Arthur Blank talks sensible gun reform. I worked with him for over 40 years and we shared the same bathroom for over 30 years, which is more than any of our marriages lasted," said Blank, who's currently valued by Forbes at about $6.2 billion. The public discourse on these and other issues is too divisive, too political. Proceeds from sales of Good Companygo to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. 2, In the late 1970s, Arthur Blank was an officer at Handy Dan, a regional hardware store chain in Southern California. . /SA true Young you are. Please stop the violence!, Im not in Atlanta, but if I were I would have been standing with our Mayor! We were living in a single-bedroom apartment in Queens. meathead) culture inside the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins. Falcons GM comments on pursuing Deshaun Watson last offseason Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Wednesday he is encouraged by the progress of quarterback Desmond Ridder and the potential of building around the rookie. He would say, I don't need to be cut any slack, you know. But the two subsequent CEOs the gentleman there today, Craig Minear, the CEO and president Ted Decker both live the culture. However, the Atlanta Falcons new home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, may foster a new era of stadium construction and community engagement. 3, By 1981, Home Depots stock went public and raised over $4 million. We Present You Trumps Deposition, More or Less Verbatim. The 79-year-old co-founder of Atlanta-based The Home Depot . This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Were trying to do the exact opposite of that.. Theres at least one more level to the Jon Gruden disaster that NFL fans should consider about the leagues remarkable influence. Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons owner and co-founder of Home Depot) 2020Joe Biden 2016Hillary Clinton 2012Barack Obama Maxine Clark (founder and former CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop) 2016Hillary Clinton Michael Eisner (former CEO of Disney) 2016Marco Rubio, then later Hillary Clinton 2016Kamala Harris Jack M. Greenberg (former CEO of McDonald's) Because It Delivers Comfort, Status and Cash. So it was a great story and is a great story. Of the other 60% who do come, half are rooting for the other team. So I understood what they were saying: They just wanted support noise. In a time when more than half of Americans are dissatisfied with the state of our democracy, the most powerful way to demonstrate and have our voices heard is through the vote. Walz Cooperation With Law Enforcement Deserves Praise, Not Punishment, If You Think Republicans Cant Ban Abortion in Minnesota, Look No Further than Iowa, Russia, Ukraine and My Seven Months with YouTube. Brian Kemp signed the controversial bill, which includes new restrictions on voting by mail and greater legislative control over how elections are run. Soon after, Blank met his third wife Angela Macuga whom he married in 2016 and later announced their plans to divorce in 2019. The Gruden e-mails were leaked from a (way too) long-running investigation of the toxic (i.e. Can We Please Kill Off the Tipping Mumbo-Jumbo? So, that represents that melting-pot philosophy: Were all in this together. We've broken every season ticket record per game. We must not accept or condone violence in any way. So I would just cut him some slack. 6 Blank was the 2003 Chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Blank retired as Home Depot's co-chairman in. /Title ( A r t h u r b l a n k p o l i t i c s) But go ahead and do it, if that's what you want. So we did it. And being a good listener, it's an art form that we all can possess. "And I'm not 100 years old I'm getting there, but I'm not but the things I see and deal with are just inherently not what's made this country great. PDF Arthur blank politics It is my hope that we take this terrible moment in our history to elevate that conversation toward productive action and lasting, positive change. So that's really what it was about. These are the kinds of people we need in leadership today, not thinking about red, blue, purple. He released a statement five days after Gov. Arthur Blank co-founded the Home Depot in the late 1970s after being fired from a regional hardware store chain in Southern California. That coming the day before the New York Times dropped the bomb(s) about Gruden calling the NFL commissioner a faggot, ripping the leagues concussion protocols, (in other words, Grudens pro-concussion) and trading nudie pictures of cheerleaders. Philanthropist Arthur Blank has thrown his support behind a new voter education initiative aimed at young people. Arthur Blank On Michael Vick, Bernie Marcus, And How He'd Run The U.S. One of the beauties is that when you come to the stadium, it feels like it's the United Nations. Arthur Blank says Falcons are 'excited' about Desmond Ridder's play 4, Blank purchased the NFLs Atlanta Falcons for more than $540 million shortly after stepping down as CEO of Home Depot. A company where we already know from law suits the teams executives treated its cheerleaders like Vegas escorts and, yup, traded nudie pictures of them changing outfits. He came out of the prison system as a changed person for the positive, not for the negative. But Id like to say to CNN right now: Karmas a mother. "His approach obviously is different. >> Our history of voting rights is a constant struggle, a repetitive cycle of expansion followed by restriction. Home Depot Cofounder Arthur Blank on Politics, Supporting Biden In 1978, both he and future Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank were fired during a corporate power struggle at Handy Dan. The wealthy propose tax increases on the poor and middle class to pay for their new stadiums, and they claim that new businesses flocking to the area will magically cover the costs. Brian Kemp signed SB 202 into law. And then he came up to my suite afterward and it was like 10, 15 minutes later, his face was just full of tears and he said that he was so moved by it. Nationality: United States Executive summary: Co-Founder of Home Depot. That is the change we need in this country.". I mean, I was stuttering when I was senior class president, [and in] student government. We dont have the answers, but we are committed to listening and responding to the people who have made this their lifes work and to the citizens they serve. Playoffs, playoff championships, etc. It's the fans. Bernard Marcus - Wikipedia Blank spent 19 years as the company's president before succeeding Marcus as CEO. /Filter /DCTDecode I concede, as others who know him personally have, that Im stunned that a guy like Gruden who has been a high-profile media/cultural presence for over 20 years, regularly giving live interviews, chewing up air time as a TV analyst and obliging all the other requests for personal contact that go with being a football celebritry could conceal his essential meat-headedness so long and so well. The league has recently been running in-game PSAs pushing cancer and mental health awareness screenings, etc. Arthur Blank is worried that capitalism is getting a bad rap. endobj The organization works directly with election officials to maintain accurate and complete voter lists and to secure their election technology infrastructure. Their frustration is real, and it must be acknowledged and addressed. Hopefully we'll get back in the playoffs, but not as well as the first three years. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. I was gagged. And the core values that our forefathers drafted for us they weren't perfect, either, but in their own ways, they strove for those things. That was in 1979. Brian and Arthur welcomed their daughter Blake into the world via Arthur's sister Aoife, who acted as a surrogate for the couple, back in September -- with Brian previously teasing the documentary before Blake's arrival. They all live life with purpose. /Height 155 So, you know, we understood that our culture had nothing to do with which party you are affiliated with. And in fact, one of her famous expressions was: You do the right things for the right reasons and live with the consequences of them. And I'm trying to build that into my life as well. my patience level probably is not the level it would have to be to sustain myself in this political atmosphere today. 1 0 obj And they love that. So, I think the great political leaders and the great spiritual leaders, in my view, have always, always opened up their arms and included everybody. The guest. So, I would say it was very successful. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. What I Learned Over One Cup of Coffee Yesterday Morning, You Want to Laugh at Liz Truss and The Brits. In that way, I don't think my personality, probably, or my patience level probably is not the level it would have to be to sustain myself in this political atmosphere today. Yeah, It Could Have Been Worse. To anyone interested in a deeper dive into NFL culture I strongly recommend, Big Game by New York Times Magazine writer Mark Leibovich for an inside-the-suites sense of who says what to who when its more or less just them peer billionaires talking. I had another NFL player, while [Vick] was in prison, come visit me and say I came from exactly the same neighborhood, but it was in a part of Pittsburgh. So sadly, Michael was raised in an environment where that was kind of normal behavior, if you will. If executed improperly, this stadium could continue a long line of broken promises for this blighted community. And so he's used that time since he got out of prison and giving back to community, speaking to young people. So we spent six months maybe talking to fans, or people that were not fans, but were, you know, living in the Atlanta area at that time, and we found out that there were four or five things we had to fix. After stepping down as CEO of Home Depot in the early 2000s, Blank's interests centered on a variety of Atlanta-based sports franchises and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, a private foundation that has awarded over $560 million. It's a beautiful thing. Democracy - The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. I said, Paul? Now 78, he is largely beloved in Georgia as an entrepreneur, owner of two professional sports teams and a prolific philanthropist. All of which is, yknow, really classy stuff. /CA 1.0 For years, Americans have fallen prey to the con of wealthy businessmen who want to build shiny new sports arenas yet dont want to pay for them. I would suggest, for anybody in business, that you listen to who you're serving. 17. Porn Star Pay Offs, Inciting Insurrection, Sexual Assaults, Bank Fraud, Election Conspiracy and FoxNews v. Dominion. 8 In 2012, Blank signed the Giving Pledge and committed to giving more than half of his wealth away to philanthropic efforts in his lifetime. Team owner Arthur Blank, who has high expectations for the franchise, sat down with FOX 5 Atlanta one-on-one to talk football, philanthropy, and Kanye West. Blank who grew up in New York City said he believes the US is going through one of the most tumultuous times in its history. Brian Dowling And Arthur Gourounlian Surrogacy Documentary Announced But, you know, I think the word civility is terribly important today in the political world in which we just don't see it the way we need to see it. We had the option of going to a variety of companies, doing a variety of things in a traditional sense of management leadership. All the issues that Colin [Kaepernick] raised at that time [2016-2107] about the social injustice and lack of equality and equity in the criminal system and all those issues, I think they were real then and they're certainly real now. One reporter asked Fontenot whether he thought the Falcons were getting Watson. << Like all stories meant to inspire, he takes some knocks. Bernardo Little . Please consider making a gift today to support this vital public service. But my mother would say to me, You know, what you have to say is important. February 4, 2021 4:12 pm ET. Blank also contributed $28,500 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2008. CEIR works to build voter trust and confidence, increase voter participation and improve the efficiency of election administration. Given its footprint, we have good rights to expect a lot more from this monolith. Those come first. Show up at the polls on June 9. Steve Bullock, and the Democratic National Committee, to name a few, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. It is making no promises that it will reveal everything it has found out about the Redskins and others who had contact with the team. I love CNN, I love Cartoon Network. Why Should Tim Walz Even Bother Debating Scott Jensen? 4 0 obj JFIF K K C And they've worked collectively for the United States, for everybody in this country, 330 million people. I felt and others felt that we could be successful here. More must be done to bring people together through meaningful change. GALEO strives for a better Georgia where the Latino community is engagedcivically, and its contributions and concerns are recognized. A documentary surrounding Brian Dowling and Arthur Gourounlian's surrogacy journey is set to air on RT on March 13. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! GALEO has also handed out flyers at city events, supermarkets, and churches that target Latinos. Blank told Business Insider that despite their political differences, their different leanings never got in the way of their ability to work together as partners or as friends. There are people and other countries who are posting things pretending to be US, pretending to stand for peaceful protest, but they are trying to incite us into violence and chaos to try and do more harm! Opponents of the bill argue it's too restrictive and targets minority voters. Arthur is committed to changing the narrative around sports stadiums, said Frank Fernandez, the VP of Community Development at The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, to The Daily Beast. Arthur Blank is getting more involved in the political process. But in any event, that was part of just being a good listener. /CreationDate (D:20210314125741+02'00') You know, better than in the 40s and 50s, but not where we should be. I understand that, but I respect it," said Blank. Lawlessness, vandalism and intentionally upending the peace with any form of violence has never been productive and is not the answer. And I love him. /Producer ( Q t 4 . So everything is designed to accommodate the soccer fans so they feel like this is their place as a result of that. Statement from Arthur Blank on the 2020 election - Atlanta Falcons A number of events over the last couple of weeks have reminded us again that the long, worthy quest for equal justice, civility and unity in America is far from over. So when we started, MLS was ranked like 22nd among all the leagues in the world. . There are nearly one million Latinos in Georgia, with one of the fastest growth rates of the Latino population in the nation. Seventy percent of the players in the NFL are African American a disproportionate number. "People are coming from different places, which is okay, but it's not okay when they're disrespectful; it's not okay when they're not kind. Enter your email address to be notified about new posts. I mean, people were throwing tea off those boats because they were protesting, you know. I remember I called the commissioner then, who was Paul Tagliabue, and I say, Well, Paul, I have this idea. And he had to mop the floors for weeks and months on end. ATLANTA - Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank released a statement on Saturday following President Donald Trump's comments on Friday about the NFL. Continued: https://t.co/yePGJUaGVV, Ive got a lot of love and respect for police officers., We dont want to see Targets burning. Falcons owner Arthur Blank made a $15 million donation on Tuesday to The Cooper Institute, run by its founder Dr. Kenneth Cooper, a friend of Blank's and a strong proponent of preventive medicine. Atlanta Falcons employees are most likely to be members of the Republican Party. Looting is NOT THE ANSWER!!!! Sign up to receive GPB Event announcements via Email. They said it would take an act of courage on your part to go out on the field and and to be recognized. And, you know, people stood up! That Vote for Secretary of State? How best to put it? Is Arthur Blank the Only Good Owner in the NFL? - The Daily Beast He had a gun on his lap, sitting on his right thigh. 2023 FOX Television Stations, Georgia Secretary of State calls many election changes 'solid', study by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight in October 2020, too restrictive and targets minority voters, Cobb leader says moving MLB All-Star game in protest would hurt business, Democrats dispute police report in Georgia lawmakers arrest, Civil rights groups file new lawsuit over Georgia voting law, Photos show rescue of Woodstock man 'buried up to his neck' in collapsed trench, Frederick, MD tanker explosion leaves 1 dead; Shuts down part of US-15, Sheriff's office continues five-year-long search for missing Carrollton man, Georgia baby girl reported missing with man diagnosed with mental illness, police say, Jesse Wilson: Adoptive mother arrested in boy's death in Arizona, Clayton County twin sisters make history rising the ranks in Georgia UPS facility, Alex Murdaugh killed wife, son to buy time, prosecutor says, UGA football star Jalen Carter facing charges in fatal crash: What we know, Young Thug trial: Judge orders probe of leaked evidence, Families intensify search for two men missing for more than a week. 9. /BitsPerComponent 8 So I would fight for that and surround myself with people who believe the same thing, because you have to have that brain power in every institution or corporation or nonprofit. We Have Every Reason To Expect a Lot More from the NFL, no promises that it will reveal everything it has found out. A Member of the Blank Family of Businesses. So in this case, we were coming back from a game after the team had played in St. Louis against the old St. Louis Rams theyre now in L.A. and instead of riding in the front of the plane with the coaches and managers, I sat in the back with the players. The perceived linebetween politics and sports further blurred when Major League Baseball's union chief said players are ready to discuss moving the 2021 MLB All-Star Game out of Truist Park. Also watchRISING UP: A Westside Story,a documentary film by David Lewis Productions that gives viewers a detailed look into the ideation, construction, and impact of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on the city of Atlanta. 260 14th St. NW Arthur Blank is an American entrepreneur and a co-owner of the home improvement retail giant The Home Depot. It is in effect protecting the teams owner, a guy regularly reviled by sportswriters, players and fans as a (very wealthy) toxic idiot. The trouble is that the NFL is not coming clean on that investigation. He said, All of that really gave me time not only for redemption, but more importantly, for reflection. And he said, I really realized that I had done a lot of good things in my life putting aside and playing ball. For the last two decades, sports have united this largely racially divided city, and partially due to the actions of the Hawks and the Braves, the Falcons could ill-afford to have a stadium plan that was not only racially inclusive, but also worked to incorporate the surrounding community. I know you see my partner, Bernie, on Fox News very often. Arthur Blank's Wives & Family: 5 Fast Facts | Heavy.com 6 0 obj The Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR) mission is to ensure elections are secure, voters have confidence in election outcomes and democracy thrives as civic engagement grows. "He cares deeply about giving back and making a difference in people's lives. And then as Dr. King wrote in his last book, which his wife published a year after he passed away. The Atlanta Falcons new stadium is going to be beautiful. But I would keep raising my hand. It is time to hold mayoral offices accountable, chiefs and deputy chiefs. And they found ways to get things done with people who had a little bit a different view but found that commonality that was really important. Blank, who is Jewish, also addressed the administration's failure to recognize the losses suffered by the Jewish people during the Holocaust. The Athletic reported that Blank gave $2,800 to Biden, the Democratic nominee for president, on July 1. However, many Americans are still being denied access to their vote and their ability to fully participate in our democracy. Blank Launches New Voter Education Project - Atlanta Jewish Times In 2014 it emerged that Bruce Levenson, who owned the NBAs Atlanta Hawks, had written an email that amongst other things theorized that the black crowd [at Philips Arena] scared away the whites, adding for good measure: I have even bitched that the kiss cam is too black. Levenson later that year sold his stake in the franchise, and the Hawks have worked hard to win back their black audience. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Home Depot co-founders pictured in 1979, a year after the first store opened. All Rights Reserved. Paul, are you OK? I was going to call his secretary, thinking Paul got a heart attack or something. 16 Blanks son, Kenny Blank, also sits on the foundations board and is the executive director of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. We are better than this We are better than this as a country. His professional team Atlanta United FC brought professional soccer to Atlanta beginning in 2017. Though the 78-year-old who's now the owner of the Atlanta Falcons NFL team was aware of their political differences, he said it never had any bearing on their shared values. [/Pattern /DeviceRGB] And that's an example of the happiness that we're talking about. Download the FOX 5 Atlanta appfor breaking news and weather alerts. Blank told Business Insider that despite their differences, running a company is "not a red issue or a blue issue" and is instead about sharing the same values. %PDF-1.4 The system has worked well for the multi-billionaire and co-founder of The Home Depot. Over the past week, figures around the NFL have ", CNN -- Ted [Turner] did a great thing. That should never be tolerated. When I left [Home Depot] in 2001, [it] was the second largest retailer in the world, second only to Wal-Mart. /Width 625 w !1AQaq"2B #3Rbr The Falcons owner, Arthur Blank, the co-founder of Home Depot with a net worth of $3 billion, at first glance certainly fits the bill of your standard billionaire athletic team owner. The stadium boasts roughly 4,000 solar panels and will use 70 percent less energy. After cofounding Home Depot in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1978, Blank and Marcus helped put the do-it-yourself phenomenon on the map by offering the tools for personal home renovations. About Arthur Blank Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus cofounded Home Depot in 1978 after being fired from their jobs at a regional hardware store. "So, you know, I love him. "This notion of divisiveness has become, in my humble opinion, maybe, post-Civil War, probably one of the most stressful times I've ever seen in our country," he said. Arthur M. Blank is responsible for the sorry state of the Falcons. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank is married to Angela Macuga, his third wife. The pair always strove to create a work environment that put people before politics, said Blank. 14, He also had three children with his second wife of 16 years, Stephanie Blank. GPBs Virginia Prescott asked Blank about some of those stories in a conversationpresented in collaboration with Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlantas Book Festival in Your Living Room, the National JCC Literary Consortium and the Atlanta History Center. This is chaos. Blank and Marcus put their discounting experiment to the test in their own brand of warehouse stores called Home Depot and opened the first two Atlanta-area stores in 1979. GPB is committedto bringing you comprehensive news coverage from Georgia, across the country and around the world. And, you know, living in poverty, we had friends coming by all the time and what have you. Were usually very happy to talk, very happy to share our opinions and what have you I have enough humility to understand that the people were serving know better. Soccer fans don't want to feel like they go into a stadium and they're a second-class citizen citizen. I mean, those fans, they feel like that's the only sport that we're hosting in that stadium. Its also part memoir of how his ethics evolved from watching his father run a neighborhood pharmacy in Queens, New York, to launching multi-billion dollar ventures. Arthur Blank greets a crowd of cheering Atlanta United fans in 2017. A study by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight in October 2020 showed Blank is a bipartisan contributor to political campaignsbut contributed more to Democratic candidates from 2012 to 2020. Thats great. /Length 7 0 R Generally speaking they dont do a lot to lift up the communities and neighborhoods around them. At the end of the day, you can have differences of opinion, which is a great thing to have, and different approaches, which is a great thing to have. But, we really could not have done it without great service, great pricing, and great product knowledge. One was in pricing. 15, Two of Blanks children, Dena Kimball and Kenny Blank, sit on the board of directors of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. I've had conversations with a number of senators who made it very clear that some of their best friends, both politically and otherwise, are on the other side of the aisle. He shares how he and Bernie Marcus were brusquely fired from executive positions at Handy Dan Home Improvement Stores the humiliating inflection point that led the pair to create The Home Depot. The NFL could and should be a leader among other giant corporations in taking stark stands against belligerent stupidity like racism (which it is sort of good at in a lipservice/signage kind of way, considering 70% of its players are black) and sexism (where it has a long ways to go, despite promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month with pink shoes), but also right now for wait for it COVID vaccinations. The couple filed for divorce in 2013. And so from there, since the 2001- 2002 season, we've only had three games that were not sold out during the season.