B2B Stories

B2B Stories

350 trees wiped out on AU campus

Officials with Augusta University are continuing cleanup and repairs in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Work is ongoing at the Summerville and Health Sciences campuses, and the Forest Hills campus, which includes the Christenberry Field House. On Oct. 18, ABD was taken on a tour of the campuses to see the progress being made and get an update on what has been lost. Repairs are underway on the Christenberry Fieldhouse, along with the tennis courts and golf course, with the properties bounded by piles of cut-up trees. “These are some

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B2B Stories

Unfortunately, There Will Be No Winners

Less than a week from today, those Americans who did not vote early will go to the polls to vote to decide who will be the next President of the United States. Hopefully, a week from today, we will know who that person will be, either current Vice President (VP) Kamala D. Harris or former President Donald J. Trump. While I am often critical of others who vote primarily based on a single issue, I just might fit into that category for this presidential election; and that issue is the

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B2B Stories

Labor market set to explode in Burke County

Plant Vogtle’s workforce routinely propels Burke County to the highest average salary by area in the CSRA. A recent announcement will likely help support those numbers. Burke County is the latest to join the ranks of others in the CSRA, announcing a new manufacturing facility. TCM Transformers USA Inc. will build a more than $15 million facility in Waynesboro. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) made the announcement in a Thursday news release. He had toured the company’s facilities in Italy earlier this year. “When we lead economic missions overseas and meet

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Mixed bag of CSRA Economic News

There was mixed economic data for the Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) in August. As my wife says, “Give me the bad news, then cheer me up.” Residential building permits fell 8.6 percent in August to 290, the lowest monthly number this year. New data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reported that there were fewer dollars in local banks on June 30, 2024 than a year earlier. While this may represent consumer optimism and strong retail sales, it does reduce the capacity for future spending. The good news is that

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B2B Podcasting

SRP Ballpark Apartment Developer plans next project

In nearly two years, there will be more than 300 new apartment units in the CSRA. Fansler Construction, a contractor from Jacksonville, Florida is ready to build another high-end complex in the CSRA. Fansler Construction took the lead on Riverside Village, a 315-unit luxury complex adjacent to Greenjackets stadium in North Augusta. Their second project in the CSRA is also in North Augusta, a 343-unit complex located off Knobcone Ave. near Interstate 20. According to a news release, the project will feature seven 4-story buildings, seven townhome buildings, and five

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B2B Stories

Teaching small businesses how to create retirement funds

Volunteers from the Aiken office of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) recently held a workshop to teach small businesses how to create retirement plans ranging from simple to sophisticated. Led by Will Rogers and Damon Cline of Confident Life Wealth Management at Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC., the workshop looked at differences between defined-contribution plans and defined-benefit plans. Cline said there are two basic plans businesses can consider, a Simple Employee Pension (SEP) plan or a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRA. “These SEP plans are fully employer-funded,

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B2B Stories

FEMA administrator tours Augusta damage

FEMA Administrator, Deanne Criswell spent Wednesday in Augusta discussing clean-up efforts with city leaders. Criswell joined Mayor Garnett Johnson, Administrator Tameka Allen, and Chief Antonio Burden, Fire Chief, Augusta Fire/EMA for a briefing prior to taking a tour of damaged areas. “I had an opportunity to fly over the Augusta area to see the damage, but I had a good opportunity today to talk with the mayor and his team about what their concerns are now that we are moving into the long-term recovery phase,” said Criswell. “I also had

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B2B Stories

Businesses pitch in to help students impacted by Helene

Hurricane Helene prompted the cancellation of an in-person fundraiser, but organizers converted it to an online event to help students. The Aiken Technical College Foundation sponsors an annual scholarship and fundraiser. It had been set for Oct. 17, but the event was transformed to raising money for the Student Emergency Support Fund. The original event included a raffle. “So what we decided to do is we had these wonderful items donated to our raffle that we said, ‘Well, hey, we can still go ahead and have an online raffle and

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B2B Stories

Sustaining students with food post-Helene

An organization known for job training, education, and food preparation is combining its strengths to nourish students at a school in Augusta’s Olde Town neighborhood. Helms College, part of Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA, is providing meals to students at Heritage Academy. Haley Wesley, Associate Vice President of Marketing and Brand Advancement, told ABD it is a win-win partnership for the college and the school. “These are our Helms College culinary students preparing these meals, being supervised by our faculty, who are chefs. It also was such

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B2B Stories

Sometimes A New Voice is Needed

Shortly after the Atlanta Braves ended their 2024 season by losing to the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs, the team decided not to bring back three of their coaches for the 2025 season. (Note:  All three coaches are under contract for 2025 and will be paid their contracted salaries.) The most notable of those coaches was their primary hitting coach, Kevin Seitzer. Seitzer has been a major league hitting coach for most of the past eighteen years, with the last

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