ENERGY STAR: Beth Fore, LEED AP, told the nearly 400-person crowd at BOMA-Atlanta's Aug. 12th luncheon  there is great money to be saved - and made - by having existing office buildings undergo Energy Star certification.

An energetic crowd of nearly 400 attended the Aug. 12th BOMA-Atlanta luncheon at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North to learn how to generate more money and waste less energy. BOMA-Atlanta stands for Building Owners and Managers Atlanta.

Guest speaker Beth Fore, LEED AP, shared the results of her master's thesis involving the Energy Star certification program for commercial buildings in Atlanta.

Among her findings: Since new buildings are being constructed with energy efficiencies in mind - and tenants increasingly are focused on "green" office space - older buildings are going to have to "retrofit" for greater energy efficiency or witness a tremendous decrease in their value.

"Hopefully, it's clear that the cost of doing nothing is significant," she said.

On Aug. 11^th, a group of Atlanta's top commercial real estate executives joined Kenya's Pastor Simon Mwaura to discuss a different kind of leverage - the kind that comes from working as a team to improve the lives of remote tribes in Kenya.

David Tennery, principal of Regent Partners LLC, hosted the reception with his wife Karen at Regent's Sovereign-3344 Peachtree Road. The Tennerys are passionate supporters of Mwaura's Children of Good Shepherd Children's Orphanage in Kenya.

Well-known North Fulton developer Bill Johnson - who merged his Johnson Development Co. in 1997 with Colonial Properties Trust - also is a huge supporter of Pastor Simon's ministry in Kenya and told a story about his efforts in February to build a water treatment facility serving the remote tribes of Morinjoi. As with many Atlanta real estate transactions, it involved a cold call. A very important one. "You get one cold call [to the chief]," said Johnson, "and that's all that counts!"  Today thousands of women and children walk 15 miles to the treatment facility each day for fresh water.