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B2B Stories

Augusta business celebrates its first 50 years

A company that has been part of Augusta-Richmond County for half a century celebrated that milestone yesterday morning. StandardAero first opened in 1974. It moved its operations to Augusta Regional Airport about 15 years ago. Russell Ford, CEO of StandardAero, sent a video greeting to the dozens of employees and guests. He said they built StandardAero as a family, and it now has the highest credibility across the aerospace industry. “When I think about our culture and justice, the phrase private workmanship comes to mind,” he began, “The intense focus

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B2B Stories

New CSRA business provides nonprofit support services

With more than 50 years of combined experience working for nonprofit organizations, mother and daughter, Kaye and Britt Jackson, have teamed up to do what they do best, provide support services for nonprofits. They opened The Nonprofit Desk last week, to put their experience to work for charities and churches that could use help with everything from administrative support, to bookkeeping, and social communications. “It was Britt’s idea to collaborate. We enjoy working together so we prayed about it and after becoming incorporated in April, we are now open for

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Consumer Stories

Bagel shop set to open in CSRA

Elemy’s Bagels is filling a need and filling bagels with shmear with the launch of their new shop in Walton’s Corner. Owner, Steven Boyd is a veteran, who’s had success in the downtown Augusta market with his fresh hand-rolled New York Bagels. Owner Steven Boyd said, “After moving here for the U.S. Army, we could not find a good bagel sandwich. So, we learned to make one! After spending hours studying the craft, we perfected the New York bagel,” said Boyd. Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate found Boyd a centrally located storefront

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B2B Stories

Eisenhower Commanding General wraps up TechNet

The 11th annual TechNet, a three-day event sponsored by AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association), has concluded in Garden City. TechNet is one of the largest non-sporting events held in Augusta. Destination Augusta estimates 6,000 people attend the conference. It translates to a roughly $6 million economic impact. Among the final events was a media roundtable with MG Ryan Janovic, commander of the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence. He was joined by CW5 Brian Matthews from the U.S. Army Cyber School, CW5 Chris Westbrook from the U.S. Army

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B2B Stories

Successful franchise owner sells two CSRA bakeries

After six years in business in Evans and two years in Aiken, Susan and James See sold their Nothing Bundt Cakes franchises last Thursday, August 22. It was a sweet ride for their family, employees, and customers, but they felt the time was right. “We’ve been blessed, and we worked hard to be good stewards of the brand and to bring joy to our community by giving back, but we wanted to retire, travel, and see where God leads us next,” See explained. The See’s had already put in hard

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B2B Stories

Financial support for Aiken County projects

Aiken County residents have more than just political candidates to consider in the November general election. They are being asked to decide whether a new Capital Projects Sales Tax (CPST) should be imposed. It is not a new tax; it is a continuing one already in effect. CPST 4 expires in February 2025. CPST 5 would go into effect the following month. An estimated $260 million will be collected and shared among all municipalities in Aiken County to pay for a defined list of projects. One of the projects funded

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B2B Stories

Young entrepreneur headlines Black Business Summit

The Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce (GABCC) is holding its 4th Annual Black Business Summit today. The annual event draws attention to the contributions of black- and minority-owned businesses during Black Business Month (BBM), founded in 2004 by John William Templeton, a historian, and Frederick E. Jordan, Sr., a civil engineer. The summit will include vendors and opportunities for networking and panel discussions. Ronic West, founder of GABCC, told ABD attendees will learn about what it takes to be an entrepreneur. “Hearing from some elected officials, because we have

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B2B Stories

Thousands attend 11th annual TechNet Augusta

TechNet Augusta 2024 is a three-day event that kicked off on August 19. Activities are held at the Marriott Augusta, the Augusta Convention Center, and the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center. According to a news release from Destination Augusta, the 2023 conference brought almost 6,000 attendees, with more than half coming from outside Georgia and South Carolina. It translated to a $5.4 million economic impact last year. “Since 2013, Augusta has been proud to host this esteemed event, which brings together some of the brightest minds in technology, defense,

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Rest of 2024 Economic Outlook

As I write this week’s economic commentary, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is up over 500 points on lower initial claims for unemployment insurance, and lower inflation, and robust retail sales data. The rise in the DJIA is a leading indicator for the local economy as it is highly correlated with local firm’s share prices. Rising share prices reflect the markets’ expectation of future firm cashflows and profitability. Locally, initial claims for unemployment insurance lag the national releases, but climbed slightly in May and June. Inflation in the South

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Consumer Stories

School to open retail shop to help cause

Despite our volatile economy, thrift stores continue to be a consistent presence in the CSRA. The latest store to open will be at 316 8th Street in downtown Augusta between Broad Street and Greene Street. The Jessye Norman School of the Arts will operate the store and use proceeds to fund its FREE afterschool program. The new store in the 1,800-square-foot building will be called Second Act and be aligned with the JNSA by offering used musical instruments, new and used art supplies, graphic t-shirts, clothes, and eclectic furniture. Meybohm

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