On December 2^nd, Richard Walker a law partner at CBW and the President and CEO of the Georgia Automotive Manufacturers Association addressed the members of the Rotary Club of Sandy Springs.

Mr. Walker, who goes by Rick, immediately launched into an explanation of the GAMA and claims it is his passion which fuels his interest. The Georgia AMA was strategically formed to help suppliers provide for the needs of automotive manufactures. He explained that the GAMA is one of several automotive manufacturing association (AMAs) in the south east. The GAMA is a fast-growing association. He explained its rising prominence while showing multiple maps of recent growth of the automotive manufacturers and suppliers. Rick presented a slide listing many of the manufacturers in Georgia specially. Those included where: Blue Bird (Bus), BMW Training Center, Chrysler Atlanta Part Distribution Center, General Motors-IT Innovation Center, Honda Precision Parts, Kia Motors, Mercedes-Benz USA HQ, and Porsche North America.

Rick’s presentation also included a slide which revealed many of the automotive suppliers in the region which included Cox Automotive, NAPA, Novellus, Exide, the PSA Group (Puegoet) and many more.

The automotive industry is really doing well in Georgia, he notes. “Georgia may not ever be the best metal bender in the world, but we got logistics and technology down.”. This is a quote that Rick repeats often for as many as possible to hear. He’s hoping to ensure that Georgia remains strong and grows in its ability to be an important part of an industry that shapes America and the world.

One amazing and important offerings that Georgia has is it’s shipping ports in Brunswick. Brunswick is famous for its “Roll-Roll” ports. He explained the short-hand phrase to mean; Roll on cars and Roll off cars.

“Georgia is out in front with technologies that will really make a difference in the next ten years.”

Rick talked about the coming trends and a few which are already here and being adopted as we speak. He spoke briefly about electric vehicles including, electric trucks like the Rivian RT & Tesla’s electric truck. More information about these trucks can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guUurwEyaL4

Rick set aside the remaining minutes of his presentation to talk about his law firm, CBW. CBW’s full name is Clements Bernard Walker PLLC, Intellectual Property & Trade Association LAW and has offices in Atlanta & Charlotte.

At this point Rick launched in an “IP overview”. A slight hush came over the 40+ Rotarians and guest in attendance before he explained that I.P. stands for intellectual property, and that it deals with patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and related areas. Rick paused for another brief moment and said that on the subject of trademarks and brands, “I think one of the best brands in the world is Rotary.”

Rick talked about trade secrets briefly. He explained the trick to a trade secret is to lock it up and have agreements of non-disclosure with the people who work with it in order to get a judge or jury to protect it. Simply put, “Your secret will not be protected by law unless you have taken some measure to protect it yourself.”

He added that some of the world’s most famous trade secrets are the formula for Coca-cola, WD-40, Kentucky Fried Chicken’s secret spices, and McDonald’s secret sauce. He briefly explained how each of the companies have protected their business’ by using properly handled IP law.

The Rotary Club of Sandy Springs would like to thank Rick for sharing his excitement and passion about the Automotive industry in Georgia.

Richard Walker presenting to the Rotary Club of Sandy Springs.

“I think one of the best brands in the world is Rotary.”

Richard engaging with Rotary members afterwards.
From left to right: Richard Walker, Malcolm Kilpatrick, Fran Farias, and Tim Fore

Richard Walker and Nancy Schroeder, 2019-2020 President Rotary Club of Sandy Springs

The photos and more can be found here: https://rotaryclubofsandysprings.zenfolio.com/p105...
Quick biographical information about Richard can found here: https://sandyspringsrotary.org/story/3446
More information about Clements Bernard Walker PLLC can be found here: https://worldpatents.com/

More information about GAMA can be found here: https://www.gama-georgia.org/