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Assistant City Manager resigns from position By CARL APPEN carl@appenmedia.com
SPACE IN TIME/PROVIDED
Ebony Hamlet, president and founder of the Sandy Springs event venue A Space in Time, is loving her life as an entrepreneur after leaving behind corporate America to pursue one of her passions — running her own event venue.
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The City of Sandy Springs is about to be down a key staff position. Assistant City Manager Chris Owens is departing the role April 18, Appen Media has learned. The city’s organizational chart provides for two assistant city managers who work under City Manager Eden Freeman. Assistant City Manager Kristin Smith heads up neighborhood services, including Community and Economic Development, Information Technology and Communications, Recreation and Parks and the Municipal Court. The other assistant city manager, currently Chris Owens, oversees public works, facilities and capital construction. He has been in the role since January 2024. Communications staff for the city confirmed his resignation, saying Owens is leaving, “to accept an equity role in a private sector firm.” Before joining the City of Sandy Springs, Owens worked as a civil engineer and served on the Alpharetta City Council for eight years.
See OWENS, Page 13
Event planner leaves corporate life to pursue her passions By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Space in Time is an event venue, really two of them, smack dab in the center of Sandy Springs off Hilderbrand Drive that’s available to rent for special events.
Ebony Hamlet is the owner of the event venue, located at 290 Hilderbrand Drive just southeast of the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center and Veterans Park. “I was always the person in my family who was hosting the baby showers and birthday parties … and just family gather-
ings, I was always the go-to person,” Hamlet said. “My last family reunion that I hosted here in Atlanta, my elders pulled me to the side at brunch and said ‘you should really consider doing this professionally.’”
See SPACE, Page 10
APPEN MEDIA FILE PHOTO
From left, Assistant City Manager Chris Owens, City Attorney Dan Lee and City Manager Eden Freeman sit in a March 2024 Sandy Springs City Council meeting. Owens is departing the role April 18.
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