
Biz Bits: Young leaders, Aiken expansion, and Heart of Business
In today’s biz bits, Mike Petchenik looks into three positive stories in the CSRA about leadership, growth in the home services business, and economic development.

In today’s biz bits, Mike Petchenik looks into three positive stories in the CSRA about leadership, growth in the home services business, and economic development.

Buying a home is one of the biggest life investments. As a realtor with 40 years of experience, Ann Marie McManus offers the questions you should ask of the person involved in the process.

If you’ve enjoyed a successful 40-year career as a realtor, you’ve learned what to ask when selling your home or business. Ann Marie McManus shares the Top 7 questions you need to know when making this important decision. Pt. 2 in Ann Marie’s discussion is coming tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Editor’s note: As Dr. Rick Franza reported, Georgia is once again getting high marks as one of America’s Top States for Business. This story follows up on how Augusta is plugging into the Education and Workforce rankings. Two of Georgia’s highest rankings put the Augusta metro at the forefront of the Education and Workforce categories with rankings of #8 and #4 respectively. “Workforce, obviously from the Chamber’s perspective, it’s comforting to see that we ranked fourth overall in the workforce,” Russell Lahodny, President and CEO of the Columbia County Chamber

Last week, CNBC released its 2024 list of “America’s Top States for Business,” which ranks all fifty states. CNBC has been publishing this annual list since 2007 and for the 17th consecutive year (there was no published list in 2020), Georgia has ranked in the Top Ten, including a ranking of fourth both this year and last. While CNBC regularly makes changes to both the metrics and their relative weights used to determine the rankings, it is a credit to our state that it consistently remains highly ranked. There is

ABD is continuing our series on the 40th Anniversary celebration of Ann Marie McManus in real estate. Today, she explains the decision she and her father made to merge their family business with Meybohm.

The local organization tasked with looking at current transportation issues, while planning for the future, is seeking public input for an update on moving freight. The Augusta Regional Transportation Study (ARTS) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is in the process of updating the Regional Freight Plan. It will be the first update since 2008. The ARTS MPO works within the Augusta Planning and Development Department to address transportation across Richmond and Columbia counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina. It is more than 800 square miles with

Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival will be returning to Broad Street and the Augusta Common on September 20 – 22 this year. The decision to move back was made after the road construction schedule for Telfair Street was announced last week. The Telfair Street construction would have impacted the festival site. Road construction on Broad Street, which had initially prompted the relocation, will now start in 2025. The festival will feature over 150 juried Fine Arts and Crafts artists this year, with artists coming from all over the

Last week, there was a changing of the guard at Augusta University and with the future of business in the CSRA. Mike Petchenik has more in this week’s Biz Bits.

With 100-degree temperatures this summer, Chattels In Design is expanding and adding a new pool, patio department, and website. They will be moving on August 1st to a larger location that will now offer a showroom of composite deck brands, pergolas, fiberglass pools, patio furniture, and Sunroom samples. Chattels In Design USA Ltd Co, LLC has been serving Aiken for 2-1/2 years at their current location at Suite 216, 237 Park Ave Sw, Aiken, SC 29801 in “The Mill” building downtown Aiken. They will be open for business on August 5th at the new