Savannah Downtown Business Association Luncheon Eddie DeLoach

January 13, 2016

Site Staff,

Members of the Savannah Downtown Business Association gathered at the Charles H. Morris Center on January 13th to attend the first SDBA luncheon of 2016. Guest speaker for the January event was newly elected Mayor, Eddie DeLoach, who gave his first State of the Union address to the organization and outlined the administration's goals for the first one hundred days in office. The mayor's first order of business was to introduce his new chief of staff, Martin Sullivan. A Savannah native and former employee of Georgia Secretary of State's office, Sullivan will be responsible for helping write speeches and policies in addition to attending meetings and community functions.

Next, the discussion turned toward the national search to replace City Manager, Stephanie Cutter, who announced her retirement at the end of the new Savannah City Council's first meeting on January 7th. DeLoach commended Cutter's service to the community and announced that she will continue her role until the new manager is hired remaining on staff as an advisor for the first year in an advisory role. DeLoach added that Cutter deserves a great deal of respect for taking on that office during a time when no one else wanted the job.

After saying a few words about each of the new members of his council, the mayor spoke about a future project to create internship opportunities for local high school Juniors and Seniors before concluding with a discussion about the city's continuing crime problem. DeLoach made a commitment to the audience that his team will work tirelessly to resolve the problems that the city faces, stating that they will support Police Chief Lumpkin and provide him with whatever tools are necessary to assist our officers.