Mike Cleary, board member for Leadership Augusta, believes that what is good for Augusta is good for the entire Central Savannah River Area (CSRA), or as he likes to call it, the Augusta Rivers Region. He and the rest of the group at Leadership Augusta hosted the 2016 Regional Leadership Forum in early May, and this year’s theme for the event was “Regionalism.”

“This is a program where we gather business leaders and leaders in government together to teach them about what is going on in the region and that allows them to operate more efficiently… and play a role in public service as well,” Cleary said. “It helps to build a more vibrant leadership community.”

The leadership forum included class members and alumni from Leadership Augusta, Leadership Columbia County, Leadership North Augusta and Leadership Aiken. About 130 participants attended this year.

The agenda covered four areas of focus that the team felt impacted leaders in the region and included Economic Development, Government, Industry and Employment and Medicine. Each of these branches of industry was discussed by a panel of experts corresponding to each subject, with regionalism heavily in mind.  

Speaking on the Economic Development Panel were Walter Sprouse, Executive Director of the Augusta Economic Development Authority and Robbie Bennet, Executive Director of the Development Authority of Columbia County.

The following panel, Government, was made up of Congressman Rick Allen, 12th Congressional District of Georgia; COL Sam Anderson, Garrison Commander of Fort Gordon; Don Grantham, Department of Transportation, District 12; and Keith Wood, Vice President of Marketing and Communications Management Services Group, AECOM. 

The third panel covered the topic of Industry and Employment and featured Dave Brendza, Vice President/General Manager of ADP Augusta Solution Center; Barry White, President and CEO of Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau; and Tom Blanchard, President of Blanchard and Calhoun Real Estate Co.

The final panel of the day, Medicine, included several distinguished medical professionals from the region including Dr. Shawn Fagan, Surgeon at Joseph M. Still Burn Centers, Inc.; COL Michael Weber, Commander of Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center; Dr. Timothy Hunter, Medical Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at University's Heart and Vascular Institute; and Jim Mumford, Administrative Director of the Children's Hospital of Georgia.

The day concluded with Keynote Speaker Mike Randle, Owner and Publisher of Southern Business and Development Magazine. The moderator and emcee of the day was Dr. Tony Robinson of the James M. Hull College of Business, Augusta University.

“Economically speaking, the idea we were all pushing is what is good for one region or business is good for all,” Cleary explained. “We want to bring more people and companies to our region, so need to look at the ways business and government can work together … Like the decision to bring a new cyber command to Fort Gordon; to do this, people coming here are looking at the whole area and we have to pull together to make sure we are more alluring than other areas… We are going to need thousands of more resources to bring in the families that come along with the new cyber command and that will mean more schools and jobs so we can bring in people who want to live in the Augusta Rivers Region.

“…. The economy, education resources and government have to work together. I came here in 2010 and fell in love with the area and I’m not leaving. And, in his closing address, Randle was talking about just that. 

“We are actually in better shape than most people perceive. We’ve actually had a net positive growth in jobs in the Southeast. … We have something really important going on in the Augusta Rivers Region.”

Cleary said the feedback he has received about the forum has been very positive.

“People told me it was very informative and the breadth of information was outstanding. Some said it was great to have actual people and people who actually know what they are talking about. … We got the people who are the sources of information … to speak with authority and speak succinctly.

“We told them the theme: we need to act like a region…instead of acting in my own area of interest.

“We live in an up-and-coming region and Leadership Augusta took the challenge of pushing regionalism. The activity that will go on in this area to make it a prime area in the country, and what will go on in next 20 years, means it is critical for us to come together and work together in the next two to three years or we will miss the train on getting the right companies if we don’t come together. … That’s why it’s important to have the discussion now.”