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Dear Decaturish,

My name is Fred Bozzuto and I have been a resident of DeKalb County and Brookhaven city since 2007.  I am a member of several charity groups in the area, and I met Andrew Ziffer through one such organization where he was on the Board of Directors and was the Treasurer.  While he was in a leadership role the group grew in membership and the quality of the programs offered improved year over year.  The organization was designed to help build communities through developing stronger families by improving communication skills.  Andrew was instrumental in helping people with many different political views see that we all have common ground when it comes to providing solid interpersonal communication skills. 

In the many years of friendship with Andrew, I can say that we have shared many conversations about topics that may be considered too political.  Even though Andrew and I don’t agree on everything, there is one thing that we totally agree on, and that is our children deserve to have the best education possible.  Andrew has worked as a cluster leader for the Chamblee Dunwoody area.  He leveraged his leadership in business to this position, to bring everyone together for the common goal of doing what is best for the children of DeKalb County. He has been elected to multiple Principal’s Advisory Councils and was instrumental in co-founding a school cross-cluster parent volunteer group that facilitated communication among parent leaders.

I asked Andrew directly the last time we met for dinner, “why would you want to do this?” and his response was very telling as to his character, which was “I want to make a difference in all kids’ lives as they deserve better so I will endure for what is right”.

The School Board seat is a non-partisan seat, and while Andrew and I may have some different political views at a time when people can be divisive, he truly stands in the conversation where we can both listen to each other. I would be remiss to have a school board member only listen to one voice when there are multiple backgrounds in DeKalb County, and I can safely say that Andrew truly listens to all sides of an issue and wants to create a solution for the good of the children. I value Andrew’s experience as a business owner, father and husband, and more importantly as a friend.

— Fred Bozzuto, Past Principal Advisory Council Chairperson, Montgomery Elementary School, Brookhaven and CEO Murphy Candler Marlins Swim Team

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