Front Row (L to R): Bob Hayes, local manager, Conyers Local Office, Georgia Power Co.; Bill Harrison, president, Coweta County Development Authority; Josephine Tan, senior corporate relations coordinator, Georgia Power Co. Back Row (L to R): From Pattillo: Lisa Rhudy, senior sales and leasing representative; Michele Reid, marketing director; Emily Harris, sales and leasing representative; Casey Farmer, senior sales and leasing representative; David Purcell, community development, Georgia Power Co.; Jerry Silvio, vice president – Southeast, Pattillo; Stan Cottrell; Ben Stafford, sales and leasing representative, Pattillo; Elaine Pityer, administrative assistant, Pattillo.

Josephine Tan, chair of the Asian-American Commission for a New Georgia and a senior corporate relations coordinator at Georgia Power Co., conducted a seminar last week at the Pattillo Construction Co., about Chinese customs.

Dr. Tan’s presentation at the Stone Mountain-based company included a checklist of appropriate and inappropriate practices when dealing with Chinese businesspeople.

The seminar attracted Pattillo Construction employees as well as others interested in China and the prospects of Chinese investment in Georgia, who anticipate increased investment in the United States by Chinese companies.

“Pattillo is interested in working with the Chinese because the majority of their jobs and capital investment will be made in the Southeast United States, the fastest growing region in the United States,” Jerry Silvio, Pattillo Construction vice president for the Southeast, told GlobalAtlanta.

“Pattillo’s longevity and long-term view parallels the Chinese way of thinking. We believe the concept of mutual benefit will be the standard in these newly formed relationships.”

Among the attendees was Stan Cottrell Jr., the athlete who in 1984 ran from the Great Wall north of Beijing for more than 2,000 miles to Canton, China, averaging 53 miles a day. The following year he brought three Chinese runners to the U.S., where they ran from San Francisco to Washington D.C.

Mr. Cottrell is planning another run in China prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics.