Cobb County, Ga. (Sept. 12, 2016) – Today, the Cobb Chamber has named Gary Bottoms, President of The Bottoms Group, and a Principal of TBX Benefit Partners, a subsidiary of The Bottoms Group, as its 2017 Chairman of the Board.
Bottoms succeeds Terry DeWitt, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of First Landmark Bank, who is currently serving as Chairman of the Board. Bottoms will start his term as Chairman in January 2017.
Bottoms has been involved in the Cobb Chamber for nearly 30 years, including serving on the Board of Directors and as the Marietta Area Council Vice Chair in 2014, and on the Health & Wellness Summit Steering Committee from 2013 to 2015. He is a graduate of the 1989 class of Leadership Cobb and a Chairman’s Club member since 2006. He has also served on the board for Cobb’s Competitive EDGE, a community and economic development strategy of the Cobb Chamber and its community-wide partners, since its inception and The Bottoms Group has invested in the strategy as well. The Bottoms Group has been recognized as a Cobb Chamber Top 25 Small Business of the Year since 2008.
“Our Chamber is extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to name Gary Bottoms as our new 2017 Chairman,” said David Connell, President and CEO of the Cobb Chamber. “Gary brings a valuable skill set to our organization, and I’m certain his experience as a successful small business owner and his commitment to this community will serve our Chamber and its members well. Gary will be leading the Chamber during a pivotal year for Cobb County.”
Bottoms is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds the Chartered Life Underwriter designation and the Chartered Financial Consultant designation from the American College. He has served as past president of the Atlanta Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. From this organization, Bottoms received the Harry I. Davis Award which is given to one member annually who represents the highest ideals and principles of the financial services profession. He is one of only 40 other Atlanta professionals who have achieved this distinction.
In addition, Bottoms is a member of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, which is an invitation-only organization, composed of professionals serving the high-end life insurance marketplace. For this group, he serves as a key liaison with two members of the United States Senate. Bottoms has served as a past board member of the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and past president of the North Georgia Estate Planning Council. He is the author of “Getting It Right,” a book about estate planning, life and relationships, and recently launched its second edition.
In addition to his prominent contributions within his profession and the Cobb Chamber, Bottoms has served in many leadership roles within the community, including as the Chairman of the following organizations: The Cobb Community Foundation, The Cobb Schools Foundation, the WellStar Foundation, The Center for Family Resources and as President of the Rotary Club of Marietta. He is the Vice President on the Board of Directors for Reach Out Ministries, and he is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Cobb County Government Employees Pension Plan. Bottoms is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association and a recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award. He has been involved in numerous other civic, church and community endeavors and was selected as the 2012 Marietta Citizen of the Year.
Bottoms and his wife, Melissa, are graduates of Leadership Georgia. They have been married for 41 years and have three adult children and three grandchildren. They are founding members of City Church Marietta.
Bottoms is looking forward to his expanded role with the Cobb Chamber, and said, “At its core, the Chamber’s mission is about people. It’s about promoting a culture of prosperity along with personal and economic growth. And, helping businesses—small, midsized and large—to thrive. In Cobb County, we have a long history of creating partnerships and relationships that make our community a better place to live, work and play. With the Cobb Chamber, 2,500 businesses have said, ‘Let’s do this together’. I think it’s a most worthy endeavor.”
About the Cobb Chamber
As one of the most influential business advocacy organizations in Georgia, the Cobb Chamber is dedicated to bringing the community and its leaders together to create jobs and strengthen the economy and quality of life so businesses and the community can achieve more. The Chamber achieves this by creating jobs and driving economic development; strengthening the community and the region; growing member businesses and nurturing leadership; and connecting businesses, government and the community.
