After serving 14 years as chair of the Atlanta Toulouse Sister Cities Committee, Betty Davis has handed over the post to Mark Long, an equally devoted member of the flourishing organization.
“Fourteen years is long enough, don’t you think?” Ms. Davis told Global Atlanta last week of her service to the committee which was founded in 1974 by former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson with the support of Dr. Ray Young, a francophile and professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dr. Young’s recommendation was quickly endorsed by Mr. Jackson due to his family history’s affiliation with the city, commonly known as “la Ville Rose” because of the predominant color of the bricks from which it is mostly built. The amicable relationship was greeted enthusiastically both here and in Toulouse as it joined Atlanta’s contingent of sister cities of which there currently are 18.
Mr. Jackson’s mother completed her university studies at its university and his parents married there. The university dates back to the 13th century and is a magnet today for students from across Europe who number more than 100,000.
Since the end of World War II, Toulouse has attracted a vast range of investment from companies in the high tech sector, the aeronautical industry, including the European headquarters of Airbus, medical institutions, especially the largest cancer hospital and research centre in Europe, the Toulouse Canceropole.
While Ms. Davis served as chair the committee has engaged in a large number of exchange visits and seen commercial and educational links between the two cities strengthen. But she said that her fondest memories are of the friendships that she has made across the Atlantic, especially with Colette Delcros, who visits Atlanta often. Citing the generosity of the French members of the committee during her stays in Toulouse, she added that her favorite pastime there is to walk through its different quarters enjoying the variety of architecture and the vibrancy of life.
Although the overseas visits are an important activity of the committee, it maintains an active schedule in Atlanta. For instance, recently it hosted French students from the Georgia Tech campus in Metz, France, who are now studying at Tech’s Atlanta campus as part of their exchange program.
And there is no shortage of upcoming programs. On April 9, it has scheduled an informal dinner at a member’s residence near Piedmont Park in conjunction with the Dogwood Festival. Just four days later on April 13 members plan to attend a debate to be held at the Millennium Gate Museum between the award winning debating societies of Emory University and Morehouse College on the topic, “Resolved: Democracies should respond to the threat of terrorist attack by substantially increasing domestic surveillance.” Attendance at the event is free and open to the public.
On April 26, commission members will meet again for a luncheon in Buckhead at the Another Broken Egg Restaurant for a travelogue of a trip of one of its members made to Argentina and Chile.
During her service as chair, Ms. Davis saw representatives from Invest Toulouse visit Atlanta annually meeting with members of the French American Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta and John Lyons, a former president and founder of the chamber. Given the presence of an active chamber, Ms. Davis said that the committee didn’t need to be so focused on the business relations and participated more in developing personal and artistic ties.
Toulouse has played an important role in the France-Atlanta programs over the years as scientists have participated in a variety of panel discussions with counterparts at local universities in Atlanta. There also have been a good many cultural programs including choral, dancing and theater groups as well as graffiti artists.
As chair Ms. Davis also participated in the committee’s 40th anniversary. Part of the celebration was held in a downtown park in Toulouse by the sculpture of a phoenix rising, a symbol of Atlanta’s emergence from its destruction during the U.S. Civil War, that was crafted by Atlanta sculptor David Landis who was commissioned to create the statue. The money was raised in Atlanta and the sculpture, which has a 15-foot wingspan, was commissioned following the explosion of a chemical plant in Toulouse only 10 days after the attack on theWorld Trade Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington to show solidarity in the face of these tragedies.
Mr. Long, also an original member, said he was enthusiastic to take on the post as the fifth chair to serve the organization which he has seen grow from the original 30 or so to 120 members. He added that he was committed to its mission of establishing friendship and promoting cultural understanding between the people of Atlanta and Toulouse.
The evening of March 9 a tribute was held at the Atlanta law firm of Arnall Golden & Gregory LLP for Ms. Davis’ service. But she has no plans to retire from the committee’s activities. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said emphatically.
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