B2B Stories

B2B Stories

Simon Says: Economic choices during pandemic have consequences in education

October is National Bullying Prevention Month and finally, some good news from the pandemic. Bullying and cyberbullying dropped 30-35 percent as schools shifted to online learning in the spring of 2022. Given that one-fifth of high school students report being bullied each year and 16 percent are cyberbullied, this is a substantial decrease, amounting to about 1 million high schoolers. The negative effects of bullying are depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and behaviors. These harmful effects result in physical, mental, and economic challenges in adulthood for both the bullied and the

Read More »
B2B Stories

More money needed for state’s air cargo industry

  Report says Georgia needs to invest more money in air cargo improvements to compete and the tiny house festival is coming to Georgia. Enjoy the new video format of the Georgia Business Daily Business Update by Mike Petchenik.

Read More »
B2B Stories

Best friends build charcuterie board business in Aiken

Unlike most businesses during the height of Covid, especially restaurants that struggled to keep their doors open, grocery stores, albeit by curbside pickup or delivery, flourished. Families were staying home and cooking, but that wears thin after prepping, cooking, and cleaning day in and day out for months on end. Enter the charcuterie board. Best friends, Ashley Elvis and Casey Young started their company, Board in Aiken, in the fall of 2019. In the beginning, they made charcuterie boards for family and friends. Their business grew quickly from there. A

Read More »
B2B Stories

Mondays with Rick: Budget surplus gives Georgia economic boost

  Dr. Rick Franza, Dean of the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he talks about Georgia’s strong economy. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: Economic news lately often seems bleak, but things are a bit different for the state of Georgia. Even after filling the Rainy Day Fund (which allows the state government to keep running during an economic downturn) to its legal limit, we had a surplus of $6.58 billion. What’s the story

Read More »
B2B Stories

Longtime Augusta entrepreneur shares words of wisdom at home services meeting

After decades in business, serial entrepreneur, Jeff Annis discovered that profit sharing is one of the keys to employee retention. On Wednesday, Annis, founder of Advanced Services Pest Control, spoke to a group of real estate agents, loan officers, and home services professionals at this month’s CSRA Home Connections meeting. He said some of his long-term employees have told him they had considered leaving the company, but changed their minds when he began offering the lucrative profit-sharing incentive, which for most employees, meant they earned between 14 and 18 percent

Read More »
B2B Stories

Pedestrian bridge draws larger crowds to downtown businesses

Business at a downtown pet boutique has increased significantly, thanks to the reopening of the Fifth Street Bridge, according to Phillip Russum. Russum, a trainer at Fetch 501 located at 501 Broad St., which opened in June, said that’s especially true on weekends. “We’re obviously uniquely poised to take advantage of it because it’s right there,” he said. After being closed for more than two years, the pedestrian bridge, which cost nearly $11 million to complete, opened Saturday, Sept. 24, just in time for the Ironman 70.3 Augusta. The bridge

Read More »
B2B Stories

Local veteran to give away bottles of his barbecue sauce this weekend

After retiring from the U.S. Army, Lt. Col. Mark Douglass developed his own line of barbecue sauces, and he plans to give away more than $10,000 worth of it this weekend. Douglass is the founder and owner of Warrior’s Choice, a company that creates and sells sauces in a variety of military-themed flavors, including Defender, Spartan Heat, and Patriot’s Pride. He will give free bottles to the first 1,080 people who attend Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival, which will be held tomorrow and Saturday at the Columbia County Fairgrounds in

Read More »
B2B Stories

Great leaders are Wizards of AHs!

For those of you who read my previous columns in the Augusta Chronicle, you know that I like to write about leadership. Although I have been in a number of leadership positions across my two careers in the military and higher education that does not necessarily make me a great leader. One thing I do know that I have in common with great leaders is that I am always looking to improve my leadership ability. Therefore, I read about leadership, and listen to others speak about leadership, but most importantly,

Read More »
B2B Stories

Name change approved, Fort Gordon to become Fort Eisenhower

It’s official – Fort Gordon will be renamed and become Fort Eisenhower. Last week, Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin approved a proposal to rename nine Army bases that had been named after Confederate Army soldiers. As reported in ABD in August, that includes Fort Gordon, which had been named for Confederate Army officer, John Brown Gordon. The new name, which is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, honors World War II hero and 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower’s name is already on the

Read More »