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1 | 2019
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan To Highlight Post-Legislative Breakfast Geoff Duncan, the State of Georgia’s 12th Lieutenant Governor, will serve as keynote speaker of the Columbia County Chamber’s annual Post-Legislative Breakfast on Wednesday, May 8 from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m., at Savannah Rapids Pavilion. A former professional baseball player and successful entrepreneur, Duncan was elected as Lieutenant Governor in November of 2018. Originally elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2012, Duncan is the second Republican Lieutenant Governor in the state’s history.
He was inaugurated on January 14, 2019. A graduate of Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta, Ga., Duncan enjoyed a standout career as a pitcher at Georgia Tech before being drafted by the Florida Marlins. He spent six seasons in the minor leagues, advancing as high as Class AAA before a shoulder injury forced him to retire. Along with his wife Brooke, Duncan founded a small marketing firm and later served as the CEO of a health technology startup prior to his election to the State House. The Post-Legislative Breakfast will also feature a panel discussion with State Senate and House Representatives from Columbia County. The state leaders scheduled to attend include: Senator Jesse Stone, Senator Lee Anderson, Representative Tom McCall, Representative Barry Fleming, Representative Jodi Lott and Representative Mark Newton.
Registration is currently available online at columbiacountychamber.com, or by calling 706-651-0018. Members can purchase a ticket for $20, while non-members can reserve a seat for $40.
Chamber, School District Host Inaugural Career & College Expo The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Columbia County School District, hosted the inaugural Columbia County Career and College Expo on March 12 at the Columbia County Exhibition Center in Grovetown. The event targeted middle school and high school students and parents and featured breakout sessions in fields such as manufacturing, healthcare, nuclear/energy, cyber and financial aid/scholarships and dual enrollment. The goal was to identify clear pathways from high school to a future career, whether that includes a four-year university, a two-year degree at a technical school or trade school, or going directly into the workforce. Over 1,600 students participated, representing 61 different schools, as far away as Glascock County. Nearly 4,000 people passed through the doors of the Exhibition Center.
ColumbiaCountyChamber.com
CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE DIAMOND LEVEL
PLATINUM LEVEL
GOLD LEVEL
the claiborne AT W E S T L A K E
A PREMIER RETIREMENT COMMUNIT Y
SILVER LEVEL
S OU T H E A S T E R N DEVELOPMENT
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BROKERAGE
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C O N S U LT I N G
BRONZE LEVEL Alfred Benesch & Company • Bio-Life Plasma Services • Bojangles • Brandon Wilde Lifecare Community • Camellia Walk • Carter Koenig Photography • Cintas • Classic Collision • Convergent Outsourcing • Duckworth Development, LLC • EDTS Cyber • F&M Bank • First Community Bank • FLSmidth-AFT Operations • Fulcher Hagler LLP • Grand Oaks at Crane Creek • Harlem Family Dental • IntelliGenesis • JANUS Research Group, Inc. • Maner Builders Supply Co. • Marshall Pines Alzheimers Care • Metova • Mulherin Lumber • Papa John’s • PlanDwell, Inc./ Stone & Story, LLC • Perfect Health • Premier Networx • Pruitt Health Hospice • Reeves Construction Company • Security Onion Solutions, LLC • Sonic Drive-In • Southern Beverage • Sparkle Express Car Wash • SunTrust Bank • Total Comfort Solutions • US Battery • Yancey Rents • Zaxby’s
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New Members (December, 2018 through March, 2019)
Rec Tec Grills rectecgrills.com
Summerville Travel Agency summervillevacay.com
Reliable Air Solutions, LLC
Mr. Flush Plumbing mrflush.com
Chuck’s Painting & Home Maintenance chuckshomeservice.com Cryo Care thecryocare.com AECOM - Augusta aecom.com Braun Properties, LLC southgahomes.net You Deserve A Break Today youdeserveabreaktoday.net Heritage Design and Build Southeast LLC Heratigedesignbuildllc.com Gander Outdoors ganderoutdoors.com Fort Gordon Storage Grovetown Business Center Duggan One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning dugganheatingac.com
The Ivy Boutique & Gifts shopivy.com Security Onion Solutions LLC securityonionsolutions.com Plantation Shutters Augusta Plus plantationshuttersplus.com Merrill Lynch fa.ml.com/Gallo_Associates Sherwin-Williams Grovetown sherwin-williams.com Apollon Wealth Management – Aiken apollonwealthmanagement.com First Command Financial Services firstcommand.com Lewis Bus Lines lewisbus.com Mr. and Mrs. Manners, LLC mrandmrsmanners.net
Namaste Indian Street Food
S&ME, Inc. smeinc.com
Therapy Trails therapytrailsga.com
David L. Huguenin, P.C. lawaugusta.com
MC Furniture mc-furniture-home-goods-store.business.site
Augusta Granite Company facebook.com/augusta-granite
Trane Georgia/alabamaTrane.com
Sugar Booger thesugarbooger.com
MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES Advertise With Us: The Chamber is currently looking for sponsors for its E-News and quarterly newsletter publications. If you’re interested in promoting your company or business, contact Joey Warren, Communications Manager, at 706-651-0018. ACT NOW! Sharing is Caring: Got an important announcement, or an upcoming event? Maybe you just want to toot your own horn a little bit? Share Your Company News with us! Let us know what you’ve got going on and we’ll share it with our 1000+ business members. Learn more at columbiacountychamber.com/Share-your-Company-News
Piedmont Landscape Management piedmontaugusta.com
Edgar’s Grille edgarsgrille.com
Augusta Collection Agency augustacollectionagency.com
GM & M Motivational Speaking & Training drmahone.com
State Farm Insurance - B.J. Jordan bjjordanismyagent.com
Chicken Salad Chick -- Grovetown chickensaladchick.com
State Farm Insurance - Jon Higham jonhigham.com
Southern Land Surveyors southernlandsurveyors.com
JAS Services Inc dba Re-Bath of Augusta rebath.com/location/augusta/
Gut Coach Cheryl gutcoachcheryl.com Garnto Southern Construction garntosouthern.com
Dr. Adrienne C Davis, PhD. ABPP dradriennedavis.org
Fifth Third Bank fifththirdbank.com
Re/Max Partners - Delane Ramey delaneramey.com Edward Jones - James Lambert edwardjones.com
South Georgia Insurance Services, LLC
Frog & The Hen Elite Hearing Centers of America elitehearingcenters.com More Than A Game Athlete Development Center, Inc. mtagfitness.com MANE 18 manexviii.com Winchester Homebuilders winchesterhomebuilders.com Jones & Co Marketing jonesandcomarketing.com Turner Padget Graham Laney, P.A. turnerpadget.com Plumbers & Business Steamfitters ua150.org Glanzmann’s Research Foundation curegt.com Flame Pasta & Mediterranean FlamePM.com Panera Bread Company panerabread.com
Kings Crown Barber Shop Print-It! weprintga.com Spa Indigo/New Skin Medical newskinmedical.com Salon Indigo/Spa Indigo Triple M Site Work, LLC Southern Vanity southernvanity.us Pinot’s Palette pinotspalette.com John Harris Body Shops LLC Grovetown jhbodyshops.com ShareSpace sharedspace.work MJ Real Estate Professionals columbiacountyhomesbymj.com MJ Real Estate Professionals -Tiffani Landers tiffanilanders.com Talent Poole Solutions TPS-Talent.com
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Presented by
Chamber Celebrates Success
The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce hosted its 14th Annual Banquet and Business Showcase in February at the Columbia County Exhibition Center. With an estimated attendance of 600 local, state and federal business leaders, the event celebrated and saluted the Chamber’s accomplishments of 2018, with a look ahead to a prosperous 2019. The evening kicked off with the business showcase and reception. One of the Chamber’s largest networking opportunities, the showcase provided attendees the opportunity to mix and mingle amongst themselves and network with nearly 30 local vendors. Chamber President/CEO Tammy Shepherd opened the dinner program with a welcome and highlighted the successes of the Chamber in 2018 and the prospects for a brighter future. Shepherd and 2018 Board of Directors Chairman Robbie Moore of Blanchard and Calhoun Insurance presented the awards for Ambassador of the Year and Volunteer of the Year, respectively, to Laura Kitchens of Home2 Suites by Hilton,
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Grovetown; and Larry Lynn of Allegra recognized for his entrepreneurial spirit, Image 360. his leadership in commercial development A highlight evening was the ceremonial and his legacy of innovation and forward passing of the flag of leadership from momentum for Columbia County. outgoing Chairman Moore to 2019 Additionally, the Chamber named Chairman Ed Burr, the Senior Vice Spherion Staffing Services the Small President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs Business of the Year and tabbed Ellefson with University Health Care System. In his Transportation Group as Large Business remarks, Burr expressed his appreciation of the Year. The Leadership Columbia to the Board for the confidence shown County Alumni Award went to Elizabeth in him and relayed his goals and Lamb of Doctors Hospital. aspirations for the upcoming year. During the program, the Chamber presented several prestigious awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award. Given annually since 2005, the Lifetime Achievement Award seeks to honor one leader of our community for his or her professional and philanthropic PASSING OF THE FLAG OF LEADERSHIP achievements. This year’s award winner, E.G. Meybohm, was Robbie Moore, 2018 Chairman and Ed Burr, 2019 Chairman
Thank you to all of our Banquet sponsors!
Award Winners
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Tammy Shepherd, Tom Clark, E.G. Meybohm (Lifetime Achievement) and Ed Burr
AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR
Doressa Hawes, Laura Kitchens (Ambassador of the Year) and Robbie Moore
LEADERSHIP ALUMNI AWARD
Ashleigh Wilder, Angie Brock, Elizabeth Lamb (Leadership Alumni Award), and Robbie Moore
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Nicole Hayes, Larry Lynn (Volunteer of the Year) and Robbie Moore
LARGE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
John Allen, Brian and Nyles Ellefson (Ellefson Transportation) and Jay Forrester
SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
Jay Forrester, Angela Swarts (Small Business of the Year, Spherion Staffing) and Chad Harpley
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YWOW is a 10-month program geared towards mentoring young professional women. Five top executive women will mentor 20 young professional women (23-30-year-olds) during a monthly luncheon focused on key topics to develop them personally and professionally.
The YMOM program held the first meeting for its Class of 2019 in February. The new program is modeled after the highly successful YWOW program, and both initiatives help identify and develop future community leaders personally as well as professionally. 6
New Chamber Event Kicks Off The Chamber hosted its new Small Business Roundtable on January 16 and March 20 at the Chamber office. The Small Biz Roundtable replaced the Chamber Before Hours program. Chick-Fil-A Grovetown serves as breakfast sponsor for the program. For more information on the Chamber Small Business Roundtable, contact Sabrina Griffin, Events & Programs Manager for the Chamber, at sabrina@columbiacountychamber.com.
Join us for our next meeting May 15, 7:30-9am Mike Parsons with Powerserve speaks during the Small Business Roundtable
Pennies for Progress Columbia County voters overwhelmingly passed the continuation of ESPLOST in a special election on March 19. Over 6,200 ballots were cast in the election, with a record 83.73 percent of Columbia County citizens voting in favor of the continuation of ESPLOST. The Chamber and its Board of Directors, along with the Chamber PAC and the Columbia County School District, announced their full support for the continuation of ESPLOST (Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) in January. “The Columbia County School System is the number one economic driver for growth in Columbia County,” said Tammy Shepherd, President/CEO of the Chamber.
ESPLOST Approved By Voters
“Business growth follows residential growth and ESPLOST is the fairest funding tool for both residents and businesses to build new schools.” A one-cent sales tax on $1, ESPLOST is used to fund capital improvements, including new schools or additions to current schools to relieve overcrowding. Funds generated from ESPLOST are restricted to construction, new technology and buses, and can’t be spent on expenses, such as operating costs. The ESPLOST, which has funded construction of 16 schools in the last 19 years, is a continuation of the current sales tax that has been in place since1997. Prior to the approval of the ESPLOST, the Columbia County School System built 15 schools over a span of 41 years.
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Chamber Hosts Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives The Columbia County Chamber played host to the GACCE Staff Development Conference on March 21-22 at the Columbia County Exhibition Center and Savannah Rapids Pavilion. The Chamber served as the official host to more than 180 Georgia Association of Chambers of Commerce Executives from around the state. Many of the 180 attendees stayed in hotels near the Grovetown I-20 exit. During the two-day professional development conference, attendees heard from the ACCE (Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives) National President Sheree Ann Kelly, Lauren Healy of the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, and Chris Clark, the President/CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Over 60 Chamber offices from Georgia were represented at the event, including 12 of the highestrated Chambers in the state.
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The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce hosted the first installment of its 2019 Executive Luncheon Series on April 3 at Savannah Rapids Pavilion. Dr. Sandra Carraway, Superintendent of the Columbia County School District, along with Columbia County Administrator Scott Johnson, spoke on “Columbia County Now And In The Future: Focus On Education And Growth.” Dr. Carraway gave an update on the plans for future school construction and how the county is preparing to use the future ESPLOST funds. Johnson provided an estimated crowd of over 200 business and community leaders with the county’s strategy on dealing with the continuing growth and outlined current and planned road construction projects. The luncheon concluded with Carraway and Johnson both participating in a question-andanswer session.
after hours Hosted by
event
ALENDAR
*Sponsorship opportunities still available
Wednesday, May 8 7:30 - 9 am
Thursday, May 9 4 - 5 pm
Wednesday, May 15 7:30 - 9 am
Wednesday, June 5 11:30 am - 1 pm 9
CONGRATS! Nicole Khayyam, our WorkBased Learning Student from Evans High School, recently earned an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point! We are so proud of you and thank you for all your contributions to our office!
THANK YOU
to all our sponsors who • Chick-Fil-A of Grovetown made the inaugural • Shane’s Rib Shack Columbia County • First Community Bank Career & College Expo • South State Bank • Columbia County School District such a tremendous • Columbia County Board of Commissioners success! • Georgia Power Company
• Columbia County Convention & Visitors Bureau
BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR: Ed Burr, University Healthcare System CHAIR-ELECT: Reagan Williams, Meybohm IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR: Robbie Moore,
Blanchard & Calhoun Insurance TREASURER: Adam Williams, Cleveland Group CPAs SECRETARY: Beth McLeod, Fulcher Hagler, LLC AT-LARGE: Robert Amos, Cartridge World
Elizabeth Lamb, Doctors Hospital
BOARD: Bill Bates, Savannah River National Lab
Dorothy Brandon, Security Federal Bank
Kerry Bridges, Georgia Power
Pat Brown, John Deere - Commercial
Pat Goodwin, Blanchard & Calhoun
Adam Harris, Queensborough
Mark Herbert, Herbert Homes, Inc.
Russell Keen, Augusta University
Robert Kelly, Augusta Staffing
Bob Kendra, Kendra Financial/New York Life
Rick Logsdail, Nutritional Resources, Inc.
Elizabeth Lamb, Doctors Hospital
Yvonne Meeks, SRP Federal Credit Union
Mike Oates, WRDW-TV Ch. 12 & 26
Wendy Perry, Catalyst Executive
Jordan Pierce, First Community Bank
Samantha Stough, Costco
Joe Todd, PlanDwell, Inc./Stone & Story
Janeabeth Wells, Board of Commissioners
STAFF Tammy Shepherd IOM, GCCE, President/CEO Tiffany Heitzman, Vice President Sabrina Griffin, Events & Programs Manager Joey Warren, Communications Manager Darrell K. Butler II, Member Relations Manager Olivia Reich, Member Services Specialist Sarah Hare, Bookkeeper Beth Frits, Leadership Programs Coordinator Robbie King, Membership Sales Representative Paige Allen, Membership Sales Representative Kelly Starkey, Administrative Assistant Nicole Khayyam, Work-Based Learning Student
OFFICE 1000 Business Boulevard Evans, GA 30809 706-651-0018 phone 706-651-0023 fax
ColumbiaCountyChamber.com 10
Make the Most of Your Local Chamber of Commerce Are you a member of your local Chamber of Commerce? If so, are you getting your money’s worth? If not, what are you missing out on? by JoAnne Berg Chambers exist to serve their members and help them to be more successful. They are supported by membership dues, which are usually based on the size of your business. Your dues are tax deductible as a business expense. Here are some of the things that local Chambers do for the business community, along with a few suggestions for getting the most from your membership.
generation, this is an opportunity that you shouldn’t pass up.
If you’re not a member, Chamber staff can’t refer you.
Advertising When you’re a member, you’ll be listed in the Chamber directory, but your opportunities for promoting your business don’t stop there. Chambers have websites, newsletters, newspapers, brochures, and more. They sell advertising in most of these, and you have to be a member to advertise.
Committee Membership Volunteering to serve on a committee that fits your interests or expertise creates leadership opportunities, helps you become better known in the community, and can help position you as an expert in your field.
Government Relations Chambers represent the viewpoints of their members in front of governments and advocate for their business interests when necessary. Your dues support the efforts that the Chamber makes on your behalf to make your community a better place to do business. This alone is a reason to become a member!
Education Training yourself and your staff can be expensive, but it’s important to keep up with new developments and continue improving everyone’s business skills. Chambers offer classes, workshops, and seminars, taught by member professionals, at a low cost to members.
Networking Chambers sponsor social events and networking groups that are designed for members to meet and do business together. If your business depends on local-business
Referrals Businesses and residents that are new to a community frequently call the local Chamber of Commerce for referrals for the goods and services they need. Guess what?
Every Chamber is different, and there may be other opportunities in yours that I haven’t mentioned here. If you’re not already a member, I encourage you to find out more, and if you are a member, take another look at what your Chamber offers. You may be pleasantly surprised! JoAnne Berg is a trusted business advisor with over 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, CFO/COO, and CPA/advisor to closely held businesses. Read her blogs at The Art of Small Business. Her newest venture is Peer Coaching Network, Inc., which provides affordable training and peer based group coaching to small business owners. Follow her on Twitter @ JoAnneBerg and Facebook.
G E O R G I A’ S C O M M U N I T Y B A N K since 1 9 0 2 www.QNBTRUST.bank 11