The Council for Quality Growth proudly announce the recipients of its 15^th Annual Community Improvement District (CID) Recognition Event, presented by Georgia Power and Pond & Company. The 2024 reception and award presentation will honor Dan Buyers, Vice Chair of the Town Center CID, and Joe Allen, Executive Director of the Gwinnett Place CID. The 15^th Annual CID Recognition Event will be held in early November, with event details being announced soon. 

Buyers and Allen follow an esteemed list of CID Award recipients that have demonstrated leadership and commitment to forward progress among our state’s growing number of Community Improvement Districts. The Council’s one-of-a-kind CID Recognition Event annually highlights the work that our CIDs are doing all year to advance our region’s greatest economic centers and strengthen the unique character area of the business communities they serve. In addition, the Council presents two awards to carefully nominated and selected CID leaders that have greatly impacted the region. The John Williams CID Leadership Award recognizes a CID volunteer, and the CID Professional Excellence Award recognizes a CID industry professional.

The 2024 recipient of the John Williams CID Leadership Award is Dan Buyers, Partner at McWhirter Realty. Buyers has served on the board Town Center CID since 2012 as both the county appointee and the Vice Chair. His impact can be seen throughout the metro region through commercial and residential developments, as well as his civic and philanthropic endeavors.

Over the 12 years of his involvement with the Town Center CID, Buyers has played a key role in numerous community achievements. He is credited for his involvement in the South Barrett Reliever and Skip Spann Connector, projects designed to decrease traffic congestion around Town Center during peak hours. Buyers helped to organize and implement the first ever CID bikeshare program in the state, providing 24/7 rental access to the community. He was also involved in the CID’s Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) Study for Town Center to develop strategic direction for the area. Buyers’ contributions span far beyond the Town Center community, however. He has committed his time to advancing serval regional initiatives, including the Atlanta Regional Commission’s freight cluster plans and regional Connected Vehicle Program.

Buyers joined McWhirter Realty Partners in 1994 and became Partner in 2016, specializing in land sale, site selection, and office brokerage. He’s been recognized for his hard work across the region by numerous organizations. He is a recipient of the Phoenix Award, Young REALTOR® of the Year, numerous Top Ten Land Sales Producer awards and is a Life Member of the Million Dollar Club as recognized by the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS®. He is also an active member of his community, serving on the board of several organizations across the region, including the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority, the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS®, the ATL Transit Link Authority, the Wellstar Foundation, and the Council for Quality Growth. 

The 2024 recipient of the CID Professional Excellence Award is Joe Allen, Executive Director of Gwinnett Place CID. Allen played a key role in the creation of the Gwinnett Place CID in 2006 and has served as Executive Director since. He is a proactive CID leader, committed to the Gwinnett community and advancing a shared vision for an internationally diverse, livable urban center.

Allen is actively leading redevelopment effort around the former Gwinnett Place Mall. He’s overseen the creation of a new Master Plan that will revitalize the mall site and surrounding community. In partnership with Gwinnett County, Allen and his CID are working hard to transform the mostly vacant area into a place with housing, retail, green space, and offices. Recently, the redevelopment plan made local news with the announcement that an additional 23 acres would purchased by the County to expand and accelerate the revitalization.

Allen has served Gwinnett in various capacities since 1991, including roles at the Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner’s Office, Department of Financial Services, and the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. He holds more than 30 years of experience directing executive-level administrative operations, economic development initiatives, strategic planning, and budgeting and program management. During his time as the Director of Public Affairs and Business Resources for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, he helped organize the business leaders that later formed the Gwinnett Place CID. 

More recently, Joe Allen has played a significant role in advancing the 2024 Gwinnett Transit SPLOST Referendum, which will appear on the November 2024 ballot in Gwinnett County. He’s prioritized education efforts to help voters understand the transformation impact of transit expansion for the Gwinnett Place community and all of Gwinnett County. 

In addition to his service of Gwinnett County and the CID, Allen is also heavily involved in his community and has served on the boards of many organizations, including Partnership Gwinnett’s Economic Development Initiative and Public Funding Entity, the Gwinnett County Redevelopment Agency, Mercer University, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, and the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. He is also a graduate of Leadership Gwinnett and the ARC’s Regional Leadership Institute. 

The Council commends the work of both Dan Buyers and Joe Allen to progress the impact of Community Improvement Districts around the region. With the efforts of leaders like these, CIDs continue to produce billions of dollars for infrastructure investments, new parks and greenspace, public safety, traffic mitigation projects, landscape improvements, and much more.

Buyers and Allen will be recognized and presented with their respective awards at the Council for Quality Growth’s Annual CID Recognition Event early in November. Each year, the Council uniquely convenes the 30 Community Improvement Districts in our region to recognize the work they do year-round to enhance the quality of life here across metro Atlanta and to support the newly established CIDs as they become activated across the state of Georgia. This is the 15^th year the Council has held this event and presented the CID Awards. 

For details about Community Improvement Districts or the 15^th Annual CID Recognition, please visit www.CouncilforQualityGrowth.org/CIDs. Event details will be announced and registration will open soon. Sponsorships are available now. To sponsor, please contact Megan King, Director of Programs & Events, at [email protected]. 

Press are invited to attend with prior registration. Please RSVP to Alyssa Eubanks at [email protected].