The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce Vice President Blaire Marvin graduated from the Georgia Academy for Economic Development Region 7 Multi-Day Training Program on November 16, 2016. Blaire was one of 10 graduates from Augusta-Richmond County including Mayor Hardie Davis.

The Georgia Academy for Economic Development provided each of the graduates an opportunity to gain a unique understanding of the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional, and state levels. Class participants represented a number of professional and non-professional economic development fields,
including elected officials, public servants, business leaders, educators, and social service providers from 11 counties in the CSRA.

“One of the goals for the multi-day regional Academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation,” says Corinne Thornton, Director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. “Many times the participants discover the issues facing their community are the same as those facing other communities in their region, and can then combine limited resources to address the issue.”

The Academy’s multi-day program, taught one day a month over a four-month period, includes training in the basics of economic and community development, plus specialized segments on business recruitment and retention, tourism product development, downtown development, planning, and other essentials for community success. In addition, the
curriculum features specific leadership skills such as consensus building, ethics in public service, collaborative leadership and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development.