Pretty Southern

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News

Trinity Community Ministries Renews 20-Year Lease in Downtown Atlanta

Trinity House will continue operating in the historic Hanley Building, an extension of its current lease with Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, to help end homelessness and recidivism.

Trinity Community Ministries, Atlanta’s dedicated mission to help homeless men and veterans reclaim their lives and return to their families and communities as mentors and leaders, today announced the renewal of its 20-year lease with Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. This agreement will allow Trinity House to continue its operations at the historic Hanley Building located at 21 Bell Street in the Sweet Auburn District.

Trinity Community Ministries at Trinity House-Big Bethel in Downtown Atlanta

“We are so thankful for Big Bethel as an essential supporter of Trinity House,” said Anita DeMyers, Executive Director of Trinity Community Ministries. “Trinity is on a mission to change lives in Atlanta and beyond. In partnership with Big Bethel AME, as well as our loyal supporters, we’re making miracles happen together.”

Trinity Community Ministries was founded in 1981 as a 501(c)(3) organization to support the underserved in Atlanta. The heart of Trinity’s operations happens at Trinity House, a 36-bed facility where men enter into a long-term recovery program. Trinity House has a 24-hour staff aiding with wellness support, helping clients find and retain employment, as well as financial planning with the goal of a client saving $2,500 to “graduate” within a year.

“Trinity House is an incredible place. The idea is not that the men would just get clean, but that they will go back into the community and transform the lives of others,” said Trinity graduate William Strong. “The altruistic emphasis empowers the men of Trinity to see themselves as essential community members. Every week, they host an alumni week, we have alumni return to Trinity House to share about life challenges they face after they have graduated so current clients will be ready to navigate them.”

Trinity-House is located one block from Big Bethel AME, home of Atlanta’s iconic ‘JESUS SAVES’ tower. Since it first entered into this agreement with Big Bethel in 2004, Trinity House has operated in the historic Hanley Building — a landmark and former funeral home where the body of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was prepared.

“Dr. King spoke of our beloved community, and this is his dream made into a reality. There is a commitment from Big Bethel to support our community. Trinity Community Ministries is a part of our community, and the fabric that makes up Big Bethel,” said Rev. John Foster, Ph.D., Senior Pastor of Big Bethel. “We have proved our commitment to Atlanta as a long-standing pillar in our community, and we’re honored to support Trinity’s mission to help even more men and their families get on the path to healing.”

For more information, visit Trinity’s website to support the event and fundraising for Trinity.

About Trinity Community Ministries

Trinity Community Ministries, Inc. (TCM) has operated and provided direct services to the Atlanta metropolitan community since 1981 and is officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization. In 2004, TCM entered into a partnership with Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the owners of the former Hanley Building in the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s body was prepared for his funeral, and where TCM’s administrative offices and Trinity House-Big Bethel program are still housed today. Today, TCM’s mission is to help homeless men reclaim their lives and return to their families and communities as mentors and leaders. Learn more at tcmatlanta.org.

February 28, 2023
Atlas Announces Julien Gobin as Assistant General Manager

Atlas is pleased to announce Julien Gobin has been promoted to Assistant General Manager. Gobin most recently served as Manager of Atlas and offers a wealth of experience in restaurant kitchen management. A native of France, prior to joining the Atlas team, Julien served as Assistant General Manager at Brio Tuscan Grill and has successfully helped lead teams in Hungary, South Carolina and Georgia. As Atlas’ Assistant General Manager, Gobin aims to exceed guest expectations while offering unparalleled culinary service and unforgettable dining and imbibing experiences.

Restaurant owners and managers may improve or upgrade their restaurants by purchasing and investing in decor and equipment from restaurant liquidation sites. They may also consider a netsuite implementation for food and beverage to help them manage most if not all aspects of their operations.

Assistant General Manager, Julien Gobin

Located within the St. Regis Atlanta, Atlas celebrates the very best in seasonal American cuisine combined with European influences created by Executive Chef Christopher Grossman. Guests can revel in a fine dining experience in the dining room or take advantage of The Tavern featuring chef-driven small plates menu and hand-shaken cocktails. With a focus on curating fresh ingredients from local farms, this chef-driven restaurant brings unparalleled culinary experiences to the capital of the South.

Atlas also recently welcomed back its acclaimed art installation featuring 30 pieces from esteemed artists including Foujita, Monet, Chagall, Modigliani and Soutine. The restaurant’s impressive gallery of 20th century artwork is from The Lewis Collection. For more information, visit atlasrestaurant.com. In addition, stay connected on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter at @AtlasBuckhead.

Finally, for other happenings around Atlanta, visit https://prettysouthern.com/.

May 21, 2018
Grant Park Conservancy Awarded The Opportunity To Be A Part Of Park Pride’s Esteemed Visioning Program
Grant Park Conservancy is one of two organizations in the City of Atlanta that have been awarded the opportunity to be a part of Park Pride’s esteemed Park Visioning Program centered around community-supported design, education and open dialogue.

Led by professional landscape architects on Park Pride’s staff, the Park Visioning Program will guide the Conservancy and Grant Park stakeholders and residents through a process that will turn the community’s vision for approximately eight acres of the southeast corner of the park into a conceptual master plan.

“As we celebrate the park’s 135^th anniversary this year, we could not think of a better time to officially kick-off our efforts with Park Pride and its Visioning Program. The process will enable everyone to work together and present a unified voice as we plan as a community for the park’s future,” says Michelle Blackmon, Grant Park’s Conservancy Executive Director.

The Conservancy, along with a steering committee of community members assembled to help guide the process, has announced the dates for the community input sessions for those interested in being a part of this exciting project.

Community Input Sessions:
- Sunday, June 10^th, 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. – Walk the project site and discuss “big ideas” for the area. The site includes the section of the Boulevard parking lot. The lot is not part of the Grant Park Gateway Project through Ft. Walker and down to Atlanta Avenue.
- Meet at Ft. Walker, intersection of Boulevard and Atlanta Ave. Rain location: The Circus School, 575 Boulevard SE.
- Wednesday, July 11th, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Participate in a design workshop. The Circus School, 575 Boulevard SE.
- Saturday and Sunday, August 25^th and 26^th – all day. Stop by the visioning booth at the Grant Park Summer Shade Festival to give feedback on preliminary design proposals.
- Saturday, September 22^nd, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Participate in a review of the final concept design. The Circus School, 575 Boulevard SE.
Furthermore, for more information, visit www.gpconservancy.org/park-pride-visioning-grant
May 14, 2018
Pretty Southern Updates

Just in case y’all missed the news…

PrettySouthern.com reached record traffic with 70,000+ hits, 62,000 unique visitors and 96,000+ page views in one week

On Wednesday, March 18, Pretty Southern published a contributed editorial from a young, single woman who spent the past six months living in Charleston. As a native of Atlanta, she’d always loved Charleston and decided to move there. Well, things didn’t quite turn out like she expected, and Pretty Southern invited her to share her opinion. Essentially, she called the city of Charleston an “ugly baby”. Charleston residents picked up the story, as did Reddit, and the local media outlets. Our story went viral.

The post received 8,000+ Facebook Likes before it had to be taken down due to the author of the post receiving threats. Pretty Southern’s unique visitors represented all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, and 113 countries around the world.

We were invited for an interview on Mix 96 Live, Charleston’s local radio
On Friday, March 20, Pretty Southern had its first radio appearance. I called into “2 Girls and A Guy” to discuss this post, why we chose to publish it, and the crazy response. The full interview is available here. We also had a local College of Charleston student submit “a polite rebuttal” in defense of her city.

Meanwhile, back in Georgia…

It’s our privilege to announce our membership with the Atlanta Press Club as a journalist member.
Pretty Southern was also named PR/Social Media Chair for The Atlanta Food Blogger Society. We’ve been tasked to help further expand the outreach of our 40+ bloggers by aligning our efforts with local Atlanta PR firms, restaurants, and festivals to promote the city’s dining scene.

We’re also excited to celebrate the 100th birthday of UGA’s Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication. The Grady College Centennial Weekend kicks off on Thursday, April 16 with a symposium at UGA, with a field party on Friday, April 17, and a black tie gala on Saturday, April 18, followed by a brunch on Sunday, April 19. More information including tickets can be found here.

It’s hard to believe March is already almost over. Springtime is upon us, which means festival season is coming too. This week we’re particularly excited for our PR/Marketing/Social Media girls meetup hosted by the lovely Tori Allen. Plus we’ve got BaconFest for Dad’s Garage, the opening of D. Gellar & Son’s new location in Sandy Springs, and much more. Please make sure you follow us on social media for the latest updates.

And as always, bless your heart! #LoveTheSouth

Lauren Patrick is a native Southerner, UGA graduate, and the editor of Pretty Southern.com. Y’all can find her writing, wining, dining, and working out in Atlanta. She’s a member of the Atlanta Blogger Network and Atlanta Food Blogger Society. Keep up with her & Pretty Southern on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

March 23, 2015
Letter From The Editor to All of Charleston

Dear residents & lovers of Charleston:

We here at PrettySouthern.com aim to be a voice of the South, a place where your opinions can be heard. In 2010, Pretty Southern entered the blogosphere and social media. I, Lauren Morgan Patrick – with the help of my husband, friends, and this web design agency – launched this website as a home to tell stories, your stories, about the South. Being Southerners, born and raised in the South, hearing Southerners share their stories and love of this land is essential to our existence.

Before March 18, 2015, our most popular post Words Only Southerners Say helped us to reach more than 100,000 people every year who want to relish in those glorious Southern phrases distinctly our own. In the past 24 hours, we’ve heard from more than 43,000 Southerners who all have opinions they wanted to share about the city of Charleston.

A dear friend of Pretty Southern, whom most of y’all know by now, lived in Charleston for the past six months and decided that this city, your city, is not for her. After hearing her sentiments, I asked her if she would be willing to share her thoughts on Pretty Southern. It wasn’t about click bait, or yellow journalism; this was an opportunity for her to tell her story. We’ve all had different experiences unique to our own paths in life. Her experience in Charleston was her own.

Our Pretty Southern blogger had the gumption to share her thoughts, then was vilified for them.

My husband snapped this pic on a trip to Charleston. It’s so true.

As a woman, especially a Southern girl who was raised on “yes ma’am”, “yes sir”, “please”, and “thank you”, I was appalled at some of the comments posted to this blog. From the 43,000+ hits and 400 comments – which have all now been taken down – I think I read every swear word in the English language. There were F-bombs. There was the n-word. The trolls crawled out from the depths of the internet to sling some of the most profane, misogynistic, and violent insults I’ve ever read. And these folks claimed to be Southerners.

We Southerners are supposed to take pride in our manners. Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian and Southerner, espoused the right to have an opinion, then the right to disagree with it. What disappointed me the most was the lack of respect shown by all parties. We could have done better, and y’all – the collective, commenting masses – could have done better too.

To protect the institution of Pretty Southern, albeit a “puny blog” as someone called it, I took down that editorial. Pretty Southern is my labor of love, my digital home. I invited a guest into my home to share her opinion with our Southern readers and things got completely out of control.

Tomorrow morning, Friday, March 20, at 8:10 a.m. EST, I will be live on air with Charleston’s The Mix 96 FM. Please submit your questions you would like for me to address in the comments section below.

If you have an interest in contributing to Pretty Southern, we would love to have you. We reserve the right to edit your material, but this is a place for y’all to be heard to. As a disclaimer, no other media outlet was responsible for taking down this post. It was in response to the uncontrollable rascals sharing their rather violent two-cents.

Thanks for reading, and (seriously) bless your heart.

Lauren Morgan Patrick is the editor of Pretty Southern.com, a native Southerner, UGA graduate, and Georgia Bulldogs fan. Y’all can find her writing, wining, and dining in Atlanta. Keep up with her & Pretty Southern on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

March 19, 2015
Jason Carter Could Have Won

Jason Carter had his work cut out for him. Even though former President Jimmy Carter is his grandfather, he was going up against a Republican incumbent governor in a red state. But the pundits thought this election could be a close one. Given Carter’s political pedigree, and Governor Nathan Deal’s scandals – including corruption and Snowpocalypse – a runoff was predicted between these two gubernatorial candidates. Alas, the older voters (re: age 45+) almost unanimously voted for Nathan Deal.

When looking at the map of how each county voted in Georgia, the major metropolitan areas – Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah – all voted blue as they traditionally do. The suburbs and rural counties all voted red. Keep in mind, back in the day the Deep South were “Dixie-crats”. Georgia was diehard Democratic until the great shift in when our Southern leaders – including Nathan Deal – turned Republican. The partisan pride in the Republican party is almost synonymous with the South.

But what about the New South? Jason Carter promised Georgia a fresh start. He’s young, hungry, and much easier on the eyes than Deal. Jason Carter could have won the governor’s seat.

If I’d been Jason Carter’s campaign manager, I would have run him on the hot dad campaign.

Mr. Carter is a fine a specimen of a modern, Southern gentleman. He’s got a precious wife, two cute little boys, and that friendly, outgoing personality that inspires trust. Not to mention he’s scandal free. “A sweet piece of political ass,” as one of my pals put it (note the donkey reference).

What if his stylist had opted for a more GQ look? What if he’d gone to more soccer fields in the suburbs? What if he stopped by more shopping centers in the suburbs where ladies spend their weekends? His winning smile and great sport coat might have inspired women to vote D for “Damn if he isn’t a hot Dad!”

Also, partying has a way of bringing people together. Lord knows there are enough dive bars and honky tonks where Jason could have stopped by, grabbed a beer, and buddied up to a few new friends and garnered those votes. He could have gone to Tomorrow World, Counterpoint, and had his promo team hold up one of his “Carter” signs on a pole in front of the main stage. That would have burned in the eyes of every reveler drugged up on molly.

On the other side of the spectrum, this was noted on radio WSB 750 this past Friday: Jason just started showing up at churches the week before the elections. That was too little too late and his tardiness was noted by the congregations. He should have been at church bake sales back in the spring, and more pumpkin patches this fall.

Georgia backed the Carter family once, and we could have done it again. I really hoped Carter was going to win this one, but hope is not a strategy.

November 8, 2014