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Georgia’s economic development leader shares news with CSRA business leaders

In Fiscal Year 2022 alone, Georgia has added more than 35,000 jobs and invested $12.9 billion in business growth, according to Pat Wilson. Wilson, the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, discussed jobs and state industries as the guest speaker for the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Member Economic Luncheon on Tuesday, April 26. The agency is responsible for overseeing the state’s business recruitment, small business growth, and tourism efforts, among others. “We create jobs in every corner of the state,” he said. “Many people think all the

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Economists agree on many things, including immigration policies

The United States (and the Medcalfe household) is deeply divided over many hot topics of the day. For example, should toast be buttered warm or cold? (Correct answer: warm). Should toilet paper go over or under? (Is this really a question of debate – OVER!) In economics circles, there is a remarkable consensus among economists about a range of economic matters. A new survey of American Economic Association members (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PSNIgpy37sbOBqQav4hqeokUyZZu1bQ0/view) found no consensus over just one out of 46 propositions. A strong consensus was seen in 15 of the propositions,

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B2B Stories

The new print shop offers innovative graphic solutions for small businesses

Billy and Mindy Van Veghel have built a successful design and print business by creating custom graphic solutions for small businesses. While many of the services they provide are inexpensive, others can be quite costly. One of these services is their shop, 411 Graphics, LLC located at 3105 Spring Grove Drive, Suite H3, off Deans Bridge in Augusta, which provides vehicle wrapping, a service that can cost thousands. Wrapping refers to completely or partially covering a vehicle in vinyl for advertising purposes. The Van Veghels wrapped vans for the new

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Stacey Campbell-Hopkins

Meet the woman who makes Duckworth Development run like a well-oiled machine

Name: Stacey Campbell-Hopkins Company/Title: Business Operations Manager for Duckworth Development Years Served: 7 years  Contact info: 706-922-6186 Stacey Campbell-Hopkins has found her dream job in an unlikely place – the male-dominated field of construction. Women comprise only 11 percent of the workforce in the industry. For executive positions, the number drops to 7 percent. To be both female and the Business Operations Manager of the fast-growing Duckworth Development makes her a phenomenon in the industry. When Campbell-Hopkins began working on her marketing degree in 2000, she took a job answering

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B2B Stories

New company offers tutoring in the CSRA

Need to brush up on your math skills, prepping for the SAT, or learning a second language for school or business? One-on-one tutoring services both in-home and online are now available through the Tutor Doctor. The husband-and-wife team of Aaron and Maria Washington provides tutors ranging from elementary students to adults. “I had looked at several franchise opportunities through a contact on LinkedIn and we decided Tutor Doctor was the best fit for us,” Aaron said. “The values and the family orientation of the company created a kind of educational

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Consumer Stories

Lower food prices coming to South Augusta

If you’ve been grocery shopping lately, you’ve probably experienced sticker shock after seeing the prices of meat, milk, cereal, and other staples. To save money, many families now shop at Aldi, an international grocery store chain that plans to build its fifth CSRA location in South Augusta. The new Aldi store will be located next to Wells Fargo at 3121 Peach Orchard Road, the former site of University Health’s South Richmond County Campus. It will be replaced with the 20,000-square-foot store. “Demolition has begun, and we hope to open in

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Consumer Stories

School’s new STEM center will prepare students for the local job market

Imagine a state-of-the-art science center, where students ranging from preschoolers to high school seniors can learn about robotics, virtual reality, and computer science. Augusta Preparatory Day School plans to build that type of center on its campus in Martinez to prepare its students for high-demand careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, according to Derrick Willard. Willard, Augusta Prep’s head of school, recently announced plans to build a two-story, 19,000-square-foot building called the W. Rodger Giles Center for Inquiry. Giles was a local restaurateur and real estate developer who bequeathed

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B2B Stories

Small Think

  Don MacNeil is the former Marketing Director of Windsor Jewelers and long-time on-air radio professional.   Is it just me, or… Small Think Small think. Short term it may better allow us to sleep at night, but guarantees we’ll never be a Steve Jobs (Apple) or a Jeff Bezos (Amazon). In a nutshell, it’s a risk-averse fear of going broke that informs every business decision we make and ultimately decides the path of our lives. When I first had the thought to take this up with you, I envisioned

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