Profile - Odie Donald:

Odie Donald is the founder of a highly innovative event planning firm called Odie Donald Presents. By the looks of it, the Southwest Atlanta native is ready to take the city by storm.

Odie built up his business knowledge from a variety of people, from street hustlers to CEOs (his father was the former CEO of BellSouth Mobility). Advice from Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young also helped him reach his socialite status.

Ranked as one of the top 50 high school basketball players in the nation, Odie accepted a basketball scholarship at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. There he was dominant, making consecutive NCAA tournament appearances 1998 and 1999, going as far as the "Sweet 16" his freshman year.

His mother's health issues brought him back home and to Georgia State University in 2001. He eventually graduated from the downtown school.

Always a fan of fashion, Odie decided to make his shopping hobby a business project. Thumbing through clothing racks at local downtown boutiques, he began to play with the idea of creating his own clothing line.

He began attending fashion shows around town, where he met designers and promising models. Event planning was a natural evolutionary step. Odie decided to launch his company by hosting fashion shows in the city.

Odie's first event, All Black Midnight Fashion Expo, at Terminus Cafe & Art Gallery on Jan. 18 was a classy cosmopolitan hit.

On event coordination: "I figured it would be a great mix — putting other people out into the spotlight using my name and know-how for business. A fashion show is something that we could all benefit from."

The event planning firm is the first step in making a name for himself in the fashion industry. Creating a clothing line, publishing a fashion magazine and producing a Web-based magazine for GSU are a few of Odie's long-term goals.

Odie has an upcoming event scheduled for mid-April at Spice.