Green Building Luminary, Rick Fedrizzi Announced As The 2008 Visionary Dinner Keynote
	Southface announced that green building leader, Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will present the 2008 Visionary Dinner keynote address. The annual gala which will be held at the Georgia Aquarium’s Oceans Ballroom on Wednesday, March 12, with an opening reception at 5 p.m., celebrating sustainability in business and the community.
The Visionary Dinner features Fedrizzi’s keynote address, as well as the presentation of the Argon Award for Success in Sustainability to a business or environmental leader.

	Southface Announces A New Training And Certification Program For Home Performance Contracting Professionals Southface and the the Building Performance Institute (BPI) join forces to help the home performance industry train and certify professional contractors and technicians. As a BPI Affiliate, Southface will provide training and exams, which lead to national certification. Upon successful completion, technicians will receive national accreditation as a BPI certified professional.
The Building Performance Institute (BPI) is a nationally recognized leader in training, certification and accreditation, as well as quality assurance programs in the building performance industry. Southface offers Home Performance Assessments training and one-on-one mentoring to prepare professionals for these exams and participation in Home Performance with ENERGY STAR. For more information, please visit www.southfacehomeperformance.com.
	Earth Hour – March 29 at 8pm In efforts to combat climate change the World Wildlife Fund initiative, Earth Hour, encourages residents, businesses and organizations to voluntarily turn off non-essential lights for one hour Earth Hour. Honorable Mayor Shirley Franklin announced that the City of Atlanta has joined the initiative and on March 29, at 8 p.m., the city will darken for one hour.
Atlanta is one of 20 cities in seven countries to participate in this global awareness campaign about climate change. For more information visit www.earthhourus.org.

Brock Built, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta And WSB-TV Team Up

EarthCraft House builder, Brock Built, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) and WSB-TV are collaborating to build “Atlanta’s Giving Green Home,” in the builder’s West Highland community. The ground breaking is scheduled for later this spring and the entire building process will be filmed for a one-hour documentary to be aired on WSB-TV, once the home is completed. For more information visit www.brockbuilt.com.

Sustainable Nonprofits Awardees Announced

In fall 2007, Southface launched a new initiative designed to help metro Atlanta nonprofit organizations make their buildings or business practices greener and more sustainable. In December, The Sustainable Nonprofits Project, underwritten by the Kendeda Fund, announced the first round of recipients for technical assistance support. The awardees are The Child Development Association, CHRIS Kids, Covenant House, Galloway School, Georgia Citizens’ Coalition on Hunger, Inner Harbour for Children & Families, Inman Park Cooperative Preschool, Lovett School, Open Door Community, Reynoldstown Revitalization Corp., Task Force for Child Survivability and Pace Academy.

Counties Launch Toilet Rebate Program

The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District and the Dekalb County Department of Watershed launched residential toilet rebate programs. Eligible residents must own or rent a single-family residential home built in 1993 or earlier, and the home must be located in the city of Atlanta, Cherokee, Clayton, Fayette, Dekalb, Gwinnett, Hapeville or Henry counties to qualify for the rebate. To learn more visit www.northgeorgiawater.com and www.dekalbwatershed.com.

Waterfront developer and owner, Barkley Geib, and project manager, Howie Geib celebrate and cut the ribbon on the Waterfront development’s boat dock.

Waterfront Lanier Harbor Marina: A Groundbreaking Development Waterfront owner/developer, Barkley Geib, held a ribbon-cutting celebration on December 19, 2007 to announce the grand opening of a full-service gas dock and the groundbreaking of a waterside community on Lake Lanier that aspires to incorporate five environmental programs into the design. Southface is working closely with the project team to administer four of these programs, EarthCraft Communities, EarthCraft HouseTM, EarthCraft Light Commercial Pilot Program and LEED® Certification. Geib and project manager, Howie Geib, are also working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement the Georgia Clean Marinas Program, a voluntary federal program, to ensure the future of the lake’s ecosystem that borders the community.

The Waterfront development will include town home living, retail stores, restaurants, boat slips, a lakeside clubhouse and a full service marina. Looney Ricks, Kiss Architects, Inc., are designing the live, work and recreational spaces, while the majority of the grounds and landscaping will be planned and created by the ECOS Environmental Design team. Waterfront’s general contractor, Rodney Hellemn and civil engineer, Scott Smith from Diversified Technical Group, are tasked with assuring that the community’s environmental design goals are being met as they break ground. Coldwell Banker, Builder Developer Services, is handling all marketing and sales for the 26-acre community located at the southside of Lake Lanier. When complete, the community will feature water conservation and energy efficiency, and will include innovation in design through community interaction, walking, hiking and bike paths, as well environmental education. “Being cognizant of the environment and its precious resources is the right thing to do,” said Barkley Geib. “When we decided to create Waterfront, we knew we had to address sustainable lifestyles and the long-range effects on the environment. It was an easy decision to follow the EarthCraft standards.”

EarthCraft House 2008 Builder Award Winners
EarthCraft House honored builders, developers and sponsors of the year at its recent Builder Recognition Breakfast. Pictured are: Butch Gaudette, Whirlpool; David Ellis, Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, Debbie Earle, Whirlpool; Dennis Creech, Southface; Sue Dissinger, Whirlpool; Kimberly Zaskoda, Whirlpool; Pat Dennis, Whirlpool; Ted Cater, EarthCraft House; Robert Dean, Whirlpool. Lawrence Brothers were named Regional Builder of the year at the EarthCraft House Builder's Breakfast.	The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and Southface proudly announced the 2008 EarthCraft House Builder Awards at the Builder’s Breakfast on February 21. The winners honored for their commitment to green building were, Serenbe, LLC for the Development of the Year, Fortress Construction LLC for the Builder of the Year, Lawrence Bros for the Regional Builder of the Year, The Hoots Group for Renovator of the Year, The Glenwood Park Poolside Flats for Multifamily Project of the Year, Green Street Properties for Multifamily Developer of the Year, BurrSon Construction Group for Multifamily Builder of the Year, Whirlpool for Sponsor of the Year, and Haven Properties for the Accolade Award.
In addition, project managers and builder assistants who oversaw completion of their projects were recognized. The project managers are Cam Rabbitt, Hedgewood Properties; Don Acker, Eco Custom Homes; Jeff Causey, CCM Homes; Josh McKenzie, Brock Built Homes. The builder assistants are Alex Ciuca, CCM Homes; Ben Fulp, Creech Development Group; and Sherry Elrod, The Macallan Group.
Southface Award of Excellence presented to EarthCraft House Virginia Southface bestowed the Award of Excellence to EarthCraft House Virginia. Pictured from left to right; Chuk Bowles, KC McGurren, Karl Bren, Daisy Massey and Sean Shanley.

EarthCraft House Adds New Client, Gables Residential

The EarthCraft House Multifamily Team contracted with Gables Residential to certify three multifamily properties in metro Atlanta - Century Center, Sheridan and 820 West. At completion, each of the 943 units will achieve EarthCraft House and ENERGY STAR certifications.

Sunspots
Southface staff Laura Uhde, Steve Herzlieb and Sydney Roberts, add qualification as accredited Building Analyst Professionals, Building Performance Institute.	Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable Faith and the Environment panelists, Rusty Pritchard, associate director, Evangelical Environmental Network; Katy Hinman, executive director, Georgia Interfaith Power and Light; and Dr.Michael A. Battle, president, Interdenominational Theological Center.	Dennis Creech acknowledges the long time commitment of Elizabeth S. Robertson with an Award of Excellence. Elizabeth retired from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority in 2007.
Reed Thomas signs the print during the Winter Solstice celebration. This print will acknowledge all the volunteers who have helped with the Southface Eco Office. Young cellist, Carter Chen (left) celebrates the success of his fundraising efforts on behalf of Southface. Pictured with him are musicians (L-R) Bill Fleming, Kyna Brooks, Alan Dynin and Southface's Beth Haynes.

Southface Hellos & Goodbyes

Southface welcomes: Chris Lau, Flavia Melendez, Kevin Gobble and Robert Reed. In addition we offer best wishes to departing staff and interns: Ankith Kamaraju, Andrea Moore, Billy Paulson, Matthew Powers.