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B2B Stories
B2B Stories

Local CVB director discusses paddling, glamping and attracting visitors

Kayaking to an island of goats and donkeys and camping in an air-conditioned tent with a coffeemaker sound like exotic destination spots. But both can be found within Columbia County. Shelly Blackburn, executive director of the Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the county’s destination marketing agency, spoke to a group of local real estate agents and home services professionals at a CSRA Home Connections meeting on Wednesday about those and other attractions that draw visitors to the county. It’s an important economic venture – in 2019, Columbia County tourism

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Josh Heath April 14, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Covid affects Augusta employment numbers; Georgia jobs grow

Two years from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, employment in the Augusta MSA in February 2022 is more than 6,000 jobs below the level in February 2020. Employment in the state of Georgia in February 2022 is 1.2 percent higher than in February 2020. Over the past two years, three sectors of the local economy have seen employment surpass pre-pandemic levels: manufacturing (up to about 200 jobs), retail (up to 3,000 jobs), and transportation and utilities (up just less than 1,000 jobs). The state of Georgia also sees higher

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor April 13, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Giant sculptures help businesses make a big first impression

Outside of the clubhouse of The First Tee in Augusta is a colorful tee worthy of a Paul Bunyan-like drive. The one-ton, 30-foot-long sculpture is made of steel and solid foam. Ed Durant, the former owner of The Frame Shoppe on Walton Way in Augusta, created the concept to give the course its own unique identity. The project took about 14 months to complete and was unveiled in December 2021. “I went by First Tee, and there was no signage,” Durant said. “They needed an expression of what they do.”

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Josh Heath April 13, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Two local marketing firms combine operations and services

One of CSRA’s largest full-service advertising and marketing companies is about to become even larger. The M3 Agency, located at 229 Furys Ferry Road, Suite 123 in Augusta, has announced its merger with another local firm, Emineo Marketing. M3, which stands for Mass Media Marketing, offers a variety of services, such as graphic design, website development, and video production. The agency serves businesses in the manufacturing, banking, medical and retail industries, among others. Emineo also offers a range of services that include branding, social media marketing, and event planning. The

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Josh Heath April 13, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Unconventional Thinking

  Don MacNeil is the former Marketing Director of Windsor Jewelers and long-time on-air radio professional.   Is it just me, or… Unconventional Thinking More than once I’ve written, “Conventional thinking can kill you.” Of course, I wasn’t being literal. I was making the point that conventional thinking not only threatens your being exceptional at the moment, but over time it can slowly hobble your career and your quality of life. Confederate General Robert E. Lee is universally conceded to be one of history’s great, thinking-out-of-the-box military strategists, yet one

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Don MacNeil April 12, 2022 No Comments
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Mondays with Rick: Learning from the business model of The Masters

  Dr. Rick Franza, Dean of the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he considers what local businesses can learn from The Masters business model. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: Anyone who has attended an event at Augusta National during Masters Week knows it’s an amazing experience. What are some things The Masters does well? Rick: What we talk about in companies are the front room that faces the customer and the back room

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Gary Kauffman April 11, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Historic plantation to become multi-use development

When developer Tracey Turner returned to his birthplace of North Augusta, it was like coming home in more ways than one. After serving in the Navy, Turner worked as a programmer for IBM, as a Project Manager for the Transportation Security Administration, and as a Project Manager for FEMA. Along the way, he rehabbed houses in Washington, D.C., and started a development company. The nation’s Capital became home to his company’s headquarters, but Turner had an eye on the potential for development back home in North Augusta. “I never thought

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Mitzi Oxford April 11, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Golf club engineer techniques build better golfers from tee to green

Dan Burnfield builds highly-customized golf clubs in his shop on Gordon Highway but his goal extends beyond merely selling equipment – he wants to make people better golfers, physically and mentally. “Maybe the answer to getting an extra stroke or two out of you isn’t new equipment,” he said. Make no mistake about it, Augusta Custom Clubs does make and sell equipment that practically requires an engineering degree to understand. The small shop contains a putting lab with lasers, a fitting bay with a golf simulator to track shots, and

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Gary Kauffman April 8, 2022 No Comments
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