GCA Office Relocation

Over the past few years, the GCA office has experienced consistent concerns regarding the need for improvement as well as external concerns for staff safety. Since the building’s construction in 1988, the Macon office has been a great home for our organization; and over the years, we’ve made changes to accommodate the needs of the organization, including: shifting the board room and meeting room to create a larger board room, storage closet and three office spaces, as well as combining two office spaces with the kitchen area to create a larger kitchen and storage area.

We’ve had significant water intrusion and have installed a channel to remove the water after large rain occurrences. Additionally, our office is showing its age, and the organization would need to spend significant capital to make the necessary improvements.

The concerns, however, have become more serious in nature in recent months. These concerns include:

• A homeless encampment in the woods behind our building.

• Suspected drug deals and random people parked on Cattlemen’s Drive at all hours of the day.

• Multiple catalytic converters cut off of the trucks while sitting in our parking lot.

• A criminal on the run with two open warrants from kidnapping walking between the interstate and our office as staff arrived for work, which prompted the Georgia State Patrol to scramble their helicopter to find the criminal in the woods.

• A halfway house going into the building at the corner of Cavalier and Cattlemen’s Drive

• The D-13 Street Gang tagged our building with graffiti; and discussions with law enforcement personnel revealed that once they claim that you are in their territory, they won’t go away – and their initiation process reportedly is to “kill a gringo”

While GCA has worked to correct and avoid some of these issues in the past – the building has been repainted, trucks fixed, and processes changed to prevent staff from going to the office in the dark after arriving home – concerns for staff safety remain. The GCA EC in 2021 created a “Building Committee,” which is chaired by Tammy Cheely and includes members from each of our groups within GCA and GBB, including: Robert Fountain - Georgia Beef Board; David Gazda - GCA Foundation; Tracie Wheeless - Georgia CattleWomen’s Association; George Ligon - GCA Young Cattlemen’s Council; and Rodney Hilley - GCA. Over the past year, this group has been working to review all available options and examine the existing issues surrounding our office, and has made the recommendation to the GCA EC that the organization list the property for sale pursuant to other available opportunities. The GCA EC considered their recommendation and has voted to list the property for sale as a first step in the relocation process.

GCA has submitted a letter of interest on a property that would allow the organization the ability to build for the future in a safer area, provide some identity for the organization, and be located near a like-minded organization. While we continue the process of determining next steps, the GCA Board of Directors will be considering the EC’s recommendation to list our property for sale during the 2023 GCA Convention in Columbus, Ga.