Members of the Rotary Club of Covington received the “Red Carpet Treatment” on Tuesday, July 18, at the impressive sound stages of Cinelease Studios - Three Ring.  The sprawling facility, located in Covington, just miles from the Square, is a joint public-private venture between the City of Covington and the partnership of Atlanta based real estate developer Woodvale and Chicago’s Timberhill Group. To date the partners have invested 160 million into the city of Covington’s economy, combined with supporting businesses for a total influx of approximately six hundred million dollars into Newton County and Covington’s economy.

Rotary members were joined by founder and managing partner, Rahim Charania as well as senior associates, Bashir Mansour and Justin Fineberg, and associate, Sana Hashim for a highly entertaining presentation inside one of the towering six sound stages along with a backlot walkaround.  

According to Rotary Club of Covington President-elect Tarrence Houston, he arranged the tour with Charania, because he knew the founder, a fellow Rotarian (with the Atlanta Club), was an entertaining speaker and passionate booster for the community. In fact, Charania credits the city’s leaders with having the vision that led to the studios locating in Covington. 

“Our officials knew that inside those studio sound stages, movie magic is being made for major motion pictures, like Guardians of the Galaxy, “lending some of the same Hollywood allure to Covington as that of Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York,” Houston said.

Although the studios are not currently at full capacity, due to the Hollywood strike, according to Charania, there are typically two to three thousand people working onsite any given day, representing major production studios like Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox.

Rotary Club of Covington President Lauren Poynter White, was as impressed by Cinelease-Three Ring’s community-oriented mindset as the company’s massive investment in infrastructure, talent, and equipment.  

“As a business owner who grew up seeing Covington grow its industry base, the unique contribution that CineLease Studios-Three Ring has brought to this community is inspiring,” said Poynter White. “It’s hard to overestimate the contribution it’s making now and will continue to make into the future in terms of employment, housing, tax base, small business expansion and area revenue growth. It’s simply transformative.”   

The expanding Cinelease Studios-Three Ring is located just northwest of Covington Town Square off Highway 142/Industrial Blvd.  Access is by appointment only.

The Rotary Club of Covington meets every Tuesday at noon inside the Fellowship Hall of Covington First United Methodist Church, 1113 Conyers Street. Prospective members are always invited to visit.