John Sweet Named Grand Marshal Of The Inman Park Festival Parade

by Karen Heim

The Inman Park Festival Committee is proud to announce John F. Sweet as this year’s Parade Grand Marshal.

On Feb. 28, 2012, John was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the State Bar of Georgia and the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism. The Georgia Senate also recently recognized John with a Resolution “…for his efficient, effective, unselfish, and dedicated public service over the last 40 years….”

John’s service in Georgia began with his arrival in Atlanta as a Volunteer in Service to America volunteer in 1968 (the year he also moved into our neighborhood). He attained his law degree from the Atlanta Law School and began practicing on July 1, 1975. He has represented pro bono over 200 survivors of domestic violence and served as the first attorney of record of plaintiffs in Bowers v. Hardwick, which created the initial legal headwinds that culminated 17 years later in the Supreme Court's 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas.

His myriad contributions to the community include serving as a member of the Atlanta City Council and on the boards of the Georgia ACLU, Metro Fair Housing, , and . Additionally, he cofounded Georgia Conservation Voters and the BOND Community Federal Credit Union. He has devoted time and energy to Georgia’s environmental movement as a supporter of the Sierra Club in its fight to stop new coal plants from polluting Georgia, as a board member of Georgia for Clean Energy, on the executive committee of EarthShare, and as chair for 10 years of GreenLaw. John also launched the Atlanta Youth Soccer Association and Phoenix Youth Soccer Association, recruiting parents as coaches, securing and clearing fields, as well as coaching and refereeing himself.

To borrow from the Senate Resolution: John’s “…labors speak volumes about his extraordinary generosity of spirit, his vision of institution-building in service of the community, and his willingness to contribute his time and talent for the greater good;…” We are proud to have John as our Grand Marshal and neighbor!

If you go: The Parade begins at Edgewood and Euclid avenues on Sat. April 28 at 2 p.m. (rain or shine) and runs to Austin Avenue at the foot of Little Five Points. For more information, check out inmanparkfestival.org/events/parade.

Ms. Heim is chairwoman of the Inman Park Festival Parade.