GAINESVILLE — Ashley Bell has always found it important to be involved in the community, whether it be politics, civic groups or nonprofit organizations.

The fact is, he said, it’s everybody’s responsibility to do their part.

“Everyone here has an obligation to the community, but I just feel like it is extra for me because I was born here, my dad is from here ... it all just means exponentially more when I can do things for the community,” said Bell, 27.

Bell is part of a new crop of young and influential individuals making their mark not just on the black community, but the community as a whole.

“I think (Bell) is an up-and-coming man that wants to do a lot for the community, and I think we need to get behind him and help him,” said Deborah Mack, Hall County commissioner.

Bell, a University of Georgia Law School graduate, is an attorney at Bell and Washington, LLP. But he has already carved out a name for himself in local politics after running for two offices in his young political career.

In 2004, Bell ran as a democrat in District 26 against current state Rep. Carl Rogers, R-Gainesville, and in 2006 for a Gainesville City Council seat against Danny Dunagan. While Bell lost both elections, he said the experiences were an opportunity to learn.

“I admit that (the campaign against Rogers) was the most fun in politics that I have had thus far and I think I had too much fun,” Bell said. “I had worked for so many people in politics and that was my first time having my own campaign and I felt liberated.”

He had formerly served as the national president of College Democrats and said, “it was my first time to break away and create my own message and stick to the issues I felt were important.”

Bell, who is married to Lauren Bell and a father of two, admits he is at a different point in his political career. But running again isn’t out of the question.

“The first two times I was younger and at a point where I didn’t have as much going on, so it was a lot easier to make that decision,” he said. “But now it would be a different calculation. But it is definitely not far from possible.”

Bell was a policy adviser to John Edwards in his 2004 campaign along with serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Georgia in 2000 and ’04.

Bell’s Democratic Party connections also led him to friend and law partner Quinton Washington, who runs the Atlanta office of Bell and Washington.

“We both recognized we shared values about the type of business that we wanted,” Washington said. “It’s not often you get to partner with a like-minded individual to do your life’s work.”

Washington added that being part of the community is a feeling that he and Bell share.

“It is great because we get the opportunity to work on things we care about and work for people we care about,” he said. “Then we have the opportunity to invest our time and talents into Georgia, Hall County and Fulton County as a community.”

In Gainesville, Bell serves on the board at the Hall County Library, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hall County and the Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of Gainesville Rotary.

“That is how we are able to function (through volunteers),” said Joyce Wilson, vice president of development and marketing at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hall County. “They are very supportive and are an integral part of what we are able to do.”

But Bell’s locally grown passion is a nonprofit group he created called Generation Inspiration.

“I started that during my first race with Carl (Rogers) and it started with kids at Gainesville High School and probably is my biggest focus and probably always will be,” he said. “Generation Inspiration has just exploded ... we gave out thousands of dollars in scholarships this summer for those kids to do anything they want to do to benefit their life.”

Volunteers for Generation Inspiration help students and their parents work through scholastic issues.
“It has made a huge difference because the parents don’t have the time ... but these surrogates have been doing a remarkable job getting in there and changing things,” Bell said.

The nonprofit began operations at Gainesville High, where Bell graduated in 1998, and now serves more than 100 students. Bell’s close friend and Gainesville mayor, Myrtle Figueras, handles the education side of the organization.

“Ashley is invaluable because he is sparking an interest in the younger group of individuals to say you need to get involved in your own life and make sure you are doing the best that you can with yourself,” Figueras said. “(Ashley) gives all of us a good example to follow.”

Community involvement is obviously important to Bell and this year he is encouraging everyone to get involved — politically.

“This is a chapter in the story that is America and you don’t want to miss it and voting is the least thing you could do,” he said. “No matter what party you are in, this Tuesday is big because, first off, it’s always going to come down to the war in Iraq.”

Bell and Washington were present last Saturday in Columbia, S.C. to witness Barack Obama’s speech after his landslide South Carolina primary win.

“Quinton and I both just felt so compelled that we had to be there,” Bell said.