Page 9 - DeKalb County NCG 2019

HEADQUARTERED in DeKalb DEVELOPMENT
MAJOR ORGANIZATIONS
ECONOMIC

County

MICHAEL L.

Thurmond

Mobility

ichael L. Thurmond won the election for CEO of

DeKalb County in a landslide victory in 2016. His main
M mission ever since has been to restore trust in county government.
The former Georgia General Assembly member is the first African American elected to

statewide office without any prior appointment.

Thurmond has long since been regarded as the With such a long and prolific resume, Thurmond says it is
“turnaround expert.” His accomplishments include hard to pinpoint his finest achievement, but he responded,
transforming the culture and operations of different state
and county organizations such as the Georgia Division of “…. eliminating a $24 million fund deficit…
Family and Children Services, the Georgia Department of gaining a $90 million surplus and gaining
Labor, and the DeKalb County School District. $3.1 million dollars in SPLOST funds.”

As interim superintendent of DeKalb County Schools, Clearly Thurmond is well on his way to his objective of
Thurmond was successful in stabilizing the school restoring trust for the county’s government.
system during a governance crisis, upgrading the school
district’s threatened accreditation, eliminating a multi- DeKalb County is “positioned to be the shining light in
million-dollar deficit, and improving student academic metro Atlanta,” said Thurmond.
performance and graduation rates. Other DeKalb corporate headquarters include: Gypsum Management & Supply • Home Chef • Krystal • The Weather Company

7 DeKalb Chamber of Commerce 80TH SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY EDITION 404.378.8000 | WWW.DEKALBCHAMBER.ORG DeKalb Chamber of Commerce 8