2019 STATE DINNER

OCTOBER 22 HYATT REGENCY LETTER FROM THE CHAIR STATE SENATOR

Dear Friends:

Thank you so much for joining me for the Democratic Party of ’s 2019 State Dinner. Tonight’s celebration couldn’t come at a more important time for our state, country and for our Party - we are closer than ever before to creating real change in Georgia and across the nation. The road to victory runs through Georgia, and we will deliver the Senate, the White House and everything in between for Democrats in 2020.

Together, we have grown our party to be a Democratic Party of Georgia like no one has ever seen before. We have broken records in building a world-class voter protection program, growing a grassroots movement, and recruiting strong candidates up and down the ballot who will fight for our Democratic values. We have proved to the nation that Georgia is a battleground state - and next fall, we will turn Georgia blue up and down the ballot.

We have a big year and a hard fight ahead of us - but with your support, I know that we will win. Tonight is a time for celebration - and tomorrow, I look forward to continuing the fight with you.

Yours,

Nikema Williams Chair, Democratic Party of Georgia 2019 PARTNERS

PLATINUM PARTNERS

GOLD PARTNERS

PRESIDENTIAL PARTNERS 2019 PARTNERS

SILVER PARTNERS Civil Justice PAC Georgia Credit Union Affiliates Georgia Power State Farm Agents PAC

BRONZE PARTNERS Allegra Lawrence-Hardy Atlanta City Council - Jennifer Ide Congressman David Scott Congressman Hank Johnson CWA District 3 David Worley DeKalb + Macon District Attorneys DeKalb CEO, Michael Thurmond / Paramount Consulting Group Dentons Emerge Georgia Bankers Association Georgia Alliance for Progress Georgia Association of Educators Georgia Medical PAC Georgia State AFL-CIO Heather Fenton & Richard Ossoff Impact Public Affairs IUOE Local 926 Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Michael Kramer Planned Parenthood Red Clay Democrats Region 8 UAW SEIU State Building Trades / North Georgia Builders Trade Steve Henson / LIUNA 515 Sukari Scott Johnson Waste Management Young Dems of Atlanta GEORGIA LEADERS

CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION Sanford Bishop Hank Johnson Lucy McBath David Scott

STATE PARTY OFFICERS Nikema Williams – Chair Ted Terry – 1st Vice Chair Adrienne White – Vice Chair of Candidate Recruitment Sarah Todd – Vice Chair of Congressional District Chairs and County Party Liason – Vice Chair for Constituency Groups Justin Holsomback – Secretary Jason Esteves – Treasurer

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTE MEMBERS Wendy Davis Mayor Ted Terry Richard Ray Sally Rosser State Rep. Pamela Stephenson State Senator Sheikh Rahman Dan Halpern State Senator Nikema Williams PROGRAM

Pledge of Allegiance National Anthem Chair’s Welcome Grassroots Thank You Invocation Dinner Bleeding Blue Award Recognition of House Chairwoman’s Award Recognition of Senate Lifetime Achievement Award Keynote BLEEDING BLUE AWARD KIANA JACKSON

Kiana Jackson is a community activist and senior Political Science major at Albany State University. After beginning her career in political advocacy while working for Stacey Abrams’ gubernatorial campaign, Kiana realized the indelible impact that young people can have on her community, and has worked tirelessly to uplift those voices. A resident of Dougherty County, Kiana both founded and serves as president of the Young Democrats of Dougherty County, and has taken on the task of increasing youth participation in politics. In 2018, she managed all canvassers for elections in State House District 151. Kiana is an executive committee member of the Young Democrats of Georgia, and is the Political Director of the College Democrats of Georgia. She has worked to address voter suppression both on Albany State’s campus and in southwest Georgia at large, working with Fair Fight. This summer, Kiana put her skills to work as a key member of Organizing Corps 2020 in Georgia, organizing and working with voters in metro Atlanta, and plans to return to southwest Georgia in 2020 to continue mobilizing voters and turning Georgia blue. CHAIRWOMAN’S AWARD ALLEGRA LAWRENCE-HARDY

Allegra Lawrence-Hardy is an accomplished lawyer, prolific author, sought-after public speaker, a dedicated servant to her community in Atlanta, and a true leader in fighting so that no person is disenfranchised or discriminated against, no matter their race, gender, or identity. As a partner and acclaimed litigator at Atlanta’s Lawrence & Bundy, Allegra has successfully defended clients throughout the United States and abroad in numerous trials, arbitrations, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Allegra earned her J.D. from Yale and her B.A. magna cum laude from . She has spent decades exemplifying Democratic values and serving organizations across Georgia, serving on boards of organizations including the Atlanta Girls’ School, the Bar of Georgia, Girl Scouts Greater Atlanta, and the Georgia Legal Services Foundation, and has been named one of the Best Lawyers in America, awarded the State Bar of Georgia’s Commitment to Equality Award, and one of Atlanta’s 100 Black Women of Influence by Atlanta Business League. In 2018, Allegra made history as Chair of the Stacey Abrams for Governor Campaign. Under her leadership, the Abrams for Governor campaign turned out a record number of voters for Stacey Abrams and Georgia Democrats, and broke records for voter turnout in the closest statewide election in Georgia history. After Election Day, Allegra led the fight in the courts for Georgia to count every single vote - a fight she continues today as legal counsel for , where she is leading the Brown v. Board of Education level lawsuit on voting rights that will determine American democracy for a generation. JOHN LEWIS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD STATE REPRESENTATIVE

The Honorable Calvin Smyre is former executive vice president of Corporate Affairs for Synovus and former chairman and chief executive officer of the Synovus Foundation. In his capacity as executive vice president of Corporate Affairs, he directed the vision and involvement of Synovus in community, philanthropic, and civic affairs. As chair of the Synovus Foundation, Rep. Smyre led the company’s philanthropic commitment to ducation, including scholarships and programs for students in higher education and initiatives to increase the academic achievements of students in public and secondary schools.

Prior to Rep. Smyre joining Synovus, he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1974 as its youngest member at age 27. He has served Columbus in House District 135 for 45 years and sits on the most important House panels: Appropriations, Higher Education, and Rules committees. Rep. Smyre is one of Georgia’s most notable members of the Democratic Party, having been the first African-American in the State of Georgia to be appointed Administra- tion Floor Leader and to Chair the Democratic Party of Georgia. He has a distinguished legislative record, authoring legislation that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday as a state holiday and co-sponsoring historic legislation that resulted in the removal of the Confederate battle emblem from the Georgia State Flag. Rep. Smyre earned a bachelor’s degree from Fort Valley State University, where he is a past president of its National Alumni Association. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree from Morehouse School of Medicine. Rep. Smyre is currently the chairman of the Fort Valley State University Foundation, Fountain City Classic, Inc. and Liberty Theater Cultural Center, Inc. He also serves as a board member of the Morehouse School of Medicine, Columbus State University Foundation, and the Columbus Museum. KEYNOTE SPEAKER STACEY ABRAMS

Stacey Abrams is a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, nonprofit CEO and political leader. After serving for eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven as Minority Leader, in 2018, Abrams became the Democratic nominee for , when she won more votes than any other Democrat in the state’s history. Abrams was the first black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major party in the United States. After witnessing the gross mismanagement of the 2018 election by the Secretary of State’s office, Abrams launched Fair Fight to ensure every Georgian has a voice in our election system. Over the course of her career, Abrams has founded multiple organizations devoted to voting rights, training and hiring young people of color, and tackling social issues at both the state and national levels including Fair Count— to ensure that the 2020 Census is fair, accurate, and counts everyone.

She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the 2012 recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award, and a current member of the Board of Directors for the Center for American Progress. Abrams has also written eight romantic suspense novels under the pen name Salena Montgomery, in addition to Lead from the Outside, formerly Minority Leader, a guidebook on making real change.

Abrams received degrees from Spelman College, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and . She and her five siblings grew up in Gulfport, and were raised in Georgia.