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B2B Stories
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Big growth from 2 Counties in the CSRA

The Census Bureau released population data for 2024-2025 recently. In the metro area, Aiken County in South Carolina and Columbia County in Georgia grew by more than 5,000 residents. McDuffie County in Georgia lost 103 persons. The Census Bureau could also break down how much of these changes were due to natural changes (births and deaths) and how much was due to migration, both domestic and international. For Aiken County, most of the population change was due to migration (+2,752), of which only 81 persons were international migrants. Similarly, in

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Hull College of Business Economics Professor April 14, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Tourism leaders hope lodging revenue surpasses $34.2 million in April

There was very little room at the Inn at hotels like the Augusta Marriott last week. Some of the Hotel/Motel taxes trickle down to Destination Augusta to reinvest funds to bring in more conventions. The tourism arm of the City of Augusta says the Smith Travel Research group will release financial estimates in the summer, which will highlight occupancy and revenue rates—including Masters week. Destination Augusta provided ABD with revenue data for the last four years: April 2025 — $34.2 million in hotel/motel revenue April 2024 — $30.2 million April

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Neil Gordon April 13, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Selling Metro Augusta on a national stage

Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson (pictured to the left of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp)called the just-concluded Red Carpet Tour the” icing on top“ for the hard-working economic leaders charged with bringing new companies to Augusta. He points to past success. “That is the hook, he told ABD from Thursday’s event near the Masters tournament. If you look around the city at some of our notable employers, whether it be Aurubis Richmond, which was one of our newest investments, or GF Castings (under construction in the Augusta Corporate Park), they came here

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Dana Lynn McIntyre April 13, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Military Monday: I Only Need 10% or 20% More — Understanding How VA Ratings Really Work

One of the most common statements I hear from Veterans is: “I only need 10% or 20% more to get to 100%.” At first glance, that sounds logical. In everyday math, if you have 90% and add 10%, you reach 100%. Simple, right? Unfortunately, VA compensation does not work like regular math, and this misunderstanding often leads to frustration, unrealistic expectations, and, at times, missed opportunities to build a strong claim properly. When Veterans tell me they only need “10% more,” I take time to explain how the VA disability

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Africa Thomas, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, CME, CCM, Augusta, Ga April 13, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Learning to track the dollars and cents

One of the most important skills for small business owners is developing a comprehensive bookkeeping method.SCORE, the organization of volunteers that helps small businesses, teamed up with Block Advisors by H&R Block for an online webinar explaining why quality bookkeeping is vital.  Led by Sonia Chanani and Sandra Martin of H&R Block, the workshop taught how to turn bookkeeping into a simple, manageable task.  Chanani agreed that bookkeeping can be daunting for a small business owner already juggling multiple responsibilities. The goal is to find a way to make it

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Dana Lynn McIntyre April 10, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Companies use golf and laptops to interest CSRA kids

The timing of the Masters golf tournament certainly helped a pair of technology companies to influence future leaders. Students were part of an interactive, STEM – based Putt-Putt activity to inspire learning. AT&T partnered with Compu adopt, and the nonprofit learned fresh to help the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta. 100 refurbished laptops were donated, along with a $25,000 community investment to support the AT&T Connected Learning Center at the club.  “Access to technology and digital tools is essential to how our students learn in today’s world. We appreciate

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Neil Gordon April 10, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Supporting families and children is good for business

Business leaders learned that community involvement and awareness of struggling families and children are important to their bottom line. Good Morning North Augusta, the monthly breakfast presented by the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, turned the light on “Strong Families, Strong Community: Prevention Starts with Us.” The panel discussion recognized Child Abuse Prevention Month. Andrea Bowles, Sales Manager at Blanchard & Calhoun Real Estate and chair of the Board of Directors, told ABD that for businesses and the community to thrive, it is essential that families thrive. “As simple as

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Dana Lynn McIntyre April 8, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Family business keeps on trucking with special anniversary

The Matthews family is getting ready to throw a 35th Anniversary party to thank customers, vendors, and staff. They say they’ll keep on moving for many years to come. Shown in photo from left to right: Austin Matthews, Aaron Matthews, Tanya Matthews, Bob Matthews, Alan Matthews Patriarch Bob Matthews founded Matthews Motors in 1991 as a mobile repair operation. Matthews Motors is now a family-owned commercial truck sales dealership and service provider for fleet operators across the Southeast.  Bob’s sons, Aaron Matthews and Austin Matthews, are now leading the company

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Neil Gordon April 8, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Startup summer is underway in Aiken

Events designed to spur entrepreneurship and business start-ups in Augusta and Aiken have begun. A series of workshops through Venture Lab Aiken are part of Startup Summer.  Make Startups, based in theClubhou.se at the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC), joined with the Aiken Chamber of Commerce, Western SC, South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA), and Magnate Angel Group. The first Founders Friday workshop was titled Ideas Are Flimsy. Scalable Businesses Are Engineered. “The workshop is really centered around the idea that most founders come to me and they say,

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Dana Lynn McIntyre April 7, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Days of golf, evenings of exploration

Day one of practice rounds is underway at the Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC). When practice rounds and tournament days conclude each evening, area tourism and business leaders want visitors to explore activities off the golf course. Destination Augusta created a new set of tools to showcase the Garden City. It began with a refresh of its Visit Augusta website. “We updated our content and are getting it on the forefront of our homepage so it’s easily accessible to people who are Googling for answers,” Karen Lee Davis of Destination

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Dana Lynn McIntyre April 6, 2026 No Comments
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