ATLANTA — As the City of Atlanta gets ready to welcome international guests, and crowds, for the FIFA World Cup semi finals on Wednesday, the downtown area is getting cleaned up, spruced up and cheered up.
Channel 2’s Sophia Choi spoke to the Atlanta Ambassadors, who said it’s been their mission since 1996, when the Olympics came to Atlanta.
The organization is a force, and they’re ready with a smile.
Mike Dozier told Channel 2 Actin News he started with the Ambassador Force of Downtown Atlanta 25 years ago, so he’s got the visitor thing down pat.
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“Those people who are form other countries or from other cities who don’t witness people being nice to them, then they come here,” Dozier said. “They get the soul food flavor of being in the city of Atlanta, helps them to be so joyous and then take that back home and tell them, ‘hey, you need to go to Atlanta because those people are cool!’”
Thirty years of helping tourists and Atlantans alike gave the Atlanta Ambassadors plenty of practice to impress international visitors here for the FIFA World Cup.
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The group formed when the 1996 Olympics came to Atlanta and since then, the work has grown to include getting the city ready for guests by cleaning up downtown, sprucing it up with flowers and murals and helping the homeless.
“We partnered to successfully house 400, close to 500 people in about six months, earlier this year,” Marcus Mister, Operations VP, told Channel 2 Action News.
Their sole job is to help.
If you’re lost and need directions? Atlanta Ambassadors hop in.
Need a great place to eat? Ambassadors again.
Or if you just need help, like finding your car after a busy event night, they’re ready in their red shirts.
Thanks to their red shirts, it’s easy to find an Ambassador, but if you aren’t able to, there are signs across downtown with a QR code to scan.
On top of getting you some help in a pinch, the code gives you a list of things to do, places to be and fun things to experience downtown.
One of the best experiences is engaging with an Ambassador.
The organization has a big booth set up right at Peachtree Street and International Boulevard in the heart of downtown Atlanta.
They’re at that tent 365 days a year, 18 hours a day. Mister says it’s about having resources in place for whenever they’re needed.
“Boots on the ground every single day in downtown Atlanta,” Mister said. “To make sure that it is clean, safe, and vibrant.”
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