B2B Stories

B2B Stories

Slowly returning to normal at Augusta Regional Airport

One of the Augusta area’s primary transportation links is slowly taking steps back to full service. Herbert Judon, Jr., Executive Director of Augusta Regional Airport, told ABD the airport lost all its primary power, is operating off generator auxiliary power, and will continue to do so indefinitely. On Friday, just after the magnitude of the storm damage became evident, Lauren Smith, the airport’s Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations, sent a news release: “Out of an abundance of caution and safety for our customers and employees, Augusta Regional Airport

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B2B Stories

Augusta is not forgotten: Update for Helene’s damages and recovery efforts

Editor’s note: There have been hundreds of social media posts about how the national media has not reported on the damage to Augusta. Hurricane Helene was catastrophic in the CSRA, but help is on the way. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) visited Augusta on Monday to review storm damage, get updates on recovery, and provide the latest information on what state agencies are providing. A news conference was held outside the James Brown Arena, where personnel from electric utilities and companies were staging with their vehicles. Those then fanned out

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Agriculture #s may be misleading

I read Dana McIntyre’s report a few weeks ago, in which Georgia agriculture commissioner, Tyler Harper, claimed that agriculture was a $84 billion economic driver, 17% of the state’s economy. He added that one in seven jobs or 330,000 Georgians are employed in agriculture. That seemed high to me, so I looked up the numbers. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Georgia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2024 was $673,064 million annually. GDP measures the total value of all final goods and services produced in

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B2B Podcasting

An opening, a closing, and a solid #2

After a rough weekend for the CSRA, thanks to Hurricane Helene, Mike Petchenik has some highlights and a sad goodbye for a 20-year-old business. Here is the latest for the week in Biz Bits.

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B2B Stories

$50,000+ raised for CSRA student resources

The Augusta Technical College Foundation has announced $57,225 in gifts and pledges for the annual Family First campaign. The 2024 Family First campaign, which ran from September 4-18, focused on directly impacting students’ lives. Family First events were held at all Augusta Tech campus sites, where Faculty and staff were encouraged to contribute to bridging the financial gaps many students experience. Suggested donation amounts included $1,200 to help cover tuition shortfalls, $511 to cover student fees, $250 for textbooks, $200 for laptops, and $50 for emergency funds. “This year saw

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B2B Stories

CSRA takes a $6.5 million hit from event cancellations: Chamber events also canceled

A weeklong schedule of activities that was set to kick off today has been canceled. BSidesAugusta organizer, and COO of Security Onion Solutions, LLC, Phil Plantamura shared the update with ABD on Sunday. “Completely canceled. We’ve canceled all events for BSidesAugusta, the Security Onion Conference, and the training. We had a speaker dinner. It’s been canceled, volunteer orientation, and all that has been canceled. We’ve issued refunds to all ticket purchasers, including for the training,” he said. Destination Augusta had estimated the full week of activities, originally set for Sept.

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B2B Podcasting

Grace under real estate pressure

Buying or selling in real estate is a two-way street. Ann Marie McManus understands that better than most. She’s been in the business for 40 years. She credits part of her success to her team philosophy of G.R.A.C.E.

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B2B Stories

CSRA businesses gear up for major hurricane impact

Georgia and South Carolina are bracing for the impact of a major hurricane. Power companies have made final preparations for anticipated damages, including the potential for widespread power outages. With a forecast of flooding and high winds from Hurricane Helene, the storm could still be a Category 1 when it reaches the CSRA, according to WDRW Chief Meteorologist, Riley Hale. “Our area is on the east side of the storm, it’s the bad side. High winds could reach 60 mph or more. We’ve already had 4” at Daniel Field and

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B2B Stories

CSRA Western Outfitter Expands to Meet Demand

Like the tumbleweed that spreads seeds of growth, the store that bears the name recently expanded. Owner, Jessica Reeves only had to move a few doors down to 224 Park Avenue SE in Aiken to gain more space. When ABD reported on TumbleWeed’s opening two years ago, Reeves was already dreaming big and looking to grow the business by offering other products and services. When the store moved four doors down into the former location of Needlepoint Cottage, it almost tripled its space. “My husband Joel got involved in the

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B2B Stories

Networking and learning highlighted the Career Connections event

The Career Connections event, sponsored by Augusta Business Daily, brought together large and small business representatives to share information and develop new relationships. Vendors ranged from small businesses like Nothing Bundt Cakes to Aurubis Richmond, LLC, one of Richmond County’s newest, large employers. Among the vendors were Elite Events and Tickets, which can arrange hospitality, travel, lodging, and tickets for clients. Ali Quinn, Director of Housing, said it was a good opportunity to get out into the community and tell people their story. “Small businesses are so important to our

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