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Consumer Stories

Starbucks to open new Columbia County location

No matter where you live in the CSRA, you probably don’t have to drive very far to get to a Starbucks. The coffee giant will soon bring another location to Columbia County. The land has been cleared to make room for the new store, which will be located between Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Taco Bell on South Belair Road in Martinez. Starbucks already has numerous shops throughout Columbia County and the CSRA, including Grovetown, Evans, Augusta, and North Augusta. Coffee lovers can also visit locations in local Kroger and Target

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Story and Photos by Josh Heath August 18, 2022 No Comments
Shawna Woodward

Free Access: Real Talk Real Estate: Don’t believe everything you hear in the news about housing

Let me answer the main question everyone has these days: How’s the market? Well, I don’t expect our market to collapse or fall apart, and I am pretty certain that a monumental drop in values is not forecasted for our market. You cannot believe everything you hear on the news, my friends! Make sure you remember we are not a big metropolis like Los Angeles or Chicago. We have a very stable economy here. Every sector of the employment world can be found in our special little town! We have

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Shawna Woodward, Re/Max Reinvented Evans August 18, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Faith Friday: Sweet tale of retirement to proprietorship gives local woman new outlook of purpose

The logo of one local business depicts a cheerful, apron-donned woman whose head is in the shape of an icing-drizzled Bundt cake. However, for Katrina Golden, baking homemade goodies from scratch is not only in her head but also in her heart. The 52-year-old retiree is now taking her heart’s desire to the masses through Lil Mama’s Sweets and Treats. “My husband and son operate the business with me and we also have a small staff,” Golden said. “We started this business after I retired from the Social Security Administration

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Monique Williams August 18, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Local nonprofit to host 5K for a worthy cause

On Tuesday, in only two hours, the Augusta Dream Center provided food for 138 CSRA families, according to its Executive Director, Kellie Cardona. In about three weeks, with help from its corporate sponsors and the local community, the Center will host a race to help feed more families. The nonprofit will hold its third annual Run for Hope 5K on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 9 a.m. at its offices located at 3364 Peach Orchard Road in south Augusta, behind Stevens Creek Church. Corporate sponsors for the event include Cadence Bank,

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Josh Heath August 18, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Purpose-Fueled Leadership: Local pastor launches coaching group for Christian entrepreneurs

By the time Yannik McKie was 16, he had already experienced the pain of losing both of his parents to AIDS. But now, the local business owner, pastor, and nonprofit leader wants to help Christian entrepreneurs turn their pain into both a purpose and profits. McKie, founder, and CEO of Living in Purpose, a leadership training company, has launched a monthly program called the Purpose-Fueled Leadership Group Coaching. The group will meet on the third Wednesday of each month 6-8 p.m. at the Purpose Center located at 1650 Olive Road

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Josh Heath August 18, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Thoughts from the General: Doing the right thing – the power of integrity

I have the joy of teaching leadership in many settings. My favorite audiences are Emory University scholars (in three separate programs – the Executive MBA, MBA, and BBA programs). Trust, compassion, and integrity are always stressed. The following are four examples of integrity. An auditor blows the whistle  In the Pentagon, a major, who was an auditor, discovered that an Air Force general officer had manipulated a secret United States Air Force bank account. Over years, the general pocketed more than $300,000. Despite risks to his career, the young major forcefully raised the

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Ret. Maj. General Perry Smith August 17, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Allstate exploits a loophole to raise auto insurance rates in Georgia

The good hands of Allstate insurance are dipping deeper into the pockets of Georgia policyholders. According to Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, John King, Allstate is using a loophole in Georgia’s law to increase automobile insurance rates by 25 percent. “I am angry and disappointed that Allstate has chosen to exploit a loophole in state law to implement such a substantial increase in costs on hardworking Georgians when families are already struggling with historic inflation everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery store,” King said in a statement.

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Gary Kauffman August 17, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Business Lunch Review: First Watch

Editor’s Note: Our regular lunch reviewer, Wes Hennings, is taking a few weeks of paternity leave. While we assume he is still eating something, somewhere, he won’t be writing about it while he’s off duty. Meanwhile, ABD editor, Gary Kauffman will pinch-hit with the reviews of his lunches with a colleague, as a way to advise our business community on the good, the bad, and the tasty across the CSRA. He doesn’t let the restaurant know where he is going; his opinions are his own. He grades the restaurants he

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Gary Kauffman August 17, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Augusta-based staffing agency launches employee car giveaway

For many companies, offering financial incentives has become a way to recruit new employees. But an Augusta-based employment agency is offering an incentive that has four wheels and an engine. Sizemore Inc., which provides staffing and recruiting services for janitorial, security, and other types of positions, is giving its new and current employees the chance to win a brand-new car. To be eligible, a worker must be employed full-time by Thursday, Sept. 1, and have perfect attendance until the drawing, which will be held on Saturday, Dec. 24. The giveaway

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Josh Heath August 17, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Mayor-elect packs the house of Real Estate and Business leaders

More than 200 realtors and home-oriented business owners got “sold” by a self-proclaimed salesman, Augusta Mayor-elect Garnett Johnson. Johnson was the keynote speaker at the bi-monthly Greater Augusta Association of Realtors—a group of more than 2,000 members. “I need your help,” Johnson told the capacity crowd. “Your group is so important to welcoming people into our area,” he said. The owner of Augusta Office Solutions and Modern Business Workplace Solutions in downtown Augusta said his next-door neighbor was almost talked out of moving onto Walton Way— to look at Columbia

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Neil Gordon August 17, 2022 No Comments
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