID is the opportunity to meet and network with fellow business owners in our community.

View the event gallery on our new website and stay tuned for the next member meeting.

A special thank you goes to Brightview, Plaza Security and Pepsi for sponsoring the cold brews, food and beverages. We look forward to seeing everyone at more in-person events!

I am very concerned about those businesses that have been affected by trash service delays. In recent months, my office has received an increase in the number of complaints regarding missed trash pick-ups. I hear you, I understand your frustrations, and I am working with the sanitation department to resolve these issues.

Across the nation, the Sanitation Industry is experiencing a labor shortage. Frontline workers who were required to work through the pandemic while many employees were allowed to work-from-home, are now part of the Great Resignation. These are employees who want better pay, better job quality, and growth opportunities.

DeKalb County Sanitation Department has certainly not been exempted from these unique circumstances. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is now requiring us to rethink how we do business, including sanitation. Whatever the issues are, however, government must be responsive and seek strategic solutions that provide long-term relief.

As your Commissioner, I am committed to ensuring that DeKalb County is providing services that your dollars are paying for. Please feel free to reach out to my office either via my District 1 Constituent Portal or send us an email to district1@dekalbcountyga.gov and I will work diligently to ensure this critical service is delivered.

Finally, I am interested in learning your thoughts and views on how DeKalb County is doing in general from a business perspective. I have launched a business survey to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of doing business in DeKalb County. If you are a business owner, operator, or commercial property owner in District 1, please take a few minutes to complete the survey by clicking on this link.

TSCID is proud to sponsor and foster young students interested in STEM. After a two-year “hiatus” due to the pandemic, our FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics team, Reboot #4080 is ready to get their hands back on some tools to build more robots!

The robotics team, made up of 14-16 students from Tucker-area schools, is in need of 2,400 square feet of space to meet and build — but could work within 800-1,500 square feet if needed.

The team is also looking for local engineers and machinists to assist the students with the designing of a new robot, as well as machining and fabrication services like laser cutting, milling, lathing, working with sheet metal and water jets, etc. Additionally, the team is in need of tools and parts from McMaster-Carr, MSC, Grainger and online metals.

Please contact Deneise Turner if you have leads on any large or warehouse space where these young, inquisitive minds can continue to develop and grow.

FODAC has packaged and is shipping 30 pallets of meals, ready-to-eat (MREs) to be delivered into Ukraine through Poland, heading to southern and eastern Ukraine. The MREs were manufactured at Thermopac located across the street from FODAC on Lewis Road.

The original shipment of 10 pallets through the UPS Foundation allowed the organization to connect partners to secure an additional 30 pallets of MREs to send overseas. In addition, FODAC is delivering 36 pallets of medical supplies, equipment and cots to the refugees.

FODAC was also able successfully raise $46,000 as a result of its May Fun Walk ‘n’ Roll at Stone Mountain Park. The funds help support FODAC’s home medical (HME) program.

We are so proud to have such a noble organization in our district. To help FODAC continue its aid efforts, please consider donating on the website.

Visit the Georgia Commute Options website to sign up qualifying employees for Try Transit passes that include MARTA, Xpress and GCT passes to help ease their commutes.

Explore ways to avoid traffic and reduce the number of single-occupant vehicles on our region’s roads and improve air quality. Earn cash and prizes for logging in clean commutes. Fill out this form to find out if you or your employees qualify.

Road rage incidents have been on the rise since the beginning of the pandemic. Please be aware of your surroundings and be patient with your fellow drivers in an effort to keep everyone safe.

Make sure your planned signage and architectural structures are within regulations! Review the Tucker Overlay District Regulations on our website.