Atlanta, GA

Hawks launch $50M venture fund to support underrepresented startups

Published

3 years ago

March 16, 2023

Hawks launch M venture fund to support underrepresented startups

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The Atlanta Hawks brand is seen on the courtroom earlier than the beginning of a recreation between the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Enviornment on Might 10, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Picture by Casey Sykes/Getty Pictures)

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Hawks have created a brand new fund to speculate thousands and thousands of {dollars} into minority- and woman-led startups in addition to companies specializing in buyer expertise.

Thursday, the Hawks introduced the launch of Hawks Ventures, a $50-million enterprise fund trying to give capital to underrepresented startups over the following 5 years.

In an announcement, the group says the fund will even look to help “customer-obsessed companies with the potential to affect or rework the way in which a services or products is skilled.”

“Hawks Ventures is precisely the sort of community-enhancing effort we dedicated to creating once we bought the workforce in 2015. Making a fund that would strategically improve our enterprise and leverage the expertise and skills of our possession group has been one thing that now we have been working to place our assets and power into from the start,” mentioned Hawks Principal Proprietor Tony Ressler. “Hawks Ventures is an endeavor that our possession group is extraordinarily keen about, and we’re excited to have the ability to spend money on and work with the numerous untapped potential of minority- and women-led entrepreneurs.”

Operating the fund can be Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Innovation and Investments David Garcia, who was beforehand the workforce’s Senior Vice President of Expertise and Innovation.

“I’m thrilled to have the chance to steer this initiative and to have the ability to meaningfully contribute to driving financial empowerment in underrepresented communities,” Garcia mentioned. “With the expertise economic system being a driving pressure of a lot enterprise worth and our deal with range and inclusion, we consider there can be no scarcity of nice concepts and founders to spend money on.”

Garcia has been with the Hawks since 2018 and the workforce says he helped flip State Farm Enviornment into the most important voting precinct in Georgia historical past throughout the 2020 common election’s early-voting interval and the Georgia Senate runoff.

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Atlanta, GA

Months-long Oktoberfest celebration keeps North Georgia city’s traditions and businesses alive

Published

16 hours ago

October 23, 2025

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Months-long Oktoberfest celebration keeps North Georgia city’s traditions and businesses alive

It’s the busiest time of year in the German-inspired mountain town of Helen, Georgia—the 55th Oktoberfest celebration.

In Germany, the celebration of Bavarian culture and tradition lasts for slightly more than two weeks. In Helen, located only 90 miles northeast of Atlanta, Oktoberfest spans several months.

In the 1960s, the town was a dying logging community, but over time, local businessmen, with the help of artist John Kollock, helped transform its economy and culture. What used to be normal buildings turned into a replica of a Bavarian town, complete with red roofs and even a windmill.

Now, families from throughout the Southeast travel to the small town to enjoy the celebration every year.

Things in Helen slow down after the holidays, which is why Helen’s Chamber of Commerce added extra weekends to its Oktoberfest celebration.

The Oktoberfest season is big business for the small mountain town of Helen, Georgia.

CBS News Atlanta

Businesses keep busy during Oktoberfest

Local business owners like Trenika Jackson and Tamara Bryson are leaning into the tradition, tourists, and celebration. Together, they run Dottie’s Kitchen, a Southern Country restaurant dedicated to their grandmother.

“This year we started in the middle of September, like Thursday through Sunday, and the last week of September… it starts through the entire week and it’ll end the first, second week of November,” Jackson said.

“We’ve been very fortunate. We stay very busy, especially through this time of year,” she said.

A musical tradition continues in North Georgia

The local business boom is not the only benefit of the extended Oktoberfest celebration. It’s also a North Georgia music staple, where artists like Dan Witucki and Claude Kashnig have set the mood for Oktoberfest for over 30 years.

“I’ve played in 17 countries and 38 states, and so in German circles, for Oktoberfest, I was sort of a big deal,” said Dan Witucki.

Dan Witucki and the Big Deal Band has set the mood for Helen’s Oktoberfest for decades.

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Witucki’s band got its start at Disney World, at Epcot’s World Showcase, before taking its sound to Helen.

“What I like here is it’s still family-oriented, and so you see all these people here with their children,” Witucki said.

You can learn more about Helen and see things to do in the area here.

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Atlanta, GA

Cartersville police thwart alleged Atlanta airport

Published

1 day ago

October 23, 2025

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Cartersville police thwart alleged Atlanta airport

Cartersville police say they moved quickly after learning that a local man was threatening to shoot up Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Atlanta police found 49-year-old Billy Cagle at the airport within about 20 minutes and took him into federal custody.

Posted October 22, 2025 10:49pm EDT

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