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She was raised in Augusta and has returned home to serve as the Executive Director of Accelerate Augusta. Augusta Technical College’s President, Dr. Jermaine Whirl, announced on December 3 that Sheffie Robinson had been selected for the position, effective December 16. Soon after, she met with ABD to talk about her role. “It isn’t often that you’re charged to lead such a major project in a city you grew up in,” she said. “I have phone calls from people like, ‘Hey, I remember when you were just an itty-bitty thing,

Keith Perret (dressed in State Farm red) and others affected by Hurricane Helene got an interesting status update over breakfast from Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner. The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce held its annual legislative breakfast, an opportunity to talk with the members of the local delegation prior to the 2025 Legislative Session. The man leading the state agency on the front line of helping storm victims receiving fair compensation was guest speaker for the event. John King told ABD he realized metro Augusta is facing a long road to recovery.

Last week I gave my annual economic forecast, and for those unable to attend, here are the highlights. In the first part, I analyzed the impact of Hurricane Helene on the labor market. Augusta recorded a record level of employment in October, the month after Helene hit. Employment rose by 100 to 248,000. Four Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) were hit by Helene (Augusta, Hinesville, Savannah, and Valdosta), and employment in those MSAs rose by 175 on average. Employment in MSAs totally unaffected by Helene fell to 88. Additionally, earnings in