B2B Stories

Mobile lab to boost manufacturing training

A mobile lab that will help provide critical workforce training resources in rural areas of Aiken County has arrived at Aiken Technical College. The three mobile labs were unveiled during an event in early February at the William H. “Billy” O’Dell Upstate Center for Manufacturing Excellence in Greenwood. It is a collaborative project joining Aiken Tech with Piedmont and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical Colleges. It is targeting needs across a 10-county area. Funding for the labs, $4.9 million, came from the U.S Labor Department through its Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grant program.

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Consumer Stories

Celebrity waiters raise more than $10k for Children’s Place

Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), the liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS), raised $10,113 for Children’s Place Inc., a local United Way agency, at the recent annual Celebrity Waiter Night fundraiser. SRMC employees and managers volunteered at Electric Eats in downtown Aiken, working as “celebrity waiters,” where they served guests in exchange for donations for the non-profit agency. On top of the $4,113 raised at the event, SRMC contributed $5,000, and DBD, Inc. donated $1,000 to the cause. All money raised helps fund Children’s Place, which operates

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B2B Stories

Dealing with your Oakmont

Father’s Day is always special for me. Now that my two daughters are well into adulthood, it is a great time for me to reflect on their childhoods and the many great memories that I have of those times. However, it is also a special day for me to think about my own father, not just because it is Father’s Day, but also because it is traditionally the day of the final round of the golf’s US Open. While neither my dad nor I would be mistaken for great golfers,

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B2B Stories

Summer camp to spark students at the Cyber Center

The Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center was the high-tech campground for a four-day summer camp and pitch competition. Purpose-Fueled Leader, an executive coaching and consulting firm based in the Shaffer-MacCartney Building, launched its first “Spark the Hustle: Youth Entrepreneurship Lab.” “It’s for rising eighth graders to rising 12th graders. It’s a four-day camp,” Anna Bradsher, Director of Strategy, Trainer and Coach, told ABD. “We’ve really boiled down to the fundamentals of business, because a lot of times we overcomplicate things. So, we’re going to help you find your product,

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: 2025 Job Market and Economy

It’s been an interesting start economically to 2025. Dr. Simon Medcalfe did a deep dive into the numbers to see where we started and where we are heading. Here’s the audio version.

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Awards/Celebrations

Chocolate champion for 20 years

You are invited to the 20th Anniversary of La Bonbonniere this Friday from 4 to 7 P.M. No surprise. Chocolate is on the menu. Really good chocolate. “Starting out in 2005, I never thought the business would grow to the success it is today, and it really is all thanks to the community. “I started out with a small shop with the cheapest rent I could find, and we had a limited chocolate selection of around ten flavors. While ten flavors may seem like a good amount, all the chocolate

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B2B Stories

2 Questions for the Dean: Case Competition

Chances are, you’ve heard about “Shark Tank”. Augusta University’s Hull College of Business does something similar. Here are 2 questions for the Dean to explain Hull’s version and how it promotes getting a taste of the real world. ABD: What is the case competition for students? HULL: So, our Case Competition is an event that we hold every year where students pair up and they form teams. And as a team, they get a case that they then work on with a faculty mentor, they write a memo outlining various

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B2B Stories

Issuing a call to young professionals in the CSRA

An organization on one side of the Savannah River is inviting the next generation of business leaders to work together. The Aiken Young Professionals (AYP) organization is offered by the Aiken Chamber of Commerce to young professionals between 22 and 39 years of age. The purpose is to attract, engage, and retain young leaders in Aiken County. It can be particularly beneficial for newcomers looking to meet people and build a local network of contacts. “It’s really making those connections,” Whitney Goodwin told ABD. “We are incorporating some more activities

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Consumer Stories

FREE Coffee for Grand Opening Week

The Gordon’s spent $405 at our favorite store, Costco, but we did get free store samples and a complimentary German Chocolate flavored cup of coffee last weekend. Marketing baristas were out front of Costco letting people know about today’s grand opening of a coffee drive-thru in West Augusta. 7 Brew officially opens today on the old Smith’s Chevron property at 3600 Walton Way Extension. Customers are invited to a free small flavored coffee all week long during “Community Hours” from 8-9 A.M, Noon- 1 P.M., and 5-6 P.M. That promotion

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B2B Stories

CSRA students and others interning at SRMC

More than seventy students from across the country have joined Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) this summer to be a part of its growing internship program. The college interns will be taking on meaningful projects to help SRMC advance its mission of treating the millions of gallons of Cold War legacy radioactive waste remaining in tanks at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The students are bringing a fresh perspective to the areas of engineering, environmental science, biology, chemistry, business, communications, and more. SRMC President and Program Manager, Tom Burns, said SRMC

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