Anne Poland Berg

Anne Poland Berg made an indelible mark on Atlanta’s philanthropic community. In her role as Vice President of Public and Community Relations at Rich’s (department store) and as Grant Consultant to The Rich Foundation, she administered over $50 million in grants to deserving Atlanta-based organizations large and small. Ms. Berg passed away on Sunday, January 22, 2018 in hospice care at Sunrise at Buckhead.

Anne, a native of Anniston, Alabama came to Atlanta in 1956 with a degree in Journalism from Judson College after working in New York City for the Association of American Colleges. She joined Atlanta’s hometown department store, Rich’s, where she worked tirelessly for Dick Rich, then president of the retail powerhouse. She ultimately became Vice Present of Public and Community Relations overseeing media relations, community affairs and philanthropic grants. Long time Atlantans will remember her role in fashion extravaganzas like Fashionata and the Lovett Fashion Show. The list of celebrities she welcomed to Atlanta as the face of Rich’s is too long to list, but includes movie stars, fashion designers, US presidents, princesses and American authors ---Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope, Lauren Bacall, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Julia Childs, Nathalie Dupree, Pat Conroy, Princess Stephanie of Monoco, and former United States President Jimmy Carter, just to name a few.

Ms. Berg was a leader in Atlanta’s Public Relations community was inducted into the prestigious Order of the Phoenix of the Georgia Chapter in 1986 and into the Public Relations Hall of Fame at the University of Georgia in 1988.

She was a Life Trustee of the Woodruff Arts Center, a member of the Emory School of Medicine Board of Advisors, on the Board of Visitors of the Center for Disease Control, and an honorary member of the Board of Directors of The Atlanta College of Art.

She was a former Board Member of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Heart Association, The Atlanta Alliance Theater, the Atlanta Ballet, the Howard School, YWCA, Trees Atlanta, The Atlanta Chapter of the English Speaking Union, National 4-H Advisory Board and State Chairman of the Georgia 4-H Advisory Board.

She was a member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Georgia Chapter, The High Museum of Art, All Saints Episcopal Church, the Daughters of the Revolution, and listed in Who’s Who in American Women and Who’s Who in the World.

Anne P. Berg was preceded in death by her husband, John G. Berg, Jr., her father Carter Durwood Poland Sr., mother Winnie Mitchell Poland, sisters Martha Virginia Poland and Mary Florence Poland and brother Carter Durwood Poland, Jr. She is survived by her stepchildren Marilyn Berg Callander, Sue Berg Lawton, John G. Berg, III, and nephews Fred Bunch Poland and Marshall William Poland.

Memorial service: Tuesday, March 6 at 2pm at All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta, GA

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to The Woodruff Arts Center or All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta, GA