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Awards/Celebrations

Paying tribute to area military personnel

The Columbia County Exhibition Center hosted a full house, awash in red, white, and blue to honor Fort Gordon, the Augusta area’s largest and one of its oldest employers. It was established in 1941 as Camp Gordon. The Columbia County Chamber, North Augusta Chamber, Alliance for Fort Gordon, Greater Augusta Black Chamber, Thomson-McDuffie Chamber, and Veteran Golfers Association co-sponsored the annual Military Appreciation Luncheon, part of the Executive Luncheon Series. Among the speakers was Dr. Tom Clark, Executive Director of the Alliance for Fort Gordon, who retired from the post

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B2B Stories

Augusta airport tenant plans more growth

A stalwart presence at Augusta Regional Airport (AGS) is gearing up for more improvements. In a specially called meeting on June 16, members of the Augusta Aviation Commission approved an amendment to its lease agreement with StandardAero. Under the amendment, AGS agrees to commit $2 million for improvements and repairs to the facilities that the airport leases to the company. Chris Bodine, Vice President and General Manager of the company’s local facility, told ABD the money is for improvements to its existing facility to meet the same standards as their

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B2B Stories

Mobile lab to boost manufacturing training

A mobile lab that will help provide critical workforce training resources in rural areas of Aiken County has arrived at Aiken Technical College. The three mobile labs were unveiled during an event in early February at the William H. “Billy” O’Dell Upstate Center for Manufacturing Excellence in Greenwood. It is a collaborative project joining Aiken Tech with Piedmont and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical Colleges. It is targeting needs across a 10-county area. Funding for the labs, $4.9 million, came from the U.S Labor Department through its Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grant program.

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Awards/Celebrations

Chocolate champion for 20 years

You are invited to the 20th Anniversary of La Bonbonniere this Friday from 4 to 7 P.M. No surprise. Chocolate is on the menu. Really good chocolate. “Starting out in 2005, I never thought the business would grow to the success it is today, and it really is all thanks to the community. “I started out with a small shop with the cheapest rent I could find, and we had a limited chocolate selection of around ten flavors. While ten flavors may seem like a good amount, all the chocolate

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Consumer Stories

FREE Coffee for Grand Opening Week

The Gordon’s spent $405 at our favorite store, Costco, but we did get free store samples and a complimentary German Chocolate flavored cup of coffee last weekend. Marketing baristas were out front of Costco letting people know about today’s grand opening of a coffee drive-thru in West Augusta. 7 Brew officially opens today on the old Smith’s Chevron property at 3600 Walton Way Extension. Customers are invited to a free small flavored coffee all week long during “Community Hours” from 8-9 A.M, Noon- 1 P.M., and 5-6 P.M. That promotion

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B2B Stories

How hospitality touches every business

The second session of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce’s Business Institute centered on hospitality and how every business should have it in their professional tool kit. The Business Institute is a series of four programs held each year during the summer months. The June program was Leaders in Hospitality. Leading the discussion was Erik Smith, Owner & Operator of Chick-fil-A’s location in Grovetown. Smith said hospitality is demonstrated by making guests feel welcome from the start. At Chick-fil-A, it is accomplished by several traits that mark the company’s philosophy.

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B2B Stories

Mars Rover rolls into Cyber camp

About 20 students spent several days exploring the Red Planet from the comfort of a classroom at Aiken Technical College. Cyber Power Camp: Mars Rover Mission Edition was a four-day camp to build skills in coding, robotics, and problem solving while sparking creativity and innovation. “We just had an epiphany,” said Kevin Kingery, chair of the Department of Business and Computer Technology. “We were trying to think of something that would be interesting and entertaining and that we could actually have the campers leave with something in their hand that

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B2B Stories

New leadership for Club Car

Club Car has announced Craig Scanlon as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective June 9, 2025. Scanlon succeeds Mark Wagner, who announced his retirement in March. With over two decades of executive leadership experience, Scanlon has held key officer roles in both private equity-owned and Fortune 500 organizations, most recently as CEO of K&N Engineering. His career spans the industrial, powersports, and automotive aftermarket sectors, including 18 years at Polaris, where he rose to the role of Chief Marketing Officer. Scanlon began his career in 1998 in commercial sales of

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B2B Stories

Is your CSRA company pretty cool?

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is looking for businesses making the coolest stuff in the Peach State. The application period is open for “The Coolest Thing Made in Georgia, a competition the Chamber has launched with Synovus. All businesses in Georgia are eligible to participate in the drive to find the state’s outstanding innovators. In the news release announcing the competition, Chris Clark, President & CEO of the Georgia Chamber, said it is a way to celebrate talent, ingenuity, and enterprising spirit. He said those characteristics will shape Georgia’s future.

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B2B Stories

Turning life setbacks into business success

God prepared Ashley White Rice for the unimaginable. She became an entrepreneur due to serious family issues. When she was named one of Augusta’s Top 10 in 10, it was for good reason. They are described as leading the way, raising the bar, and setting the standard of service in the community. Rice is one of the recently named Augusta’s Top 10 in 10 Young Professionals for good reason, she checks all the boxes and then some. She has faced setbacks that might have stopped some in their tracks. Perseverance kept her

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