On April 14, 2023, some of Atlanta’s most outstanding business, social, and community leaders will come together for the 37th Annual Swan House Ball at Atlanta History Center. The ball is an annual tradition steeped in elegance and community that honors those who have given not just to the History Center, but to the city of Atlanta and beyond. Over the years, the ball has included a revolutionary roster of women, both past and present.
Jenny Pruitt, Executive Chairman and Founder of Atlanta Fine Home Sotheby’s International Realty, with her husband Bob at Swan House.
Jenny Pruitt, 2023 Swan House Ball Honoree
Jenny Pruitt is nationally respected as a real estate visionary, community advocate, and philanthropist. In 2016, she received the Four Pillar Award from The Council for Quality Growth in celebration of her philanthropic endeavors as well as significant contributions to economic development in Metro Atlanta. In her commitment to helping Atlanta maintain its exceptional quality of life, she lends her philanthropic service, humanitarian support, and volunteer commitments to Habitat for Humanity, the Board of Councilors for the Carter Center, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Jenny chaired the 2019 Swan House Ball and is also a former Atlanta History Center trustee. As a Director of the Buckhead Coalition, she founded the Buckhead Girls Club which annually presents a financial grant to a Buckhead community and cultural association. Jenny is an inductee of the Business Hall of Fame at Georgia State University, the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers, and the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame.
Juanita Baranco, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Baranco Automotive Group, and her husband Gregory at the 2019 Swan House Ball.
Juanita Baranco, 2023 Swan House Ball Co-Chair
In 1978, Juanita and her husband Gregory co-founded Baranco Automotive Group—one of the first African American-owned car dealerships in the metro Atlanta area. Before turning to business, Juanita had a successful law career, including serving as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia. She was the first African American woman to chair the Board of Regents and has served on the Board of Trustees of Clark Atlanta University for 20 years, including 10 years as board chair. Essence magazine named Juanita as one of the best businesswomen in Atlanta and in 2021, she was inducted as a Georgia Trustee, the highest honor conferred by the State of Georgia.
Camille Brannon is recognized by Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the city’s most admired CEOs.
Camille Brannon, 2023 Swan House Ball Co-Chair
Camille created Campbell & Brannon—Georgia’s premier closing firm, alongside her business partner Mike Campbell in 1998. Under Camille and Mike’s leadership, the firm has grown from two offices to eleven with more than 30 attorneys and has consistently been named an AJC Top Workplace since 2014. Camille has served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Atlanta Speech School and is past president of the Georgia Real Estate Closing Attorneys Association.
Carol B. Tomé with her husband Ramon at the 2019 Swan House Ball. She is only the 12th CEO in the 114-year history of UPS.
Carol B. Tomé, 2023 Swan House Ball Corporate Chair
Carol B. Tomé is Chief Executive Officer of UPS, one of the world’s largest global logistics companies and the second largest public company based in Georgia. She is leading the shipping giant during dramatic growth in the e-commerce market, gaining international recognition for their supply chain solutions while also making strides in social impact and diversity initiatives. Prior to this role, she was The Home Depot’s Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Services for 24 years. Carol has been recognized twice by Forbes as one of “The World’s Most Powerful Women.”
A Continued Tradition.
Past Meets Present.
Louise Allen (seen here between Betsy West and Jenny Pruitt) was Atlanta’s First Lady of the 1960s, 1969 Woman of the Year, and the wife of Atlanta mayor Ivan Allen Jr. As vice chair of the Atlanta Historical Society, she led a team of women to create the Swan House Ball in 1986. Louise was a pioneer in introducing new plant specimens to Atlanta and enlisted 32 garden clubs to restore and beautify AHC grounds. She also played a key role in the History Center’s acquisition of Swan House, the Tullie Smith House, and the construction of Atlanta History Museum.
Longtime champion of Atlanta horticulture, Anne CoppedgeCarr, founded the Cherokee Garden Library with the vision to make it a leading resource for the study of gardening, landscape design, garden history, horticulture, floral design, botanical art, and ecology, with a specific focus on the Southeastern region.She served as president of the Atlanta Junior League and the Cherokee Garden Club, chairman of the Philip Trammell Shutze Fine Art Collection, and board member of Atlanta History Center (trustee emeritus), the Forward Arts Foundation, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and more. Photo: Lady Bird Johnson with Louise Allen and Anne CoppedgeCarr in Atlanta, 1975, from Cherokee Garden Library institutional records.
Olga C. Goizueta(namesake of Olguita’s Garden) was an Atlanta philanthropist and the wife of influential Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Roberto C. Goizueta. Olga furthered the Atlanta History Center, the Latin American Association, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the High Museum of Art, and many others. Shortly after her husband’s death, Olga took over the leadership of the Goizueta Foundation, using his legacy to provide opportunities to those in need–especially those of Hispanic or Latin American descent. The Goizueta Foundation has had a sizable impact in and beyond Atlanta. The Foundation has partnered with more than 85 organizations through 500-plus grants totaling more than $386 million. Photo courtesy The Goizueta Foundation.
Anne Cox Chambers being honored at the 1989 Swan House Ball for her fervent support towards cultural institutions across Atlanta (including but not limited to Atlanta History Center, the Forward Arts Foundation, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, Shepherd Center, and the High Museum of Art). A woman of many accomplishments and firsts, Anne Cox Chambers made history as the first female bank director in Atlanta, the first woman to serve as director of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (now the Metro Atlanta Chamber) and she also served as a director of the Coca-Cola Company. In 1977, Anne was appointed as the US Ambassador to Belgium and was one of four Georgians appointed to represent the United States abroad during the Carter Administration.
Frances “Duffie” DuBose (sitting) with Dean DuBose Smith and H. Bronson Smith at the 2004 Swan House Ball (Duffie was honored in 1993 and 2002.) Frances heavily supported educational and historic preservation across Georgia through the Frances and Beverly DuBose Foundation. She was an Atlanta History Center trustee and made monumental contributions that lifted the institution’s status, including a massive donation of Civil War artifacts housed in the DuBose Gallery of our Turning Point exhibition. She was also active in the Forward Arts Foundation, Colonial Dames of America, and was a trustee emeritus for the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.
Robert and Caroline Shaw exiting backstage at the 1988 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra European Tour (photo by Chipp Jamison.) Caroline was Atlanta’s Woman of the Year in 1968, a civic leader, and the wife of Robert Shaw—the Grammy award-winning music director emeritus and conductor laureate of the Atlanta Symphony. The Boxwood Garden at Swan House is named in her honor. Her family were early investors in Coca-Cola and she was a trustee for the Atlanta Memorial Arts Center (now known as Woodruff Arts Center) in addition to Atlanta History Center. Caroline was a longtime fundraiser and board member for several Atlanta arts organizations, including the High Museum of Art, the Atlanta Arts Alliance, the Atlanta Opera Guild and the Atlanta Symphony.
Known for her storytelling and devotion to Georgia’s cultural heritage, Anne Sheffield Hale (pictured here with husband Bradley and son Sheffield at the 2004 Swan House Ball), made important contributions to historic preservation in her hometown of Americus, statewide, and nationally. She was a member of the Georgia chapter of the National Society of the Colonial Dames, served on the boards of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and was Georgia chair of the National Cathedral Association. In 2008, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation presented her with its chairman’s award, given to individuals with a lifetime of dedication to historic preservation. Anne was honored at the 2004 and 2006 Swan House Balls.
2015 Ball Honoree Louise Staton Gunn (former president of Cherokee Garden Club) with Sheffield Hale and fellow honoree Pat Hartrampf (former president of Peachtree Garden Club). Louise has volunteered with Cherokee Garden Library for over 30 years as a member of their board and acquisitions committee and as president from 2005 to 2008. Additionally, she has served on the boards of Atlanta History Center, the Hambidge Center, the High Museum of Art, and the Southern Garden History Society. Louise received a certificate of appreciation from the Garden Club of America in 2001 and, in 2008, the Medal of Merit. Pat was heavily involved with flower shows and garden clubs in Atlanta, a founding member of the Southeastern Horticultural Society, and a lifetime trustee of the Atlanta Botanical Garden. AHC’s acquisition of the Wood Family log cabin resulted from Pat and her husband Carl’s generosity, with support from the Peachtree Garden Club.
2021 Swan House Ball honoree Lovette Russell with her sons Benjamin and Michael Jr. As a passionate native Atlantan, local community activist and philanthropist, Lovette has chaired or co-chaired many of the city’s leading events, including the Mayor’s Masked Ball, Swan House Ball (2011 Co-Chair), The Beastly Feast at Zoo Atlanta, Park Pride’s 25th Anniversary Gala, and the inaugural Grady Hospital Gala. She currently serves on the boards of Zoo Atlanta, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, Spelman College, and the Hughes Spalding Hospital Community Foundation Board.
Future.
From philanthropists and CEOs to first ladies and founders, Atlanta’s history is incomplete without honoring some of the defining women who have elevated the city.
We hope you will join us for the 37th annual Swan House Ball to honor Jenny Pruitt, Executive Chairman and Founder of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. Funds raised by the Swan House Ball support the annual operations of Atlanta History Center and its award-winning educational programs.
Click the link below if you would like to support Swan House Ball, or contact Peter Finnerty, Major Gifts and Individual Giving Director, at 404-814-4102 or Peter.Finnerty@atlantahistorycenter.com for more information.
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