Newspaper Page Text
BUSINESS
THURSDAY, APRIL 19 -25, 2018, 2018 • Page 13
Business owner enters 33rd year with no regrets
KATHY MITCHELL
FREELANCE REPORTER
When Lu Woodson decided to
leave a corporate job with a national
company to start his own business,
a relative told him he was making a
huge mistake. "He said, 'Why would
you leave a good-paying job for
something this risky?'He told me I
would have trouble getting customers
and the ones I got wouldn't pay me.
I was glad he was there for our 25th
anniversary celebration eight years
ago. I was glad he got to see how
well we were doing and to hear the
good things people said about my
company."
The company, Alpha Climate
Control, was founded in 1985 after
Woodson decided to leave his job as a
senior project engineer and strike out
on his own. "At the time, advancement
opportunities at major corporations—
especially for Black people in the
South—were limited.This wasn't
just true where I worked; my friends
who worked at other companies
experienced the same thing. Also,
there were things in the corporate
culture that I wasn't comfortable
Lu Woodson
with. I saw people publicly humiliated
for making a mistake; there were
people who felt they could do that
just because they outranked the
person who made the mistake. I
decided that at my business everyone
would be treated with respect—
business associates, customers,
everyone."
Woodson said owning a business
was a longtime dream, but he decided
to consider it seriously after friends
created a side business buying old
houses then renovating and reselling
them. "They hired me to work on
furnaces and other heating and
air conditioning related systems. I
had always enjoyed tinkering with
things and my corporate job involved
working with climate control systems,
so I knew a lot already. I decided to go
back to school and become certified
and licensed."
In preparation for starting a
business Woodson, in addition to
learning addition industry skills,
studied accounting and marketing."!
wish now that I had gone ahead and
gotten an MBA degree. I didn't realize
at the time that it would be useful to
me," he said.
Woodson said the inspiration
for the business name came from a
Martin Luther King Jr. quote."Alpha
is the first letter of the Greek alphabet.
It's often used to mean first in quality,
the best. I heard a Martin Luther King
quote in which he used it that way
and I said that's how I want people to
think of my business as a place where
they will receive first-class work and
first-class service."
Alpha Climate Control, although
based in DeKalb County, serves the
metropolitan Atlanta area, Woodson
explained, adding that the company
specializes in residential and light
commercial work.
Woodson said that in addition to
allowing him to be in control of his
personal financial destiny, business
ownership allows him to help build
his community. "A business like
ours creates work opportunities for
young people coming into the job
market. I love helping young people
get started. I want to not only help
them learn work skills but to learn
how to present themselves and how
to interact with other people. I want
anyone that I send to someone's
house to look presentable—not like
someone who might frighten the
homeowner with a lot of scary tattoos
or odd hair styles or pants hanging so
low that their underwear shows—and
to be pleasant and polite."
Woodson has an average of six
technicians working for him now
and said he prefers having a small
trustworthy and dependable group.
"If you have a large operation, you
also have a lot of risks and a lot of
expenses. It's not how much you
make; it's how much you get to keep,"
he said.
"It's been a journey and a learning
process," said Woodson as he
approaches his 33 year as a business
owner. "I have never regretted the
decision to start my own business."
DeKalb County
Textbooks and Instructional Materials on Display
Parents, teachers and lay citizens are invited to examine
and participate in the evaluation of textbooks and instructional
materials under consideration for adoption by the DeKalb
County School District. Science and Social Studies materials for
grades K-12 are under evaluation.
These textbooks and materials will be on display at the former
Rockbridge Elementary School, 2084 Green Forrest Drive,
Decatur, Georgia 30032, beginning on Thursday, April 19, and
continuing through Saturday, April 21,2018. The weekday
hours are 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. The weekend hours are
Saturday, April 21,2018, from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
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Call to advertise in
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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The Mayor and City Council of the City of Chamblee, Georgia will hold a public hearing
on Thursday, May 10, 2018 at the Chamblee Civic Center, 3540 Broad Street, Chamblee,
GA 30341 at 6:00 p.m. to receive public comments regarding the following matters:
•PZ2018-262: Applicant: Steven Ellis, Pro Building Systems; Owner: JBE Realty, LLLP
requests approval of a Development of Community Impact along with approval of associated
variances, to allow for the redevelopment of an existing car dealership, from the City of
Chamblee Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Unified Development Ordinance, Section 230-
1(a) to exceed the maximum allowed impervious surface area; Section 230-1 (a) to reduce the
required amount of open space; Section 230-8(a)(1) to allow an accessory structure to be larger
than the primary structure in dimensional aspects; Section 230-26(g) to allow for previously
installed improvements to remain in the supplemental zone; Section 230-27 to allow for the
appearance of a metal building; Section 230-27(g)(1)(a) to allow for the primary pedestrian
access to be to the side of the building; Section 230-29(b)(3) to allow for an existing motor-
vehicle-related use to expand on a storefront street; Section 230-31 to allow site lighting to be
above the maximum allowable foot-candle limit in vehicle display areas; Section 240-13(b)(24)
to allow 23 display vehicles in the front yard; Section 240-13(b)(40) to vary the supplemental
use provisions for the construction of a parking structure; and Section 250-8(a)(1) to eliminate
the requirement for compact parking spaces. The property is located at 0, 5880, 5900
Peachtree Blvd, being DeKalb County tax parcels 18-323-06-037, 038, and 001 and zoned
Corridor Commercial.
•PZ2018-264: Applicant: Shawn Rainey, Blue Frog, LLC; Owner: Heritage Properties
Development, LLC requests the approval of multiple variances to redevelop of an existing
building for a veterinary office, from the City of Chamblee Code of Ordinances, Appendix A,
Unified Development Ordinance Section 230-9(f) to not implement sustainability measures;
Section 230-26 to not install the required streetscape; Section 230-29(b)(1) to not provide the
required minimum building height for a storefront street; Section 230-27(a)(2) to not provide
the required fenestration; Section 240-13(b)(43) to allow a veterinary clinic to be located within
100 feet from a residential use; Section 230-13 (b)(43) to allow for a fenced dog run; Section
250-2(a)(3)(b) to allow parking spaces above the minimum required parking space count to
not be “Grasscrete” or “Grasspave”; Section 250-20 to not provide a loading space; Section
250-21 from the dumpster enclosure material requirements and for the dumpster to encroach
the required setback; Section 260 to allow noncompliant signage to remain on an accessory
structure. The property is located at 5441, 5437, 5435, and 5433 Peachtree Rd, being DeKalb
County tax parcel 18-299-16-046, 049, 047, and 051 and zoned Village Commercial.
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