Sat, April 11, 2026

Facebook-f Youtube Instagram
Newsletter Sign up
Show Support
Menu

Consumer Stories
Consumer Stories

Hospitality Masters style

Restaurants begin preparing months in advance by hiring and training extra wait staff. For the hospitality industry, it’s like gaining an extra month, because many do about 10% of their annual business in that one week. Vera Stewart starts preparing in May for the following April’s tournament! Augustans may think of “Very Vera” as a one-woman show. By the time April comes, she’ll have worked with a few hundred people on her Masters business. The Masters will mark 87 years at Augusta National. Vera Stewart has been catering for the

Read More »
Mitzi Oxford and Neil Gordon March 17, 2024 No Comments
B2B Stories

Veteran wins big at Fort Eisenhower PX

Retired Staff Sgt. James Mabry uses his MILITARY STAR® card whenever he shops at the Fort Eisenhower Exchange because he likes earning rewards points on his purchases. A swipe of the card late last year led to an entirely different reward: having his entire card balance paid off. Mabry was randomly selected as one of five grand prize winners in the 10th Annual MILITARY STAR Your Holiday Bill Is on Us sweepstakes. He was presented with a mock check representing his $8,122.50 balance—now paid in full—during a celebration at the Fort Eisenhower

Read More »
Staff Report March 13, 2024 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Oscars Recap: Nuanced Highs and the Big Disappointment

This year’s Oscar ceremony was the shortest in years – a rapid-fire cavalcade that barely had time to breathe. Despite this, it produced some real surprises, good and bad. Oppenheimer, unsurprisingly, won the top awards of the night, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director. The film provided the path for actors, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey, Jr., as well as director, Christopher Nolan, to finally win their Oscars. It was one of a handful of “finally” moments. Nolan made a particularly inspired speech, emphasizing how

Read More »
Dylan James March 13, 2024 No Comments
B2B Stories

Multi-million dollar hiring plan

One of the Augusta area’s largest employers is hanging out the “Help Wanted” sign. Augusta University’s targeted student enrollment growth means the university itself needs to grow. Just over $6 million will be allocated for the immediate addition of 43 new faculty, 24 new full-time staff, two temporary positions, and 42 new student-worker positions. A portion will be used to add infrastructure supporting the new hires. The university needs additional faculty and staff after notching a student enrollment of 10,546 for fall 2023. That is a 7.5% increase over fall

Read More »
Dana Lynn McIntyre March 13, 2024 No Comments
B2B Stories

Major retailer coming to North Augusta

A former grocery store in North Augusta will become a third location in the Aiken-Augusta area for a major national retail business. Hobby Lobby has signed a lease to move into the former BI-LO on Edgefield Road. It is in the Edgewood Square Shopping Center at 101 Edgewood Drive. BI-LO closed the store in 2019. The space briefly was home to the OTB Bargain Outlet. The location is halfway between at least five grocery stores on Edgefield Road from Walnut Lane to E. Martintown Road, making finding a new tenant

Read More »
Dana Lynn McIntyre March 12, 2024 No Comments
B2B Stories

Familiar face in the CSRA becomes first dean of UGA medical school

The current Dean of Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, Dr. Shelley Nuss, will be the first dean to lead the University of Georgia School of Medicine. “There is no one better equipped to lead this important initiative than Dr. Shelley Nuss, with her exemplary, widely recognized leadership in medical education,” UGA President, Jere Morehead is quoted in the news release. “I look forward to working with her as we seek LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education) accreditation and build an outstanding medical school in the coming years.” This fulfills

Read More »
Dana Lynn McIntyre March 11, 2024 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Simon Says: Wellbeing check in GA and SC

South Carolina ranks 13th and Georgia 14th for wellbeing across all 50 states according to new research by David Blanchflower and Alex Bryson. Hawaii ranks number 1 followed by a slew of upper midwestern states including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa. Blanchflower and Bryson use eight measures of well-being from 2008 through 2017. Four measure positive elements of well-being and four measure negative elements of well-being. The first positive element asked about 2 million participants in a poll to indicate where they are on a scale of ten

Read More »
Dr. Simon Medcalfe March 11, 2024 No Comments
Consumer Stories

United Way falls $300,000 short of workplace fundraising goals

Augustans are known as generous people, but perhaps, our volatile economy caused a downturn in giving in 2023. The agency received donations totaling just over $2.2 million through the workplace campaign. That is 12% shy of the goal of $2.5 million announced last August. The United Way of the CSRA (UWCSRA) shared these campaign results at its annual meeting on March 5. The highlight of this annual event is to acknowledge and thank the businesses and individuals responsible for the successes. The Campaign Champion Awards were presented to Savannah River

Read More »
Dana Lynn McIntyre with Neil Gordon March 10, 2024 No Comments
Consumer Stories

New hotel opens just in time for upcoming big events

A few years ago, Hilton Hotels debuted a new brand concept designed to appeal to younger, tech-savvy travelers on a budget. It’s called Tru-by-Hilton and features a large open space for eating, gaming, and socializing. Mayor Briton Williams and the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce officially welcomed the hotel to one of the city’s busiest areas. The Tru-by-Hilton Hotel is on Austin Graybill Road off Edgefield Road at Interstate 20 exit five. It is next to the ER at Sweetwater. Williams said the welcome was a long time coming, noting

Read More »
Dana Lynn McIntyre March 7, 2024 No Comments
Consumer Stories

The Oscar Will Go To…

Editor’s note: Watching movies has been part of our family as much as gathering around the dinner table. By the time our son was in second grade, he was a fan of great motion pictures, including Gone with the Wind, Singing in the Rain, Funny Face, African Queen, and any movie with Hepburn and Tracy. Aren’t we lucky that ABD has Dylan James who also appreciates the classics and keeps us up on future classics including the local movie productions? We hope you entered our Oscar competition for a chance

Read More »
Dylan James March 6, 2024 No Comments
Load More