Economics

B2B Stories

More than $13 Million to SRP Members for Helene Relief

Almost two months after Hurricane Helene slammed the CSRA with 100 mph winds, signs of the storm to homes and businesses are still a reminder of the initial devastation. All ten counties served by SRP Federal Credit Union were significantly impacted. Recovery is a slow process, but SRP has stepped up to support both its member-owners and team members during the aftermath. The company has provided Emergency Relief Loans, Skip-a-Pay options on consumer loans, and waived or refunded various operational fees in the amount of $13.6 million in total relief.

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B2B Stories

Divvying up tax $ for CSRA tourism

The committee that oversees income collected through the accommodations tax heard from North Augusta organizations hoping for a financial boost for next year. Members of the Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee received 13 requests from nonprofit organizations and the city’s Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (PRT) departments. The city’s 3% tax is collected from people who visit the city and stay in local accommodations. Some events attract major crowds with people staying one or more nights. John Felak, owner of Lookaway Inn and Chairman of the committee, told ABD the city is

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B2B Stories

Big investment in mobile training

Augusta Technical College has received a $750,000 donation from Syensqo to develop a mobile learning center. A news release said the mobile unit will address critical challenges while supporting workforce enhancement and community development. “The lasting impact of COVID-19 and growing inflation have created significant barriers for students, particularly those from economically disadvantaged and rural backgrounds. Augusta Tech’s response, supported by Syensqo, aims to mitigate these challenges by providing more remote offerings through this state-of-the-art mobile lab,” read the release. “That is going to be used for our new mobile

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Remote worker survey of Augusta employees

Nationally, 13.8% of workers worked from home in 2023. Pre-pandemic, this number was 5.7%. Coworking Mag explored demographic, income, education, and industry data from the Census Bureau to profile the average remote worker in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). In Augusta, 10.1% or more than 28,600 people in the workforce are remote workers.  In tech-heavy cities such as Raleigh NC and Austin TX, remote workers make up almost 25 percent of the workforce. Of these remote workers, 63.6 percent are women, the second highest in the southeast behind Fayetteville

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B2B Stories

Guest Column: Strong Roots Can Weather Any Storm

In Georgia, where farming is more than a livelihood—it’s a way of life—Hurricane Helene tested those roots like few storms before. As the nation’s top pecan-producing state, Georgia takes great pride in its orchards and the farmers who tend them year after year. But Helene’s impact has left farms and rural communities with billions in damage, impacting pecan orchards especially hard and disrupting the broader supply chain. For Stuckey’s, a company that relies on Georgia pecans for nearly all of our products, this has been a wake-up call about just

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B2B Stories

Tourism means big bucks in metro Augusta

The economic impact tourism has on Augusta and the surrounding area was celebrated by Destination Augusta, the Augusta Sports Council, and Film Augusta. The numbers were announced at the 2024 Destination Augusta Champions event. Bennish Brown, President and CEO of Destination Augusta (pictured above), told ABD the event is an opportunity to acknowledge the demanding work done by people in the tourism industry. “We realize we don’t do this by ourselves. We want to make sure this industry knows we appreciate them,” he said. “We are the third largest employment

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B2B Stories

Legislative Breakfast Spotlights Workforce-Education Connection

Sonny Perdue, Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, delivered the keynote address at the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Legislative Breakfast Thursday morning. Perdue has worn many hats over his career. Veterinarian, served in the Georgia State Senate, two terms as Georgia Governor and Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He said serving as Chancellor is the most impactful job he has ever had. “We have over 350,000 lives a year in our university system, learners that are looking for life changes,” he said. “And that’s the

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B2B Stories

CSRA company expands with $4 million investment

The parent company of a manufacturing company on West Five Notch Road in Edgefield County, just south of Murrah Road, plans to expand. A news release from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) announced Portland Bolt and Manufacturing will add a new facility alongside the former Southern Anchor Bolt facility. The $4.3 million investment will create more than 20 jobs. “We applaud Portland Bolt’s continued investment in Edgefield County and the new opportunities it creates for South Carolinians with this expansion. This announcement highlights Portland Bolt’s commitment to our community,

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B2B Stories

SRP accelerate$ Augusta

Augusta Technical College, in partnership with the Downtown Development Authority of Augusta, has announced that SRP is the naming sponsor for Accelerate Augusta, the region’s newest small business incubator and microenterprise center. SRP has made a significant multi-year commitment to support the project. As a result, the initiative will be referred to as “Accelerate Augusta Powered by SRP” for the next 10 years. SRP’s investment will provide furnishings and technology for the program, which will be headquartered at 600 Broad Street, as well as underwrite training programs for emerging businesses.

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Navigating federal recovery programs after Helene

The Small Business Administration (SBA) joined with the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce to explain the types of loans available to recover after the storm. SBA is best known for assisting small businesses with financial needs, including startup and disaster recovery. However, the agency held a workshop on Friday to explain it can also help homeowners, renters, and nonprofit organizations. Stephen Clark, Public Affairs Specialist, told ABD they hold workshops like the one in North Augusta to reach as many people as possible. “We do have physical damage disaster loans

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