Some people retire looking for rest and relaxation, sitting on a beach sipping cold beverages. Not so for Tucker resident Frank Luton. Once he retired from his management position with Bell South, he couldn’t wait to dive into some meaningful projects that allowed him to give back to the community he loves. Having an entrepreneurial bent, he started his own consulting firm helping companies develop new ideas and think outside their comfort zones. One of his methods was taking groups rock climbing in the Rockies to get them out of their corporate environments.
Almost 20 years ago, when his Smoke Rise neighbors banded together to create an 18-hole golf course and country club on 175 acres of rolling hills the Cofers helped preserve for this purpose, he and his wife Barbara were there and have been steadfast supporters over the years. Frank served as President of the Smoke Rise Community Association that maintains the chimneys, mini-lending libraries and conducts other civic projects throughout Smoke Rise. Afterwards, he served as both its Past President and Board Member.
Seeing a need to preserve our past, Frank has served as the President of the Stone Mountain Historical Society and later as its Past President and Board member. And in service to our Tucker businesses from before we were a city, Frank served as an officer of the Tucker Community Association. As if that wasn’t enough, he has been a Rotarian for many years having served as president of the Sandy Springs Rotary Club and as a member of the Stone Mountain Club.
He is a guest contributor to the Smoke Signal, our community paper that is delivered monthly to 2,300 Smoke Rise homes. In addition, he has just taken on the role of managing the paper’s relationships with its many advertisers.
Frank has also been involved with the City of Tucker by serving on the Community Council, as well as on the current Census Complete Count Committee.
When not volunteering for these many good causes, Frank is President of his Dixie Dollar Investment Club, and you might see him working the cash register at the Friends of the Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) Thrift Store on Lewis Drive in Tucker.
An avid walker, Frank can be seen out and about in our community all times of the day. During these walks, he documents his surroundings in photographs that he provides for content in the Smoke Signal. Neighbors are probably unaware that on his walks, he also helps keep our community tidy by taking down illegally placed signs along our roadways or on our power poles. We are so fortunate having a neighbor like Frank!
Nomination by Susan Gilbert
