Power Players: 100 Most Influential Georgians

Emory Morsberger
CEO
The Morsberger Group
Lawrenceville
Age: 51

Emory Morsberger doesn’t know what it means to stand on the sidelines. All you have to do is look at his business card, where he quotes a passage from a Teddy Roosevelt speech entitled “The Man in the Arena.” That man in the arena is Morsberger, a “redeveloper” based in Lawrenceville, who dreams the big dream and doesn’t mind getting covered with fallout.

He’s helping to spearhead the so-called Brain Train, the commuter/passenger rail from Atlanta to Athens. Morsberger is making it happen by convincing residents in outlying counties that it’s not only OK, but that it will be advantageous to have whistle stops in their neighborhoods.

“Those same people who were against MARTA are sick of sitting in traffic for an hour each way,” Morsberger says. “They are beginning to see it hurt their quality of life, so there has been a change on their part in the last five years.”

Another Morsberger big dream is the $400 million redevelopment of the Sears Building in Atlanta, which houses city offices, including the police department. The multi-use project will also include residences, as well as recreation and employment opportunities, for handicapped patients who are under the care of the Shepherd Center and Jewish Family and Career Services.

“Somebody has to dream the big dreams and if you don’t have some big dreamers, big dreams don’t happen,” Morsberger says. “If you flop on a big dream, at least you tried.”

Morsberger’s signature line from Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena speech is telling: “The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust, and sweat, and blood.” – RG