Happy Independence Day to you all! Some of you know that I used to work at Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (RJA) before coming to GEDA four years ago. The Chief Investment Strategist at RJA is Jeff Saut, who is a great teacher, mentor and disciple of the markets, but is also a historian and patriot. He pens a column entitled “Happy Birthday, America” in an RJA publication, “Morning Tack.” I share it with you HERE. I hope you had a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July. ~ Kevin Shea
July Regional Events
Region 4 Social, Cabin on Flint River, Upson County, Monday, July 16, 10:00am – 2:00pm, contact: Kyle Fletcher, Executive Director, Thomaston-Upson County IDA
11th Annual Good News Gathering, Chateau Elan, Wednesday, July 18, 9:00am – Noon, RSVP required by July 11, 2018, contact: Rope Roberts, Northeast Georgia Community Development Manager, Georgia Power Company
4th Annual Northwest Good News Event, Northwest Georgia Technical College, Wednesday, July 25, 9:00am – 1:00pm, contact: Elyse Davis, Northwest Georgia Community Development Manager, Georgia Power. To register, click HERE
Region 9 Event at the Big House in Hazelhurst-Jeff Davis County at 11:30 am for lunch. Contact Andrea Taylor, CEO, Hazelhurst-Jeff Davis Chamber & JDA for details.
Coastal Region, # 12, Good News Event, Coastal Regional Commission in Darien at 11:00 on Wednesday, August 20th, contact: Jason Coley, Coastal Region Community Development Manager, Georgia Power Company
Brokers Panel Luncheon
Thank you for joining us on Monday, June 18 for our luncheon featuring real estate brokers, Sim Doughtie of King Industrial; Ken Ashley of Cushman & Wakefield; and Michael Dahmer of Lee & Associates; who addressed trends in the industrial, office and retail sectors; with Al Nash as moderator. These guys did a superb job and provided an informative, and at times, a humorous program.
Click HERE for a list of attendees. Click HERE to see photos.
GEDA News
Deal of the Year and Volunteer of the Year Awards
Nominate your Deal of the Year and Volunteer of the Year candidates. Contact Illya Copeland, Executive Director, Murray County Industrial Development Authority, this year’s Sub-Committee Chair for the Annual Awards, with any questions.
GDEcD and GEDA Joint Announcement
GDEcD and GEDA are happy to announce that nominations for the 2019 Small Business ROCK STARS will open July 15 and close September 15. We have two months to encourage our small businesses to apply or you may nominate them yourselves. A few changes for the upcoming year include the addition of categories and also peer-to-peer judging, where the 2018 ROCK STARS will judge the finalists. Contact Mary Ellen McClanahan at 404-962-4820 with any questions.
Call for Applications: Fund Your Research with EDRP
The Center for Economic Development Research at Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute will be funding a new round of Economic Development Research Program (EDRP) projects and is looking for communities to submit their applications for research.
The mission of EDRP is to assist local communities by providing affordable economic development and policy research to enhance their competitive positions. The types of research include strategic planning, forecasting, feasibility studies, community assessments, fiscal and economic impact analysis, and labor market studies to name a few.
If your community has a need for economic development research, is willing to become actively involved in the project during the study phase and follow-up implementation, and is willing to provide some level of cost match, Georgia Tech and EDA want to partner with you to conduct the research.
There are limited funds available and projects will be chosen based on local commitment, likelihood of implementation, level of cost match, and obviously a match with the capabilities of the research team at Georgia Tech. We look forward to getting your applications and partnering with you to meet your community’s research needs.
Chair's Column
Happy Birthday America & GEDA, too!
Trust that all of you had a nice day off to celebrate Independence Day, our 242nd birthday as a free country! We are so very blessed to live in such a great land that allows us the opportunity to pursue life, liberty and happiness. In Georgia we are fortunate for many reasons, not the least of which is that we have been ranked as the best business climate in the nation for five years straight! We’ve got a great quality of place and strong leadership that has brought us to where we are today.
Raymond Coloumbe, Jr., Executive Director, Rabun County Development Authority, has announced his plans to retire as of July 6.
Brandt Herndon, EDFP, formerly Vice President, Business Development, SEDA, has moved upstream to be the Chief Executive Officer, Effingham County Industrial Development Authority, Springfield.
John Scott, CEcD, formerly Project Manager, Brunswick & Glynn County Development Authority, is now the Vice President, Economic Development, Jackson County Chamber and Development Authority.
Saralyn Stafford, CEcD, IOM, formerly the Division Director, Community Development, DCA is now the Assistant Director for Rural Development for the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Matthew Thomas, formerly with the City of Canton, is now with the City of Alpharetta as the Economic Development Manager.
There were a couple of nice articles on Roy Cooper, who passed away on Monday, June 11th. Click HERE for the AJC article by Scott Trubey, and HERE for the Saporta Report article by Maria Saporta. Read Roy’s obituary HERE. Rest in peace, dear friend!
GEDA New Members
Ellen Hill, Valdosta Main Street Shannon James, Sr., Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance Catherine Lee, City of Chamblee
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.
Project Announcements
July 3, 2018 – The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) announced that Manus Bio Inc., a supplier of natural ingredients, will create up to 50 jobs through the acquisition of a manufacturing facility in Richmond County. Newly created jobs include positions in product development, manufacturing and distribution.
A shout out to the team members involved in getting to this announcement: Cal Wray, President, Augusta Economic Development Authority; Sunny Anderson, Project Manager, GDEcD Global Commerce Division and former Project Manager, Laura Pemberton; and Lonnie Smallwood, Senior Project Manager, Georgia EMC. Read more…
GE Appliances to create 100 jobs in Jackson County - Manufacturer of household appliances to invest $55 million in Commerce distribution center
June 14, 2018 - Governor Nathan Deal announced that GE Appliances, a manufacturer of household appliances, will create 100 jobs and invest $55 million in a new Southeast Region Appliance Distribution Center in Commerce. Construction of the new facility will be completed by April 2019.
Congratulations to the team which worked to announce this project, including: Jim Shaw, President/CEO/Director of Economic Development, Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce; Joshua Stephens, Senior Project Manager, Georgia Department of Economic Development Global Commerce Division; and Grant Cagle, Business Development, Electric Cities of Georgia. Read more…
Dutch manufacturer to create more than 100 jobs in Hall County - VDL Groep to invest $17 million in Hall County manufacturing facility
June 13, 2018 - Governor Nathan Deal announced that VDL Groep, an international industrial and manufacturing company, will create 110 jobs and invest $17 million in Hall County. New jobs will include positions in engineering, manufacturing and general sales administration.
Kudos to Tim Evans, Vice President – Economic Development, Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce; Nico Wijnberg, Director of International Investment, Georgia Department of Economic Development Global Commerce Division; Mary Beth Flournoy, Project Manager, Georgia Power; and Georgia Quick Start; who worked to locate this project. Read more…
Other Announcements
Applications for 2018 Georgia Automotive Awards now open
The Georgia Department of Economic Development is excited to announce that it is accepting nominations for the 2018 Georgia Automotive Awards. Now in its third year, the Georgia Automotive Awards were developed to elevate the industry’s profile, recognize individual companies for their contributions, and celebrate the industry’s collective accomplishments. Anyone may nominate a company, and a company may nominate itself for an award. Winners will be announced in October.
Last year’s Georgia Automotive Award winners include:
Elan Technology – Innovator of the Year
TD Automotive Compressor Georgia and Toyota Industries Compressor Parts America, Co. – Automotive Supplier of the Year
Mercedes-Benz USA – Community Impact Award
Lund International – Georgia Automotive Company of the Year
Greg Vitek, IMS Gear Georgia, Inc – Randy Jackson Leader of the Year Award
To complete a nomination for the 2018 Georgia Automotive Awards, click here. Applications close August 3.
Grants Training in Rome, GA - July 26-27, 2018
Georgia Northwestern Technical College and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grants workshop in Rome, July 26-27, 2018. This training is applicable to grant seekers across all disciplines. Attend this class and you'll learn how to find grants and write winning grant proposals.
Plan now to attend the GEDA 2018 Annual Conference (AC18) in Savannah. SIX (6) scholarships of $600 each have been approved by the GEDA board for attendees at the AC18. Apply today for a GEDA Professional Development grant.
Also, you can attend one of the University of Georgia’s Certified Economic Developer courses, or one of the courses sponsored by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC)! IEDC will have its Annual Conference in Atlanta this September 30-October 3 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, with the theme of Inclusive Economic Development – Fulfilling Dreams.
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.
Public Policy Committee
The GEDA Public Policy Committee will be sending out a survey to gain a better understanding of your public policy interests and incentives. Be on the look out for the survey, and let us hear from you by completing the short survey. Thank you!
Rural Development SIG
August 14-15. The Georgia House of Representatives Rural Development Council will meet in Elberton at the Elbert County Campus of Athens Technical College, 1317 Athens Highway. The Council is in its second year of committee hearings and will discuss “Economic Development and Incentives for Regionalism.” It plans to meet on the afternoon of the 14th beginning at 12:30pm and on the morning of the 15th beginning at 8:00am.
August 20, 2:00pm. After the August GEDA luncheon, our SIG is presenting a panel of speakers to address the current relevance of industrial spec buildings in rural Georgia. We’ll illustrate what buildings are currently on the market and discuss the risks and rewards of constructing such buildings. Our confirmed speakers are Rick McCaskill of the Development Authority of Bainbridge and Decatur County, Greg Haynes of CBRE, and John Drake of Pattillo Construction. We’ll also likely have someone from the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Electric Cities of Georgia has graciously offered their boardroom at Suite 850, 75 Fifth Street, NW, Atlanta, for our meeting.
September 19-21. GEDA’s annual conference in Savannah will also address topics relevant to rural economic development.
October 3-4. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Rural Prosperity Summit in Tifton.
Entrepreneurship SIG
GDEcD and GEDA are happy to announce that nominations for the 2019 Small Business ROCK STARS will open July 15 and close September 15. We have two months to encourage our small businesses to apply or you may nominate them yourselves. A few changes for the upcoming year include the addition of categories and also peer-to-peer judging, where the 2018 ROCK STARS will judge the finalists. So visit www.georgia.org/rockstars July 15 and let the nominations begin. Questions? Mary Ellen McClanahan at memcclanahan@georgia.org or 404-962-4820.
Development Authority Executives Committee
Beginning with FY2018, local authorities in Georgia will have a single annual reporting responsibility to the Department of Community Affairs.
The previous Authority Registration (due January 1) and Report of Authority Finance are being combined into the single “Annual Authority Registration and Finance Report,” or AARF. The AARF will be due within six months of the conclusion of the authority’s fiscal year – for example, authorities with a FYE date of June 30, 2018, the AARF is due December 31, 2018; for authorities with a FYE date of December 31, 2018, the AARF is due June 30, 2019.
All reporting will continue to be web-based and authorities will use their DCA-issued User ID and Password to complete the form.
Keep an eye out for additional information on the transition from the Department of Community Affairs in the coming weeks!
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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GDEcD and GEDA Joint Announcement 
