City Appoints Friends Of Sandy Springs Foundation Members

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- At its Aug. 15 meeting, the Sandy Springs City Council gave the go-ahead to create a foundation in support of arts programming for the city.

Several members were appointed to the Friends of Sandy Springs Foundation, which was originally organized to support Recreation and Parks programming. However, now that the City Springs project is taking shape, the foundation will transition into an organization focused on arts programming and educational opportunities.

Those appointed to the foundation Ken Byers, Jan Collins, Mark Oshnock, Ed Patterson, Frances Creekmuir, Kenny Blank, City Springs PAC General Manager Michael Enoch and City Manager John McDonough (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

"Creating places of community is a core strategy in creating City Springs," Mayor Rusty Paul said. "One of those place-makers is through the arts, and with the help of the Foundation, we can support those efforts providing resources needed to make certain we create, attract and develop the highest quality programming and educational opportunities for our entire community."

The mission of the Performing Arts Center is “to enhance the quality of life of the Sandy Springs community by providing diverse arts, entertainment, educational, business and civic opportunities,” the city notes. The role of the Foundation is that of the PAC's philanthropic arm, serving as the fiscal agent for private, corporate and foundation sector funding, and will steward private philanthropy.

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About the Foundation members:

Ken Byers

Byers is the founder and president of Byers Engineering Company, providing technical services and software products to the utilities industry. In support of continued advancement of technology through education, Byers endowed the Kenneth G. Byers, Jr. Eminent Scholar Chair in Optical Networking and has sponsored three Byers Professorships in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computing Engineering. Byers serves as a trustee of The Georgia Tech Foundation. He is also an active supporter of The Carter Center and is past Chairman of its Board of Councilors. Byers graduated from Georgia Tech with a BEE in 1966 and an MSEE in 1968. He also holds an MBA from Georgia State.

Jan Collins

Collins is a graduate of The University of Georgia. She taught English, speech and drama on the high school level. Later she attained her Interior Design certification. Collins served as president of The Medical Association of Georgia Auxiliary, working alongside physicians to bring good health care delivery to our state. She presently helps raise funds to fight Alzheimer's disease. Supporting her love for the Arts, Collins has served on The Atlanta Opera, The Alliance Theatre, and The Hambidge Center boards. She was a docent for The High Museum of Art and a governor's appointee to The Georgia Council for the Arts. She presently serves on The Act3 board and is a founder and past president of The Sandy Springs Society and Art Sandy Springs. She was founder and co-chairman of The Town Turtles of Sandy Springs public art project.

Mark Oshnock

Oshnock is senior integration management executive with Northside Hospital. He has lived in Sandy Springs for almost 30 years, with a career focused on improving healthcare businesses. Oshnock served as the CEO of Visiting Nurse Health System and the managing partner of the U.S. Healthcare Consulting Division of Arthur Andersen. He has served on the board of the Georgia Department of Community Health and on the city of Atlanta’s Mayor’s Health Services CEO Forum. Oshnock holds a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting from Michigan State University.

Ed Patterson

Patterson is vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for Veritiv Corporation. Prior to joining Veritiv, Patterson served as senior director of public affairs for Cox Enterprises, as well as vice president for Cox Enterprises’ Employee Relief Fund. Previous, he was senior vice president with Edelman Public Relations. Patterson currently serves on the Board of Directors for LifeLine Animal Project and has also been active with Open Hand Atlanta, the Human Rights Campaign and is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Atlanta.

Frances Creekmuir

Creekmuir is the founder of Creekmuir Wellness, providing health and wellness coaching. She is a certified personal trainer through the American College of sports Medicine and a Certified Public Accountant, working early in her career with KPMG and Trent Capital Management. Creekmuir is active within the community, providing assistance to organizations including the Community Assistance Center and the Center for Puppetry Arts.

Kenny Blank

Blank is executive director for the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. He spent more than ten years working as a broadcast journalist and communications specialist, receiving an Emmy award for breaking news coverage while working with WXIA-TV in Atlanta. He served as a communications specialist under Atlanta Mayors Maynard Jackson and Bill Campbell. Blank received his bachelor of fine arts and bachelor's degrees both in journalism and mass communication and film and television from New York University. He serves on the Board of the Directors for the Arthur Blank Family Foundation, Woodruff Arts Center, Alliance Theatre and Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund.

Michael Enoch

Enoch serves as the general manager for the Performing Arts Center at City Springs. He is a 38-year industry veteran, most recently serving as general manager for the Studio City Events Center in Macau, China. Enoch’s experience includes directing special event centers including theaters, convention centers and large outdoor venues. Facilities he’s managed include the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas; Rose Garden Arena in Portland; and Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China.

John McDonough

McDonough serves as the city manager of Sandy Springs, responsible for the oversight and management of one of the most extensive applications of public-private partnerships for the provision of local government services in the U.S. Prior to joining the city of Sandy Springs, McDonough served as city manager of Beaufort, S.C. and other South Carolina cities. He is a colonel (retired) with more than 26 years of active and reserve service in the U.S. Marine Corps. McDonough serves on the board for the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber of Commerce and as president of the Georgia City/County Manager’s Association. McDonough holds a s degree in public affairs from Indiana University and a bachelor's degree in political science from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.

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