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B2B Stories

Bracing for demand of skilled workers in building trades

A new program launched at Aiken Technical College, envisioned as a short-term way to address thousands of construction jobs at the Savannah River Site, could turn into a regular offering. “My expectation is that’s going to be short term for the immediate need, but that need is so great that we’ll probably be running these courses for quite some time,” Dr. Steven Simmons, Dean of the School of Technical and Continuing Education told ABD. “One of the benefits is that the state of South Carolina has allocated a lot of

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B2B Stories

Georgia’s tech colleges notch big enrollment increase

The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) announced a 9.3% increase in enrollment for the upcoming academic year. Total enrollment is more than 148,000 across the system’s 22 campuses in Georgia. It is the highest enrollment since 2013. “With the highest enrollment in more than a decade, this growth underscores the strong need for technical education and skilled workers in Georgia,” said TCSG Commissioner, Greg Dozier in a news release announcing the enrollment numbers. “Our 22 colleges remain focused on delivering the kind of education that makes a real difference

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: SAHM rule and recession

The “SAHM” rule is named for economist, Claudia Sahm. The national U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in July, the highest since 2021. It also marked another milestone. According to the Sahm indicator, the U.S. economy is now in recession. The Sahm indicator says that if the three-month average unemployment rate rises by more than a half percentage point above the lowest three-month average for the previous 12 months, then the economy is in recession. By this measure, the Sahm indicator hit 0.53 in July. The unemployment rate for July

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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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