While the City of Savannah continues to grow and prosper, it faces many challenges, from crime to workforce development. The Savannah Downtown Business Association, an independent advocacy organization actively engaged in the promotion of a prosperous downtown business community, is focusing on 2018 as its “Year of Solutions” with compelling meeting speakers. Upcoming meetings include the February 14 meeting featuring an update by Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, followed by the March 14 meeting with guest speaker Leonardo Inghilleri, president of ICG (Inghilleri Consulting Group, Inc.) and former executive at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and The Walt Disney Company.

At the Wednesday, February 14 meeting, Mr. Christine will discuss “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia: Relevant and Ready!” at the Charles H. Morris Center at Trustee’s Garden, 10 East Board Street. Networking begins at 11:30AM and the program starts at 12PM.

The event is open to the public and the deadline to register is Friday, February 9.  Cost is $25 for SDBA members and $40 for non-members. If space permits after the deadline, cost will be $35 for SDBA members and $45 for non-members. For more information, go to www.savannahdba.com and for registration assistance, please email [email protected] or call 912-660-4718.

Following his nomination by President Trump and confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Mr. Christine was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia on November 22, 2017. Prior to his role as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, he served as Judge of Magistrate Court for Columbia County, Georgia, a position he held since his appointment in 2005 until November 2017. From 2009-2012 Mr. Christine served as Chief Magistrate. In addition to his Magistrate Court role, he maintained a private practice concentrating in domestic, probate, personal injury, and criminal litigation.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, his J.D. from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham and graduated from the master’s degree program at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Mr. Christine worked for 10 years in the District Attorney’s Office in Augusta, Georgia. During that time, he prosecuted all manner of crime, including violent felonies and complex thefts and is one of only a few prosecutors in modern Georgia to win a conviction for a murder case where the body of the victim has never been located.

A U.S. Army reservist since the age of 17, both as a Combat Engineer and a Judge Advocate, his current rank is Colonel and he currently serves as State Judge Advocate (SJA), a role appointed by Governor Nathan Deal in 2012. As SJA, Mr. Christine is the senior lawyer for the Georgia National Guard, the largest division of Georgia’s state government. In his military capacity, Mr. Christine leads and supervises Army, Air Force, and civilian lawyers plus support staff. He is a veteran of the war in Iraq, where he prosecuted among the war’s first court-martials, and participated in the investigation of the Abu Ghraib matter.

Mr. Christine has earned several military awards and citations, including the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Bonze Star medal, and the parachutist badge. In 2016, he was selected the Army Career Judge Advocate of the Year.