The World Trade Center Atlanta has elected new officers, including former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young as chairman of the board, who will oversee the organization’s move to its new conference center and promote its new international business services for members.
During the WTCA’s annual general meeting last week, members got a tour of the new World Trade Center Atlanta Conference Center in the SunTrust Bank Atlanta building downtown, which is to open in May 2004. The space was provided by Portman Holdings Inc., owner of the building.
In addition to Mr. Young, who is chairman of Goodworks International Foundation Inc., the other officers are Roger Scovil, international business consultant, president; Lori Clos Fisher, senior vice president at Bank of America Corp., treasurer and Bill Poole, partner with Epstein Becker & Greene P.C., as secretary.
New board members who will serve on the organization’s executive committee include David Clyde, president of Spinnaker Medical Consultants Inc.; Brian Hogg, executive vice president of Portman Holdings Inc.; Carlos Martel, deputy commissioner of international trade for the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism; Jim Munson, executive vice president of Xonex Inc. and Janet Walsh, president of Birchtree Inc..
Other new board members are Gordon Harnesberger, president of Worldwide Marketing Inc.; Natalio Jamer, dean of Atlanta’s consular corps and consul general of Argentina here; Steven Miles, director of integrated international marketing for Federal Express Corp.; Dimitri Moore, president of Moore International Holding Corp.; Dick Smith, president of R.L. Smith & Co. and John Smith, publisher and CEO of the Atlanta Inquirer Inc.
The conference center will be available for use by WTCA members for private business meetings, presentations and visiting international delegations. The WTCA dining club will remain open and will be managed by Sodexho Marriott Services Inc.
“We can now focus on providing the activities of an international trade association, rather than trying to also operate a dining facility and manage a property,” said Patrick Tonui, the WTCA’s membership and international services director.
In addition to networking opportunities and meeting space, some business services the organization offers to its members include a speaker series featuring high-profile international business executives, a class on how to enter international markets, strategic alliance networking, current trade information and access to the WTCA trade opportunities website.
The WTCA’s website, www.wtcatlanta.com, allows members access to an online catalog of 750,000 international traders and list their products and services in World Trade Center Association directories worldwide. WTCA members have access to the almost 300 world trade centers in 100 countries.
Contact Patrick Tonui at (404) 880-1562 or patrick@wtcatlanta.com for more information.