Consumer Stories

Consumer Stories

CSRA retailer rises from the smoke to a sweet new location

It’s been a wild ride for True Aiken shop owner, Sarah Dodge since the first of the year. That might seem appropriate for a retailer smack in the middle of Aiken’s horse country and whose first sales came from last year’s Steeplechase event in November. Response was great for her line of merchandise, much of which is Aiken-branded. In January, Dodge opened at 311 Hayne Avenue SW. Less than two months later, the office next door caught fire and the smoke damage was too much, resulting in the closing of

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B2B Stories

Local businesses building beneficial relationships with future employees

Augusta Technical College has launched a program designed to connect students with local businesses in a mutually beneficial partnership. Called “Cougar Community Partners,” it offers a collaboration between students and local businesses everywhere that Augusta Tech has a footprint. “We service five counties, and so, saying that, with the student population that we have, income that we generate as a college, we just see the value of having this partnership to support our local business communities while also asking them to consider hiring our students and providing our students and

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Awards/Celebrations

New $10,000 scholarship awarded

Dr. Jermaine Whirl, President of Augusta Technical College, and his wife, Mrs. Marqueta Whirl have pledged $10,000 to create a new endowed scholarship fund at Augusta Tech. Called the Dr. Jermaine Whirl Presidential Leadership Scholarship, the annual award will be given to the student who is elected as the College’s Student Government Association President. “My wife and I feel it is important to show our personal support for the students, so we wanted to create a scholarship fund,” Dr. Whirl said. “I think leadership skills are incredibly important to a

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B2B Stories

Popular small business resource fair is back

The Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce (GABCC) is holding a resource fair for small businesses on Sat., April 20, starting at 11:00 a.m. Ronic West, President of GABCC, told ABD a similar event, held last fall, was so well-received that they decided to do it again. “Everybody was like, ‘Oh my God, I hate I missed it.’ We heard that feedback,” she said. “We decided to do it again in the spring. We’ll make sure everybody’s aware of it early on.” She said it will be held at Bec

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Can you afford to live in Augusta?

I ask my students at the beginning of an introduction to an economics course, “What are the most pressing problems economists should be addressing today?” The top answer recently has always been inflation, but this year, housing made the top three problems (the other was healthcare costs). The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta produces a Home Ownership Affordability Monitor (HOAM – get it?) for all Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the US. The monitor measures the ability of a median-income household to afford a median-priced home. Affordability is defined as

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Consumer Stories

Owners add 2nd restaurant in Evans Plaza

A new barbecue restaurant will be opening on the site of a failed Japanese restaurant and breakfast cafe in Evans. Natty BBQ will be opening up in a spot just down from Ironwood Tavern in the shopping center in front of the Riverwood Plantation subdivision in Evans. Ironwood Tavern’s owner won’t have far to walk to oversee operations at Natty BBQ. Their restaurants are about 50 yards away. A limited liability company was formed with Georgia’s Secretary of State to operate Natty’s on February 21st. Both of the restaurants in

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Consumer Stories

Five Star Lanes is calling your name

Even busy business folks need a morale and recreation boost occasionally and Five Star Lanes has an upcoming event that might be right up your alley. Save the date, Friday, April 26th at 1:00 pm to join Ft. Eisenhower’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) and the three area Chambers of Commerce (North Augusta, Augusta Metro & Columbia County) to celebrate the renovations of Five Star Lanes. The Grand Reopening event will feature free bowling and shoe rentals, food & cocktail samplings, and door prizes for the first 50 people. Five

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B2B Stories

Legislation to boost military spouse employment in the CSRA

“Georgia is home to 11 military installations that contribute more than $19 billion in economic impact annually to our state,” said Georgia Chamber President and CEO, Chris Clark in a news release. “The spouses of our active-duty service members deserve the opportunity to live, work, and raise their families here in Georgia without the burden of excessive wait times for their occupational licenses.” A bill that will have a far-reaching impact on the families of soldiers stationed at Fort Eisenhower is awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) signature. The Georgia House

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Awards/Celebrations

Winning murals will adorn walls of iconic roadside candy store

Before Buc-ees, there was Stuckey’s. It’s a short trip down Highway 1 to Wrens, Georgia, in case you need a Stuckey’s pecan log roll fix or to feast your eyes on some award-winning art. The Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and Stuckey’s Corporation have unveiled the artists chosen to adorn the candy plant’s exterior walls, Pash Lima and the team behind “Color the World Bright,” a collaborative project led by Joseph Norman, Professor of Art at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia, and Katie Brannen,

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Awards/Celebrations

Spherion staffing and recruiting in Augusta presented with national awards

Out of more than 200 offices across the country, Spherion Staffing and Recruiting in Augusta was recently presented with the Franchise Owner of the Year, On-Premise Office of the Year, and President’s Award during the company’s annual National Meeting. In addition, Branch Coordinator, Kaitlin Dunn was recognized as the Top Contract Producer. The President’s Award was presented to the top-performing offices across Spherion’s franchise network of more than 200-plus staffing agencies nationwide. Angela Swarts, local franchise owner of Spherion Augusta, and her team earned the coveted award due to their

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