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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Poor economic news to close out 2024 in Augusta

All the variables in the Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) were adversely affected according to December data. This is the first time all five components have been negatively affected since April 2022. Residential building permits fell 23 percent from November and initial claims for unemployment insurance increased by 40 percent. Job openings fell 2.3 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished December 0.04 percent lower than the end of November. Inflation in the south increased by 0.1 percentage points to 2.8 percent. Overall, the Augusta LEI fell 1.2 percent

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe March 3, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

“Shark Tank Feel” part of March competition

The Sixth Annual Innovate Pitch Competition is set for March 27 at the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC). The competition is in partnership with Augusta University. Teams are given five minutes to pitch their solution for a real-world problem to a panel of judges. “For the first year, I’m really excited to announce that this Pitch Competition has grown and now we have a track that is open to the public,” Lynsey Steinberg, Director of Innovation at the GCITC, told ABD. “Students and entrepreneurs look to solve problems

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Dana Lynn McIntyre March 3, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Goodwill Takes Global Center Stage for Workforce Development Conference

Goodwill of Middle Georgia and the CSRA will host the 2025 Annual Meeting of Conference of Executives (AMCOE), bringing together Goodwill leaders from around the globe to exchange best practices in workforce development, innovation, and sustainability. The conference will take place March 2 to 5, 2025, at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center. Recognized by Forbes as one of the most inspiring companies, Goodwill continues to create opportunities for people facing employment and career advancement barriers. AMCOE is the premier gathering for Goodwill leaders to share strategies that improve job

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Mitzi Oxford February 27, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

SRMC Donation to Educate Workforce

Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), the liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) has donated $5,000 to the scholarship fund for the Augusta Technical College (ATC) Adult Education Program. The donation will be used in the Adult Education Program to provide financial assistance to students who have to take the General Education Diploma (GED) test. GED testing is a computer-based high school equivalency exam. ATC offers in-person and online testing formats for people interested in attaining a GED diploma. SRMC President and Program Manager, Dave Olson stated that

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Dana Lynn McIntyre February 27, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Avengers Return to Augusta

A two-day event has brought 400 people to Augusta for what sounds like a meeting for fans of Marvel Universe movies. AvengerCon IX is underway at the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center. It started in 2016 as a small event at Fort Meade, Md. As it grew it moved off post, ultimately coming to Augusta in 2024. At its core, it is a training event to help understand the hacker culture and learn techniques of the so-called hacker “black hats,” individuals who break into computer systems with malicious intent.

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Dana Lynn McIntyre February 26, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Education’s importance to Georgia’s economic future

Education was at the heart of a recent summit in Atlanta and Augusta had a prominent role. The theme of the 2025 Future of Talent Summit was “Reimagining Education and Talent Development.” It was sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. The summit was broken into four education segments, ranging from kindergarten through college level education: Reimagining Early Learning & Childcare, Reimagining K-12 Education, Innovations in Technical Education, and Innovations in Georgia’s Colleges and Universities. Leading the discussion regarding colleges and universities were Sonny Perdue, Chancellor of the University System

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Dana Lynn McIntyre February 25, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Customer Feedback: The Key to Continuous Improvement

Last week, we passed the one-third mark of the Spring Semester for my courses at Augusta University’s Hull College of Business. As I typically do at this point in the semester, I asked my students to provide me with anonymous, written feedback on how their class is going so far this term by responding to three questions: 1) What do you like about the class so far? 2) What do you not like about the class so far? 3) What changes would you make to the class for the remainder

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Dr. Rick Franza February 25, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Franchised Coffee stand about to open 3rd location in CSRA

A drive-thru coffee stand that was supposed to replace an iconic gas station in March 2024, is set to open sometime in May, according to local managers. The land is cleared for the newest 7 Brew Coffee stand at the corner of Walton Way Extension and Wheeler Road in West Augusta. Smith’s Chevron occupied the near one-acre lot for 37 years, before the owner retired and left travelers by the busy intersection to wonder, “What’s next?” 7 Brew will only need approximately 500 square feet for the building to allow

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Neil Gordon February 24, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Networking tips from 4 of the best connectors in the CSRA

One of the most challenging things business owners and individuals face is how to grow a vibrant network of contacts. The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Third Thursday brought together a panel of experts from different backgrounds to give advice on what they have found to be successful. The panel included Tiffany Heitzman of Homebuilders Association Greater Augusta Region, Patrick Wells, President of Piedmont Landscape Management, James Clayton with New York Life Insurance, and Jeannine Steinkuhl, Director of Sales at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in North Augusta. “All four of

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Dana Lynn McIntyre February 24, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Who’s Hiring in the CSRA?

For the last two weeks, I reported the 2024 growth in total employment numbers for the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). This week, I will examine which sectors contributed the most to the overall growth in 2024. Education and health services saw the largest change in employment and the largest percentage change. Employment increased by over 2,300 in this sector, or 6.0%. (SEE CHARTS BELOW) The growth in this sector represents somewhat of a double-edged sword for the economy. Some of the growth no doubt comes from changing demographics, such

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe February 24, 2025 No Comments
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