Consumer Stories

Consumer Stories

Sweet entrepreneurship

Cookie lovers everywhere look forward to a bright spot as winter begins to wind down in February: The return of Girl Scout cookies. A portion of the money raised through the sale of cookies pays the bakery company that produces the products. The majority of the funds remain within the originating council. Each council determines how the funds are used, including supporting local camps, community projects and helping girls in underserved areas participate. However, the Metro Augusta Chamber of Commerce’s February Women in Business luncheon demonstrated how participating in Girl

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Consumer Stories

Crazy for Charcuterie? New Franchise opens in Evans

It almost didn’t happen. About a week after Hurricane Helene hit, Clint and Cheryl Hardy were supposed to sign franchise papers to open a Graze Craze location at The Shoppes at Blue Ridge in Evans. “Looking around at the destruction, there was every reason not to move forward but we felt the opportunity was too good to pass up,” said Clint Hardy. Clint and Cheryl worked at SRS and in cyber security for a combined 75 years.  When Clint retired, he kept looking for something to do. Cheryl had a

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Awards/Celebrations

Busby’s Celebrates 80 years in Business and Welcomes New President

Busby’s Heating & Air Conditioning marks its 80th anniversary, and with it, a momentous milestone in the company’s history—Kristen Munn, Rick Busby’s daughter, has been named the new President, and is the third generation of leadership. JC Busby, Rick’s father, founded Busby’s shortly after World War II in Millen, Georgia. The company has since grown into a trusted name in the heating and air conditioning industry. Over the past eight decades, Busby’s has continually expanded its services, introduced new products, and built a reputation for exceptional customer service. The company

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B2B Stories

Food and “Fun“raising moving North Augusta Forward

After a busy week at work, Melodies & Masterpieces may provide just the ticket to unwind, enjoy great music, and local chef food favorites. It’s North Augusta Forward’s second annual Melodies & Masterpieces fundraising event tomorrow, Saturday, February 22, at the Crowne Plaza in Riverside Village, North Augusta. An evening of dueling pianos, a chef showcase, local artists painting live, and raffles all to benefit the mission to inspire, lead, and implement a united vision that provides the best possible quality of life for the community of North Augusta, SC.

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B2B Stories

Step forward for Georgia’s second public medical school

A new medical school set for the University of Georgia (UGA) campus in Athens has been approved for the next step in the accreditation process. A news release said the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) announced it had granted candidate status for the UGA School of Medicine. The approval indicates the medical education program for the school has progressed toward meeting LCME’s accreditation standards. “I am proud of the tremendous progress we have made toward enrolling the first class of students in the UGA School of Medicine,” said President

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B2B Stories

Savannah River Site boosts opportunities for job seekers

A program used by school districts to determine if students are ready for careers after graduation has been embraced by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). Called the WIN (What I Need) assessment, or the South Carolina Career Ready Test, it is administered to all eleventh-grade students. It measures students in four key areas employers believe are foundational for career readiness. Those are soft skills assessment, math assessment, reading assessment, and date assessment. It can also be used by businesses, and SRNS has now integrated the program for some job applicants.

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B2B Stories

Check Your Heart at the Door Tomorrow

Women constitute half the population, workforce, and community and are responsible for over 80 percent of a family’s medical decision-making. Therefore, women’s well-being plays a pivotal role in shaping the overall health of families and communities, according to the McKinsey Health Institute. The North Augusta Chamber has joined in February’s Go Red for Women Month, the American Heart Association’s national movement to end heart disease and stroke in women. Tomorrow is the Chamber’s Women in Business How to Be Heart Smart luncheon. It will be held at the North Augusta Community

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Consumer Stories

Hanging Out the Help Wanted Sign

One of the largest employers in the C.S.R.A. is looking for engineers across multiple departments onsite. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) held a job fair at the North Augusta Community Center to connect managers and applicants. “SRNS has done multiple events like this in the past. This is the first one for this fiscal year that we’ve done. But we typically try to do these twice a year to try to attract talent in different categories or different job descriptions that we have or need help in filling,” Carla Wheeler,

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Consumer Stories

Powering up the future for students

The annual Power Up Your Future Career and College Day is set for Feb. 27 from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Western Carolina Fairgrounds at 561 May Royal Drive in Aiken. This event is specifically for eighth-grade students in Aiken County schools. With the event happening during a regular school day, transportation will be provided to get students from their school to the fairgrounds. “It’s really just an opportunity for our students to start exploring opportunities in different careers and tying that into local college opportunities as well,”

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Feedback from ABD Reader on Jobs

Loyal Augusta Business Daily reader, Zach Kelehear asked me an interesting question last week about the monthly change in employment over the last year. Here is the data again: Kelehear asked, “The three months that showed drops in employment are interesting to consider…. The “Why” is at the heart of my curiosity, and are these months typically, historically, low employment months.” So, I dug back into the data that goes back to 1990, and here are the results: All months, except April, have shown increases in employment over the last

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