Cobb parks committee chooses leadership

From the Marietta Daily Journal on Saturday, February 10, 2007, by MDJ staff writer Amanda Casciaro

MARIETTA - Kolb Farm Coalition member John A. Pape Jr. and Joni House Cope - each an integral part of the effort to save east Cobb's Hyde Farm - were chosen to lead Cobb's parks advisory committee in expending $40 million to buy land for future parks.

Pape, who served on the Cobb Parks Coalition to gain voter support for the bond, will serve as chairman of the 15-member body while Ms. Cope, president and owner of The Grayfen Group, will serve as vice chairwoman.

"We talked about it, and I wanted someone who had been involved in the campaign to serve as chairman," Pape said. "On that basis, I was willing to do it; if anyone else had stepped forward with a burning desire, that would have been fine with me. You're speaking to a man who has no burning political ambitions, but I am excited about the committee."

Pape, an attorney with Allstate Insurance, is an avid hiker and spends at least one vacation each summer camping at his favorite spots in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming or Montana.

He also was a key participant in the Kolb Farm Coalition, which bought 4.3 acres on Powder Springs Street using private donations and government funding to save the historic tract from development. The land was deeded to the National Parks Service and turned over to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in 2002 after a two-year battle.

"I have professional experience with John," Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens said. "I litigated against John, and he used to regularly beat me. He's an excellent trial lawyer and trial lawyers have excellent skills with regard to negotiations, so I think his legal skills will serve the committee very well.

"He's got the tools to be a great chairman as well with regard to experience with greenspace issues," Olens said.
Ms. Cope, who continues to work on Hyde Farm, provides technology, project management and business consulting services for major corporations through her company, The Grayfen Group.

"I was really honored to be appointed to the committee by Commissioner Joe Lee Thompson and I'm also honored that my very honorable peers have elected me to support their work on the committee through the vice chair position," Ms. Cope said.

"The Hyde Farm project taught me a lot about working to fulfill community needs through greenspace and parks, and I hope to bring that to serve the county on this committee."

According to Olens, "she has excellent organizational skills and a drive to be result-oriented. She's just not interested in the process; she's interested in the result.

"The leadership she's shown to save Hyde Farm shows us she has a needed attribute with the process."

acasciaro@mdjonline.com