Consumer Stories

Stanley Donen: The South Carolinian who changed movie musicals

April 13th marked what would have been the 100th birthday of one of the most under-appreciated maestros of American movies, Stanley Donen. Though his name is not as immediately recognized among the masses compared to the likes of his contemporaries, he is synonymous with an entire genre of film – where Alfred Hitchcock was a thriller and Frank Capra was the American dream, Donen, for a while, was the movie musical. Born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1924, Donen fell in love with movies at age 9, watching Fred Astaire

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Women in Business

Women in Business: Alicia Fitts

Name: Alicia Fitts Title: AVP, Business Development and Community Relations for Peach State Federal Credit Union Start Date: January 2013 Phone:  678.889.4328 Website:  https://www.peachstatefcu.org/ Today’s Woman to Know is a self-proclaimed, “employed-preneur” who has spent the last ten years in the finance and HR industry. As an Augusta native, Alicia Fitts has worked her way up through the financial ranks from teller to loan officer to HR manager and then found her passion in business development. Serving as both the Assistant Vice President of Business Development and Community Relations for Peach

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B2B Stories

How Parenting Helped Make Me Be a Better Leader/Manager

Last week, both my older daughter, who lives in Atlanta, and I had birthdays. She turned 26 and I turned a number significantly higher. Earlier this week, my younger daughter flew in from Seattle and my wife and I drove in from Augusta so that the four of us could celebrate the recent birthdays. Being with my two daughters (the younger turns 24 next month) caused me to reflect on over a quarter century of being a parent. In an interesting parallel, I became an academic department chair of approximately

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Consumer Stories

New laws boost good-paying jobs and healthcare

Gov. Brian Kemp (R), pen in hand, is working his way through the hundreds of bills passed in the Georgia General Assembly’s 2024 legislative session. On Friday, April 19, Kemp signed half a dozen pieces of legislation focused on healthcare in Georgia. “When I first ran for Governor, I made a promise that my administration would work to develop the entirety of our state, and that includes ensuring that Georgians in rural parts not only have access to good paying jobs, but also quality and affordable health care,” said Kemp

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Consumer Stories

Smoothie, healthy snack franchise opens

Franchise owners, Antwon Wade and Damion McCray held the grand opening of a new Smoothie King last week at 814 Cabela Drive in Augusta. The prime spot is within The Shoppes at Riverwatch, right across from Dave and Busters and near the new Olive Garden. Smoothie King offers the original nutritional fresh-blended smoothie and other healthy retail products, including sports beverages, energy bars, healthy snacks, vitamin supplements, herbs, minerals, and other sports nutrition products. After more than a year of scouting the right location, the five-year lease was negotiated by Charlie

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Women in Business

Women to Know: Tiffany Faulk

Name: Tiffany Faulk Company/Title: Business Consultant, Best Office Solutions Start Date: March 2017 Phone: 706-437-9771 Web: www.bestofficesolutions.com For nearly 20 years, Tiffany Faulk was the face of Jefferson County High School as the front office administrative assistant. “I was the one who everything fell on,” Faulk told Augusta Business Daily.  “I was the ‘go to’ with the parents, the children, the staff. And I did love my job.” But in her heart, she knew she wanted more. “Sandi (Shields from Best Office Solutions) would come weekly to visit because we

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Earnings take a hit!

I have already reported the decline in employment in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area of just 200 jobs in February. Other labor market economic data is now available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate remained unchanged in February at 3.7%, while there was a small increase in the labor force of 277 people. The average weekly earnings declined to $932.59, the lowest since June last year. This represents a decrease of 3.5 percent over the last year at a time when inflation is still running at 3.2%.

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B2B Stories

Potential $285 million to fund school upgrades and property tax relief

Aiken County voters will be asked to decide the fate of the current one-cent sales tax that is funding projects in the school district. School district leadership outlined the value of continuing the tax during the April 18 Good Morning North Augusta Breakfast sponsored by the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce. Superintendent King Laurence told ABD it is important for the district to provide top-quality education in state-of-the-art facilities. He said it is important for students, teachers, and the community. “When businesses and families come to an area, one of

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Women in Business

Women to Know: Terra Carroll

Name: Terra Carroll Title: President/CEO, North Augusta Chamber of Commerce Start Date: August 2012 Phone: 803-279-2323 Website:  https://www.northaugustachamber.org/ As the President and CEO of the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, Terra Carroll is the face of the organization. When you call the Chamber office, most likely she answers the phone. When a business opens with a ribbon cutting, Terra is there. For the Small Business Roundtables to help local entrepreneurs build their businesses and for all of the other Chamber events, she is there. Like the Academy Award-winning movie, Terra Carroll

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B2B Stories

Car dealer pledges $500,000 to support Automotive Institute

“Together with partners like Will Schafer at Master Automotive, we are building a national model for automotive training,” said Dr. Jermaine Whirl, President of Augusta Tech. “The state of Georgia recognizes that automotive tech is a critical industry with far too few qualified individuals to fill the many available jobs. With this new facility, Augusta Tech will train more than 1,000 students per year to fill these lucrative jobs.” “There is a major need for a facility such as this in our community and we are excited to be a

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