More than 1,200 government leaders, public servants, and legislative stakeholders gathered in Atlanta on January 26-29 for the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA)’s Cities United Summit. The Summit, held annually by GMA, provides mayors, councilmembers, city staff and special guests with access to advocacy tools, policy committee meetings and unrivaled training and networking opportunities.
City leaders from across the state gather on the Capitol steps with Gov. Kemp.
Highlights of the event included training sessions on Friday and Saturday, in which a record number of 1,395 training seats were filled. Also significant was the Sunday awards luncheon, where nine cities were presented with the Visionary City Award, and more than 150 training awards were presented. New cities and organizations promoting civility, as well as recertified cities of ethics and new organizations of ethics, were recognized. Attendees had the opportunity to attend the Federal Policy Council and Legislative Policy Council meetings, as well as participate in six policy committee meetings. The Capitol Connection Breakfast on the morning of Monday, January 29, featured remarks from Governor Brian Kemp (via video), Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Georgia Speaker of the House Jon Burns and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, along with GMA officers and staff.
The breakfast was followed by Cities United Day at the Capitol, during which hundreds of city leaders traveled from the Hilton to the Capitol to directly lobby their legislators regarding the needs of Georgia’s cities. Governor Kemp, First Lady of Georgia Marty Kemp and many legislators joined the city leaders to take a photo on the north stairs of the Capitol.