Georgia Entertainment recently released the names of the 200 Most Influential of Georgia’s Creative Industries. The individuals are highlighted in the bi-annual printed publication – Georgia Entertainment: The Creative Economy Journal. See the digital version. Our 200 Spotlight series showcases many of those that were included.
By Carol Badaracco Padgett, Senior Writer
Atlanta-based Jay Rabbitt has served the entertainment production industry for 44 years, so he’s heard a string of consistent messages from professionals who come to Georgia and set up their home base of operations here.
“The stories we hear from transplants who have moved their operations to Georgia all have the same themes: surprise at the professionalism, southern hospitality attitudes, and the extent to which the infrastructure here is as good — or most times much higher in quality — than what they left behind,” he states.
Rabbitt, a leader in audio and intercom communication services for the film and television industry, understands firsthand how these business owners feel.
His array of businesses under the In Concert Production umbrella include ICP Audio LLC; ICP Comms LLC; ICP Production Centre LLC; and Air Show One Inc. And in each, Rabbitt strives to deliver top-level attention to detail for entertainment production projects, as well as unmatched integrity in all his business dealings. Georgia, he notes, provides the ideal stage for the manner in which he and his companies work and excel.
“The Georgia Tax Incentive program has completely changed my career and life, allowing my companies’ talents to find a home that finally fits our attention to detail and technical abilities,” as Rabbitt puts it.
In addition to providing production support for Fortune 500 companies from UPS to Coca-Cola, Rabbitt and his teams have worked on special events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics. But wherever they’re working, he finds that the Peach State offers something special that others locations do not.
“I love the vastness of available locations, from the mountains to the beach and studio facilities large and small,” Rabbitt says. “Most of all, I love the people of Georgia, who are so enthusiastic about the opportunities this industry has provided.”
Like many creative business leaders, Rabbitt has branched out his businesses in some interesting directions. One is his creation of Air Show One Inc.(ASO), a leading provider of sound systems and air boss communication equipment for the top air shows in the nation. ASO also maintains the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels audio equipment.
ASO is a facet of Rabbitt’s work that springs from a 27-year passion for aviation, where his commitment has earned him a special honor from the U.S. Navy: honorary Blue Angel. He is one of only 56 people to hold the distinction.
When asked who has influenced him most in his long-running career, Rabbitt has an immediate answer. “Absolutely, it was my father,” he says. “As an orphan from age three during the Depression, [my]dad’s perseverance, common sense, business teachings, and even-tempered love and professionalism have molded me into the person I am today.”
Looking back over the production industry he loves, Rabbitt is proud of the role Georgia plays on a world-class creative scale.
“Even with the Olympics in ’96, numerous Super Bowls over the years, and many other large special events that come and go, Atlanta [in particular]has been waiting a long time to be noticed as a world-class city,” Rabbitt finds. “In my humble opinion, the new Creative Economy in Georgia has finally [allowed the city to]achieve that goal.”
