Tuesday, March 27
6:00 – 8:00 pm

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) Georgia District Office returns to the Fayette County Public Library on Tuesday, March 27, at 6:00 p.m., to present a free two-hour workshop titled “Deliberate Success.” Both prospective and established business owners can benefit from attending the workshop, which is open to the public.

“Deliberate Success” is an interactive seminar that teaches business owners and entrepreneurs a simple yet powerful formula for creating dynamic growth in their business enterprise. It is a proven formula that has helped hundreds of seasoned business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs get off to a great start. Those who attend the seminar will learn: how to establish a clear vision to guide the business; when to evaluate key components of the business; how to design a workable growth strategy; what questions to ask to produce better results; and where to make adjustments if things are not on target. Participants will go home with renewed vigor and a wealth of ideas to drive their success.

The workshop instructor is Lita Blount, president of L. A. Blount & Associates, a business services firm specializing in strategic business planning, business operations consulting, project management, and commercial financing. Ms. Blount is a consultant, trainer and entrepreneur with a passion for starting new business ventures.

Pre-registration is required for the workshop. To register online, go to www.sba.gov/ga and cursor down to “Resources in Your Area.” Then click on “Events Calendar,” select this event and click on “Register Now.” Alternatively, a registration form can be obtained at the library and faxed to Attention: Dorothy Atkins at (404) 331-0101.

The SBA workshop is hosted by the Fayette County Public Library and the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library. The Fayette County Public Library is located behind the Fayette County administrative complex in downtown Fayetteville, at the southwest corner of Highways #85 and #54.  For additional information, please contact the library at 770-461-8841.

Chamber members are invited to participate in a job fair at New Hope Baptist Church.  Businesses must have at least one job opening to participate.

Thursday, June 28^th
4-7 PM

New Hope Baptist Church, North Campus
Rainbow Room
551 New Hope Road
Fayetteville Ga 30214

For more information and to register please contact Arwen Mullikin at 404-606-4848 or arwenmulli@gmail.com

Dunkin Donuts

309 Highway 74 North
Peachtree City, GA  30269
(678) 489-4004
http://www.dunkindonuts.com

Peachtree City’s new Dunkin’ Donuts is located at the Shell Station on Hwy 74 N (does have drive-thru).  It’s easy to have a first-class, on the go breakfast-with Angus Steak from Dunkin’.

Spring Tune-Up for HR Practices
Presented by
Fisher & Phillips LLP

If it’s time for your company to tune up its HR practices, this interactive seminar is for you.  Even if you believe that your HR house is in order, and it may be, you may want to attend to confirm that fact. This two-hour presentation sponsored by the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce will address some of the changes and trends in the law and will highlight a number of HR-related problems encountered by employers of all sizes. Would you like to hear some tips on how to improve your chances of prevailing in the unemployment compensation arena? Are you up to speed on the Georgia immigration law? What about compliance with the federal immigration law given its increased enforcement? With the DOL’s current enforcement position on wage and hour issues and the continuing flood of lawsuits, how do you think you would fare if faced with a challenge to your wage and hour practices? Do you have an understanding of the “rules” regarding social media? Have you wondered if that new NLRB poster requirement and the new union election rules apply to you? How well positioned is your company to withstand a claim of harassment or discrimination?

This seminar will address these and other topics. There will be opportunity for questions and discussion. Those whose job requires them to perform HR functions and manage employees should benefit from this program.

Friday, April 20, 2012
Fayette Chamber Offices
Old Courthouse on the Square
200 Courthouse Square
Fayetteville, GA 30214

8:00 a.m – 8:30 a.m. – Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m – 10:30 a.m. – Program

Cost:  $20 for Chamber Members; $35 for Non-Chamber Members
Registration Required – Limited to 70 Participants

To register, call:  (770) 461-9983 or visit www.FayetteChamber.org

Speed Dating For Capital
February 29, 2012
5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
The Loudermilk Center, Atlanta, GA

You are invited to Speed Dating For Capital, an innovative happy hour that brings together business owners & entrepreneurs seeking capital, with bankers & financiers seeking clients or investment opportunities.

Open bar starting at 5:30 pm.  Registration $10 at the door, $15 in advance.  To register, visit Small Business Financial Institute at www.sbfi.org.

Leadership Development:  Sharing the Torch

By Virginia Gibbs -  President & CEO – Fayette Chamber of Commerce

 Leadership.    Such a simple word.   Such a complex thing.  We often hear “you know it when you see it”  or “leaders are born,  not made.”    Is there a roadmap?   Are there things a business or a community can do to develop outstanding leaders for the future? 

It always seems a bit presumptuous to talk about leadership development,  as if the one talking has some special abilities in this area.   Let me say up front,   I write this with no illusion that I provide any great model for leadership myself.   However,   I do have a few insights on the process of community and personal leadership development that I hope might be of interest. 

I’ll start with a beautiful example.  This year,  young professionals in our YP Fayette group have started a leadership program which is impressive in multiple ways,  exemplifying some core components of what I believe are important to a healthy leadership development process.   The YP program is self organizing by the YP’s themselves,  not a product of what we “S.P’s”  (Seasoned Professionals—it sounds better than Old Professionals!) designed for them.    Individuals like Adalene Holley and Sarah Smith started with a vision for bringing sharp, aspiring young professionals together with seasoned professionals who have experience in our community and in diverse area of professional endeavors. 

The first key component of their process is an ongoing speaker series, giving the YP’s a chance to hear corporate CEO’s and other senior leaders share their perspectives on their leadership journey.  These talks allow respected leaders to share what they view as key takeaways from their own leadership development process.   Having a chance to hear what has made a difference for others is not only instructional, but often it is inspirational.   Beyond the YP efforts, it is clear that good leaders make a point to listen and learn from other leaders as a lifelong learning process,   regardless of what stage of one’s career or life they are in.

The second important element that the YP Fayette group has captured is a one-on-one mentoring process.   Called Young Protégé’s,   this part of their program has paired a group of young professionals (21 to 39 years) and seasoned professionals in a six month mentoring process.   Beginning with a chance for the SP’s to share their professional experience and the YP’s to tell what particular areas of mentorship they would like to explore, one-on-one matches have been made.    From there, the program is proceeding with self-directed sessions where the pair can explore synergies between experience and aspirations,   networks and future vision,  knowledge and the quest for knowledge.    The pairs are quickly finding it is a two-way street, with the seasoned professionals coming to admire what depth of talent and competencies reside in these young professionals and realizing the SP’s themselves may ultimately be the biggest recipients from the program. 

Beyond this, at its best, one-on-one mentoring like this fosters a nurturing and selfless trust from the more senior participants.   Being willing to take a step toward passing the torch of leadership,   even while still actively involved in leading a business or a community endeavor themselves,  this torch sharing is an essential activity in healthy and sustainable communities.   Making the time to make available to others the benefit of one’s experience in a selfless way is important.   On the other side,   having an appreciation that experience is important to competent leadership,  and a willingness to ask good questions and apply the answers as appropriate is an important part of the trust developed in a mentoring process.    It does not work well as a one way street on either end.  

I applaud the YP Fayette group for not only having a vision for what their leadership development process could be, but for taking the lead and putting it together.    These efforts are certainly a positive development for our community’s future.

Africa Inland Mission

Africa Inland Mission’s goal is to see the worship of Jesus Christ spread across the continent of Africa – through individual lives fully committed to Him, and collectively through Christ-centered church communities.

The missionary team is diverse, from outreach workers and church planters, to medical personnel, to a broad network of logistical and support personnel – pilots, teachers, accountants, engineers, IT workers, and more.  Together, they are committed to being and making disciples of Jesus Christ.

For more information, call (800) 254-0010 or visit http://www.aimint.org.