Consumer Stories

National toilet paper/paper towel brand launches in CSRA

In 2009, Augusta’s Ray Carnes built his family-focused legacy with Recteq. In 2023, he expanded his brand with Ray Ray’s car wash. Now, he hopes to be king of the paper towel and toilet paper space, designed for healthier homes and cleaner living. “At Recteq, we built products that changed the way people cook — Throne Bamboo does the same for how people clean,” said Ray Carnes, founder of Throne Bamboo. “We spent 18 months perfecting every detail so families could have products that are good for their homes and

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B2B Stories

Gearing up for Georgia’s 2026 legislative session

The Columbia County Exhibition Center was filled on Thursday with business owners and community leadership eager to get insights into the 2026 Georgia Legislative session. The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Legislative Breakfast brought together state Senator Lee Anderson (R-District 24) and Representatives Dr. Mark Newton (R-District 127) and Gary Richardson (R-District 125) for a panel discussion. “I think it’s important for the business community to know what’s coming, to know what’s going to be discussed in Atlanta, to be able to talk to members and to be able

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B2B Stories

Bank with 3 branches in the CSRA is sold

Southern Financial Corporation and Southern Bank entered into a definitive agreement to sell their Georgia branches to Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union (“Palmetto Citizens”). Palmetto Citizens will acquire the physical locations in Richmond and Burke counties. A little more than $100 million in deposits and loan accounts associated with Southern Bank’s four branches located in Georgia will be transferred upon consummation of the transaction. Southern Bank will continue to operate as an independent community bank. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to customary

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B2B Stories

Succession Planning: A Braves New World

On Monday, the Atlanta Braves named Walt Weiss as its 49th manager in franchise history, taking over for Brian Snitker, who retired at the conclusion of the 2025 season after being the Braves manager since early in the 2016 season. Snitker took over the Braves amid a team rebuild but helped quickly turn things around, leading the team to six straight National League East championships from 2018 to 2023, with an additional playoff appearance in 2024 and a World Series championship in 2021. Since 1901, only Snitker’s mentor, Bobby Cox,

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B2B Stories

Zoning for a major development in South Augusta

The rezoning of a portion of a 280-acre tract clears the way for the development of a major warehouse project near the Augusta Regional Airport. If the deal goes through, a 300,000 square foot building will be built on the property. Members of the Augusta Planning Commission approved a request to rezone 100 acres from Agricultural (A) to Heavy Industrial (HI) at 1550 Four H Club Road. Ashley Catterton, development service administrator with Augusta Planning, noted that nearby tracts have already been rezoned from A to Light Industrial (LI). The

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Consumer Stories

Rallying around Federal workers at Augusta’s airport

As the Federal government shutdown enters its second month, employees at Augusta Regional Airport (AGS) are rallying around coworkers going without a paycheck. Impacted employees include those working with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Those employees are part of what are considered “essential workers” who must continue to report to their jobs. Nationwide, an estimated 730,000 essential workers are going without a paycheck. Herbert Judon, Jr., the airport’s executive director, briefed members of the Aviation Commission on how the shutdown is being felt at

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B2B Stories

Today’s “Feel Good” Celebration Awards

How can you have “The Feel-Good City” celebration without the influence of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown? Deanna Brown Thomas, the daughter of the hardest working man in show business, leads a group of honorees celebrated at the annual Augusta City of Tourism event this afternoon at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center. Destination Augusta tourism leaders will share successes from 2025 visits and plans for 2026 and beyond. The program will also include the presentation of the Augusta Tourism Awards, honoring the individuals and organizations whose passion

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Awards

Best in Business deadline TODAY

In case you missed the notices from the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, today is the last day to nominate companies or fill out an application to take home “Best in Business” awards. HERE is the link to fill out the form. Georgia Power was named Corporation of the Year in 2024, thanks in part to the Herculean efforts during Hurricane Helene. The co-owners of Laziza Mediterranean Grill were named Entrepreneur of the Year last year in part because of the unique benefits they offer its employees and their growth

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Consumer Stories

World-famous company partners with Aiken Tech

A company whose name personifies quality and luxury is joining with Aiken Technical College (ATC) to train new employees. An information session on Thursday will go over how to enroll. Rolls-Royce Power Solutions America is collaborating with the school to create a new, pre-apprenticeship program. Dr. Steven Simmons, Dean of the School of Technical and Continuing Education, told ABD that it will provide individuals with the basic knowledge and skills of a particular discipline, like machine tool technology, to have those skill sets prior to going into a full apprenticeship

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: ADP job survey is telling for Georgia/South Carolina

Publisher’s Note: ADP is a major employer in Augusta and has represented more than 26 million employees through payroll and HR-type services since 2010. Today, Dr. Simon Medcalfe utilizes their numbers as an alternative to Uncle Sam. Although the continued government shutdown has restricted timely economic data releases, there is still economic data to be found from other sources. The latest ADP report indicated that private employment fell by 32,000 in September (we do not have the official government data for September). This was on top of a smaller 3,000

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