B2B Stories

B2B Podcasting

Teambuilding Role in Company Culture

Step one in avoiding conflict and mediation is creating a company culture where employees enjoy coming to work and working together. Neil and HR Consultant and Professional Mediator, TeKay Brown Taylor, discuss the topic.

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B2B Stories

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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B2B Stories

Election Lessons and Reflections

Now that we have had a week to digest the results of last week’s Presidential election, I think it is a good time to reflect on what we might have learned. Even though the votes are still being counted, it appears that the popular vote will be very close, with President-elect Trump coming out slightly on top (50.4% to 48.0%) over Vice President Harris. However, the Electoral College outcome does not look so close, with President Trump garnering a 312 to 226 margin of victory on the strength of sweeping

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Our strong labor market

In a stunning victory last Tuesday night, Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon trounced Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-1. Now, the hard work begins as Amorim tries to rejuvenate a moribund Manchester United. In other news, the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Labor Market Index (LMI) increased by 0.3 percent in September from August. It is 1.0 percent higher than September 2023. As I reported last week, employment and nominal average weekly earnings hit record levels in September. Additionally, the labor force expanded, and the average hours worked increased. The only component

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B2B Stories

Breaking down the potential impact of tariffs

A hallmark of President-elect Donald Trump’s reelection campaign was a proposed increase in tariffs on goods coming into the United States. He proposed an increase of 10% to 20% on all foreign countries, with an additional 60% to 100% tariff on imported products from China. The National Retail Federation (NRF) commissioned a study to determine how increased tariffs will impact the cost of imported goods in six categories: Clothing, footwear, toys, furniture, household appliances, and travel goods. The study found that American consumers could lose between $46 billion and $78

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B2B Podcasting

Team Building in the CSRA

When employees used to think of team-building, it was often about a group outing like bowling. In today’s Work It Out video segment, TeKay Brown-Taylor says there are many more ways to bring the staff together. Listen to the entire team-building program this Saturday morning at 7:30 on Classy 1230 AM.

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B2B Podcasting

Strategize your future business plans with Brownstone

It’s the 4th quarter of the fiscal year. How is your company planning to mitigate any issues that might hold you back from moving forward? That is the topic and discussion with HR Consultant and Professional Mediator, TeKay Brown Taylor and Neil today.

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B2B Stories

New Location for Columbia County Chamber Breakfast

The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce has selected an alternative site for its annual Legislative Breakfast. Damage to the Savannah Rapids Pavilion in the wake of Hurricane Helene meant individuals and organizations, including the Chamber, had to find alternate locations for their events. The annual event is set for Nov. 14. “We’re going to be at the DoubleTree Augusta,” Russell Lahodny, President and CEO of the Chamber told ABD. “Everybody’s looking for space, and so DoubleTree Augusta was one of our options that wasn’t already booked, so we chose to

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B2B Stories

CSRA company partners with leading distributor

Hoover Treated Wood Products, based in Thomson, is strengthening its footprint in the Southeast through an expanded partnership with Boise Cascade. This agreement positions Hoover’s fire-retardant wood products at Boise Cascade branches across the Southeast, bolstering both companies’ leadership in building materials. Hoover, the world’s leading manufacturer of Fire-Retardant Treated Wood (FRTW) products, has strengthened its long-established relationship with Boise Cascade, a leading manufacturer and distributor of building materials. “Boise Cascade is our premier partner for our fire and life-safety FRTW products,” said David Gillrie, President and CEO of Hoover

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B2B Stories

Shop small. Win big.

More than 60 businesses and sponsors hope the Aiken Chamber’s annual Red Ticket campaign will keep local businesses in the black during the holiday shopping season. For the 4th year in a row, shoppers will receive a red ticket by visiting participating locations. For each $25 spent, you get a red ticket. Last year’s campaign topped $1.75 million in sales for local businesses. Those tickets will go into drawings each week through December 19 for cash prizes which increase each week for a total of $5,000 in cash giveaways during

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