DeKalb CEO Michael L. Thurmond Delivers State of the County to Sold Out Crowd at Pullman Yards
500+ Attended Annual Address and Lunch on Wednesday
On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, the Council for Quality Growth, in partnership with DeKalb County Government and the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, hosted the 2023 State of DeKalb County Address at the historic Pullman Yards in Atlanta. DeKalb County CEO Michael L. Thurmond delivered his 6th State of the County address to more than 500 Council and Chamber members, elected officials, businesses, residents, county staff, and partners of the county. This year’s lunch and program was presented by the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority.
CEO Thurmond’s address, titled “All Aboard DeKalb…Greatness is our Destination,” fit the historic train yard setting at Pullman Yards. “I don’t want to talk about the streets we’ve paved,” Thurmond began, as he went on to define greatness with well-known icons of greatness, including President Abraham Lincoln and Michael Jordan. He spoke about achieving greatness, posing the question: “If greatness is so transient, if greatness comes and goes, as with the weather, then why do we pursue it?”
CEO Thurmond is notorious for using this platform each year to speak more broadly about his vision for DeKalb. He answered the question with a history lesson on George Pullman, inventor of the luxury sleeper railcar. According to Thurmond, Pullman “recognized that the journey is more important than the destination.” The Pullman history demonstrates a journey marked with servant leadership – out of the Pullman Porters grew the black middle class and the Civil Rights Movement.
Thurmond called for leaders that understand the importance of being servants first and building relationships to bridge DeKalb County. “The journey – what you learn and the relationships you build – is permanent,” he said, “but the destination may not…
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