TOM COUSINS IS PRESENTED WITH THE

ROTARY CLUB OF ATLANTA'S LEGENDS AWARD

Bill Nordmark, Tom Cousins, Felker Ward, Laura Lee Gentry and Steve Hennessy

"Webster's says a visionary is "one whose ideas or projects are impractical; a dreamer." It is ironic that Tom Cousins won an award for being a visionary  in the years pas because his ideas, while often risky, are anything but impractical.

Tom graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration in 1952 from the  University of Georgia.   In 1958 he and his father started Cousins Properties Inc.  Tom has transformed his little company into one of Atlanta's biggest real estate empires is undoubtedly one of the most civic-minded multimillionaires Atlanta has ever seen.

Tom was able to build a company with the joint goal of making money while  serving the community.  To be successful in this zen of business, one has to have integrity, a trait Cousins has in spades. “ 

Tom formed the Cousins Foundation in 1987 and funded it with Cousins Properties stock. Through the foundation, he has given millions of dollars to various causes but none speaks louder to Tom’s desire to use real estate to make the world a better place to live than the East Lake project.

The Eastlake neighborhood changed in the 1960s when the government erected a public housing project. Drugs, crime and lower property values followed, turning East Lake into Atlanta's netherworld.  Tom, along with the federal government and Atlanta Housing Authority, had a different vision for the area, one that would attract middle-income families and serve as a model for improving inner-city areas.

Today it is home for professional golf tourniments.  The large housing project, East Lake Meadows, has been replaced with 21st-century mixed-income housing. There's even a public golf course. The Drew Charter School is recognized frequently for the great job it has done in improving education for the area’s children.

Through the years, Cousins Properties developed such Atlanta landmarks as CNN Center, the Omni Coliseum, 191 Peachtree Tower, Bank of America Plaza and Wildwood Office Park in Cobb County.  With his competitor John Portman,  downtown Atlanta was completely remade in the 1970s and 80s. 

In April of 1968  Tom purchased the Hawks basketball team and moved them to Atlanta, renaming them the Atlanta Hawks. At the time Atlanta did not have pro-ball facilities, but Cousins was building a local arena complex.  Cousins also owned the Atlanta Flames until he sold them in 1982 to a consortium from Calgary.  This year Tom was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Atlanta Sports Awards for his role in promoting sports in Atlanta.