Consumer Stories

Consumer Stories

CSRA Executive dips his toes in unchartered waters

Neil Gwynne was more known in the CSRA in a suit and tie leading 130 managers and 3,500 associates for Amazon, including at the fulfillment center in Appling. This spring and summer, you may see him work a bit more in swim trunks during his first full season as a PoolWerx franchisee. Gwynne feels like a whole new person and was candid recently during a franchisee spotlight that PoolWerx distributed nationally. “Eventually, I got tired of being in the corporate world, I really wanted a better work-life balance. Amazon isn’t

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B2B Stories

For employers, it’s a war out there!

The Georgia Chamber Foundation has issued its 4th quarter economic report, and the title, the War for Talent, sums up what the state is facing. The report looks at where Georgia stands in filling current job openings and anticipating future needs. It states that Georgia’s current workforce participation rate is about 61%, meaning 40% of adults are not engaged in the workforce. That translates to 3.2 million Georgians. At the same time, there are more than 350,000 job openings in each quarter. The Chamber Foundation says the War for Talent

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B2B Stories

New shop will capture the spirit of Aiken

Like many visitors, Sarah Dodge and her husband came for the horses but fell in love with the community. Four years ago, after visiting friends in the Winter Colony, the dressage horse trainer and her farrier husband packed up their bags in Colorado and moved to Aiken. When she went looking for Aiken-themed products at the request of friends and family, she couldn’t find them. Her entrepreneurial skills took over and in a few weeks, she will open True Aiken. “I’ve always thought about opening a shop and I thought

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B2B Podcasting

Sparkling holiday shopping news

The weather outside was not frightful and the shopping was delightful for retailers between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Mike Petchenik has a sled full of good news in today’s Biz Bits.

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Finally, a small ray of light in the recent LMI report

Editor’s note: If you read Dana Lynn McIntyre’s story from the Georgia Chamber Foundation, you know the struggle is real for finding workers. However, there is a bright spot in the latest employment numbers for Augusta. The Augusta Labor Market Index increased 0.2 percent in October from September. This constitutes five consecutive months of growth. The index now stands 0.3 percent higher than a year ago, the first time it has shown year-on-year growth since October 2022. Three components of the index grew month-on-month. Employment increased by 1,000 to stand

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B2B Podcasting

Small business holiday shopping kicks off with a bang!

If home is where the heart is, small businesses in the CSRA benefitted when the shopping season kicked off after Thanksgiving. Learn more about how local businesses fared in the Small Business Saturday Crawl from Mike Petchenik in today’s Biz Bits.

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Consumer Stories

Restaurant cracks into CSRA market

Eggs Up Grill is planning to open its 83rd location in Evans in 2024, serving up many popular breakfast items, such as omelets, breakfast sandwiches, French toast with fresh fruit, breakfast potatoes, and popular sides like bacon and sausage. Eggs Up franchisees freshen menus each season.  Eggs Up Grill will land at 1200 Town Park Lane off of North Belair Road. Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate represents the shopping center owner and also recruited EUG to open in the vacant 1200 square foot space. This building is located just in

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Consumer Stories

Christmas comes early for organizations helping those in need

A CSRA organization whose mission is to support non-profit groups to fund their ongoing work announced grant awards to dozens of programs during a ceremony on Friday. “It is an endowed fund primarily contributed to by the Masters Tournament,” explained Community Foundation President and CEO, Shell Berry. “Each year, we go through a process starting in the mid-summer. Over 120 applications were made to the Community Foundation. Today we are going to award 46 organizations up to $15,000 each for a total of over $638,000.” Berry said the applicants cover

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B2B Stories

New CSRA nursery decking the halls of businesses and homes

They might be the new kid on the nursery and landscaping block, but Southern Carolina Palms in Aiken is ready with all things Christmas. Located at 22 Gunter Road, the business opened in July and now six months later, they boast of one of the largest selections of holiday decorations in the CSRA. “Most of our sales come from families looking for a Christmas tree, wreath, swags, or inflatables,” said Annaleyse Black who handles customer questions and deliveries for Southern Carolina Palms. “We have all of that, but we have

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B2B Stories

Augusta Tech to facilitate hiring through Georgia’s new online portal

As one of the 22 schools in the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), Augusta Technical College (ATC) is ready to help students use the new Labor Exchange Platform (LEP). The platform, announced on Nov. 21 by Gov. Brian Kemp, is part of the state’s WorkSource Georgia program, which is administered by TCSG’s Office of Workforce Development. ATC President, Dr. Jermaine Whirl said they are waiting for some final instructions from the state to create portal access on the school’s website. “That information will be housed under our Career Services

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