Features

• UGA Study: Each College Graduate Adds $2M to Georgia’s GDP

  November 13, 2020

  Georgians have long viewed higher education as the fastest path to a brighter future, but new research shows how college graduates also fuel the state’s economic engine.

• Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club Announces Contribution to Augusta Community

  November 12, 2020

  Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, announced Wednesday that the Club and its partners at AT&T, Bank of America and IBM are making a combined contribution of $10 million to the Augusta community that will help spur the redevelopment of the nearby Harrisburg and Laney Walker neighborhoods, a noteworthy but historically underserved portion of the city’s urban core.

• University System of Georgia Enrollment Increases to Record High

  November 12, 2020

  University System of Georgia (USG) enrollment has reached an all-time high of 341,485 students, according to USG’s Fall 2020 Semester Enrollment Report. The record enrollment represents a 2.4% (7,978 students) increase over Fall 2019, extending USG’s growth trend to seven consecutive years.

• EY Survey: US Executives Rethink Corporate Strategies in Anticipation of Post-Election Legislation, Regulation and Policy Changes

  November 12, 2020

  On the heels of the US elections, US executives are responding to uncertainty from the impending changes in legislation, regulations and policy by rethinking their corporate strategies in the US and abroad, according to the Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) Election Pulse Strategy Survey, conducted by EY US Strategy and Transactions.

• Georgia Chamber Announces an All-Virtual 2021 Eggs & Issues Breakfast

  November 11, 2020

  The Georgia Chamber announces that it will host its annual marquee event, the Eggs and Issues Breakfast, as an all-virtual program on January 13, 2021. The Georgia Chamber Eggs and Issues Breakfast is the largest, most prolific program that the Chamber hosts each and every year with more than 3,000 attendees statewide.

• Georgia Graduation Rate Increases Again, to 83.8 Percent

  November 11, 2020

  Georgia's graduation rate increased again in 2020, rising to 83.8 percent – an all-time high since the state began using the adjusted cohort calculation now required by federal law, and up from 82 percent in 2019.

• Tripadvisor Reveals 2020 Thanksgiving Travel Index: Over Half of Americans Still Traveling

  November 10, 2020

  Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel platform, today released findings from its Thanksgiving Travel Index for 2020, providing insights into where Americans are traveling for the holiday. The big takeaway is that despite COVID-19 concerns, more than half - 56 percent - of Americans still intend to travel this Thanksgiving.

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Benefits Exhaust for Many in Georgia

  November 06, 2020

  Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), established under the March Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, has provided almost $1.7 billion in benefits to over 323,000 Georgians during the pandemic.

• Gov. Kemp Announces New Senior Leadership

  November 04, 2020

  Governor Brian P. Kemp announced recent additions to the Kemp Administration's senior leadership team.

• Chamber’s Third Thursday Business Builder Offering Guidance on GDOT's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program

  November 03, 2020

  The Augusta Metro Chamber's November Third Thursday Business Builder webinar will offer guidance on the benefits and eligibility of the Georgia Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (DBE).

• SRNS Contributes $27,000 To Golden Harvest Food Bank

  November 03, 2020

  Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has made a $27,000 donation to the Golden Harvest Food Bank, to support their mission across Georgia and South Carolina.

• Georgia Lottery Posts Record Quarter for HOPE, Pre-K

  November 03, 2020

  Governor Brian P. Kemp announced the Georgia Lottery Corp.’s most profitable quarter in its 27-year history. The Georgia Lottery registered more than $383,352,000 in profits for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, bringing the total transferred to the State Treasury’s Lottery for Education Account to approximately $22.7 billion.

• Georgia Chamber CEO Chris Clark: The Future of Energy

  October 30, 2020

  I recently participated in the Energy Forward virtual forum produced by Gas South and Cobb EMC. The discussion was eye opening and the take-away clear. Energy plays a more critical role than ever in site selection decisions and job growth. In many ways, energy investments are actually creating and supporting a “New Georgia Economy.”

• Holiday Travel Season Approaching; Pandemic Remains a Concern, Yet Confidence is Growing

  October 30, 2020

  Georgians are cautiously developing plans for the holiday travel season. A new AAA survey determined that the pandemic, flexibility of parents working from home and virtual school for students are key influencers regarding how comfortable people feel about traveling in the coming months.

• 2020 Women In Business Signature Event with Rebecca Darwin, CEO of Garden & Gun

  October 29, 2020

  The Augusta Metro Chamber is honored to announce Rebecca Darwin, cofounder & CEO of Garden & Gun magazine as the keynote speaker for their 2020 Women In Business Signature Event.

• Georgia Power's Paul Bowers to Retire, Succession Plan Announced

  October 29, 2020

  Georgia Power today announced that Chris Womack has been elected by the Georgia Power Board of Directors to succeed Paul Bowers as the company's chairman, president and CEO. Bowers' retirement is scheduled to coincide with Vogtle Unit 3 fuel load, which is expected in April 2021.

• Topgolf, Callaway Golf Announce Blockbuster Merger to Create Golf Industry Giant

  October 29, 2020

  Callaway and Topgolf Entertainment Group today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement.

• State’s Public-Private Partnership Provides Immediate Care to Georgians During COVID-19 Crisis

  October 28, 2020

  It was Tuesday morning, March 24. While most Georgians were still learning about a deadly new virus that just landed on American shores, the South Georgia town of Albany had suddenly become the world’s fourth largest epicenter of Covid-19 patients.

• Georgia International Trade Office Earns Unprecedented Fourth U.S. Department of Commerce Award for Export Services

  October 26, 2020

  The Georgia Department of Economic Development today announced that its International Trade division has earned a President’s “E Star” Award for Export Service from the U.S. Department of Commerce in recognition of “continuing significant contributions to an increase in U.S. exports.

• Augusta University Generates Over $2B for Georgia’s Economy

  October 23, 2020

  Augusta University is helping to boost Georgia’s economy. The university, including Augusta University Health, has contributed $2.6 billion to the state’s economy in the fiscal year 2019, according to a recent report from the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.

• Georgia Power Achieves Latest Round of Vogtle Milestones, Lays Out Final Steps to Completion of Unit 3

  October 23, 2020

  Georgia Power announced in a filing with the Georgia Public Service Commission the completion of the latest round of milestones at the Vogtle nuclear expansion project, along with an update on the remaining Unit 3 major milestones.

• Georgia Ports Authority Holds First Virtual State of the Port

  October 23, 2020

  In its first-ever virtual State of the Port Address, co-hosts Griff Lynch and Will McKnight took the Georgia Ports Authority’s online audience for an on-terminal view of infrastructure advancements the Authority is making to accommodate record container growth.

• Chick-fil-A Sauces Coming to Stores in Georgia

  October 23, 2020

  Chick-fil-A announced that bottles of its signature sauces will soon be available for purchase at retailers nationwide, with 100% of the royalties Chick-fil-A, Inc. receives from third-party retail sales supporting scholarships for Chick-fil-A restaurant Team Members.

• Augusta Regional Airport Wins Project of the Year from the Georgia Airports Association for the Third Time

  October 22, 2020

  On October 16th, the Georgia Airports Association (GAA) awarded the Augusta Regional Airport (AGS) their annual Commercial Service Airport Project of the Year for the third time.

• Gov. Kemp Names Brian Marlowe Leader of Rural Strike Team

  October 22, 2020

  Governor Brian P. Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp joined Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) Commissioner Pat Wilson during an event in the North Wing of the State Capitol to name Tift County Development Authority President and CEO Brian Marlowe as the new Deputy Commissioner for Rural Georgia.

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