B2B Stories

CSRA bank celebrates 120th anniversary

When Queensborough National Bank & Trust was founded, Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House. The local bank just celebrated its 120th anniversary. Founded in May 1902, it was originally called the First National Bank of Louisville, which is a small town located about an hour from Augusta. Queensborough now has 27 locations in towns throughout Georgia, including Augusta, Waynesboro, Sylvania, and Statesboro. The bank, which was established with only a few employees, now has a staff of more than 350 people, and currently manages more than $2 billion in

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Employee Benefits

Free Access: The correlation between StubHub and health insurance

Tom Mastny went from a Major League pitcher to helping local businesses with their health care benefits with The Pennant Group. In this interview with Neil Gordon, Tom tells us about the similarities between online ticketing giant StubHub and shopping for health insurance.

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B2B Stories

Simon says: Augusta economic forecast gloomy as jobs continue post-pandemic lag

Employment in the Augusta MSA has increased by 4,000 jobs in the last year, through April – the latest available data, but remains more than 6,000 jobs off the pre-pandemic peak (see chart below). As I have written about in recent articles (April 13, May 4), this makes Augusta one of the worst-performing economies in Georgia. The more bad news was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on May 18. Job openings in Georgia declined by 33,000 in March. Georgia was one of four states to see a decline,

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Consumer Stories

New golf organization gives local amateurs the PGA tour experience

For decades, Augustans have watched some of the greatest players on the professional tour come through the area. Now, some of the great local amateur players – and even the not-so-great ones – have an opportunity to experience the tour life. Marcus Maddox, a sales consultant for KAMO, has created the Augusta chapter of the Amateur Players Tour, a national organization with tours in about 40 cities nationwide. “It’s designed to provide the average Joe with the PGA tour experience,” Maddox said. “It’s for players of all skill sets.” The

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Consumer Stories

Two business owners win Man and Women of the Year honors

Erik Smith of Grovetown and Secelia Brown of Evans are the local winners of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s annual Man and Woman of the Year contest. Smith raised $46,469 and Brown $135,097 to support LLS’ goal to find cures for blood cancers. “Congratulations to our winners, and to all of our candidates and campaign team members who participated in this year’s Man & Woman of the Year campaign,” said Amanda, Yancey, LLS Georgia–South Carolina Executive Director. “These exceptional volunteers are all unstoppable leaders in their communities. Together, we are

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Kay Benitez

Kay Benitez makes a living playing with makeup

Name: Kay Benitez Company/Title: Mary Kay Sales Director Phone: 803-295-8111 Little girls love playing with makeup. Sometimes, they grow up and turn that into a successful business. Kay Benitez has built a thriving career, thanks to Mary Kay cosmetics. The company started in 1963 with a few simple products. Over the years, Mary Kay has developed in 35 countries with more than 3 million consultants, averaging $60,000 a year. Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants who reach the status of Mary Kay Independent Sales Directors can earn the use of a

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B2B Stories

Georgia businesses leader says worker shortage will continue for years

If you think the workforce shortage is a short-term problem, think again, says Chris Clark. Clark, President, and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce said the problem is expected to affect businesses worldwide for the next 10-12 years. He discussed the state of Georgia’s economy and possible strategies for improving it in a presentation called “The New Georgia Economy” on Thursday, May 26 at Augusta University. One of the topics he discussed was workforce development. Clark said there are currently 11 million job openings nationwide, 400,000 of which are

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B2B Stories

Georgia small businesses go worldwide

    Georgia celebrates small businesses that trade internationally and Coca-Cola is discontinuing one of its drinks. – Augusta Business Daily by Mike Petchenik  

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Consumer Stories

Local medical nonprofit unveils the newest office in South Augusta

Christ Community Health’s new South Augusta location is already open and busy, but the official ribbon-cutting took place on Thursday, May 26. The office is located next to Barney’s Pharmacy at 2604 Peach Orchard Road, Suite 200. It opened in December 2021. “Over the past five months, they have handled over 3,000 patient visits,” CEO, Don Branum said. The non-profit organization, which provides a variety of health care services for children and adults throughout the CSRA, continues to serve uninsured and underinsured patients throughout the CSRA, thanks to financial support

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