The questions and suggestions were coming fast and furious from the audience of eager and enthusiastic  entrepreneurs at a recent CEO Breakfast at the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (R.I.C.E.). 

The mixed group of female and male business owners from metro Atlanta were offering suggestions to Russell Center President/CEO Jay Bailey who was fielding the questions and comments like an all-star catcher for a professional baseball team.

“How about a rooftop garden?”

“The center needs a cafe.” 

“How about profiles of the stakeholders on the display monitors?”

“How about certification classes?”

“What about a workout area?”

Casually dressed in an Atlanta Braves cap, a Russell Center sweatshirt and jeans, Bailey had asked the group of entrepreneurs known as stakeholders for ideas and suggestions to take the Russell Center to the next level.

 “I want you all to understand that I want us to build something that can’t be found anywhere else in America,” he said. When brothers come down from New York or anywhere they are going to say, ‘We don’t have anything like this.’”

The Russell Center is located in the old headquarters of the Herman J. Russell Company at the corner of Fair Street and Northside Drive. The Center comprises over 52,000 square feet and Bailey said it is already bursting at the seams. Plans are underway to expand the center, parking and to convert two rooftops into usable space. 

The Center is a dream of the late builder who was instrumental in building modern Atlanta. 

“Entrepreneurship helped my dreams come true. I want the same for other young people looking to make good lives for themselves, Russell stated. “I’m a lifetime believer that for America to continue being great and provide enough jobs for its people, the only path is fostering a national entrepreneurial spirit.” 

As the question-and-answer period drew on, the suggestions became bigger and…