As you know, Governor Zell Miller passed away on Friday, March 23rd. GEDA Honorary Life Member, Randy Cardoza, served as Commissioner of GDEcD, formerly GDITT, for all eight years of Governor Miller’s two-terms. Here he shares his thoughts about Governor Miller.
So many memories, stories and good times come to mind as I think about one of Georgia’s truly great governors and economic developers. Governor Miller took recruiting companies and jobs to our state very seriously and he enjoyed the role. From his early days in office, he made it clear that he was going to do whatever it took for Georgia to be more than just simply successful. READ MORE...
Membership Renewal
Thank you for renewing your membership in GEDA! We are a better organization for you being a part of us. If you know of someone who hasn’t renewed their GEDA membership, please encourage them to do so. We are sorry to say that those who haven’t renewed their membership will no longer receive information from GEDA. We don’t want them to miss out on all that GEDA has to offer, so please encourage them to renew today!
Misti Martin, Cherokee Office of Economic Development
Arne Irwin, Yanmar
Tim Miller, Yanmar
Janet Cochran, Georgia Department of Economic Development Region 1 Director
2018 Spring Workshop
You can now register for the 2018 GEDA Spring Workshop, “GEDA – The Real World of Economic Development – Jekyll Island,” from May 9-11. Make your reservations at our headquarters hotel, The Westin Jekyll Island. We’ll have events at the Westin and the Jekyll Island Convention Center.
GEDA Small Business ROCK STARS Awards Luncheon
In concert with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), GEDA was pleased to host the Small Business Rock Star Awards the Fox Theater Egyptian Ballroom on Peachtree Street. The event was a very nice affair. Thank you, GDEcD leaders Pat Wilson, Bert Brantley and Mary Ellen McClanahan for your participation on the program. Thanks also to Mary Ellen's team, Ryan Waldrep, Kim Knight, Daniel Youmans, Stefanie Harper, De'Osha Randolph and others. Awards were presented to the following small businesses:
AKESOgen in Gwinnett County
Gottwals Books in Peach County
SouthLife Supply Company in Thomas County
STRAND Clinical Technologies in Colombia County
Ben Chestnut, Co-Founder and CEO of MailChimp, delighted the audience with his remarks about his entrepreneurial small business that is now not-so-small of a business and 17 years old.
We also welcomed the GDEcD International Representatives at the meeting, who were in town for the week on their annual visit home to Georgia. Following were the attendees:
We’d like to thank our sponsor for this event, Matt Reed, President of Georgia CEO. Click HERE for photographs. Click HERE for a list of attendees.
GEDA News
April Showers
There is an old saying that “April Showers Bring May Flowers” so April is the perfect month to shower our existing industries with gratitude. The week of April 9 – 12, 2018 has been designated as Manufacturing Appreciation Week by the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Technical College System of Georgia. An annual luncheon is held in Atlanta where outstanding industries in small, medium and large categories are honored for their contributions to their communities and our state. Throughout the month, communities from all across the state will be passing resolutions in support of the capital investment and jobs created by the manufacturing sector. We will be recognizing that our industries are the first to be asked to sponsor our events, clubs and children and they are the first ones to step up. We will be reminded that our manufacturers pay more in taxes than they utilize in services and in many cases, are our largest single employers and tax payers. Our manufacturers are also the largest provider of health benefits for employees, which in turn affects the insurance rebate checks received by our counties. They provide our volunteers and our locations for meetings and tours, and have the highest average wages.
GDEcD News
Congratulations to the following GDEcD employees on their promotions:
Wylly Harrison is Global Commerce’s newest Director, leading the LEAF (Logistics, Energy, Agribusiness & Food) Team. Wylly began working for GDECD in 2011, becoming Senior Project Manager in 2015.
Brittany Holtzclaw becomes the Director of the Life Science and Corporate Solutions Team. Brittany has been with the Department twice dating back to 2012, becoming a Director in 2016.
EJane Caraway rotates to a new role as Director of Special Projects She is assisting in the development of Cyber Recruitment and Business Development Strategy, along with Randall Toussaint, and marketing activities around Cyber. EJane has been with GDECD since 2009, becoming a Director in January of 2016.
Danetha Belk is now Global Commerce’s Client, Community and Partner Relations Manager. In this new role Danetha extends her responsibilities, communication and interaction with the Georgia Allies, as well as certain trade shows and marketing events. She will continue in an enhanced role coordinating our division’s interaction with communities on their visits and developer days. Danetha joined the Department in October of 2007 and has served as Executive Assistant to Tom Croteau since July 2015.
Carolyn Owens takes over administrative duties as Assistant to Tom Croteau assisting him with scheduling coordination, travel planning, telephone rollover, email triage and other general activities.
Also, David Dunagan is retiring as of April 1st. David has been with the State of Georgia since April of 2008, coming to work for GDEcD as an energy projects specialist in April 2011 on the LEAF Team. Thanks for your good service David, and good luck and Godspeed in retirement.
Other Member News
Meghan Duke, Economic Development Director, West Point Development Authority, has been appointed to the board of the Georgia Downtown Authority by Missy Kendrick, Chair of GEDA.
Happy belated birthday, Milt Folds! Mr. Folds celebrated the 90th anniversary of his birth on January 22nd. He was the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism (now GDEcD) from 1977-1983. If you would like to send well-wishes to Mr. Folds, please click HERE.
Laura Gammage, formerly Executive VP-Economic Development, West Georgia Technical College, is now Deputy Commissioner, Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), Workforce Development.
April 2018 GEDA YP Spotlight of the Month - Heath Tippens, Cherokee Office of Economic Development
Heath Tippens is a native of Canton, Georgia and a graduate of the University of Georgia with a BSFCS in Housing. After graduating, Heath moved back home to Canton and began working as an investor relations specialist at Wells Real Estate Funds. While working at Wells, Heath gained valuable experience in commercial real estate and financial markets. Since 2009, Heath has been committed to growing Cherokee County professionally through his role with the Cherokee Office of Economic Development. Joining the Cherokee County team as a project manager and growing to his current role as vice president, Heath has been instrumental in the success of many located and expanded projects in Cherokee County including, Inalfa Roof Systems, MSK Covertech, ThyssenKrupp, Acclaim Lighting, Jaipur Living Global HQ, Woodstock Furniture Outlet HQ, and most recently the Adidas Speedfactory. Over the past nine years in his current role, Health has participated in and chaired Leadership Cherokee, graduated from Georgia Forward’s Young Game Changers program, and was named as one of the “Top 10 in 10” Young Professionals to watch within Cherokee County. Health has continued his dedication to give back to the community he loves through volunteering with teen and adult leadership programs, as well as programs for at-risk teens and young adults since being back in Cherokee County.
Heath and his wife Whitney reside in northern Cherokee County with their two sons.
GEDA New Members
Richard Michaud, Advantage Capital Courtney Whitman, Main Street and DDA Cal Wray, Augusta Economic Development Authority Kathy Knowles, Development Authority of Heard County Toyasha Vaughn, Decide DeKalb Development Authority Ella Greer, Cherokee Office of Economic Development Denise McKay, City of Hampton Andrew Neumann, Kajima Building & Design Group Samuel Smith, Pond Christie Haynes, Dawson County Chamber of Commerce Janie Williamson, AMI Corporate Housing
If you are moving, changing jobs or getting a promotion, please let us know by emailing us at Info@GEDA.org, and we’ll publicize this in the GEDA newsletter.
Georgia Tech, in partnership with GA Power, Atlanta Regional Commission, and numerous other partners launched the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge (#GeorgiaSmart), a grant challenge for all Georgia communities. Georgia Tech’s Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation initiative kicked off Georgia Smart in February, and hopes this initiative fosters awareness and adoption of advanced technologies in the public sector by advancing projects with local governments across the state.
Project Announcements
Facebook to invest $750 million in Stanton Springs data center - Social media giant to create at least 100 jobs
March 7, 2017 - Governor Nathan Deal announced that Facebook will create at least 100 full-time jobs and invest $750 million in a new data center in Stanton Springs over the next five years. New jobs will include positions in engineering and management, as well as opportunities for data center technicians.
Congratulations to the team which worked towards this announcement: Serra Hall, Senior Project Manager of the Newton/Covington Economic Development Office, and Shane Short, Executive Director of the Development Authority of Walton County, both of the Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton Counties; EJane Caraway, Georgia Department of Economic Development, Director of Life Sciences and Corporate Solutions, the Global Commerce Division; Ronnie Lee, Walton EMC; Charlie Moseley, Director of Project Management, the Metro Atlanta Chamber; Brenda Robbins, Senior Project Manager, Georgia Power; Ralph Forbes, Vice President/Regional Director, Thomas & Hutton Engineering Company; plus assistance from representatives from AT&T, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia Department of Revenue and other state and local agencies. Read more…
Four Georgia small businesses named Rock Stars
March 19—The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), along with the Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA), announced Georgia’s 2018 Small Business Rock Stars. GDEcD and GEDA hosted a luncheon where four Georgia companies were honored for being an outstanding, unique and impactful small business.
The 2018 Small Business Rock Stars winners include: AKESOgen in Gwinnett County, Gottwals Books in Peach County, SouthLife Supply Company in Thomas County and STRAND Clinical Technologies in Colombia County.
“With almost 98 percent of Georgia companies employing fewer than 100 people, small business has a tremendous impact on Georgia’s economy,” said GDEcD Director of Entrepreneur & Small Business Mary Ellen McClanahan. “The Rock Star recognition provides the perfect opportunity to showcase how important small businesses are to the state and of course, the local economy.” Read more…
Professional Development – Apply today for a GEDA Professional Development grant in 2018. You can minimize the cost of attending the GEDA Spring Workshop with a scholarship; one of the University of Georgia’s Certified Economic Developer courses; or one of the courses sponsored by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC)! Congratulations to Brett Lacy, Programs Director, Workforce Division, on receiving a Professional Development grant to attend the UGA CED course. Check out the Professional Development Committee on the GEDA website, or contact Saralyn Stafford, GEDA Chair, Professional Development; & Division Director, Community Development, Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
Spring Workshop Scholarships Available
Three scholarships of $600 each are available to GEDA members for the upcoming Spring Workshop, to be held at Jekyll Island from May 9-11. The deadline for applications is April 9th, so don’t delay. You can find more information and a link to the application at GEDA.org – click on Membership, then Professional Development, and scroll down!
Young Professionals Committee
Do you know an outstanding young professional in economic development? If so, nominate them for the GEDA Young Professional of the Month award. The GEDA YP Committee will begin its Young Professional of the Month awards again in April and needs your help in nominating outstanding young professionals. The nomination committee will review nominations and the award will be announced in the May 2018 newsletter and via social media. You may nominate a young professional via the link HERE. We look forward to receiving your nominations!
Transportation/Infrastructure SIG
The Georgia Ports Authority held the official groundbreaking on its $126.7 million Mason Mega Rail Terminal Tuesday, March 27. The expansion will increase the Port of Savannah’s rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year, and open new markets spanning an arc of cities from Memphis to St. Louis, Chicago to Cincinnati.
“Today is a great day for Georgia and the nation,” said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. “Not only will this new intermodal facility take trucks off the road and bring our products to market with greater efficiency, but it will open a new corridor for American commerce to and from the Midwest.” READ MORE...
Get involved in GEDA's Committees and SIGs to learn about projects and meet fellow members - visit your profile on GEDA.org to join. View the Committee and SIG 2018 Action Plans
Upcoming Events
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Heath Tippens is a native of Canton, Georgia and a graduate of the University of Georgia with a BSFCS in Housing. After graduating, Heath moved back home to Canton and began working as an investor relations specialist at Wells Real Estate Funds. While working at Wells, Heath gained valuable experience in commercial real estate and financial markets. Since 2009, Heath has been committed to growing Cherokee County professionally through his role with the Cherokee Office of Economic Development. Joining the Cherokee County team as a project manager and growing to his current role as vice president, Heath has been instrumental in the success of many located and expanded projects in Cherokee County including, Inalfa Roof Systems, MSK Covertech, ThyssenKrupp, Acclaim Lighting, Jaipur Living Global HQ, Woodstock Furniture Outlet HQ, and most recently the Adidas Speedfactory. Over the past nine years in his current role, Health has participated in and chaired Leadership Cherokee, graduated from Georgia Forward’s Young Game Changers program, and was named as one of the “Top 10 in 10” Young Professionals to watch within Cherokee County. Health has continued his dedication to give back to the community he loves through volunteering with teen and adult leadership programs, as well as programs for at-risk teens and young adults since being back in Cherokee County.
